Peel EYS Management Team Appreciative process

Agenda Intro Mutual Interviews Study of Interviews Discovery and articulation of purpose and guiding principles

Example People, Partnerships, Possibilities As senior leaders we: value relationships based on trust and respect reach out, involve and engage others in everything we do recognize the importance of our differences and the possibilities resulting from those differences invest time and effort in opportunities that benefit the entire county beyond the interests of our individual departments bring leadership with passion to what we collectively believe is necessary for a strong and vibrant community strive to understand and be sensitive to the impact of our actions on those we work with and for appreciate and understand that how we communicate with one another and those around us is closely watched and an indication as to whether our actions and words are aligned respectfully communicate ideas, opinions and actions with integrity and honesty

Q1 What attracted you to public service? S: Politics and lawmaking, making an impact O: Felt she could use her skills for the common good T: Serve the broader base, stability and security P: Can’t imagine another realm, making a difference and collective impact J: Activist background, pursue activist agenda with a focus health determinants, more pro-active, having an impact on people

Q2 What initially attracted you to EYS? S: Previous experience with Municipalities, Peel region innovative and respectful in her eyes, (called to the ministry) Team approach, collaborative style, partners in the community, applying her learning to community work. O: Forward thinking, not overly bureaucratic, wanting to apply her skills to municipal level, work life balance, commute, more productive time T: Opportunity to have an impact, working on processes and supports to enhance service delivery P: Joan, innovation, more professional challenges, having an impact on children, turn around specialist, moving people forward J: Drawn by human services integration, customer/client centered, leadership team focused on common purpose, values and partnership approach, diversity of Peel

Q3 What do you bring to the management team? S: Collaborative style, working outwards as much as inwards, understand how our work impacts others, working through challenges, helping other be helpful, energy and empathy. Ability to compartmentalize, in the moment, system thinking, financial O: Calmness, 5 minute rule, steady hand (consistent), loyal and respectful of people’s time and uniqueness, team approach, wants to recognize the strengths of others, bring people together, gets along with everyone. T: Extreme passion and loyalty, span of knowledge, making connections between social fabric and financial acumen, engaging others to create value, look at child care throughout the ages (continuity) P: Committed to the work, Intentional rather than reactive, vision and intentionality, brings her ‘a game’, glue of the team, working together in an authentic way, looking for efficiencies J: Different perspectives of people, looks through a system lens and making those connections. Ok with ambiguity and the need to embrace change, political acuity, writing and communications, framing and strategy about communication

Q4-5 Common themes from stories… Guiding Principles We are at our best when… We are strategic and intentional about our collective objectives We collectively work towards enhancing our impact We see and respect the value that we each bring We are respectful and courageous in giving and receiving feedback from each other and having difficult conversations We are agile, flexible and resilient as we rise to the opportunities presented by change We learn from our own experiences and that of others, and seek wider perspectives from each other We build a successful team by bringing out the best in others and supporting each other in times of need We feel inspired by the commitment and capabilities of our colleagues We seek to understand by checking our assumptions, believing that we come from a place of best intentions We are self-aware and reflective, take the time to think and recognize the impact we have on others We adopt a “yes and” mentality

Q6-7 Life giving factor to EYS and your team S: Commitment, dedication O: Respect, feeling valued T: Leadership that plans for tomorrow and lives for today P: Commitment to make a difference in the lives of children and find innovative ways to do that J: Passion for common goals and purpose, have healthy conversations to get there 7 S: Trust and respect, once it’s lost it’s hard to gain back O: Strong commitment to work and work ethic, putting our best foot forward T: Look at service delivery as a way of life (take on challenge and be nimble and aggressive enough take on challenges) P: Staying focused on improving the quality of our impacts on children, J: Trust transparency and openness, challenging to move forward without them

Q8 Headlines T: Ground breaking research leads to system innovation and change in a leading municipality in Canada P: The Region of Peel, putting children first O: Collaboration and moving forward in EYS S: True Partners J: “We-ness” : Partners and Staff

Our Team Purpose We work with the EYS team, internal and external partners to maximise our individual and collective (success) effort and achieve the best possible impact (outcomes) for children and families in Peel Region We work as a team to support our staff and our internal & external partners through individual and collective success  to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and families in Peel Region We inspire the EYS team, internal and external partners to support a responsive [integrated] early years system and achieve the best possible outcomes for children and families in Peel Region.

Q9 What can we initiate over next 12 months S: Solution focused, forward thinking, continue along the feedback path O: Removing us vs them in the team, more social events, better understand of the us vs them T: Using responsive technology to lead progress, recognize that we need to work differently, other methods to address priorities, more responsive responses internally to achieve objectives, collaborate to the right amount (optimal collaboration) (right people, right skills, right time) P: Build a sense of security and belonging, collaboration, role clarity, appreciation of strengths and not focusing on weaknesses J: Look beyond what wee see, checking our assumptions, having conversations about workload realities and perceptions (naming it, not blaming others for our own realities)

August 10, 2016 Agenda: Finish the wordsmithing of your purpose and guiding principles Observations from the questions at our last session: What are we seeing that supports or undermines positive responses from our staff and partners to the 3 questions Do I matter? Am I seen as competent? Can I influence you or the situation? Discuss the following: Given your purpose and mandate, what needs to characterize your leadership culture?

Our Team Purpose We work with the EYS team, internal and external partners to maximise our individual and collective (success) effort and achieve the best possible impact (outcomes) for children and families in Peel Region We work as a team to support our staff and our internal & external partners through individual and collective success  to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and families in Peel Region We inspire our team and partners to support a responsive and integrated Early Years and Child Care System that maximizes our collective impact on children and families in Peel Region.

Q4-5 Common themes from stories… Guiding Principles We are at our best when… We are strategic, collaborative and intentional about our collective objectives We choose to see and respect the value, commitment and capabilities that we each bring We are respectful and courageous in giving and receiving feedback from each other and having difficult conversations We are agile, flexible and resilient as we rise to the opportunities presented by change We learn from our own experiences and that of others, and seek wider perspectives from each other We build a successful team by bringing out the best in others and supporting each other in times of need We seek to understand by checking our assumptions, believing that we come from a place of best intentions We are self-aware and reflective, take the time to think and recognize the impact we have on others We adopt a “yes and” mentality

EYS Leadership Teams’ Purpose and Guiding Principles We inspire our team and partners to support a responsive and integrated Early Years and Child Care System that maximizes our collective impact on children and families in Peel Region. Our guiding principles: We are at our best when we… We are strategic, collaborative and intentional about our collective objectives We choose to see and respect the value, commitment and capabilities that we each bring We are respectful and courageous in giving and receiving feedback from each other and having difficult conversations We are agile, flexible and resilient as we rise to the opportunities presented by change We learn from our own experiences and that of others, and seek wider perspectives from each other We build a successful team by bringing out the best in others and supporting each other in times of need We seek to understand by checking our assumptions, believing that we come from a place of best intentions We are self-aware and reflective, take the time to think and recognize the impact we have on others We adopt a “yes and” mentality

How will we use our purpose and guiding principles When things are going well, reflect on When things aren’t going well, coming back to them Having them with us Reflect on at our meetings as a leadership team (debrief, frame) Sharing them with the next level (accountable, transparent, committed) Use them to prepare for tough conversations or meetings

Observations 3 Questions Positive Seeking input from people Negative Some changes where we weren’t able to define the sandbox clearly enough or unable to help people see the positives