Hello Everyone,
So I've really been doing some thinking about our last meeting. It seems to me everyone wants to evaluate this Starfish Program based on group dynamics and how well we perform as a group. What happens if this is not the case? What happens if this is more about making us better people and therefore better leaders as individuals and may or may not have much impact on group dynamics?
I remember back to Baldwin City when one of our VIPs that came said something about appreciating the fact that we were all saying we were better people for our families and those around us, but what he needed to know was if this provided the Army anything. Well, to answer that I wonder if Damon had the right message all along. I just think about his comments about dealing with his future in the Army and I wonder just how his subordinate staff will benefit because of his personal changes.
So I still believe that none of us can really evaluate this program from a this Staff Group is better or worse because of Starfish, I am convinced that I am a better leader because I'm a better person. The way I view the world is forever changed because of my experiences in Baldwin City and because of everything we've learned in ILE. I know that my future subordinates, peers and superiors will benefit from that change and oh by the way, so will my family. Pretty much a win - win in my book.
So that is my thoughts,
David Price
Dave,
ReplyDeletein our last few Starfish sessions I have been rather quiet as the group has wrestled with the notion of how do we validate the Starfish experience with a metric for group performance in the right now. My big struggle with all of this is the fact that the premise of Starfish is about “what happens when there’s no one in charge. It’s about what happens when there’s no hierarchy." Based on that, I think the process of evaluation is flawed because the criteria is flawed. The Army wants to measure a structure less construct in a centralized hierarchy.
As I thought about all of the successes of the Spider organizations depicted in the book you see that success began to emerge when an individual( a leader ) put forth a vision a direction if you will in an arena that was void of any substance which basically opened the door to empower others. Can it be postulated then that the metric, if this is a true assessment, can only be assessed in such situations as the forming of new BN, BDE, DIV staffs etc., tacking new frontiers that the Army has not structures such as suicide prevention?
I agree with you Dave, that either way, we are better individuals and the Army will be better as a result of our experiences at Baldwin city.
James