Validation Cohort

Core Meeting Presentation

Friday, May 20th at 8:30 AM
(HELEN) Introduce self and members of the Validation Cohort
Current members are Karen Drozd; Mike Lippert; Marlene Patton; John Roberts;
Beryl Yanagi-Fujita; and Craig Young
Former member is Darin Au
Our Cohorts theme is: Validate each other. In thought, word, and action
I. What did we do? (A reflection of the year's work)
Share two slides from Daylight Design's presentation to music faculty:

Slide #14 from Daylight Design, a defining quote:

"To show up as our best selves, we all need to feel valued. That's not
always the case here.
Validate each other. In thought, word and action.

Slide #10 from Daylight Design:

"We all have value. As a teacher, we need to show our students
they are each valued. But I think as adults, we need that too."

As you can see, many of the comments in Daylight Design's PowerPoint presentation
included quotes from faculty referring both to VALUE and VALIDATION.
This led to extended discussions in our group regarding these words: VALUE and
VALIDATION.
After much discussion, our cohort concluded that VALUE is a word that refers to
feelings and emotions and VALIDATION is a word that implies an action of some sort.

We may not have a lot to show but we did a lot of processing together and Beryl will
share our journey through a timeline.
Before doing so, here are some of the questions and comments that resonated within
our cohort:

Why are we here?

Will our efforts make a difference?
We feel that we are in an awkward position.
This is a long/term issue or task our team feels inadequate to
address with any short/term solutions.
Disappointment that there is no one to guide the group through this
sensitive topic.
We feel a need for an "outside"/neutral person.

(BERYL) I will now share a general timeline reflecting our work to the present.
Share slide showing summary of our work
Daylight Design had categorized what was shared during the interview process.
At our third meeting in December ~
We had asked if information from Daylight Design could be shared so we could better
understand the situation:
How can we help people feel that they are valued?
What can we do to help make people feel validated?
Reflecting back to the Daylight Design presentation held last Spring and the
Music@Punahou Retreat held this January, we continued to work on finding ways to
improve feelings of value and validation amongst all of us, and how best to implement
these tools.
At our Retreat, three tools were shared:
The LISTSERV, a COMMENT BOX and a SURVEY.
Other meaningful ways to show validation were shared:
Breaking bread together lunches or gatherings to celebrate performance
milestones, success, recognition, etc.
Parties to acknowledge employee appreciation
Developing goodwill through collaborative work and perhaps sharing this
work via outreach performance in the community.

General comments at the retreat seemed to indicate that a survey is the preferred tool
to gain useful and meaningful information.
We were cautioned to avoid survey fatigue too many surveys to address, too many
questions to answer.
Social gatherings were also discouraged because they take time to organize and
attend.
But after much discussion and feedback, our cohort agreed upon implementing
these tools: a LISTSERV, COMMENT BOXES and a SURVEY.
1. LISTSERV

Music School and Music Department faculty are spread across

campus.
The mission of the LISTSERV is to create a connection between Music
School and Music Department faculty.
Music Faculty e-mail addresses were shared with our IT department.
We encountered challenges and this is what we learned:
o Over of Music School Faculty do not use the punahou.edu
account.
o Music Department faculty did not receive the LISTSERV.
o The LISTSERV was only sent to Music School Faculty and
deactivated due to problems with clarity and spam.
IT is following-up with LISTSERV challenges.
Spam filters will be rechecked.
A request has been submitted to find a mechanism to
filter more of the spam.
Lessons learned:
1. Test before sending to a larger group.
2. LISTSERV will be opt-in versus auto-enroll.
3. Send an introductory note/email to individuals, in advance,
explaining what the LISTSERV is all about.
4. Instructions should be clearly stated about how to post.

An email was sent to Music School Faculty on behalf of our cohort

expressing our apologies to Helen Chao-Casano and the Music School
Faculty.

We are currently testing the LISTSERV amongst ourselves and so far,

it's looking good!

Marlene, could you please share your introductory paragraph for the
LISTSERV?

2. Comment Boxes
People feel a strong need to be frank and to be heard.
In casual conversation, people seemed enthusiastic about the idea of
implementing a comment box.
The idea of the comment box was presented to Leadership and
Administration.
Concerns include:
o Placement in secure and private locations
o Where will we get the funds to purchase the boxes?
o Who will read through the comments?
o What will be done with the comments?
o Anonymity What is the context to best frame the comment?
It's difficult to validate unless you know where that voice is
coming from.

We are currently looking into another tool to create a means for music
faculty to voice their concerns in a constructive and safe way.

(Karen. could you please share your journey with the comment boxes?)

Show the survey (screen, John to distribute hardcopies to each table)

3. Survey Guiding principles include:
Participants remain anonymous
Inclusion of everyone everyone's voice should be heard.
The Survey serves as a vehicle to express opinions in a safe
manner without fear of repercussions.
The Survey is used as a means of communicating constructive
comments in an effort to unify, improve and grow as a department.
1. We received materials from the Daylight Design
presentation last month.
2. From two questions, the survey has grown to 13
questions using material from Daylight's PowerPoint
presentation.
3. We sought assistance from Cathy Kawano-Ching to offer
our cohort guidance regarding the survey process.
Our concerns and needs include:

Consultation with administration regarding survey parameters.

Hopes for constructive input and goodwill.
Who will compile the survey results?
Who will read and process the results?

Addressing follow-through?

During the breakout sessions, if you have any suggestions as to how we may improve
any of our tools, please share your ideas with any member of our Validation cohort.
On behalf of the Validation group, thank you.