Excellence in Action

Unification Workshop Ensures Smooth Transition

Two groups came together in Alamosa, Colorado, last February with one purpose – to ensure a smooth transition for the Head Start program serving this mountain community.

CDI Head Start, the interim manager, hosted a one-day unification workshop with Rocky Mountain SER, the largest Head Start program in Colorado and the new grantee in Alamosa. The unification workshop focused on the strengths and positive aspects of each Head Start program using an organizational development approach called Appreciative Inquiry or AI.

“Our aim was to develop synergy between the two groups,” says CDI site manager Suellen Hixon, one of the two workshop co-leaders.

Community Development Institute typically offers replacement grantees an Appreciative Inquiry unification workshop to help bridge interim and replacement programs—reflecting CDI’s commitment to excellence before, during, and after the interim period.

For CDI HS serving Alamosa and the new grantee, Rocky Mountain SER, the experience exceeded expectations.

 "Everyone had an opportunity to learn from each other and focus on the good things that had been accomplished by CDI HS and on what Rocky Mountain SER could take forward,” said Hixon

As with all CDI unification sessions, this workshop was designed to ensure that the two groups could come together and leave with greater understanding. Each team participated in an appreciative interview focusing on positives such as:

• Times when they were excited and engaged about Head Start
• What they value most about themselves and their Head Start work
• High point’ experiences working as part of a team or collective in the program and/or the community

One of the keys of the AI process is not just sharing, but listening. The more they shared, the more aligned the two groups were. At the end of the day, everyone felt heard and committed to the future, bringing the best of the "old" into the "new." Uncertainties about the past melted away, and the new grantee's staff left with positive feelings about what had been accomplished before.

“It’s a great way to start a relationship,” Hixon says of the Appreciative Inquiry experience. "We look forward to talking with the new program director and hearing how the momentum from that special day continued."