I see students every school day. Walking through the halls, visiting classrooms, seeing them congregate outside of schools. Occasionally a student asks me what do you do? Its a challenging question. Often before I answer, they respond, "are you the principal's boss?" To which I say no. Principals don't need bosses, they often need partners and coaches. I respond that I work with the principal and we try to solve challenges together. When I was an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, words every first grader wants to speak, I would respond to the question by saying "I am responsible for the learning program." There was the kicker, the response wasn't I created this program or started that program, but rather I am responsible for this thing.
At our earliest stages in education, we often want to cite the client for credit and limit the credit of other participating factors. We speak of the child who has grown so much in third grade and sometimes we praise the classroom teacher who worked with that child. Rarely do we acknowledge the PE teacher who setup situations for the child to feel socially successful. The instructional coach who spent hours working with that teacher encouraging instructional activities that would engage the child and supported that teacher as they tried something new. The assistant principal who worked diligently to ensure that the classes were balanced so that your child had enough time and attention during the instructional period or worked with another family to ensure home supports were available during their time of crisis. At times, we acknowledge the principal, but not for the hundreds of hours she spent coaching staff members through quiet conversations, working committees to ensure the right learning opportunities were available and that his teams supported these for implementation.
See the trick is the more we go up the ladder, the less we understand the role of the leader. Moreover, the better the leader, the less they take credit for the wins and the more they take responsibility for the failures. Good teachers often cite that they have magnificent hard working students who make a difference. The frequently diminish the value of their instructional preparation and tireless work while maximizing the value of their students resilence and work. Good principals do the same, citing the hard work of their teachers, students, and teams. The same is true with assistant superintendents and superintendents. As we go up the ladder, in healthy organizations the leadership takes less and less credit, disbursing it amongst the many stakeholders in the system. Furthermore, the leaders take responsibility when things falter. They take the daggers and arrows so that those underneath them can learn and grow. They help their constituents learn from their mistakes and move forward. This cultivates a safe risk-taking atmosphere in which people are willing to try to expand their horizons.
As a community stakeholder, this makes judging leadership tricky. In healthy organizations, we rarely hear what the leader brings but we see the price tag. We ask questions, why does this building need an assistant principal, an instructional coach, assistant superintendent, or superintendent? If the organization is healthy, we don't physically see the value they provide. However, if it is unhealthy, we are sure to notice that something is missing. That's the challenge, those additional personnel take responsibility for the failures as they are coaching and building the necessary supports for success, but they don't take the credit once it is achieved.
I'm not sure what the former superintendent of my child's elementary school district did on a day to day basis. However, I can observe the changes under his leadership from that of his predecessor's. I can see the risks teachers and principals took and the growth outcomes that have occurred. I never heard him take credit for any of it, but praise everyone from the teacher's assistant through the Board of Education. An interesting juxtaposition, one as leaders and community members we will continue to explore as we learn to value credit and responsibility.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Things Leaders Do
Whether you are a coach, parent, principal, teacher, or superintendent, there are certain things each of us commonly do in order to produce the best results. When we lose focus on these ideas, things begin to fall apart. At first it's subtle, but over time it can cause any organization to falter.
Leaders first inspire us to become the best version of ourselves. They recognize each of us is different and encourage us to embrace that uniqueness. Think of children, whether in your family or in your class. Each of them is different and to expect it to look the same, sound the same, and be the same is silly. I have two brothers. All of us swam, but only I swam in college. All of us did well in school, but none of us were as strong performers as our parents. Two of us earned doctorates in different things but none of us became medical doctors like our parents. We were encouraged to go out and find our path and challenged to do well on that path. None of us were required to follow their path. The same is true in my work environment. I may be a proponent of guided instruction and flipped learning. That doesn't mean that guided instruction will work for every teacher, every student, and every situation. It is a tool that will work for some but not all. If it doesn't work for a specific instructor, then we need to work with them to find ways to differentiate for our kids in a style that both meets the needs of the student and the skills of the instructor. The same is true with flipped learning. It works for a multitude of students, teachers, and situations but not all nor is it the only way to be successful. Leaders understand the underlying goal, talents of their teams, and inspire them to become the best they can be to reach success.
Leaders cultivate the resources and opportunities that create pathways towards success. A good parent understands that their children may not always be the best students. At times they sit with them to help them learn to do homework. Sometimes they help them organize how to study. Other times they invite tutors and specialists in for support. At times they have their children work independently or with friends. We don't try all these things at once, We stage experiences to maximize growth. As leaders of organizations we need to do the same thing. We need to trim down as many initiatives as we can. Focus our teams on achievable next steps, while encouraging them towards the overall goal. We need to understand that growth is not always linear and that not everyone will follow the same path. As such, we need to respect the different growth rates and cheerlead our teams and individual members to make their next achievable step.
Finally, leaders help everyone understand success is neither overnight nor instantaneous. It requires patience and consistent work. One does not wake up and suddenly discover they can sing opera. It takes years of study to become a "overnight" success. Just because I start taking Spanish, I am not instantly going to be able to read a novel in Spanish. Many of us expect change and growth to be instantaneous. It can't be. If we want to implement guided instruction. We need to start with one subject matter and one unit. We need to plan, try, fail, try again, adapt, learn, and eventually build toward success. Each of us wants to be there when we begin the journey. However we need to take the journey to be there. As leaders, we need to understand the importance of the journey and support our staff, teams, and families as they take that journey.
All of us want to succeed. In order to do so, we need help from those leading us to see what we can be, help us have the opportunities to get their and support us as we move towards that goal.
Leaders first inspire us to become the best version of ourselves. They recognize each of us is different and encourage us to embrace that uniqueness. Think of children, whether in your family or in your class. Each of them is different and to expect it to look the same, sound the same, and be the same is silly. I have two brothers. All of us swam, but only I swam in college. All of us did well in school, but none of us were as strong performers as our parents. Two of us earned doctorates in different things but none of us became medical doctors like our parents. We were encouraged to go out and find our path and challenged to do well on that path. None of us were required to follow their path. The same is true in my work environment. I may be a proponent of guided instruction and flipped learning. That doesn't mean that guided instruction will work for every teacher, every student, and every situation. It is a tool that will work for some but not all. If it doesn't work for a specific instructor, then we need to work with them to find ways to differentiate for our kids in a style that both meets the needs of the student and the skills of the instructor. The same is true with flipped learning. It works for a multitude of students, teachers, and situations but not all nor is it the only way to be successful. Leaders understand the underlying goal, talents of their teams, and inspire them to become the best they can be to reach success.
Leaders cultivate the resources and opportunities that create pathways towards success. A good parent understands that their children may not always be the best students. At times they sit with them to help them learn to do homework. Sometimes they help them organize how to study. Other times they invite tutors and specialists in for support. At times they have their children work independently or with friends. We don't try all these things at once, We stage experiences to maximize growth. As leaders of organizations we need to do the same thing. We need to trim down as many initiatives as we can. Focus our teams on achievable next steps, while encouraging them towards the overall goal. We need to understand that growth is not always linear and that not everyone will follow the same path. As such, we need to respect the different growth rates and cheerlead our teams and individual members to make their next achievable step.
Finally, leaders help everyone understand success is neither overnight nor instantaneous. It requires patience and consistent work. One does not wake up and suddenly discover they can sing opera. It takes years of study to become a "overnight" success. Just because I start taking Spanish, I am not instantly going to be able to read a novel in Spanish. Many of us expect change and growth to be instantaneous. It can't be. If we want to implement guided instruction. We need to start with one subject matter and one unit. We need to plan, try, fail, try again, adapt, learn, and eventually build toward success. Each of us wants to be there when we begin the journey. However we need to take the journey to be there. As leaders, we need to understand the importance of the journey and support our staff, teams, and families as they take that journey.
All of us want to succeed. In order to do so, we need help from those leading us to see what we can be, help us have the opportunities to get their and support us as we move towards that goal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)