Bridging the Gap
Rodenberg. Michael. (2020). Bridge the Gap. Colorado Springs, CO: EndeavorLiterary.
Rodenberg sets the tone for the book in the foreword. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, don’t read this book. This book has specific strategies for those who want to redirect the future of a company. These lessons are applicable to schools and districts as well as in the business sector.
The Goal: Bridging the Gap is about bring together all kinds of people to achieve uncommon success. In the current times of multiple crises like finances, leadership succession, and lower morale in schools, it is the organizational leaders that will be the stewards of needed changes.
Here is a list of the process Michael used to redirect and unleash the talent in a company.
- Survey the damage
- Repair the foundation
- Prepare for the future
- Open the bridge
Survey the Damage – observe before making judgments. If you are an external consultant, first find out what is the current reality.
I really like the suggestion of the first 90 days process. Spend 45 days finding out the internal workings and the next 45 days focus on the external relationships of community.
Distrust of management in the past will keep employee holding back their ideas.[Bills note – find people who will tell you the truth. It saves time]. Leaders must find time to listen to employees. Honest communication cannot be overstated, LISTEN
External stakeholders. [In education it is the students, parents, and community]. They are the suppliers of information and the receivers of your product or process. Don’t be surprised if you hear, ‘we are so busy inside the organization, we rarely get information from external sources.
Hope to hear, ‘thanks for telling us what you are going to do about it. [stand up and make the case to your team and organization]. There are financial, status, reputation, and workplace relationships to deal with.
Workers did not feel empowered to do their jobs. They were doing what they were told and not much more. [they are closest to the work, listen to them]
Infighting can destroy organizations. Conflict, complaints, badmouthing, and gossip was the norm. Favoritism run rampant, [Edward Toynbee: Civilizations don’t die of takeover, they die of suicide] The problem was cultural.
The conclusion was if they had no authority to make decisions, they wanted to make a difference, it is difficult to make positive change.
An important point made – First, I needed to recover the trust and morale of the staff. Understand the company culture.
Next, Learn to ask the right questions. [Attributing blame rarely creates positive solutions] Knowing the organizational culture is an essential but overlooked aspect of leading change and restoring thriving companies.
Repair the Foundation – Businesses are run by people, not machines. Trust must exist for businesses to flourish. [same for education]
Three important aspects of repairing and rebuilding an organization’s foundation:
- Establish the vision – leaders need to determine and convey a clear vision or the organization.
- Define what is mission critical – leaders must identify and invest in mission critical processes and people
- Grow from within – every great organization requires excellent, committed team members.
Vision: why we exist. Murkami is known by – “supplier of choice” and employer of choice” [Is your school or district a supplier/employer of choice? Love this]. What are the goals and actions that can make this happen?
In education we are awash in data. What data is the most significant? How can we use data to determine the actions for getting better results?
Find people with extensive experience. They have learned from success AND failure. This proved to be a key factor in becoming an ‘employer of choice.’ We identified ;people who wanted to grow and learn, and then we provided them with opportunities to advance in their careers.
Growing people from within has been remarkable. Growing leaders from within is a critical part of repairing. You’re investing in the future.
Bridge the Gap between education, business, and government.
[Go and see some of the new ways high schools are evolving. Career Tech Centers are engaging students in new (old) ways. Once we find the student’s passion, motivation is less of a problem] The ‘go and see’ principle can give leaders a broader vision for the future. We need to constantly see ways to gain a clearer picture of the future. Without that, how can we know how to get to the other side?
A primary long-term need for every company is personnel-finding and retaining high quality people to operate the company. [This is becoming more of a problem in education. Superintendents, principals, and teachers are leaving the profession in higher numbers every day. Attracting, retaining, and sustaining strong staff will be the differentiator]
If you don’t have a very deep bench, developing talents is a must. Long-term employees have deep knowledge that can’t be transferred only by reading. Hire second string players and train them with veterans.
Leaders must look at the big picture and see that every individual is important. If we lose sight of the we lose a major opportunity. [Coach ‘em UP]
Our relationships with local schools were important. We did not have any relationships with superintendents, principals, or other education leaders. Schools as a potential pipeline for our future employees.
I highly recommend this book for guidance in changing systems for the better.
[ ] are Bill’s personal comments