Fixing Problems, or Finding Our Way?
Our current challenge is intractable. What is a leader's role when we cannot fix it?
Our family has taken full advantage of our Disney+ subscription since the pandemic started. A favorite movie is Wreck-It Ralph. If you haven’t seen it (and you should - it’s great!), Wreck-It Ralph is the designated “bad guy” in a video game. He destroys an apartment building so the hero, Fix it Felix (”Player One”), can repair the damage.
When Ralph leaves the game because he does not want to be the bad guy anymore, Felix does not know what to do. He has nothing to fix. Felix starts to question his own identity, just as Ralph did, and is no longer even sure who he is.
Pretty deep, and relatable to our situation. Our roles as principals, coaches, specialists, professors, and teachers often involve fixing. Yet the virus is beyond our ability to change. If Zoom isn’t working, instruction is hindered or even nonexistent. A student fails to show up for virtual instruction - what can we do?
Sometimes we push forward and continue to try and fix things. This year, I was pulled into a home-school situation in which a parent wanted enrichment for their child. I tried to fix it by offering additional resources for the student to engage in on their own. In retrospect, what I should have done is to facilitate a better conversation between teacher and family instead of assuming I had the answer.
Constantly looking to fix things may not have been healthy before the pandemic. In fact, we may create new problems when we attempt to solve perceived ones.
All Felix knows how to do is to fix things. Because of the unpredictable nature of the world he is now a part of while searching for Ralph, the situation becomes worse. The residents leave the apartment building, partly because they were too dependent on him. Felix ends up in jail. When he tries to break out by hammering the bars, they grow thicker. At this low point, he decries:
“Why do I fix everything I touch?”
Funny and full of truth. Our help is not always helpful. Sometimes we makes things worse. Felix finally gets out of jail and starts improving the situation when he works with others and understands what they need vs. trying to save the day. This change from being the hero to becoming a part of something bigger was spurred by external challenges. However, change came from within.
In the book Cognitive Coaching, the authors’ purpose is to support leaders in helping others become more self-directed. Seeing others as capable of solving problems can also create more self-awareness.
They share the following story (p. 34, my emphasis):
“An administrator revealed to us that he was distressed at his own committee behaviors as being egocentric, defensive, and argumentative. He resolved to improve this at a subsequent meeting and searched for a strategy to release him from these behaviors. He hit upon the notion of assuming an identity as a student and found he could easily be more responsive to the ideas of others, put his own ideas on the table as ‘wonderings,’ and thereby becoming more interdependent and effective.”
When we adopt a learner’s stance, we start to shed the unhealthy part of responsibility.
The current situation is not your fault. You cannot solve this challenge on your own. But we can make our professional environments better. Stay responsive to others’ ideas and adaptive to the ever-evolving situation. We will be better because of this experience: more resilient, creative, compassionate. The situation can also be frustrating; both can be true at the same time. By being curious and open to new ideas, we can avoid putting pressure on ourselves or others to fix the impossible.
Uncommon Questions for Uncommon Times
When I step into Fix-it Felix mode, am I dismissing the teacher’s capacity to solve the problem themselves?
If a problem is beyond the current capacity of a person, are my actions supporting their future growth as well as the present challenge?
Do I have permission to help? If so, what type of help do they need - to listen, to offer advice, or to collaborate and engage somewhere in between?
How can I assume the identity of a learner first? What do I need to think or do to become more curious and less attached to the current situation?
What is your takeaway from this topic? Keep the conversation going in the comments.