My theme of the day is the management culture within the British Council. There are two main features I've noticed - firstly, avoidance and denial, and, secondly, that procedures are more important than people. Regarding the first, if there is any kind of problem, most BC managers will initially try and see if they can simply ignore it and hope it goes away. Just stodge it out, so to speak. Failing that, they will either try and pass it on to someone else or simply deny it. I experienced this first hand when I was unfairly treated last year, through both their failing to follow their own procedures and also some pretty blatant bullying by my line manager. No matter which manager I approached, they either said it was somebody else's problem or just blanked me out with generalities. No manager would actually consider the possibility that I had a case worth considering or look at the specifics. Basically, they closed ranks on me and shut me out completely. This was my own particular experience, but I know there are countless other examples from speaking with my former colleagues.
Clearly, they need a system and a managerial mindset that allows complaints to be made without the risk of the complainant becoming a pariah. The teacher's rep system is not enough. They need to appoint an unbiased officer who deals specifically with any kind of complaint or grievance. At present, it often the very people who dish out the punishment who also are expected to deal with it justly and objectively. That's obviously not going to work, particularly within their cosy culture.
As for procedures being more important than people, a great example is when I myself was suspended on a clearly absurd charge of pushing politics in the classroom. There was a complaint because some strong political remarks had been made in Arabic. The manager obviously simply looked up his procedures manual and immediately suspended me for bringing the BC into disrepute. He did not think of the obvious course of action of first having a private chat with me. If he had it would immediately become clear that this was a problem of Arabic in the classroom, rather than a teacher deliberately trying to stir up trouble. A problem that incidentally affected many other teachers too. In addition my mother had died three days before. Surely, anyone with people skills would have spoken to me and bent over backwards to avoid suspending at such a sensitive time? But no, in the British Council procedures are more important than people. The fact that I had worked at the BC for seven years and contributed in a variety of areas counted for nothing. I was no longer a name, but was instantly transformed into an object or number to be treated as impersonally as possible according to the procedures manual. No manager I complained to would hear anything of it. As usual they all completely closed ranks.
So what's the solution to that kind of thing? Well, firstly, one thing I noticed was that most managers know very little about their teachers. If you asked any manager what a particular teacher's strengths were and what he had contributed, he or she would almost certainly come up with a blank. Recently, it has almost a mantra to say "see your line manager", but from a teacher's point of view that's paramount to saying "don't bother me". Not exactly a line that's going to make you feel valued. Employees need to feel connected with senior management. That's what makes you feel you belong, are valued and have a future within the organisation. Without that, morale is bound to be low, particularly if the line manager is relatively junior. So what I suggest is that there is a policy of "know your teachers" amongst managers. Every manager should have a full dossier on what is good about every teacher and what their contributions have been. This should also involve a bi-annual one to one meeting, where there's a real opportunity for two way communication. This way teachers will feel valued. Candour and engagement is what is needed, both ways.
Clearly, they need a system and a managerial mindset that allows complaints to be made without the risk of the complainant becoming a pariah. The teacher's rep system is not enough. They need to appoint an unbiased officer who deals specifically with any kind of complaint or grievance. At present, it often the very people who dish out the punishment who also are expected to deal with it justly and objectively. That's obviously not going to work, particularly within their cosy culture.
As for procedures being more important than people, a great example is when I myself was suspended on a clearly absurd charge of pushing politics in the classroom. There was a complaint because some strong political remarks had been made in Arabic. The manager obviously simply looked up his procedures manual and immediately suspended me for bringing the BC into disrepute. He did not think of the obvious course of action of first having a private chat with me. If he had it would immediately become clear that this was a problem of Arabic in the classroom, rather than a teacher deliberately trying to stir up trouble. A problem that incidentally affected many other teachers too. In addition my mother had died three days before. Surely, anyone with people skills would have spoken to me and bent over backwards to avoid suspending at such a sensitive time? But no, in the British Council procedures are more important than people. The fact that I had worked at the BC for seven years and contributed in a variety of areas counted for nothing. I was no longer a name, but was instantly transformed into an object or number to be treated as impersonally as possible according to the procedures manual. No manager I complained to would hear anything of it. As usual they all completely closed ranks.
So what's the solution to that kind of thing? Well, firstly, one thing I noticed was that most managers know very little about their teachers. If you asked any manager what a particular teacher's strengths were and what he had contributed, he or she would almost certainly come up with a blank. Recently, it has almost a mantra to say "see your line manager", but from a teacher's point of view that's paramount to saying "don't bother me". Not exactly a line that's going to make you feel valued. Employees need to feel connected with senior management. That's what makes you feel you belong, are valued and have a future within the organisation. Without that, morale is bound to be low, particularly if the line manager is relatively junior. So what I suggest is that there is a policy of "know your teachers" amongst managers. Every manager should have a full dossier on what is good about every teacher and what their contributions have been. This should also involve a bi-annual one to one meeting, where there's a real opportunity for two way communication. This way teachers will feel valued. Candour and engagement is what is needed, both ways.
