As I sit to contemplate the similarities and differences between my learning organization and the organization our group observed I have an overwhelming sense of appreciation and gratitude for my department. How cheesy, I know, but I just can't help but realize how privileged I am to be working for a Director who embodies our organizations purpose and mission, and to be working with an amazing group of individuals who bring their heart and commitment to the students of our university everyday. Of course I this insight would probably not be as strong if I hadn't worked in an organization where there was incongruence between the goals of the department, the management style of the Directors, and the commitment of the employees.
In our ED 404 class we were asked to read a chapter from Margaret Wheatley's book "Leadership and the new science: discovering order in a chaotic world". In this chapter she spoke of the unseen, but most certainly present, fields that influence organizations. I'm a firm believer in fields, not only in organizations, but in all aspects of our lives. When I was working for the disjointed organization I loved the work I was doing and the impact I was having on students' lives. In fact, I was more excited about the student population that I was working with in that organization than I am with the student population I am currently working with. However, many times per week I found myself struggling to get motivated to go into work, and when I did arrive I was counting down the hours until I would be able to leave. These feelings were especially strong when I didn't have many students appointments to occupy my time. I honestly can't describe what lead me to feel this way, individually the people I worked with were warm and caring, but as a whole the organization was out of sync. I suspect that it was partially due to the leadership in the department, but I also believe that there were other forces at work including a disconnect between the way that the organization did business and the needs of the students.
I left that organization with both a sense of relief and a heavy heart. It was very difficult for me to leave the students behind, but I was so thankful to have the opportunity to remove myself from, what was to me, a toxic environment. So even though I've had to shift to working with a much broader student population with, in my opinion, a more limited impact on individual students, I have regained something that was beginning to recede, my motivation and passion for working with college-aged students, and a sense of belonging in an organization that shares this passion.
