By Deborah Chigazola, R.D.H., BA
About the author
Deborah is a dental hygienist of 27 years. She is currently second year clinical coordinator at Santa Rosa Junior College. Her interests include expanding the use of online teaching and learning for dental hygiene students. The use of online methods became her passion while completing her masters in education at California State, East Bay in 2009.
Introduction
In less than 10 year there have been 4 lead faculty members for the 2nd year clinic. I ask myself as I take the lead as clinical coordinator, “how can I help the team thrive and grow?†I see a need to change the culture from top down leadership to shared leadership (Pearce, 2004). My goals for leading the clinical faculty include being supportive and inclusive.
We have 2-3 face-to-face staff meetings per semester. We also have morning faculty member huddles and discuss the weekly bulletin updates. These bulletins contain information and reminders to help keep all faculty members connected. There are two different groups of faculty members. One group is on Monday and another group on Thursday. The weekly bulletins help to keep the groups on the same page. I chose the wiki as a tool to expand on the current method of communication. It is optional but encouraged. I do end of the semester surveys and I will include a question or two about the use of the wiki.
Shared Leadership
Setting the tone for the new culture of shared leadership first requires that I define my goals and objectives to the team. I want to include all faculty members in the partnership of creating a growing and thriving dental clinic. The faculty team has many years of clinical and teaching experience that are an abundant source of knowledge. The challenge for change is to use this resource to its full potential. The program will be much better and stronger with all of their individual resources combined. The process of bringing that out into the sunlight is my journey. I have used wikis as a tool to facilitate the group. I will discuss how increasing the participation of the individual faculty members grows a better product.
The faculty members range in age from 40 to 60. This is significant in their use of technology. The younger members are very connected with Blackberries, I-touches, and other hand held devices. The older members are not as versed with the new technologies. I thought I could build the bridge of communication through the use of a wiki. I set up a wiki using a google group. I chose the google group for its easy access and complete directions. I invited all the faculty members to join the group by sending them an email invitation that included the google directions. The faculty members were all able to set up their accounts and access the google group. There were only two faculty members that needed additional instructions on setting up their accounts. Participation level has limits and issues due to time and priorities of the faculty members.
In addition to setting up the wiki tool I spoke to the faculty in our morning information huddles about my desire to have the entire faculty participate in the decisions and future plans for the clinical teaching of the dental hygiene students. I asked them for their ideas and suggestions not only at the end of the semester survey but on going. I introduced the google group as a private closed group discussion area to facilitate the building of this relationship. Key elements to the success of this shared leadership are: 1) partnership, 2) coordination, 3) cooperation, and 4) communication (U.S. Government, 2009). Setting the tone and establishing the wiki site have addressed the first two elements. The third element of cooperation is a work in progress with the modification of my expectations of the faculty members and their acceptance of the new culture.
Applying the Wiki
The first posting on the group site contained an outline of an up coming lesson in the clinic that involved teaching some new skills. We call it skill building. The topics were posted with the textbook references. Faculty members were asked to go to the wiki site and edit the document by placing their name next to the section of the skill building lesson they would like to teach. This worked well as an introductory exposure to the use of the wiki. Eight faculty members out of fourteen participated by submitting their name onto the document. The skill building day was a success with well prepared faculty members and positive feedback from me and the students. I congratulated the team on a job well done, Celebrate Every Success (Ferriter, 2007).
The second item on the wiki was an agenda for the next faculty meeting. Faculty members were asked to contribute and edit the agenda. There was little participation on this aspect of the site. Ten of the fourteen members contributed in discussion about what time to start the meeting and what food items they were bringing. One member added an agenda item on the new dress code and after I asked, she submitted the new document to the wiki as a new page. The concept is now a reality; the first step has been made, paving the way for others to feel comfortable with the new culture. This use of the group wiki shows progress. The next step is how to activate the creative and contributory function that will help the team grow.
Learning the new culture and getting comfortable with new technology are important first steps. To over come some of the limitations that have been experienced in the use of the wiki, I will post specific areas for improvement in our program. Several instructors have mentioned they would like to see a revision of a grading rubric for evaluating clinical competency. I can use this task to develop shared leadership in our team by providing the support, training, and direction in the process of collaborative participation. This will allow the faculty members to create a solution or improved product.
Organizing the wiki site for maximum use by the team includes using the front page or homepage for announcements and an overview of what is currently being discussed. Additional pages are added contain the subjects under discussion. A faculty member requested a calendar page where important dates are listed. The culture shift is that all faculty members contribute to the pages and it is not the “leader’s†responsibility to give all the information. Members can directly edit the page as a working document is created.
With a faculty of fourteen members that work on several different days on campus and have employment in private practices, it is difficult to have face-to-face meetings with all members present. To establish the time and day of these meetings we take a vote. This is done on the wiki site on a page titled “Your Vote Countsâ€. In the future I will add the use of online surveys to tally this vote and to take the end of semester survey. I think the use of the wiki is a good tool to start the process of shared leadership. As I strive to develop my faculty team I continue to explore and apply the leadership skills and technology that will help our program thrive and grow.
References:
Ferriter, Bill. (2007, September 30). The tempered radical, drinking the kool-aid part deux. Teachers Leaders Network, retrieved February 2, 2009 from http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/2007/09/drinking-the-ko.html
Heathfield, Susan. (2009). About.com: Human Resources. Twelve tips for team building: how to build successful work teams. Retrieved February 2, 2009 from
http://humanresources.about.com/od/teambuilding/Team_Building_Creates_Successful_Teams.htm
Pearce, Craig. (2004). The future of leadership: combining vertical and shared leadership to transform knowledge work. Academy of Management Executive. Vol. 18, No.1 Retrieved February 1, 2009 from http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~wstarbuc/mob/SharedLead.pdf
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Partnership, Alliances, and Coordination Techniques (PACT): Fundamentals of Collaborative Leadership. Retrieved February 1, 2009 from http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pact/collaborative/index.html