I need to ask myself more questions

I seem to be quite stuck. I want to use a survey to help me understand how my colleagues view my work with the team and my communication with the team.

I keep writing questions and then discarding them. Why should this be so very difficult? I've written plenty of survey and assessment type items... heck, I'm currently the project lead for our new course evaluation surveys .

So why such clay feet when it comes to this more personal survey? Am I afraid that I will find that my colleagues don't believe that my work is of value or quality or that I don't communicate with them well? I suppose there is some fear - how could there not be some apprehension about putting myself out there to be commented on and criticized? But - I don't think that is really the reason - at least not the reason I'm having such a hard time coming up with a list of questions that I'm satisfied with.

I think maybe the real problem is that I'm not sure how to compose questions that will really focus on what it is I want to find out. Am I perhaps not being honest with myself about what it is I want to know? Have I just not figured out what it is I really want to know?

Ok... let's go with the second possibility... what is it I want to know?

I want to know if my colleagues think that I am a valuable member of the team.

I want to know if my colleagues think that I make important contributions to the team and to the work of our department.

I want to know if my colleagues fell that I am open with them about what I am working on and about my role in the department.

I want to know if my colleagues believe that I am honest with them.

I want to know if my colleagues believe that am interested in the work that they do.

I want to know if my colleagues believe that I value the work that they do.

I want to know if my colleagues believe that I understand the work that they do.

I want to know if my colleagues believe that I trust them.

I want to know if my colleagues feel that they can trust me.

Well - that wasn't hard... so how do I write questions that assess these things in a simple, straight forward way? Do I use a Likert scale type response system (what I've been assuming I'd use), a yes/no system (?? I don't think so), open-ended response questions (not sure that should be part of the first round).... multiple choice questions? (probably not).

Ok... so it looks like Likert scale is the way to go (as I'd already assumed). Now... I need to write the questions in such a way as to not add too much bias ... in other words... I need to write the questions in a way that doesn't imply the answer... maybe that's what I'm having the most difficult with. I don't want to waste my colleagues time w/ a survey that is not useful... I don't want to make it overly long... but I need to build in some redundancy to see if the responses to similar questions correlate.

I have 9 basic "I want to know" items listed (above)... so two questions for each item? That would mean an 18 question survey. Not too bad.

Ok... so.... now I have to write the questions, make the survey, and ask for some critique from my LC...

New goal... finish final draft of survey questions by tomorrow before our LC meeting... that way we can perhaps discuss them during TI... and I can post the survey before the end of the week.

I also need to start thinking about ways to write up what I've already done... I'm not sure it constitutes Cycle 1... my original plan was for the first cycle to be the initial survey... to provide sort of a baseline... but as I look back on the past few months (my blogs, my discussions w/ various LC members, other work) - I find that I've already done a lot of work on my communication and collaboration - with some significant success. My work with L on his presentation for the online symposium has been the most dramatic example... I'm been so pleased with the change I've seen in myself , the work we've done together, and the effect it has had on the team.

I've also worked to establish a connection with other team members... I've spent time listening and watching and learning what it is each person does that is unique and then looking for what connection I might have with them. Not a contrived or fake connection - but a real connection (some interest or endeavor we have in common) - and then take the connection and find a way to use it to help us work together.

I need to write up my reflections on these things in a more formal way and then organize them so that I can tell if this is pre-cycle work... or if, indeed, I've somehow managed to conduct a cycle w/o setting it up formally (not sure that is a valid method... but I do need to document these things for myself if for no one else).