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Feature

Affiliation as a Unifying Principle in Education
An interview with Ron Elsdon, author of Affiliation in the Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization

by LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke, MEd, NCC, NCCC

Everyone wants to fit in, to feel that wonderful sense of belonging in our families, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces and communities. We all want to be a part of something we can believe in and work for, with people on whom we can depend and who appreciate our unique talents and contributions. In an age where company loyalty, school spirit and family solidarity sometimes seem to belong to the past, we all yearn for affiliation.

Highly productive organizations are starting to realize that to create a high performance workplace or a model school system, where people strive to achieve their personal best while making a valuable contribution, the unifying principles of affiliation must be in place. To explore the benefits of building affiliation in our educational institutions we spoke with Ron Elsdon, career counselor, college instructor, organizational renewal consultant and author of Affiliation in the Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization (Praeger, 2003).

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: Ron, I think our readers will be interested to know that you received a PhD in chemical engineering from Cambridge in the United Kingdom and had a successful career in that field before earning your master's degree in career development at JFK University and becoming a force for organizational renewal in the U.S.

Ron Elsdon: Yes, my own experience shows that it is possible to make those major shifts in our lives and take control of our own directions. I like to teach a lot and I care passionately about building an organizational world where people are respected and in which partnerships are built to strengthen both local and global communities. And affiliation provides the unifying principle.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: Explain the concept of affiliation from an organizational perspective.

Ron Elsdon: It’s a two-way relationship between individual and organization. The relationship we are looking for is that of a partnership: a balance between giving and getting. From an organizational perspective we need to understand individual needs. We can’t just pull an arbitrary manual off a shelf and say this is the way we do things around here and expect people to be productive. It’s about building a relationship by offering the individual options, choices, opportunities to learn and grow.

When people feel valued and are given support, that’s when they are most productive. So individual fulfillment leads to organizational prosperity. By focusing as much on individual developmental needs as organizational performance needs, you reach a balance between short- and long-term planning.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: Why is it important to promote affiliation as a unifying principle in education?

Ron Elsdon: When we consider the educational process for teachers and students, affiliation directly affects performance in three ways. First is the decision to stay and engage in the educational process or leave. This can be physically or mentally. The stronger the sense of affiliation the more likely the person is to stay present and engage in the educational process and draw benefits from it.

Second, the stronger the sense of affiliation is within the system, the greater the chance of retaining good teachers who have the ability to engage students. The accumulated knowledge and compassion of teachers build over time. Teachers who are experiencing the fulfillment of reaching their full potential over time are more likely to engage their students in fulfilling their potential. Systems that invest in building affiliation develop and retain gifted teachers, leading to the third: the stronger the sense of affiliation, the more likely students and teachers are to achieve their performance objectives.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: So, it has a real bottom line advantage that is so important in these times of big government regulating educational standards. What are some barriers to affiliation typically experienced in educational settings?

Ron Elsdon: These same external political and budgetary bottom line pressures can impose real barriers to school level affiliation. There is also the presence of oppressive internal district administrative practices and poor leadership among principals that join to impose a fear mentality among teachers.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: How does this fear mentality affect the quality of the educational mission in these settings?

Ron Elsdon: It lowers teachers’ enthusiasm and lessens their ability to respond to changing circumstances among students and situations that arise in the classroom. Students are not empowered to take responsibility for their own learning and they lack motivation. By imposing external motivation rather than nurturing the development of internal motivation to learn, we fail to equip students with the skills they’ll need to thrive in the workplace later on.

On the other hand, by fostering affiliation on a school or even a classroom level, principals and classroom teachers can build successful learning communities despite the external pressures. Teachers and principals empowered with leadership courage through affiliation know who they are, develop a sense of purpose, maintain their autonomy and can develop internal school or even individual classroom inclusiveness and partnering practices.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: You were involved with Vanderbilt University and the Nashville school system in creating and facilitating an ongoing leadership institute for school principals and teachers hoping to become principals. What behaviors are most important for school principals to develop for effective educational leadership?

Ron Elsdon: First, self-understanding is crucial. Second, leaders must convey a sense of vulnerability in order to build trust among all of the constituencies they serve. Third, to seek inclusive input, really listen and strive to understand differing points of view. Fourth is the ability to communicate your ideas well at all levels. And finally, effective school leaders need to connect and form alliances with other organizations and communities.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: How can a classroom teacher affect positive change toward stronger affiliation in her classroom and among faculty members in her school?

Ron Elsdon: Teachers can recognize and embrace the fact that we are all leaders and nurture the leadership skills within themselves and their students. Identify areas where you can actually exert influence and focus on them. Recognize that you do have a sense of autonomy within your classroom and make the most of it. Be clear about what you truly value and listen to understand what has meaning to others. Value differences and be inclusive. Seek external partnerships when possible. Have the courage to stand for your principles even when they are unpopular, and the confidence to change your employment if it compromises who you are.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: That’s one of the best checklists for effective teaching and leadership in any profession that I’ve ever run across. Thank you, Ron!