Learning Disabled Children With Gifts (2e) Are Often Ignored in Schools

Teachers find it far easier to address giftedness as an exceptionality or learning disabilities or ADHD as an exceptionality than having to deal with multiple exceptionalities in children. The contradictions generate the challenges. Although there are challenges, when educators focus on developing innate talents rather than fixing weaknesses, 2e children will thrive. I find focusing on helping children realize their gifts a similar approach to my past professional work helping adults realize their potential.

My new book, Twice-Exceptional Children Are Gifts: Developing the Talents of 2e Children, directly addresses how teachers and parents can support 2e children, children who have both learning deficits and gifts. If you are a teacher or a parent who is supporting 2e children, my new book is a must-read. You can find more details on my book on my website at https://lnkd.in/g24jgA4 or you can order from Amazon through this link. Available in hardback, softback, and epub. #2e #twiceexceptional @learningexceptionalities

Thank you for your interest in supporting these children, they are gifts. Dr. John Inman www.learningexceptionalities.com or 541-497-3774

 

 

First ever Dialogic OD Conference in Vancouver BC last week

Dialogic OD opening comments

The first ever dialogic organizational development conference was last week in Vancouver BC at Simon Fraser University. The opening remarks were taped from an interview with Edgar Schein which framed the day beautifully. We had numerous opportunities to engage with others at the conference and the ongoing conversations were a high point for the event.

It was striking that we had 125 participants from around the world, all dedicated to developing an organizational development practice that fits the reality of our times, one framed by complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity. Old OD practices of diagnosis and command and control, simply are not effective in taping into the wealth of knowledge and experience necessary to pivot in a dynamic world. This is where the emerging practice of dialogic OD have the opportunity to truly make a difference in engaging the minds of people who can and will change our world.

Meeting friends and colleagues was another benefit to being at the conference. It is not easy to stay in touch with so much going on and the conference provided the setting where reconnecting with old friends and connecting with new friends was possible.

More information about dialogic OD can be found on my research page. I would welcome a conversation with anyone interested in the field and would be glad to work with organizations interested in moving away from change consulting based on old rigid models of command and control and move to those based on dialogic OD helping organizations thrive in complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty. Reach out to Dr. Inman at john@dialogicleader.com or call him at 425-954-7256.

An extraordinary voice for children and schools in Erin Jones for Washington State Superintendent of Education

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In a time when public schools and teachers are under attack, ineffective measures for reform are mandated, and those who have our children’s best interest at heart are demoralized, Erin Jones shines as a voice for all that is right with our children, parents, communities, teachers, and schools. It is time we stopped waging war on those who care for our children. There is a better way.

The world is complex, ambiguous, and uncertain and education is far more so than business. Yet the principles of participation, respect, caring, and team work that mark the success of businesses in our economy, are the very principles under attack in schools. I cannot help but wonder about the lack of critical thinking skills so prevalent in our decision makers. Parents, teachers, and researchers agree, the skills needed to thrive in our complex world are those being diminished through teaching to the test and demanding that students learn the one right answer to every question and be able to put that answer on a bubble test. And this is supposed to be education? Where did problem solving, critical thinking, inquiry, and the ability to build teams and relationships go? These critical skills have been stripped from our schools.

As a business person, that last thing I want is to have an employee who has to find the one right answer. What a useless skill. If only the world were so simple. Why would any critical thinking adult demand this of our children? The answer is no critical thinking adult would. Ideology and greed, not critical thinking rule our discussions. Even though privatization has proven to benefit almost no one other than those making a profit on our children, those who stand to profit on our children have a loud voice and lots of money to support their platform. If those same dollars were invested in our public schools, if our teachers were payed well and treated with respect, and if our principles and superintendents were trained to lead humans and no just manage cost cutting, we would be excelling in education and our children would be learning and growing.

This is where Erin comes in. She is smart, an award wining teacher, innovative, and a compassionate leader. Erin is exactly what our state needs in a time where the most important decisions in our children’s lives are being made in such a way as to destroy their futures. This is certainly the case with our minority children. If you are in Washington State and can support Erin Jones, please do. Find out more on her web page. Dr. Ronald Holmes also wrote an excellent article on Erin’s background.

Camp Snowball was an outstanding week

group picture from Camp Snowball 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had 21 states, 4 countries, and over 300 children and adults all focused on systems in education. What a fantastic experience. I met so many nice people and most assuredly will have friendships developed from the camp. It was particularly nice to talk with so many people on the front line of trying to help our children. I am motivated to continue to reach out and explore ways to connect with this community and contribute. We had excellent speakers including Yong Zhao, Janice Jackson, Dennis O’Donoghue, and of course Peter Senge.

Each person participated in a core module for 13 hours of the camp. I participated in Stepping into a New Leadership Role: Tools for Creating a Learning Culture by Mike Maryanski and Dawn Wakeley of Tahoma School district, the district my daughter attends. All helping lead that session was Ed Porter. A great session with great interaction. I met lots of people from Portland and a very cool person from Mexico, Sam Sims.

We had a wonderful graphic recorder for the event and I have posted links to his recordings of each of the five days at the camp.  His name is Bryan Coffman. First time I have experienced his work and it is wonderful.

Monday Graphic Recording

Tuesday Graphic Recording

Wednesday Graphic Recording

Thursday Graphic Recording

Friday Graphic Recording

Dr. John Inman Learning Exceptionalities Fact Sheet

Dr. John Inman as a steward

Dr. John Inman brings a background in educational scholarship and practice to help educators create cultures where children are successful. He has invested years learning to create cultures where learners engage, thrive, and realize their potential. His work is situated in the universal design for learning (UDL) field.

As a learner who grew up dyslexic, Dr. Inman has a deep empathy for alternative learning children and adults that comes from life experience, not just theory. His mission is to make sure children who are growing up as he did do not have to experience the shame and humiliation of being labeled slow, unintelligent, and broken.

Dr. Inman is conscious of the structural inequality built into education systems leading to large groups of children without a chance to learn they have gifts let alone realize their potential. The social cost is unnecessary with the right interventions.

Dr. Inman has a passion for improving the lives of our children through unleashing the wisdom, creativity, and passion of adults who lead them. His practice is based on the belief that classroom teachers hold the key to transforming our children’s lives. He is dedicated to helping them do so through respect, development, engagement, leadership, and innovative strategies.

Dr. Inman believes teachers are leaders, not just deliverers of curriculum and should be treated and respected as leaders. In complex times, leaders reach out across boundaries and create communities of professional practice to improve everyone’s performance. Transforming our schools cannot be done one teacher at a time, teachers must rise together to transform the educational experience of children. Dr. Inman has worked decades developing leaders who thrive in complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity. He is committed to the development of educational excellence with leaders who excel in building high performance cultures through developing all professionals in the building or district.

Dr. Inman embraces the coordinated management of meaning (CMM), inquiry, dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement to help communities come together to co-create the future they envision. He has a personal history of and commitment to talent development for all team members in order to develop performance cultures where all adults and children thrive.

Dr. Inman is fluent in developing, transforming, and managing organizations focusing on systems, emerging HR strategies, people analytics, developing leaders, constituent relations, and building responsive communities.

Dr. Inman’s doctoral research focused on twice-exceptional education and Indigenous learning. http://www.johninmandialogue.com/organization-resources/universal-design-learning/

The Flow Game

Picture of Flow Game

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Toke Moller, the creator of the Flow Game and of Art of Hosting, visited Seattle last weekend to train a group of new Flow Game hosts. I participated in the Sunday session where those hosts facilitated the game with volunteers. There were 20 volunteers who participated in the game, four per table. The game is designed to help go very deep with issues. The game can last a matter of hours as ours did or can last days, with participants coming back to the game periodically.

The game is inspired by Indigenous thought with the layout being four directions and earth and heavens. Each of the directions has a stack of cards. A participant draws a card and follows the instructions or speaks to what it means to her/him. Other players have the opportunity to offer ideas and insights. We played for three hours and the depth of conversation was stunning. What a powerful game and framework for transformative conversations.

I would highly recommend finding a Flow Game host and participating in this process. If you would like to find a host and are unsure how to go about doing so, I would be glad to find someone to host a game for you and your team. See our team of four below with our host. We played at the Impact Hub in Seattle.

John Inman Flow Game team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feel free to contact Dr. Inman for a conversation or ideas on how to use the Flow Game. 425-954-7256 or john@johninmandialogue.com

Group Works: A Pattern Language for Bringing Life to Meetings

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I participated in a wonderful workshop to expand my understanding of how to integrate the Group Works card deck into my dialogic hosting. I started using the Group Works cards several years ago but I tend to put them on the shelf and then forget to pull them out for sessions. This workshop reignited my passion for this wonderful deck of cards designed to foster appreciative conversations.

We started out the weekend with a potluck on Friday evening and after conversation and getting to know each other, we dove into some fun and innovative games using the Group Works cards. Sue Woerhlin and her partner opened up their home for the group and we had a great time. We also had the opportunity to explore a variety of strategies on how to use the card deck. Many of these strategies are on the Group Works site. Both the evening games and the workshop on Saturday were hosted by Tree Bressen, Wesley Lucas, Sue Woerhlin, & Dave Pollard.

The Saturday workshop provided a day of work experiencing a variety of applications of the use of the cards. I met many new people and was delighted to make new friends, several of which came in from out of state. I highly recommend either downloading a deck of cards to print or ordering a wonderful box of cards to use in your meetings. The applications are endless.

As my practice is founded on co-creation and emergence, I chose to use the picture from the emergence card for this post: A butterfly. Here is the emergence card as an example.

emergence

Feel free to contact Dr. Inman for a conversation or ideas on how to use the Group Works cards. 425-954-7256 or john@johninmandialogue.com

 

Why You Should Hire For Potential, Not Experience

Great Fastcompany article By Dinah Wisenberg Brin

When you’re hiring, look past the experience candidates come with, to the potential for them to grow into the perfect fit for your company.

An electronics retailer hires a CEO who seems to possess the ideal credentials and skills, only to find him ill-prepared to handle changing market dynamics.

A small brewery, in contrast, picks a project manager lacking in relevant industry experience, based on a hiring consultant’s feeling that the man will succeed. The new hire quickly ascends to a key role in a strong management team that turns the company into a conglomerate.

What’s the difference in the two hires?

Read article to continue

If you want to accelerate talent, contact John Inman at john@johninmandialogue.com or at 425-954-7256

A Data-driven Approach to Organizational Change in Healthcare

A Data-driven Approach to Organizational Change in Healthcare is copied from the September 2014 issue of  PI Worldwide News and Insights.

Data-Driven

 

In a new era of healthcare technologies and policies, American Health Network (AHN) medical group recognized it needed more effective procedures and methodologies to help its employees navigate the nuances. The organization turned to workforce analytics to optimize its business structure and enable leaders to guide the change process effectively while reducing turnover, enhancing employee morale and strengthening clinical teams. AHN’s approach leveraged PI Worldwide’s 4 Pillars of Successful Change Initiatives.American Health Network

Pillar 1: Communication and retention: By leveraging the Predictive Index® (PI® ) behavioral assessment to understand employees’ motivating needs and behavioral drives, AHN was able to develop a targeted communications strategy in line with individual styles and needs. This helped increase employee engagement and minimize turnover. AHN’s Training and Development Manager Monica Wearren explains, “With nearly 2,000 employees and 75 offices, a ‘one size fits all’ approach will not work. It is important that we can communicate to different people in different ways to ensure everyone gets the message.” AHN believes PI enables their leaders to communicate in ways that resonate with employees so they provide the very best patient experience.

Pillar 2: Managing culture shift Workforce analytics helped AHN create a culture of action plans and productive discussions around personality differences which led to noticeable changes. An employee survey conducted by AHN following the implementation of workforce analytics showed:

  • 80% of respondents cited increased self-awareness of personality and motivational style as the number one tool they incorporate into their daily jobs.
  • 75% feel they can use the increased self-awareness to adjust behavior/communication.
  • 75% feel they can share results of their own assessments with managers and peers.
  • 53% of respondents cited an improvement in satisfaction with their job and the company overall.

Pillar 3: Strategic Workforce Planning AHN turned to workforce analytics to assess current behavioral fits and gaps and inform future talent needs. Armed with this insight into their existing workforce, the organization was better able to set internal goals that would align with the changes happening in the industry. For instance, AHN used the PRO™ job analytic to reevaluate the behavioral requirements of several critical positions. This provided managers with stronger job targets that could be used for hiring, development and coaching. According to Wearren, the broader program incorporating workforce analytics has helped reduce turnover as AHN has been able to hire more strategically and successfully redirect employees into other positions or reshape their jobs as needed. P

illar 4: Conflict resolution With greater awareness of their own behavioral styles and those of their peers, employees are reporting increased confidence when communicating. Furthermore, managers cited (1) Communication (2) Resolving Conflict and (3) Team building as the top priorities for which they would like to further apply behavioral data. Wearren notes, “With the Predictive Index insight, we can better anticipate personality clashes and thus surround our clinicians with the appropriate personnel and resources that will not impede on efficiency or patient care.”

“The PI is and will continue to be helpful in smoothing some of the edginess that comes with change by enabling our leaders to communicate information more effectively and in ways that resonates with the employees. As new initiatives come down the pike in the market and in our company, the PI will be instrumental in making these processes much more manageable.”
-Monica Wearren Training & Development Manager American Health Network

If you would like to learn more about this process, workforce analytics, and people big data and how it can transform an organization, please contact John Inman at john@johninmandialogue.com or at 425-954-7256.

New Seminar: Winning with Natural Talent

New Seminar Roll Out

Winning with Natural Talent: Developing High Performance through Selection, Development, and Leadership of Natural Talent

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Length: 60 minutes. Capable of expanding with experiential exercises to meet the needs of longer format

Setting: In person instructor led or virtual instructor led

Audience: Any group of organization leaders: Association meetings, peer to peer groups, community meetings, or in house management meetings

Audience size: 15 people or more (if in the Puget Sound region or virtual, 5 or more). Available to sit down one on one with those who are serious about learning more without participating in a seminar

Investment: This is a free session. I can also deliver as a paid breakout for an association event.

Value to participants: Learn how to address one of the most intractable problems faced by organizations of all sizes, getting the right people into the right positions. We will address:

  • Learn what forward thinking organizations are doing to hire talent, not resumes
  • Learn easy and cost effective talent selection processes and tools
  • Learn how to eliminate the 70-90% of failed hires, external and incumbent
  • Learn how to generate a substantial ROI on invested solutions, rather than incur a cost
  • Learn how to use predictive talent analytics for evidence based people decisions
  • Learn how to accelerate the performance of your top performers
  • Learn why organizations are selecting on potential rather than on past performance
  • Learn how to eliminate the discrimination against early talent inherent in resume screening
  • Learn what to ask for when selecting a solution for your organization
  • Learn how to be an effective leader in a VUCA world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity)
  • Like to add 40% to EBITA? Easily within the range of validated results
  • Those individuals who become certified in Predictive Index (PI) receive 16 hours of credit towards their PHR, SPHR, or GPHR certification.

Background: Organization leaders are frustrated with the high cost of putting people into positions and having those people fail or underperform. Organization leaders are asking that their investment in training and development show quantifiable financial results. Organization leaders are seeking to learn how to lead in a VUCA world. Organization leaders have assumed that these issues are pervasive and are just part of doing business yet they continue to spend (not invest) to try to address these issues. But the problems continue. There are efficient and cost effective solutions available, leaders just have not been introduced to them. John Inman Dialogue provides these solutions.

Current research points to the need for selection based on talent, not resumes, as the first step in this process. At the center of the conversation are predictive talent analytics and cognitive assessments. These solution sets are designed to actively solve people problems in the organization with a focus on strong ROI for the organization. If current spending on products and services does not actively solve business problems, they are a cost to the organization.

Recent research:

Customer quotes:

  • PI is used extensively in Inside Sales during the recruiting phase to ensure the candidates have the DNA to be successful in their roles at SAP.
    —Shawn Robertson, Global Vice President, Global Inside Sales — Optimization and Innovation, SAP AG, Inc.
  • There is no question about it, we are better today because of our people. The Predictive Index system is a big part of that. PI gives you the insight to make a good hire.
    —Howard Tenenbaum
  • …the Predictive Index system is quick and easy to administer and it will give you 100 times the return on your investment.
    —Donald McConnell, Regional Developer, Massage Envy
  • With the Predictive Index system, I was able to build a strong team that would push the business forward. Today, I can’t imagine running my business without it.
    —Jill Berg, President/Owner, Spherion
  • The Predictive Index system can be used for far more than just a hiring tool. It identifies individual traits, but also gives you the entire scope of people’s behavior, and a deeper understanding of how to motivate and impact their performances.
    —Bruce Wade, Director of Human Resources, Bloomington Hospital
  • PI results are used to support sales managers and their teams, to increase collaboration and understanding among the team, provide highly targeted and more effective coaching and support, and to enable more data-driven succession planning.
    —Rebecca Sherrill, Vice President, GCO University North America, SAP America, Inc.

Brief Biography: John Inman, Ed.M., M.A., PHR, DDPE; John Inman Dialogue, Founder/Talent Accelerator. Excels in:

  • Developing leaders that thrive in volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity
  • Workforce analytics focused on performance
  • Organization processes that rapidly respond to continuous change
  • Adult learning, growth and progress

20 years of sales and marketing leadership. 14 years of internal and external organization and leadership development consulting and coaching. Major industries include medical, bio-technology, software, telecommunications, financial, and gaming entertainment.

Full Biography: John Inman, Ed.M., M.A., PHR, is the founder and principle of John Inman Dialogue, a Seattle based consultancy focused on designing containers, convening, and hosting conversations for organizations and communities of all types. His passion is for developing healthy and productive social systems where individuals are treated with respect and are able to thrive and grow, accelerating the delivery of value to stakeholders. Areas of expertise include leadership and organization development, coaching, adult education, and workforce analytics. His work is founded on the emerging field of Dialogic OD.

John is a long standing organization leader and developer of leaders in technology, financial, non-profit, government, education, scientific, and service firms. He focuses on the local conversations that create organization and community cultures, which provide his clients with the mindset shifts necessary to lead in these challenging times. John invested 20 years in business development and marketing starting in critical care medicine field sales and progressing to senior leadership in small to medium sized bio-technology and technology enterprises. Has worked for the last 14 years as an internal and external leadership and organization consultant in finance, secondary education, service, technology, and gaming entertainment.

John has a bachelor degree in business management, a master of education degree in adult education and organization development, and a master of arts degree in human and organization systems. He is a doctoral candidate in education leadership and change. John published “Using dialogue then deliberation to transform a warring leadership team” in the Spring 2013 edition of the OD Practitioner, the international publication of the OD Network. John recently added a suite of workforce analytics solutions and is bringing predictive talent analytics to executive teams to help pinpoint opportunities for accelerating performance.

John lives with his wife, son and daughter near Seattle, Washington and enjoys walking, road biking, researching, and time with his family.

He has worked with several early phase start up enterprises in industries including: Retail, Bio-technology, Consulting, Software, Restaurant, Education and Pre-IPO Internet.

John can be reached at john@johninmandialogue.com or at 425-954-7256. His business site is www.johninmandialogue.com. Specific to workforce analytics www.johninmandialogue.com/people-analytics and blog on talent acceleration is at www.johninmandialogue.com/blog