Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.
~ Earl Nightingale
This month, we posted the six critical steps necessary to implement the change you seek to make. This week, we are uncovering the power in steps 3 and 4, which are literally the heart of the process. As humans, our heart is a magnificent organ, pumping blood throughout our cardiovascular system and providing us with life. Our hearts beat 100,000 times a day, delivering oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood so that we can be healthy and strong.
Change also requires a heart, a muscle that works to sustain and provide life in any organization. Well-developed and clearly enumerated goals along with the research-based methods on how to make progress toward the goals are the heart of any company or school. The goals serve as waypoints that provide clear markers of success, similar to how mile markers support the eager traveler along the way. But these goals must work together with solid practices that everyone embraces on the path forward.
The point is that clear goals simply cannot stand alone as the basis for change. In fact, well-intentioned change initiatives always fail without the support of research-based methods. Whether it is an unsuccessful business venture or schools that do not make necessary academic gains, by themselves goals are not enough. Yes, they may be invigorating, producing a burst of motivation for the people, but the goals need support mechanisms that are proven to be effective as the practices that garner the results that the goals seek to attain.
Similar to how the heart’s electrical system works perfectly to pump the heart, the work behind any goal must operate in harmony to provide the support needed for any level of achievement. Worse yet, goals that aren’t supported by proven strategies can end up being a waste of time, increasing frustration at every level and leading to cardiac arrest in the area that you lead. Take the challenge below to get to the heart of change in your organization.
The 6 step process of change is also an alignment tool. As you work through the change initiative and breathe life into it, all aspects need to function in ways that support the other component. At the heart of the model, we find enumerated goals with research-based methods.
Reflect: Does your school or district have enumerated goals to support the change initiative that is designed to enable the organization to reach its vision? Are the goals supported with proven research-based methods? If your answer is no, do the work to create goals along with the research to support how to achieve them. If your answer is yes, move to #2.
Identify: What are some current strengths and weaknesses with your methods? What research do you use to support the practices? Has that research been communicated as the why behind what we’re asking people to do differently?
Do: Communication is critical. Take the time to ensure that not only is the research-base clear to the people but that they are getting frequent updates about the why and the how in terms of making the change.
Pro Tip: Frequent communication can be tricky. More emails mean that fewer are getting read. Anymore, people practically expect a media format–video, podcast, social platform update. Take the time to evaluate your communication methods and update them to a format that works best for the people you serve. If you’re not sending weekly videos about your goals, start there. You’ll see an increase in clarity right away.
PS — If you have a topic you want us to cover or need recommendations on books to read in a particular area of leadership, just send us a tweet or email.
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 leading change.
PS — If you have a topic you want us to cover or need recommendations on books to read in a particular area of leadership, just send us a tweet or email.
We are limited not by our abilities but by our vision.
Change Leadership
Change is inevitable. In fact, it’s probably one of the only constant aspects of our lives. Despite this truth, we face two predominant challenges with change. One, we don’t like it. As much as we tout that we embrace change, recognize its importance, and work to accept it within our lives, we instinctively fight against it. Human beings, for the most part, enjoy predictability, assuredness, and comfort.
Although there isn’t anything inherently wrong with those desires, they can unintentionally limit our growth and, therefore, that of our school and district. This brings us to our second challenge with change–it’s often out of our control. Change comes in so many different untidy and unwelcomed ways, which are often outside of our grasp. Granted, effective leaders initiate change; albeit true, the negative impacts of change can hit the best of us without warning.
Leadership Mantras
Our human psychology warrants mantras–personal statements that remind us how to think and be. Imagine a change-mantra such as this one: “I am ready and capable for the change and challenges that I will face today.” It may seem simple or silly, but when we hope for an easy day or for everything to go smoothly in any given circumstance, we are really unconsciously telling ourselves that we’re not ready or that we’re not equipped for the uncertainty that we know is a reality in life and work.
When we embrace mantras such as the one above, it’s likely because we have a clear vision and core values for ourselves and those who we lead. This marriage between our vision and values is central to success. Their symbiotic relationship helps to eclipse everything that is going on all around us, drawing our attention away from the efforts that we would otherwise extend to achieve our goals.
Vision and Values
Our vision and values allow us to fight the cognitive dissonance that is often associated with change, especially change that is unwantedly thrust upon us. Yes, things may be in absolute disarray, but our predefined vision and values provide clarity. The best way to reconcile change within ourselves or our organization is to ensure that the vision is bigger than any challenge we may face and that our core values indicate the behaviors that will supersede any outside forces.
Clear Vision — This is a statement about what the future should look and feel like if our goals are met.
Core Values — These are our 3-5 guiding principles that ground the work. They should be inspirational, recitable, and action oriented.
One quick google search about “vision” will reveal countless ways to develop a vision statement. They’ve become incredibly common throughout organizations and are typically found on walls, screensavers, and, if done really well, even on magnets and other cool work-bling.
#1. Reflect: Does your school or district have a compelling, yet simple, vision statement that clearly paints a picture of where the organization is heading? Are the organization’s core values aligned to the vision? Do people in the organization know the vision and the values? If the answer is no, focus your attention here. If your answer is yes, move to #2.
#2. Identify: What are some current change initiatives that your school or district is enacting? These may be geared toward equipping teachers to effectively teach remotely or the purchase and implementation of an online reading series. Make a list.
#3. Do: Once you identify the change initiatives at hand, write a special vision statement and core values for each. Be sure that they align to the school and district vision and core values. These statements are what will propel the work forward, faster than you imagined would be the case.
Pro Tip: Vision statements are only effective if they are compelling. We have to be mindful to move consciously past our cerebral understanding of what we want to achieve, digging deeper into the visceral side of our work. Doing so provides the needed balance between the head and the heart. The 5 Why Technique is a compelling and proven way to go beyond the surface, delving into the core of an issue before moving forward. You can find additional information here.
Stay tuned for more challenges, reflection questions, leadership models, podcasts, and more by following dereka206.sg-host.com. It’s our job to curate, synthesize, and communicate so that you can lead better and grow faster. In a world plagued by nothing but noise, we help you by getting to simple.
TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.
When we think of the most effective leaders of all time, we typically remember the people who had the greatest impact on culture. These are the people who have created or endured the most intense changes to life as we know it, whether that be in our organizations, school systems, country, or world. The definition of leadership is influence; the challenge of leadership is conflict; the result of leadership is change. Great leaders influence change by overcoming conflict.
But overcoming conflict is not just a price we must pay if we want to make change. It’s actually far more strategic than that. You can barrel through the resistance, but that rarely works in the long run. When we don’t follow a strict process for making change, we typically only see very incremental modifications to what we’re already doing rather than a full-scale innovation. We offer a 6-step model for leading change that works in any scenario where you plan to translate your idea from new to normal.
6-Step Leading Change Model for School Leaders
Clear Vision
This is a statement about what the future should look and feel like if our goals are met. Of course, every great organization has a vision statement; this is the same thing but it’s the vision for the change initiative, programmatic shift, or new cultural norm that we want to see in place. Vision statements should always answer three questions: what do we desire to accomplish; who do we want the work to benefit; and why does it matter?
Sample: We want all teachers to use collaborative structures so that our students learn to cooperate and communicate effectively as a college and career skill that they will need for their future success.
Core Values
These are our 3-5 guiding principles that ground the work. They should be inspirational, recitable, and action-oriented. Core values represent the behaviors associated with bringing the vision into reality.
Sample:
We value active participation in the classroom.
We value speaking & listening as a skill.
We value student voice as an agent of empowerment.
Enumerated Goals
These are the points of measurement, used to assess whether or not we are making gains toward the goal. Three important concepts should be noted: 1. They should not be endpoints but rather waypoints, 2. They should act as milemarks with the ability to measure progress not perfection, and 3. Even though SMART goals are touted as comprehensive, your goals only need to address what by when.
Sample:
All teachers will use collaborative structures at least once per daily lesson.
Our scheduled professional development time at faculty meetings will always include a demonstration of a new collaborative structure or a twist on one that we’re seeing in action (both in-person and remote).
A sampling of lessons will demonstrate that 40-60% of the time is allocated for student-talk-time.
Research-based Methods
These are the critical practices that have demonstrated effectiveness through evidence and research in the field. As an instructional example, John Hattie, Robert Marzano, and others have published lists of effective instructional practices, including their corresponding effect size on learning outcomes. For any change initiative, the methods should be listed as success practices to be used in place of old norms and conditions.
Sample:
In the case of collaborative structures, we’re going to use Kagan as the basis for the practices that should be put in place.
Defined Focus
Once you develop a list of methods you want put in place, that list has to be narrowed to a defined focus. If you have a list of 10-15 practices, you might select anywhere between one and three to focus on for anywhere between one month and a year. As you monitor the focus, you’ll know when it has been mastered by everyone and a new focus can be put in its place. As you shift culture, the one-at-a-time approach works far better than expecting everything and everyone to just make the change.
Sample: RallyRobin and RallyCoach in September and October
Solid Models
This can be a visual representation of the focus items in a graphic format or even a list of checkpoints or steps for putting the focus into practice.We’re huge fans of visual models, like the one at the top of this post. That said, checklists and documented steps help people to see the process and take action versus the ambiguity in naming a practice that not everyone understands through practical application.
Sample:
Steps to implement a successful RallyRobin.
Changing culture is difficult. We always say that the number one thing that people don’t like is change. But, the number two thing that people don’t like is the way things are. Leading a change, whether it’s thrust upon you or initiated by you, is never easy but it doesn’t have to be complicated. When you couple the above change leadership model with a communication plan, you’ll find that change can happen faster and stick better than without it.
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TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.
Hope is not a passive act of wishful thinking. There are tips, tools, and tactics that leaders use when people need hope. Let’s be clear, humans always need hope. Following the H.O.P.E. model below will help you to lead better with hope at the forefront.
Breaking the Model Down
Humor
Humor is medicinal. Laughing actually “reverses hormonal changes brought on by cortisol and other stress-related chemicals.” Your body can boost your mental state through increased endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine simply by listening to a fun story or telling a joke. Remember, this type of humor is for people to have an outlet to lighten the burden they feel, not to minimize or reduce the seriousness of the situation.
Optimism
Optimism is a way of thinking. It doesn’t mean that you see everything through rose-colored glasses. It just means that you believe that taking action to make improvements is better than self-pity. An optimistic outlook actually helps with sleep, resilience, and even life expectancy. All things that people need in times of trouble.
Sometimes the worst part of a stressful situation is that it zaps all of our energy. The time in which you need to be at your best, you find yourself overly fatigued, unable to rest, and incredibly anxious. Worse yet, in order to be an effective leader who is able to find proper ways to instill a bit of humor, to remain genuinely positive, and to offer optimism for those you lead, you need to be in a resourceful state-of-mind, which requires an immense amount of energy.
Humor, optimism, positivity, and energy are four aspects of hope that we all need these days. As leaders, especially in schools, we can serve people using a dose of each, remembering that it starts with remaining hopeful ourselves.
So, what steps can you take today?
Throughout the month we offered 3-Minute Challenges to take the necessary action steps to lead with hope.
You don’t have to be a comedian or even a great joke teller to take the following three steps in using humor as a tool to create hope on your team.
Reflect: Think about the weight of the situation that you’re trying to lighten so that hope is in sight for your team. Allowing the heaviness to sink in provides the needed recognition regarding the weight that you want to lift. The burden of the pandemic is an example for educators who are working to plan what school will be in the fall.
Identify: Identify something humorous that you came across recently–this can be something that happened to you or that you did (even a silly mistake you made). Think about, for example, something funny that one of your kids said. “This 5th grade car parade is better than my graduation. All I got to do was sit on a stage in an itchy shirt and sing a song that I didn’t even like.”
Do: Tell the story at the start of a meeting or when the time seems right. Have others share a funny story as well. Be sensitive about the context of your humor, but note that humor heals and laughter lightens.
How well do you infuse appropriate humor into your work culture?
Optimism is something that conditioning so that we can better pivot from uncertainty and doubt to assuredness and hope. The following challenge is meant to help you become more optimistic in the midst of clouds and obstacles, even when they won’t go away.
Reflect: Think of a situation in which you were recently involved where you felt a lack of control or simply overwhelmed. We often experience these moments quickly, and they have the potential to hijack our entire emotional state.
Identify: What were the specific aspects of the situation that caused you the stress or anxiety? Take a step back and identify the bigger purpose behind why you engaged in those aspects in the first place.
Do: Next time you start to feel stressed, remember the overarching purpose or goal that you set as you dig into the weeds of the scenario. The minutiae is what bothers us but our why will always put things into perspective.
How well do you lead with an optimistic viewpoint?
To lead at your best and grow in your role, you can’t just rely on your regular thinking; you must actually think about your thinking, putting metacognition at the forefront of everyday problem-solving scenarios.
Reflect: Think about the words you use when you talk to yourself during tough times. Are they negative or positive? Do you see opportunities or do you default to road blocks.
Identify: Words are powerful. Make a list of the defeating words that you use when a problematic situation arises. Be mindful that we rarely recognize how often we engage in negative thinking. The slightest daily issue can cause negative self-talk.
Do: In a great article by Margaret Wehrenberg, she teaches us to use two powerful words: Until Now. For one day, evaluate your self-talk and when you find yourself engaging in defeating thoughts or negative self-talk, simply add, Until Now at the end of the sentence. I wasn’t able to… _______, until now.
3 Books You Need to Read to Provide More Hope for Yourself and Others — #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 hope–providing hope for both yourself and the people you serve.
What an expert has to say about leading with hope:
We truly enjoyed having Tom on our onethingseries podcast. He provides incredible insight on how effective leaders don’t sidestep reality. His views on vision, trustworthiness, and compassion are powerful and can be used effectively through his simple steps. Tom also introduced us to a new concept he called “esteemable.” It’s a powerful way to view ourselves, others, and situations. Listen here for more.
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.
Our final two ingredients for leading with H.O.P.E. are positivity and energy. You’ll often find that these two magical components are linked together as positive energy, but we keep them separate to emphasize a clear distinction between them so that you can harness the power of both through an understanding of your relationship with each.
Needless to say, a positive mindset is a characteristic that we must possess if we want to be effective as leaders. But, don’t mistake positivity for an unrealistic outlook on the world. Worse yet, don’t paint reality to be more dismal than it truly is. Falling into either is too easy. The latter created by fear–our minds revert to the worst case scenario. And in an odd way, these misjudgements make us feel safe, providing an odd sense that impossibility equals less responsibility.
However, that’s the exact opposite of leading with positivity. Circumstances and situations are to be managed so that we can still reach our ultimate goal no matter what happens. We need to “trim our sail” to prevent the ship from capsizing in the storm. Gaining clarity about the situation and identifying clear next steps to move forward in a productive way are how we harness positivity within ourselves and others.
The connection that positivity has to energy lives within our self-talk. At its simplest form, a positive mindset begins with the way we address ourselves, which either produces an abundance of energy or takes it away in an instant.
The worst part of a stressful situation is that it zaps our energy. Stress creates a blockage in the brain. Our primal fight or flight response to a problem produces a surge in our cortisol levels that can put us in an unhealthy and unproductive state-of-mind. As difficult as it may be, this is the exact moment to look for an opportunity to learn and grow. It’s during these unwanted times that we need to be at our best, not fatigued, unable to rest, or anxious. When discomfort meets paralysis, we need to push past the negative thoughts that distract us from the sources of energy that we need to lead well.
Take the following challenge to evaluate your self-talk and maximize your ability to create positive thoughts and unprecedented levels of energy as a leader.
We can never underestimate how our view of the world impacts our daily performance. Our own self-talk regarding ourselves, others, and situations must be closely monitored so that we are in a resourceful and productive space. To lead at your best and grow in your role, you can’t just rely on your regular thinking; you must actually think about your thinking, putting metacognition at the forefront of everyday problem-solving scenarios.
Reflect: Think about the words you use when you talk to yourself during tough times. Are they negative or positive? Do you see opportunities or do you default to road blocks.
Identify: Words are powerful. Make a list of the defeating words that you use when a problematic situation arises. Be mindful that we rarely recognize how often we engage in negative thinking. The slightest daily issue can cause negative self-talk.
Do: In a great article by Margaret Wehrenberg, she teaches us to use two powerful words: Until Now. For one day, evaluate your self-talk and when you find yourself engaging in defeating thoughts or negative self-talk, simply add, Until Now at the end of the sentence. I wasn’t able to… _______, until now.
Pro Tip: Create a Power Talk List to counter the negative things that you might say to yourself. Consider your daily work out as an example. Almost everyone we know has a desire to feel healthy and look good. Yet, often, when we’ve had a long day, especially mentally, we find yourself saying something like, “I’m too tired to exercise, I’ll do it tomorrow.” But, immediately replace that with another phrase to help you maintain the standards that you set for yourself. “I’ve worked hard today and I’m tired. Awesome. I am going to reinvigorate myself with a long run.” Or, “I thought I felt too tired to go for a run, until now!” Don’t allow yourself to think negatively by identifying something, like exercise, as a chore. The things that cost us the most energy are likely the ones that produce the highest levels of it as a result of doing them. Thinking positively about them produces energy when we need it most. Put exercise at the top of your Power Talk List and write down several other instances where you might need a boost of positive self-talk when you’re feeling low.
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7 Mindshifts for School Leaders: Finding New Ways to Think About Old Problems. 
