Building Professional Excellence

By Odette Sachidanand, Executive Assistant to the Head of School
Nijika Bhardwaj, Executive Assistant to the Primary Principal 
Rachel Antony, IB Secretary, 
and Sangeetha Singh, Executive to the Business Manager

The facilitator aimed to provide an environment conducive to structured personal and professional development contemplation. Groups of four, drawing inspiration from the ethos of the Google Bard – "No screens shall glow. No devices hum. Just pens and pads, Where thoughts are spun," commenced their reflection sessions in a designated 'NO DEVICE ZONE.'  Surprisingly, we managed to navigate through these sessions without our laptops, a fact that initially seemed incredulous but ultimately proved enlightening. Armed with perforated sheets, scissors, glue sticks, and small notepads, we created our reflective journals, which emerged as the most valuable takeaway from the workshop.

Day 1 began with Reflection & System Thinking - What does professional excellence mean to each of us?  How would we define our professional identity statement?  

The Onion Framework was an excellent method to uncover the levels of change.  The objective was to analyse each layer and delve deeper into the core qualities of an individual.

The innermost layer (Values and Beliefs) or the circle of control represents the core values, beliefs, and identity of an individual or organisation.  While the core is the most resistant to change and often requires significant effort and time, merely focusing on behavioural change without considering underlying beliefs or emotions may lead to superficial or short-lived transformations.  By peeling back each layer systematically, individuals and organisations can achieve more profound and sustainable change. 

We were also introduced to other systems-thinking frameworks along with the onion model.