{"id":1050,"date":"2020-10-16T07:52:31","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T11:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/assessment\/?p=1050"},"modified":"2020-10-16T07:56:36","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T11:56:36","slug":"steering-straight-continuous-improvement-and-the-ssts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/assessment\/2020\/10\/16\/steering-straight-continuous-improvement-and-the-ssts\/","title":{"rendered":"Steering Straight: Continuous Improvement and the SSTs"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been almost four years since we established the first Strategic Steering Teams at Temple University Libraries\/Press. Those first two groups, Research Data Services and Scholarly Communication, are now part of a group of six including: Outreach and Communications, Learning and Student Success, Collections Strategy, and Community Engagement. Over 60 staff members from throughout the organization have participated as a team member or leader, and many more have been engaged with subgroup projects.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the things that we do annually is an informal \u201cassessment\u201d of how the teams are doing.\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ve done this in different ways. I have regular one-on-one conversations with team leads, we meet together, and the team leads conduct check-ins with their teams. While these are not formal assessments, we strive to be open to discussing what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not working so smoothly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a summary of recent conversations with Will Dean, Annie Johnson, Vitalina Nova, Brian Schoolar, Caitlin Shanley, and Sara Wilson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How is the team going? What\u2019s working well for you as a team leader?<\/span><\/h2>\n

For the most part, teams are going well. Activity slowed down during the summer, and the pandemic has also had a real impact, particularly for those with children or other additional responsibilities while working from home. More time is being spent at meetings checking in with one another. One of the values expressed more than once was the team members\u2019 comfort level with one another, so that these meetings serve as \u201csafe\u201d spaces for sharing concerns and anxieties about what\u2019s going on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a time when new members are brought into the group, and this means adjustment and re-grouping. Strategies for doing this are:<\/span><\/p>\n