The Essence of a Great School
What makes a school the best? Great results, and a great student and parent experience. At Walnut School, a leading CBSE school in Pune, we conduct a huge variety of activities—both academic and co-curricular—in great detail. Of course, all of these require detailed planning and flawless execution.
The Challenge of Team Alignment
Obviously, it’s a team effort. But, is the entire team aligned? If it is, how do they keep checking that they are moving towards the final goal? Organization development workshops unearth these “alignment issues”, and fix them in time.
Our Recent All-Hands Discovery Workshop
As part of this process, we recently had an all-hands discovery workshop in each of our campuses, to address this. Arpita Karkare set the stage for the entire team – the teachers, support staff, admin team and the management. This collective effort ensures that Walnut remains a leading CBSE school in Pune.
A Unique Approach to Discussion
But instead of a gyaan session, she listed down the main verticals of our school, including the role of the head office. Then she opened up the mic to the audience. She asked each member to list down what role each vertical currently plays, or should play.
Engaging and Insightful Conversations
Combined with a lot of laughter for anecdotes and tongue in cheek realities coming from every team member, the discussion went all around – academics, values, ethics, mindsets to even difficult conversations and negotiation skills.
Key Observations from the Workshop
- While each campus had their unique views and challenges, it was heartening to see the commitment of each team member.
- From the kakas who keep our bagless system and events humming along to the maushis who love and care for our students, to the teachers and management who put in tremendous efforts.
- Everyone contributes to plan, encourage, discipline and nudge our students towards success.
The Outcome: A United Vision of Excellence
Not only did the whole team finally come up with a great list, but we also realized that everyone was highly motivated and very aligned towards a common goal – that of excellence!
Embracing Continuous Improvement
And everyone knew excellence is a moving target – so it is necessary to keep upksilling, keep being agile and keep working hard year after year.
Feedback from Our Team Members
Here’s what some of the team members had to say:
1. “It felt so nice to see that all our thoughts and suggestions are very valuable to the management” – Manali Moghe
2. “The meeting was held in a free environment respecting everyone’s opinion.” – Pallavi Jagdale
3. “We feel very comfortable talking with Arpita Ma’am and Nikhil Sir. It was a really very positive and appreciable session.” – Lopa Rajan