#readthisseries: Long-Term Decision-Making

#readthisseries: Long-Term Decision-Making

by | Apr 22, 2018 | #readthisseries, Learning to Lead, Long-Term Decision-Making

#readthisseries

Don’t miss this vblog on books you need to read to lead better and grow faster. We recommend three titles that are must-reads on the topic of long-term decision-making. You can find our catalog of great leadership books at dereka206.sg-host.com — click on #readthisseries.

Collins, J. (2009). How the mighty fall: And why some companies never give in. Harper Collins.

Drucker, P., Christensen, C.M., Porter, M. & Goleman, D. (2010). HBR’s 10 must reads: The Essentials. Harvard Business Review.

Lewis, S. (2015). The rise: Creativity, the gift of failure, and the search for master. New York: Simon & Schuster.

As always, please like, follow, and comment. If you have books that we should read and recommend, please let us know that as well.

Joe & T.J.

#onethingseries: Long-Term Decision-Making w/ @Jowilson4139

#onethingseries: Long-Term Decision-Making w/ @Jowilson4139

by | Apr 15, 2018 | #onethingseries, Learning to Lead, Long-Term Decision-Making

Don’t miss this incredible leadership interview with Dr. Jackie Wilson, @Jowilson4139, a national expert on school leadership policy.  Dr. Wilson is an assistant professor and the Director of the Delaware Academy for School Leadership in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware. Jackie is known for designing and delivering world class professional development for educators across the nation. She is a lead consult to NASSP  in designing the National Leaders Academy using design thinking to solve complex school problems. A unique facet of her work is providing technical assistance to the Wallace Foundation to support 14 urban school districts involved with the Principal Pipeline and Principal Supervisor national initiatives. Jackie is a true ambassador for education and has worked tirelessly on the national stage to promote the use of clear standards to ensure quality, equity, and opportunity for all students.

TheSchoolHouse302 · One Thing Series: Being a Present Leader w/ Jon Rennie — #onethingseries
  • Listen to what Jackie says about how leaders must be willing to learn the “history lessons” of the organization to fully understand where an organization has been in order to go forward.
  • Jackie emphasized how every great leader must have a mentor. She praised Associate Dean at Vanderbilt Peabody College, Joe Murphy, as a critical part of her growth.
  • Jackie talked about supporting others and taking care of the now. Listen to what she says about the power of growing other leaders.
  • She wants to breathe life into national standards to ensure every student has a great education. The empirical research that governed the development of current NELP and PESL standards is mind blowing.
  • She tells our listeners to read from a variety of resources and champions the book by Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
  • And, you have to hear what she says about working smart!

Dr. Jackie Wilson’s interview is jam packed with awesome practical advice for leaders, and it’s a wonderful expression of her commitment to education, leadership, and student achievement in Delaware and across the nation.  

Please follow, like, and comment. Use #onethingseries and #SH302 so that we can find you.

Joe & T.J.

Leadership

Long-Term Decision-Making for School Leaders

Long-Term Decision-Making for School Leaders

by | Apr 8, 2018 | #SH302, Learning to Lead, Long-Term Decision-Making

The best way to predict the future is to create it. ~ Peter Drucker

Taking the long-view is not easy. In fact, it’s far easier to think and act in the short-term. In life and business, the easiest decisions are the ones made about what to do now versus what to do that will make the biggest difference in the future. Albeit difficult, it’s an essential leadership competency, but as Hammond, Keeney, and Raiffa (2015) put it: “the need to make a difficult decision puts us at risk of anxiety, confusion, doubt, error, regret, embarrassment, [and] loss.”

The magnitude of the choices we face, the more people they impact, the longer range gains or losses they ultimately influence all play a role in the level of stress a leader feels when trying to make that big decision. At TheSchoolHouse302 we’re not proposing to completely rid your leadership woes with long-term decision-making, but rather we invite you to use our model to help you frame your thinking when these decisions are looming. This will certainly help the future of your company in terms of the way in which you interact with the consequential decisions that leaders have to make, and so we introduce a four-point model for long-term decision-making:

Have Foresight

Leaders who keep the long term in mind are preparing for possibilities, not certainties. ~ T.A. Frank

Being able to think into the future to make important decisions about the present is as imperative for leaders as any other skill in the book. Making the right prediction with foresight for the unknown is a quality that the greatest leaders of all time have exhibited with seemingly natural ease. Think Steve Jobs, Ray Dalio, and Elon Musk. With that said, the ease in which they appeared to have foresight might have been more about practice and strategy. Research on making quality predictions reveals that it can be a “learned skill,” whereby practice is critical to getting better and more accurate at it, but there’s one aspect of it that doesn’t take much practice at all, which is simple deliberation (Frick, 2015). Leaders who take time with big decisions allow themselves the space needed for clarity and foresight. In fact, Saffo (2007) says that forecasting the future effectively requires leaders to think twice as far back into the past as they do into the future. That’s where time equals foresight because leaders have to go slow with decisions that impact the organization in the long-term, reaching into the past to rely on patterns.

Practical Advice: Don’t rush with long-term decisions. Recognize when you’re making a decision that has short-term implications versus long-term consequences. In the short-term, your decisions can be quick, even in a “blink” as Gladwell tells readers about “thinking without thinking.” But, when decisions are long-range, it’s time to slow down, going back to the rest of the model to consider options, using principles, and tackling tough times with a team approach.

Think Options

Panic causes tunnel vision. Calm acceptance of danger allows us to more easily assess the situation and see options. ~ Simon Sinek

Leaders who spend time thinking about long-range decisions should practice the disposition of simply being “less certain” altogether (Frick, 2018). When given a decision with multiple plausible outcomes, people who think about all of their options at once versus considering choices one at a time fair 22% better in terms of coming to the most objective and best answer (Basu & Savani, 2017). “Janusian thinking” is one’s ability to entertain two contradictory and opposing viewpoints simultaneously before selecting one or even arriving at a theory whereby both are incorporated into new and innovative thought process (Michalko, 2012). In about half of decisions made, according to one study, people observed and considered options sequentially and not all at once with equal consideration (Basu & Savani, 2017). When leaders are able to compile and compare options for long-term decision-making, the result is a far more objective and thoughtful answer for the future of the organization than when ideas are presented one at a time or in a sequence that doesn’t involve holistic thinking. Considering all of the options at once is a serious advantage for leaders faced with future-driven challenges and something that is required for effective long-term decisions.

Practical Advice: When your team is presenting options, don’t begin to consider one or another as dominant until all of the options are on the table. Practice asking: “are there any other options we should consider as we make this decision?” to force your team to present everything first before dialogue ensues. Typically people begin to rank and “like” items as they’re unraveling, but great leaders reserve judgement until they have all of the information they need to make a decision.

Use Principles

To be principled means to consistently operate with principles that can be clearly explained. ~ Ray Dalio

Organizations driven by a clear vision and core values are certain about where they are heading; however, great leaders understand that the how can take many turns while pursuing the destination, especially over time. Principles serve as beacons to guide decision-making (Dalio, 2017) and to help steer the ship in the right direction. Collins and Porras (1994) detail the early stage of when companies begin sliding and loosing their foothold within their market, which happens mostly due to complacency and entitlement. People fail to remain sensitive and aligned to what made them successful in the first place–their principles. Principles are the backbone of the organization and serve as the litmus test for critical decisions that may be difficult.

Merck, a global leader in medicines and vaccinations, made a principled value-driven decision when it decided to manufacture Mectizan, knowing that the costly production and manufacturing would not yield a profit. Dr. Vagelos, former president and CEO, realized that Merck had the ability to cure river blindness, which is predominant in third world countries (particularly Africa). The disease afflicts the eyes with lesions and itching and can cause blindness. The challenge Merck faced, as described by Dr. Vagelos, is that the very people who needed the drug couldn’t afford it. Despite the potential financial losses and the burden that the company would shoulder, the final decision was to produce the medicine for anyone who needed it. (N.Y. Times, 1987). As a company, Merck went back to their principles. With a vision that starts with “to make a difference in the lives of people globally…” and a mission that says “…save and improve the lives around the world” they simply couldn’t stay true to their principles if they only made decisions based on financial gains and losses along. From a business perspective this decision was incredibly risky, yet Dr. Vagelos put those in need above profit. Having principles is what grounds leaders to be able to make the right long-term decisions, even when it’s not the obvious one.

Technical Tip: Having principles is one thing. Writing them down and sharing them widely, ensuring that they guide the organization, is another. Sharing your principles, both personally and for the organization, helps leaders hold themselves and other accountable to the decisions that get made, especially when tough long-term decisions arise. Write down you principles, post them in your most important spaces, and always go back to them as decisions are being made.

Be Responsive

Truly successful decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking. ~ Malcolm Gladwell

For the above qualities to be leveraged for their greatest effectiveness, leaders have to remain sensitive to the behaviors that limit employee and organizational productivity. Silos and groupthink are two common traps that limit any leader’s responsiveness, which results in decisions being made in a vacuum and teams shutting off from one another. To prevent this from happening, great leaders are responsive to the people they serve, and they keep that as a focus in every interaction with employees or customers. Great leaders know how to break down silos with teamwork and how to break groupthink with a systems approach. They also know what they need from their people so they respond appropriately to support their people so that everyone is delivering their best results.

The challenge in being responsive to the people is in the ability to see and hear all of the opportunities that are presented in order to support and grow the organization. This means staying attune to the threats that people may pose as well. Responsiveness may at first appear to be contradictory to long-term decisions, as if it means to be reactive in the short-term. However, the responsiveness we are championing requires leaders to fully understand the people they serve and respond in ways aligned to the principles and values that guide the company. Being fully responsive is calculated, whereas quick reactions can be careless. Kim Winser OBE, the first female board director of Mark & Spencer and the founder and CEO of Winser London, created a company on a model that is “nimble, responsive, reactive.” Winser’s digital business model is designed to maximize the power of technology while creating a brand completely focused on the consumer. What sets them apart, among other things, is the level of responsiveness Kim has to her employees and their products (Education Trust, 2017). She allows employees to work remotely and she hires team members straight out of college. This gives the company both a “youthful edge and an innate understanding of the digital world.” Being responsive to the people in the organization, the primary customers, and the established values, allows leaders to make better decisions for the long-term. It requires leaders to listen, slow down to weigh options, and build new teams to address problems that, if left unsolved, may pose crippling long-term issues.

Technical Tip: Successful leaders surround themselves with individuals who work toward the effective fulfillment of the vision through a knowledge and sensitivity to trends, risks, and opportunities. Great companies maintain a pulse on their core business and they are keenly aware of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). A SWOT analysis is a great technique to evaluate a company’s health and well-being. Make sure you’re using a model like SWOT when you’re responding to the people. Typically SWOT is used for events, programs, circumstances, and initiatives, but our tip is to also use it with employees, employee engagement, employee retention, and customer needs.

That’s TheSchoolHouse302 model for long-term decision-making. We hope that you use our practical advice and technical tips in your organization so that you can lead better and grow faster through stronger long-term decisions. We contend that if you have foresight, think options, use principles, and act responsively, your long-term plans will be far more successful. If you want professional development on decision-making for the leaders in your organization, don’t hesitate to contact us, we can help.

Let us know what you think of this #SH302 post with a like, follow, or comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen.

TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Joe & T.J.

References

Basu, S. & Savani, K. (2017). To make the better choices, look at all your option together. Harvard Business Review.

Dalio, R. (2017). Principles: Life and work. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Can you be agile and responsive and still play the long game? (2017, November 23). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://medium.com/love-the-dont-know/can-you-be-agile-and-responsive-and-still-play-the-long-game-39ad25dacfee

Collins, J. & Porras, J. (1994). Built to last: Successful habits of visionary companies. New York: HarperBusiness.

Frank, T. (2017, July). Keeping Your Eye on the Long Term in a World of Short-Term Pressures. Retrieved March 11, 2018, from https://www.drucker.institute/monday-issue/keeping-your-eye-on-the-long-term-in-a-world-of-short-term-pressures/

Frick, W. (2018). 3 ways to improve your decision making. Harvard Business Review.

Frick, W. (2015). What research tells us about making accurate predictions. Harvard Business Review.

Gladwell, M. (2007). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Hammond, J., Keeney, R., & Raiffa, H. (2015). Smart choices: A practical guide to making better decisions. Harvard Business Review Press.

Michalko, M. (2012). Janusian thinking. The Creativity Post.

Merck Offers Free Distribution of New River Blindness Drug. (1987, October 22). Retrieved March 19, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/22/world/merck-offers-free-distribution-of-new-river-blindness-drug.html 

Saffo, P. (2007). Six rules for effective forecasting. Harvard Business Review.

 

#review&reflect: Service-Based Leadership

#review&reflect: Service-Based Leadership

by | Mar 25, 2018 | #review&reflect, Learning to Lead, Service Leadership

This is TheSchoolHouse302 monthly #review&reflect, wrapping up our focus on Service Leadership.

Skills I need…

What skills do I need to master to be a service leader?

Review: This month’s focus on service-based leadership was supported by the 4 Ps. Each P essentially is a critical component that bridges service and leadership. What is unique is that each one can stand alone and still be powerful. It is possible to simply put others first as a service, which is a noble and charitable act, and completely separate but equally powerful to having a positive attitude, which is also a service to the people around us. Alone they are great characteristics, however, when you combine all four, with each triangle coming together to form a powerful diamond, service leadership is formed.  

Each P represents key aspects necessary to lead effectively and provide a service at a superior level. Whether your organization is designed to provide a service or you’re considering a service project for your team, it is vital to recognize how to create the right environment where a service mindset thrives. This model emphasizes a key leadership value: service before self.

Reflect: Each point of the model is critical for overall success and maximum effectiveness. While reviewing and considering each point, is there one that your team excels at and one that your team needs to improve? Service-based leadership is forged by the sentiment that serving others before oneself is what adds value as a leader, which each P exemplifies. For example, pride can be tricky since it can have two very different meanings. However, within our model we clearly establish “beneficial” pride represent pride as truly being associated with a deep sense of accomplishment, attachment, contentment, and commitment. It’s a service to others when we demonstrate our pride in the organization, the critical need we fill, and how a positive difference is being made in the community.

As a leader, does your team experience beneficial pride to fuel a greater sense of community and accomplishment?

How do I learn those skills…

What should I read to continually learn and grow if I want to be a better service-based leader?

Review: In our #readthisseries we featured the work of authors who we have found to demonstrate the genuine nature of Service Leadership. The three books we featured are:

Spark by Angie Morgan, Courtney Lynch, and Sean Lynch

Psychology of Winning by Dr. Denis Waitley

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

You can’t miss our #readthisseries on Service Leadership. Watch it again here.

Reflect: Am I willing to learn and grow as a leader? Do I embody the 4 Ps to drive my leadership? Do I have the right mindset and understand that the only thing I can really control is my perception of situations? As a leader do I have a positive attitude that lifts others and serves the organization? Does my attitude and action ignite sparks or douse flames?  

Great leaders understand the power of reading, specifically reading books in context of a particular theme or idea to learn to lead better and grow faster. This month consider your team and how well they function. Based on the 4 point model, and using a 5-point scale, 1 being ineffective and 5 being highly effective, how well does your team do the following:

Who should I follow…

What does an expert have to say about service leadership?

Review: For our #onethingseries, we interviewed Fay Blake, former Senior Vice President of Operations for All First Financial and founder and currently executive director of Pathways to Success, Inc.

Throughout this interview, Fay emphasized the need to fill a void for people who require the greatest support. She not only discussed the service her organization provides to at-risk youth in Sussex county, but she described how her team functions in service to one another. It is through this belief and faith in her team that they are able to support and serve the needs of youth within the community.  She introduces listeners to the CARE model: Consistent, Authentic, Respect, and Empowerment. She call these the keys to the Pathway’s service, and CARE is simply found at the heart of how they treat the people they serve. It’s worth a second listen.

Reflect: Throughout the interview Fay discusses CARE and how this simple framework guides their decision making and overall operations.

As a leader, have you clearly defined your purpose and core values so that everyone knows precisely what a successful day looks like?

That’s our #review&reflect for service-based leadership. Take a look back to take a step forward.

TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple and maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Please let us know how our leadership posts are working for you, what you are reading to improve yourself, and your thoughts on leadership and growth here on our blog and Twitter. Follow our #onethingseries podcast on iTunes and our #readthisseries on YouTube.

Joe & T.J.

#onethingseries: Service Leadership w/ Fay Blake

#onethingseries: Service Leadership w/ Fay Blake

by | Mar 18, 2018 | #onethingseries, Learning to Lead, Service Leadership

SoundCloud Podcast
iTunes Podcast

Fayetta M. Blake is the founder and Executive Director of Pathways to Success, Inc. Fay started her career in the Lending Institution with Security Pacific National Bank as a loan officer. She then enjoyed a 20-year banking career at All First Financial where, in 1995, she was appointed as Sr. Vice President of operations–the first African American to be appointed to that level in the banks 200-year history. During that time, she had global oversight of all operations units in the Mid-Atlantic regions. In 1998, she was recognized by the banking institution for Quality Assurance as well as being recognized in the industry by Visa, USA for Quality Service and outstanding customer service.

Fay established Pathways to Success Inc. in 2006. The work that Fay does with Pathways is indeed her passion and it embodies her need to give back to the community, especially in Sussex County Delaware where she was born and raised.  Fay herself comes from humble beginnings and understands the devastation of poverty. Fueled with that knowledge and experience, she and the Pathways team strive to make a positive difference in the lives of the people she serves in Sussex County.

The Pathways mission is to prepare youth, adults, and their families for successful lives within our communities. Pathways utilizes innovative and creative approaches in mentoring, education, and community outreach to inform, educate, and empower people.

 

  • Fay’s mission is service–to fill a need where others are unable to do so by adding value to them and in turn adding value to herself. Fay introduces us to the guiding model for Pathways to Success, CARE, which steers everything so that every decision and every action demonstrates care: Consistent, Authentic, Respect, Empowerment. Listen to her describe how it works as her model for serving others. Fay also describes how her entire team at Pathways is committed to providing this valuable service, through CARE, to at-risk youth because of their own stories and commitment to students who need support. You can’t miss hearing how Fay’s grandmother showered her with love and positivity, which continues to be a driving force and guiding light in her life.
  • As someone committed to improving the lives of others and helping them succeed in school so that they have a chance in the future, Fay describes how she uses the work of Benjamin Zander, the musical director of the Boston Philharmonic, for inspiration. His book, The Art of Possibility, guides her thinking as she strives to be a spark in the lives of students by considering all possibilities. She tells us about her own notion of “enrollment,” getting others to see your vision to help you achieve it. Listen to what she says about how considering great possibilities for kids, even amid difficult circumstances, has allowed Pathways to boost it’s graduation rate among enrolled students to 98%.
  • Fay reminds us of the importance of gratitude and how grateful she is to be in a position to give back to students and the community after enjoying a successful career in banking. She gives us a quick tip on how she uses a rubber band that she can quickly snap on her wrist to remind her to quit thinking negatively and embrace positivity.
  • Regarding what she still wants to accomplish, hear her describe her true desire to be in every school in Sussex county to provide a much needed service to at-risk youth. She discusses all the services they provide but ultimately how they create a safe haven for kids. She emphasized how her team SHOW UP– literally. Whether it is the first meeting in the child’s home or meeting them at school, she and her team are committed to providing mentorship and guidance to keep kids on the track to success.
  • Her answer to our #onethingseries personal growth question reveals the work of Joel Barker and how paradigm shifts take us to ground zero–starting from a new perspective to look at things in a different way so that the team is able to step forward from the sidelines and into the game.
  • Fay used to think that she had to do everything, which is not something she believes anymore. Listen to her talk about how teams are critical for success and how each team member must be vested into the vision. She describes how her team compliments one another and how they operate from a free-falling perspective–that if she falls back someone will be there to catch her and vice versa.

Let us know what you think of this #onethingseries podcast with a like, follow, or comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And if you want a new leadership interview every month to help you lead better and grow faster, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen. Finally, if you want more on the topics we cover, contact us.

Joe & T.J.