So let me take a step back and think of why I do this.
- We know our ropes in the "other" method. I know how to play the role of teacher. My students know how to be students. We even know by now how each of us is likely to behave. I will mess up my power points. Everyone will laugh, even if someone is secretly annoyed. I'll never know who is secretly annoyed. Our "default" is, thus, pretty standard - people's disagreements often show up in private or come evaluation time. We hide our hand - and our feelings. At least - I know I do.
- As leaders, however, we operate in the "under the neck" territory - the hidden feelings, the unexposed angst, the unspoken fears. We like pretending that the "under the neck" pieces, however, do not exist in the workplace (or at the university). These fiercely human pieces, however, will still be there. They won't go away because we wish they didn't exist, because we wish people were less complicated and chaotic.
This class, therefore, is the opportunity for everyone to see what happens when we're not looking - or where we are not looking. What happens under the leader's brave "I got this" facade. What happens under the followers' "I hate what's going on but I ain't gonna tell you" default mode.
I wonder what you all are feeling - under the neck.