Cohen 2002 Seven pillars of negotiational wisdom

Negotiation - a word that can make or break professional relationships. There was a comment that it is not a competitive sport but there is an element of making sure that you get what you want and that you don't lose some of the main points. I think it is necessary to be clear on what you are willing to compromise on and what you really feel needs to be there and why. If you can be clear on why they are needed then that is a way of achieving what is important.

The little box that talks about negotiating with the boss, I would have loved a bigger section on this as this is vital for a TL in a school. The key point with this that resonates continually is establish your credibility (p.175). The other aspect was internal negotiation - selling your ideas to other members, this was something that has been mentioned before, about gathering support from others and presenting ideas together or at different times by different people.

this article provides a number of good constructive questions that allow you to focus on what you are after and the importance of it - being aware of your objective. I also like the idea of having another way to achieve what you want and being aware of it. this article linked with the Mackay article where both of the parties have to be willing to compromise and agree. If they don't want to do that then there will be great difficulty in achieving anything.

Mackay 1998 "Resolving Conflict through listening..."

It was interesting to consider my own understanding of conflict with this reading, I had to seriously think about it as the first impressions when I was reading was that conflict was these fights and anger. But once I started to think about it more I realised that conflict could be about constructive feedback - considering issues in a proposal and providing concerns about it. I think if there is a process in place, like the active listening steps then that may help to provide it in such a way that emotion doesn't become the over-riding aspect. I'm not sure about comparing conflict that may occur in a workplace with conflict in marriages or personal relationships as this is a more personal setting where there is an intimacy that may not or usually not apparent in professional relationships. There may be incidences when providing opportunities for feedback through non-face-to-face means are worth exploring too. Giving time to think about it before providing feedback is another option to consider too.

Savage 1989 Commuication

Coming from teaching English I always realised the importance of communication and have taught communication in many forms across many subjects. To see it as a part of leadership is not jaw-dropping but to put a name to the communication that they don't know they are doing - the unintentional communication was a step forward. I had always told students about the way people may see them or respond to them because of the way the act, dress, speak, write etc but to have it formulated so clearly by Savage. There was also the thought that actions speak as loud as the word they espouse and this is so true for all in the school, how we behave in front of teachers, staff, students and how the principal behaves in response to that.

I was also intrigued by the upward and downward communication and hadn't really thought alot of this idea in the school until reading this. I do agree about the two-way process where there needs to be upward and downward flow of information (p. 110) and how upward flow is the difficulty. I must admit this is an area that I need to work on - I think with being instilled about the 'respect your superiors' mentality that I always felt it wasn't my place to disagree or offer alternative choices/processes because they 'knew best' so this is an area I need to work on and not see those above me as not wanting to hear what I have to say. So reading Savage's point number 2 way it is inadequate because there is an indication that the ideas, reactions and criticisms are not welcome (p.110). I think this is my issue more than my superiors at this time. The idea of filtering was revealing and it made me consider what I do in this case and what others would be doing. And the point of prejudice that comes into it, maybe I am naiive or a little optimistic but this was something I found myself not agreeing with, I feel there would be some colouring but to be completely prejudice to change the views about someone, maybe something, but not someone (I hope!). Rumours seems pretty straightforward - seems to be the same as rumour in any other situation. I did like the idea of a plan with dealing with rumour, especially when you have so many stakeholders and children to boot. Some great points about administrators and what they should do.