As an EdD student and candidate, the primary purpose of my writings in the year to come will, of course, be a completion of coursework. This is not, however, the purpose of EXCELLENT writing. The writing is a given, a requirement, a prerequisite for graduation. The writing can be accomplished, but to accomplish it with a sense of pride, excellence and demonstrated growth requires more of an intrinsic motivation. My original plan for the program was to complete it, you know…check that box, add those letters… but once involved, the motivation to achieve more has grown.
Peer editing with members of my cohort and reading and responding to many articles has opened my eyes to the lack of depth that was evident in my writing. I am motivated and energized by others and I am quite competitive, so I also challenge myself to rise to the level of academia that my classmates achieve. Haas and Mortensen (2016) refer to the shared mindset as an “enabling condition” for team writing, especially in the 4D Teams mentioned in their article “The Secrets of Great Teamwork.” Those “Ds” (diverse, dispersed, digital, and dynamic) completely describe our cohort. The more I work with and get to know my classmates and colleagues, the more I admire the diversity and dynamics of the group. Having worked with this group for almost two years now, I recognize the determined mindset that we share. When beginning a writing project, I can confidently say that the grit and determination needed for excellent completion will be evident regardless of the make-up of the group.
However, I believe that the initial semester of classes where we spent an entire summer analyzing our leadership styles and personalities has prepared us for the challenges ahead. We are acutely aware of our diversity and these differences may bring the biggest challenges to our projects. As an elementary school principal, I can see how I might have a different perspective on a project, and this perspective could create the lack of information often found in the teams of today as mentioned by Haas and Mortensen. It will be imperative that we share with each other and be aware of our perspectives in order to ensure this shared mindset. It will also require a sense of trust among team members so that when something is not evident, the point can be brought out without fear of changing the group dynamics.