Design For Those You Lead

I was leading a professional development in one of my first years in a leadership role, and had a group of teachers with me of various abilities. We were discussing the concept of backwards design in education, which is starting with what you are going to assess students on, and working backwards to design lessons that ensure kids will be ready for the assessment.

Some of the teachers were eagerly listening, and in fact one told me later that the hour or so we spent that morning revolutionized his pedagogy. During that meeting an insightful revelation came to me from a teacher that was very average as an instructor. This teacher was really struggling with the idea of not knowing what to write on the assessment before having taught the material. The answer is that you don't have to write the actual assessment, you determine they standards and levels of questions you plan to ask to make sure you cover these during the lessons leading up.

Her struggles lead me to ask the question, "Do you plan for what you are going to teach, or what the students are going to learn?" The conversation in the room after this was amazing to watch, and it was almost evenly split between the teachers that I knew were strong designing around what the kids will learn, and the mediocre teachers around what they were going to teach. It's a subtle but powerful difference, and it relates back to having empathy for those you are leading.

We need to develop a clear understanding of where we are headed and how we are going to get there. Once we have that, we have to be able to communicate it clearly, effectively, and in a way that will inspire those carrying out the work. That communication cannot be crafted to be what you want to say, but what you want your team to hear. What experiences do they have that may cause them to hear your message in a positive or negative light? How can this be seen by them as just a tweak or enhancement to what they are doing, rather than a full change? How can they believe that they work they have been doing so far has led to this new improvement? Think about their reactions to your message, not what you simply want to say, and your initial roll out will be much more impactful and effective.