Teacher Leader Coach

One of the formative moments for me in my leadership journey was a former colleague, David Hay from Chatham, IL, who said, “you can force anyone to do something, but you can’t force them to do it well.” I’ve had “leaders” in my organizations who people didn’t respect, or would only marginally do what was asked of them because their “boss” told them they had to. Then there are those who are way down the chain of command that get others around them to try new things, believe in what they are saying, and truly be agents of change. Generally these people are really good at their craft, but that’s not the only key. Plenty of people who are great either don’t want to impart change on others, or don’t have the humility, patience, or demeanor to get others to learn from their success. Leaders with empathy, that have a shared understanding of the challenges those around them are facing, and can speak to their own challenges are the biggest agents of change. They aren’t telling others what to do...

Recently I was a part of two interview committees for leadership roles in my building, principal and a division leader. We interviewed 12 candidates for those two positions, and I think hired some excellent people for two incredible leaders who are moving into new roles in our district. All 12 described themselves as "Servant Leaders." That sounds like a wonderful thing, and is wise to say in an interview in an educational setting, but that same term meant something different to all 12 candidates. On my own team we have a leader who is really more of a manager. They make sure their people have what they need, but rarely push people or rock the boat. People have the autonomy to do what they want, which makes individuals happy but their aren't really teams working together. We have a leader who tells their team what they will or will not do. This leader will go to great lengths in some ways to help their staff, but in many ways creates their own problems through the very di...

The concept of leadership is one that has been written about in thousands of books by thousands of people. There are dozens of styles of leaders, and dozens of titles for leaders. In businesses you have your CEO's, CFO's, COO's, CMO's, and all the way down the line to local managers. In schools you have your Superintendents, Principals, Vice Principals, Department Chairs, Coaches, etc... Governments the same idea. But who is right in all the ways to lead? Who in all those areas is really in charge? The official leaders are the ones with the titles. But every level and every team has informal leaders the whole way through the chain. An effective team is going to have any variety of leaders, where some are thinkers, some are doers, some are supporters, some are creators, some bring opposing views as thought provokers, and often times these roles can change based on the situation. The best organizations, no matter the field, have focused leadership. Study Steve Jobs saying...

The 7 circles is an exercise that The 1 Thing  uses to help you to focus on which area to begin. While The 1 Thing focuses on Purpose, Priorities, and Productivity for Profit, schools need to focus on the 3 P's for impact. I have adapted the 7 circles here for a school system: The idea is to go through each circle and identify which of those you think is the priority area for you to focus on, or which one is where you can have the most impact. Which of the one or two circles is your top 20% to get to first. And within each circle, "What's the ONE THING that you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?" There are multiple ways to do this. You can have a committee that tackles each one, or you can choose one that your entire team will focus on. In an earlier post, I mentioned my school building had taken to the part of the district mission of "For Each Student." We didn't actually use the 7 circles, but data showed us tha...

Being kind and nice are not the same. And being kind doesn’t mean being a push over. Being kind can still be delivering a message, possibly even some consequences, but in a respectful, growth minded manner. I spent a couple of years of my career as a high school Dean. The one holding kids accountable for following the rules, and supporting teachers when kids acted up. At first, I thought giving kids second chances or being overly lenient would win them over and get them on my side. I was being nice. In most cases, that backfired twice. The kids ended up feeling like they got away with their transgression and the staff was angry I didn’t back them. When I started to hand out appropriate consequences, but in a way that was respectful, educational, and future focused on how the student could respond better the next time they were in that situation, things changed.  Often the next time something happened the student would own up to it. Then, they would come to me before the referral ev...

If we have created Big and Specific goals, that means they are going to be hard to attain. There will be missteps along the way, adjustments in your strategies, set backs and road blocks to overcome. There will be some people more motivated than others, and some people more capable than others. As the person setting the goal for a team of administrators, teachers, or students, you will know the endgame and want to get there. The pace at which your team is moving will probably never be what you want it to be. Beating yourself up over this, or getting down on your team, is not going to be the answer. Progress over perfection is an important mantra. For yourself and those around you. While the last post discussed the importance of accountability , this doesn't mean you need to be an authoritarian. First, understand that if you are getting down on yourself, you may be in what Dan Sullivan refers to as "The Gap."  More detail can be heard about on The 1 Thing podcast episode 3...

Once the goal setting plan is in place, which by the way should take some time if done right, there should be some plan in place for making sure the strategies are being followed through on. The weekly check-ins of the 4-1-1 are a great place to start with this. Progress can be monitored on this document, with the incremental steps toward the final goal amount for that week, month, and year tracked by each strategy. Whomever is responsible for that goal should have regular check-ins with the people responsible for the action steps. Whether this is simply having access their progress tracker, or weekly meetings with them, this is up to the person in charge. What should be monitored are what is getting done, what is in progress, and what hasn't gotten done. And this is when decision making comes in. I like to make a copy of this week's 4-1-1 tan, and then adjust accordingly. If the strategy has been completed, clear it from the 4-1-1 and set up the next step towards the monthly ...

There are several reasons that good ideas or intentions never come to fruition. The resources aren’t available or circumstances change. But often it’s in the implementation; if you get the first step wrong, the greatest idea is doomed to fail. Several times this has happened to me, and it’s been my fault for not starting small, simple, and clearly. I’ve had the full vision in mind, and just new it was going to be amazing. But the vision has to be clear to everyone trying to implement the plan, and it has to be easily started. When there is a big plan in place, aligned with your priorities, you truly need to back track it to the first simple step. There are a lot of sayings around this for a reason. Start slow to go fast, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, find your lead domino, etc… Make the first move the smallest, simplest task that can be completed. Early gains, that won’t overwhelm the team you are working with, that can be clearly communicated and accomplished r...

 The compliment to "No" is "Yes, and..." Notice I said compliment, not opposite. If we are clear on our core values, our purpose, and our priorities, then every action we take should be aligned with these. If they are not, then the answer is "No." Or, if it just isn't the right time for you, that is when the gentle "no" comes in with alternative time or people suggestions. But, when ideas are aligned the best way to keep a conversation going is through the first Rule of Improv, "Yes, and..." For a great quick dive into this, listen to The 1 Thing podcast episode 402  - for a quick demonstration of this within the podcast jump to minute 32. The guest Erin Diehl takes the host Chris Dixon through an exercise on using "Yes, and..." in a planning meeting. Then she starts throwing him curveballs by saying "Yes, but..." and then "No" to some of his answers. The conversation is flowing to begin with, ideas be...

 Almost the shortest word in the English language, yet one of the hardest often to say and hear. But it is so critical to make sure this word is added to your vocabulary appropriately. Our initial reaction to any question should not be "NO," but there are important times to say no. When you have set aside a time block for yourself to accomplish work towards your strategies, you have to say no to every possible thing you can. If your boss says, "I need you now!" or the fire alarm goes off, of course you cannot ignore those. But everything else must be a no. This doesn't mean you are being rude or standoffish. But it means that you are prioritizing what needs to be done first. Ask the person that wants your time when the best time to reschedule would be. Or tell them to come back in 30 minutes, or you will text, call, find them when you are done doing what must happen now. It doesn't feel good to say to someone, but it is important to be able to say. It also g...

 The one resource that is the most important beyond yourself, and that you have the most control over, is your time. You may have a schedule set for you, but that schedule has time in it for you to plan. Or there is time before the everyone else that will demand your time shows up, or they have left. That may be different for each person, but there is time. What is critical is that you make that time important. Too often we feel guilty if we are not giving up our time to make sure we are fully available for everyone else, leaving us unable to take care of the most important things we need to work on. What is critical is that you realize how important that time is to you, and to achieving your goals. If your goals are set in such a way that they are truly impactful, then what are you and everyone else missing out on when you don't make that time your priority. Time blocks can be as short or long as you need them to be, or have in your day. I hear people in the corporate world talkin...

Any goal that is written down is more likely to be completed than one that is not. But simply writing it down once and never looking at it again is not a solid plan towards accomplishing that goal, especially a long term goal that may take years to accomplish. Remember so far we have discussed creating a goal of where your dream to be someday in the future. Make it a big goal, and as specific as you can make it. Be able to visualize it, have sensory imagery of what that ideal place will feel like, look like, sound like when you have made it there. Then start working backwards to benchmark times of a few years from now, then down to the end of this year, the end of this month, and now what to do each week to get to that ultimate spot. In Goals, Priorities, and Strategies (Part 2)  I shared with you the GPS . The second tab on the same Google Sheet is taken directly from The One Thing goal setting (and completing) framework and is known as the 4-1-1 . You actually work backwards fro...

Everyone knows the excitement that comes from setting your new goals. The initial dedication is there, the optimism and idealism that comes from the goal. Think of New Year Resolutions - no time is more lucrative for the fitness industry than the month of January, and by March nothing in your house has more dust than that equipment you bought. Your new yoga pants are just what you wear to sit comfortably on the couch when you were supposed to have been doing Warrior 2. This happens for any number of reasons. Life throws you curveballs, the goals you set really weren't as exciting as you thought, we tend to get bored easily, and for some reason bad habits are way easier to build and re-establish than good ones. As One Republic sings in Counting Stars , "Everything that kills me makes me feel alive," or Metallica signs about mankind in Hardwired , we are "Hardwired to Self-Destruct." So, with those dark thoughts, how do we overcome this? By treating you goals like...

Make sure that your strategies are measureable, and whenever possible set a timeframe and who is responsible. If you can, break it down into as small of chunks as you can.  Maybe your goal is related to freshmen on track. In Illinois this is a state metric that all freshman are in track to graduate by passing their core courses and having no more than 1 total failure. So a priority could be to identify students who are not on track to connect with. So now, when and how will you identify them? And who is responsible for the data? You need enough time to go by for the grade results to mean something, but not too long to get things turned around.  Once you have this, maybe you will divide the students up with your admin and guidance team to mentor. Usually it is not that a student is incapable, but something else holding them back. Once this is done, maybe now it’s weekly check-ins until grades are on track, and a celebration when that happens. Specific, measurable, meaningful to...

At the end of Goals, Priorities, and Strategies (Part 1) I mentioned a resource to use to help with the planning and ability to track progress. There are two parts to this resource, which was developed by Produktive, the company behind The One Thing . You can learn a LOT more by joining this outstanding community of people looking to build their ideal future for themselves or their organizations. The resource today I will discuss is known as the GPS . While using the acronym for a Global Positioning System to help provide you the directions you need, the GPS here is an acronym for Goals, Priorities, and Strategies. This  GPS  provides you with the template to build your own directions to your end goal.  You start by identifying THE KEY GOAL for the year, based on what you have strategized as the most impactful goal. You narrowed down the 20% of top ideas, and then prioritized them in manner of most impact. Now that one is the key goal to focus on. It drives all professio...

In Goals, Priorities, and Strategies (Part 1), I mentioned that goal setting should start with a plan several years down the road. I've seen it referred to as a "Someday Goal" by The One Thing authors, I mentioned looking 5 years down the road. In my career, I've had two superintendents create a 5 year strategic plan. One was done with only the administrative team, one was done with community involvement, teachers, students and staff. One year into the first one, a more veteran colleague of mine said, "This 5 year plan just means that the Sup will leave in 4." True enough, that is exactly what happened. And then the district had to restart as the new hire wanted to make their own mark. The second time around, when the 5 year Strategic Plan started, I was the more veteran colleague and said the same thing. And sure enough, the superintendent retired at the end of year 4. And the new superintendent will be starting a new strategic plan when we never really did...

So we have identified the 3 P's of Education - Purpose, Priorities, and Productivity. We are ready to take action - but how? First things first, we need a road-map of what we are going to do. This starts with our Goals, set by our first 2 P's.  The best place to start is your ideal, somewhere in the near future (say 5 years), when you have consistently been honing your purpose, identifying your priorities, and productively working towards those goals, what will your building look, sound, feel like? How will the conversations in the community about your school sound? How have you communicated, branded, sold the importance of your message to all of your stakeholders. Now start to work backwards. Based on that, what can you shoot for in 3 years. To get there, what needs to happen this year? In order for that to happen, what has to happen this month? In order for that to happen, what needs to be done by this week? So what specific actions can you do TODAY to make progress. Who else...

The goal of having our Priorities and Purpose is to now be PRODUCTIVE! Time to start making a difference. We will get into much more detail in posts moving forward, but I wanted to identify the third P to start putting the plan together, provide some resources, and get some deeper concepts in place. The most valuable resource you have is YOU, and the resource you are in most control of is how you use your time. Too often when the day is done, you probably feel spent, made a thousand decisions, read and wrote dozens of emails, can discuss the lessons you taught or meetings you ran, and were generally busy from when you walked in the doors until you left. But, was that time well spent on the important priorities to actually make an impact, or were you simply a hamster on a wheel? We cannot confuse being busy with being productive. There are days when yes, we simply need to complete a list of tasks to answer to others that need information for us. But, if we are not clear on our prioritie...

While 2 more P's here, they are not part of the Three P's that are greater than the Three R's of education. However, since I have written about the 20% and 80% concept a few times, I thought it prudent to take a step back and discuss this deeper. The Pareto Principle states that 80% of our outcomes are from 20% of our actions. I see this as more than just effects from causes, but also in multiple walks of life. I'm guessing that in your system, 20% of your staff are on 80% of the committees. The same 20% of your staff make up 80% of the people participating in professional development. 20% of your parents can take up 80% of your time. 20% of your students make up 80% of the students in need of intervention. 20% of your students make up 80% of your discipline issues. I have heard it described that 80% of a population in any system will do the right thing that vast majority of the time. 5% of your population will do the wrong thing the vast majority of the time. That rema...

One of the most famous lines of teachers is "This too shall pass." My mom, when she was ready to retire after 35 years of elementary teaching, joked that she was going to create a "new" reading strategy with the acronym of "S.S.N.N." - Same Stuff New Name.  Why does this happen? Without clearly aligned values and purpose, every new shiny object is adopted or everything that does not work perfectly is replaced. But you know better! You know your Core Values, and have identified your Purpose. The One Thing that you are known for. When parents talk about your school to their friends in other areas, they say "My school is the best at..." or "My school really cares about..." When teachers are asked, "What makes your school special/different/unique?" they all give similar answers, with pride. And this now sets your priorities for action. You have identified the 20% of priorities that make up 80% of your results. Not its time to take...

 Most of us create a To-Do list, and it consists of too many things to get done in a day, and it is generated in the order in which it pops into our head. And then, we go through that list item by item. It feels good to get things done, but are those the things that need to be done now to make the biggest impact? In a school, we may want to: improve math, reading, writing, thinking, listening, processing emotions, understanding differences, physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, social wellbeing; build concepts of Civics, science, engineering, art, technology, languages, history; Provide extracurricular opportunities in sports, clubs, and service organizations, Collect data on students through AimsWeb, MAP, STAR, CoGAT, ACCESS, PSAT, SAT, EXPLORE, PLAN, ACT, AP, IB, Surveys As a teacher, we need to: Lesson plan, Grade, Communicate with parents, Communicate with administration, Collaborate with our peers, Teach lessons, Undergo professional development, Counsel students, Build hav...

 Now your Purpose is set through your Core Values. The next part is to now set your Priorities. Schools historically are seeking the "Magic Bullet" - the quick fix to all of their problems. I have seen schools switch from one "curriculum" (which is really a resource) to another year after year. Without appropriate professional development or time to see if that resource really is impactful. This of course leads to many issues.  If you don't know your Core Values and Purpose, what problems do you really have?  Of the problems you are facing, which ones are the 20% that if you can solve them, will fix 80% of the issues you are facing? People are more important than programs.  Do you have the right people on your team?  Are those people in the right places to make their biggest impact? Does your team have enough people? Does your team have too many people? Are the roles of the people on your team clearly defined? What is the communication structure for your team? W...

The reason to determine your Core Values is to then determine your Purpose, the first P. What is the One Thing that your school is known for. What do your Core Values allow you to focus on, be proud of, and be known for. What is the simple but profound message you can tell all your stakeholders you abide by. You now have the foundation for making all decisions. In my first post I asked about Crane vs. Covey, or Computation vs. Calculus.  Schools are complex, varied, and cater to many different students and community members. But through all of that, what is the underlying foundation for EACH student? Their Core Values may be different than yours, but you are essentially giving a guarantee to each student that by the time their schooling is done with you, you will have provided them with the opportunity to become _____ (fill in the blank). This becomes your Mission. Your Core Values help you determine your Purpose, and your Purpose is your Mission. Your mission should be simple, str...

 Not knowing or living your Core Values can then lead to disarray, misalignment, faulty decision making, inconsistencies, and overall discontent of your stakeholders. While everyone may not agree with the decisions being made, if they are rooted in your Core Values, they can at least be understood. My own district is going through a lot of upheaval at the moment, all for good reasons but still creating a lot of change which leads to unease. We are a district consisting of comprehensive high schools and an alternative high school, and as of this summer The Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of HR are both retiring, being filled by 2 building Principals. Those two openings are being filled by 2 building Vice Principals, which are being filled by 2 building Student Services Coordinators, and on down the line. As our Superintendent was sending his last all district email, he referenced our district's " ... six core values: Culture - Learning - Change - Perseverance - Rela...

How can we determine our Purpose? It has to start with identifying our Core Values. If we know our Values, then we can set our purpose to fulfill those values. Here is an exercise to help you determine your Core Values . Make a copy of this Google Sheet , and then use it to identify the words that resonate with you as an educator. It is either really important, or it isn't.  Keep going until you have 3 words or simple themes that come from those words. If you are working alone, this is how you make your autonomy and make your mark within a curriculum you are given. If you are working as part of a team, your team should start individually, capture all the core values, and then work to reduce that down to 3. This is now your launching point for all decision making, and the underlying purpose of why we do all the work for our students that we do. So take the time to do the exercise , individually it shouldn't take more than 3 minutes. I'd love to see your Core Values in a com...

Education has been rooted in the 3 R’s (reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic) since its formal inception. But why? For what purpose? Who decides that purpose?  What reading is important for students? Is it Stephen Crane, Hawking, or Covey?  What writing is important? Expressive or expository? What arithmetic is important? Computation or Calculus? The answer is any of those might be, based on the purpose of the educational system you are in. So to answer what is important, we need to determine the importance of education. What is our purpose? What are we ultimately here to achieve? If we don't know that, how can we say that our time should be spent on Crane over Covey or the other way around? The purpose of this blog is to help educators determine our Purpose, set our Priorities, and then be as Productive as possible to make the biggest impact we can make as educators and educational systems.