10 Ways to Empower Educators

What motivates you to be your best, take risks, and seek out opportunities to improve?  I’d be willing to wager that there are an array of responses you would give to this question. As such, I am going to try to sum it all up with one word or concept, depending on how you look at the actions that create this feeling.  Empowerment is the secret sauce.  I genuinely believe that you get more out of people by building them up as opposed to knocking them down. I love the following quote from Laura Garnett:

Leadership is shifting from telling everyone what to do to empowering others to come up with the best and brightest ideas that have either never been thought of before or implemented and acted upon in a respective environment. It’s about caring for and instilling a sense of belief in others that leads to greater confidence in one’s abilities as well as the place where he/she works or learns. This is how you empower people to be their best.

Empowerment isn’t just about making people feel good but more importantly valued.  It’s in this state where a vision, mission, and goals can actually become a reality as there is a unified desire to succeed.  Consider this from Brian Tracy:

Once you empower people by learning how to motivate and inspire them, they will want to work with you to help you achieve your goals in everything you do. Your ability to enlist the knowledge, energy, and resources of others enables you to become a multiplication sign, to leverage yourself so that you accomplish far more than the average person and in a considerably shorter period of time. 

So how can you empower others? It’s not as hard as you think. Below are some simple ways to create a culture of empowerment:

• Be present during conversations (eye contact, body language, devices away)
• Provide timely, meaningful, and specific feedback
• Say thank you when the opportunity arises
• Distribute praise equitably and away from yourself
• Model what you expect
• Speak less and listen more
• Provide the autonomy to take risks
• When making decisions utilize consensus as much as possible
• Exhibit sincerity when complimenting others
• Co-develop professional learning opportunities that best meet the needs of all

Never underestimate the impact that the above strategies can have.  Consider this thought from Archie Snowden:

To empower someone is to give them the means to achieve something.” It makes them stronger and more confident, ready to take control of their life and to also be an advocate for themselves. 

In the end, it is all about giving the people you work with (educators) or for (learners) a greater sense of purpose in what they do.

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Lead in the Now

“When you finally let go of the past, something better comes along.” – Anonymous

There are many reasons why we tend to fall back on what we are either comfortable with or have always done.  For one, comfort tends to be the enemy of growth.  In other cases, the fear of failure of the unknown can derail us from taking the needed risks to implement new and better ideas.  Then there is the most dangerous view in education that the way we have always done it is the best way.  One last factor has to do with our experiences.  We tend to teach the way we were taught and lead the way we were led and, in a sense, become victims of our past. My point here is that change can be hard, confusing, scary, and unpredictable.  None of these reasons should stop anyone from doing what’s best for kids.

With changing times, continuous reflection and learning are needed in order to move schools forward now.  As I have said over and over again, the world is changing. Jobs are changing. Expectations are changing.  As such, teaching, learning, and leadership must change if growth and improvement are the goals.  It requires all leaders, regardless of title, to seek out answers to crucial questions that can pave the way for innovative ideas aimed at improving outcomes for all learners while fostering better relationships with stakeholders.  The image below can help you get started with this process.

I am not implying that we throw out the baby with the bathwater, but instead work to do what we already do, better. Here is where the Pillars of Digital Leadership come into play.  

Each of the seven outlined below are either embedded components of school culture or an element of professional practice that leaders already focus on (or should be). Innovation in education is, in many cases, not an entirely new idea, but instead doing what we already do better. Let’s look at these Pillars and ways that we can lead in the now:

Student engagement, learning, and outcomes: We cannot expect to see increases in achievement if students are not learning. Students who are not engaged are not likely to be learning. Engagement is not a silver bullet, though. Students need to be empowered to think at the higher levels of cognition while applying what has been learned in relevant contexts. Leaders need to understand that schools should reflect real life and allow learners the opportunity to use real-world tools to do real-world work. As technology changes, so must pedagogy, especially assessment and feedback. Leaders should always be looking to improve instructional design and establishing accountability protocols to ensure efficacy in digital learning. 

Innovative learning spaces and environments: Would you want to learn under the same conditions as your students do, or in similar spaces? More often than not, the answer is no. Research has shown the positive impact that innovative spaces can have on learning outcomes. Leaders must begin to establish a vision and strategic plan to create classrooms and buildings that are more reflective of the real world while empowering learners to use technology in powerful ways through either personalized or blended strategies and increased access in the form of BYOD or 1:1. 

Professional learning:  Research has shown, and continues to show, that job-embedded, ongoing professional learning results in improved learning outcomes.  This needs to be prioritized. Additionally, leaders need and should want access to the latest trends, research, and ideas in the field. With the continual evolution of digital tools and increasing connectivity, schools can no longer be silos of information. All educators can now form their own Personal Learning Network (PLN) to meet their diverse learning needs; acquire resources; access knowledge; receive feedback; connect with experts in the field of education as well as practitioners; and discuss proven strategies to improve teaching, learning, and leadership. Digital leadership also compels educators to create more personalized learning pathways for adults during the school day and year. 

Communication: You will not find an effective leader who is not an effective communicator. Leaders can now provide stakeholders with relevant information in real time through a variety of devices by meeting them where they are. No longer do static, one-way methods such as newsletters and websites suffice.  A variety of types of information can be communicated through various tools and simple implementation strategies to create a more transparent culture. 

Public relations: If you don’t tell your story, someone else will, and more often than not, another’s version will not be the one you want to be told. Leaders need to become the storyteller-in-chief. Leaders can use free social media tools to form a positive public relations platform and become the de facto news source for their school or district. It is time to change the narrative by sharing all of the positives that happen in schools every day to create a much-needed level of transparency in an age of negative rhetoric toward education. 

Branding: This is how your school or district is defined. It is not something that you want to leave up to others. Businesses have long understood the value of the brand and its impact on current and potential consumers. Leaders can leverage social media to create a positive brand presence that emphasizes the positive aspects of school culture, increases community pride, and helps to attract/retain families looking for a place to send their children to school. Tell your story, build powerful relationships in the process, and empower learning with a brandED mindset. 

Opportunity: It is vital for leaders to consistently seek out ways to improve existing programs, resources, and professional learning opportunities.  It requires a commitment to leverage connections made through technology to take advantage of increased opportunities to make improvements across multiple areas of school culture. The other six pillars connect and work together to bring about unprecedented opportunities that would otherwise be impossible, such as securing donations, resources, authentic learning experiences for students, and mutually beneficial partnerships. As Milton Berle says, "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."

In the updated edition of Digital Leadership, I take readers on a deep dive into each pillar while providing pertinent research and evidence to better lead in the now as opposed to the past. Be sure to check out the video below that adds additional context on each as well as practical implementation strategies.

For even more insight, ideas, and strategies, you can take a listen to one (or all) of the following podcasts read an interview transcript that emphasizes how to lead in the now effectively. 

• The Dr. Will Show
• Ten Minute Teacher with The Coolcat Teacher (Vicki Davis)
• The Reimagine Schools podcast with Greg Goins
• Why Digital Leadership Can't Wait (interview transcript with Monica Burns)

If the goal is a relevant culture of learning, then leaders must begin by modeling that at the individual level. Only then can the arduous, yet gratifying, process of systematic change can occur. 

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The Problem With Zeros

The dreaded zero. For many students, this number elicits a certain amount of fear and anxiety that all assignments are turned in on time. I, for one, felt this way and made sure that everything was turned in when it was due.  Compliance and following rules, even if I didn’t agree with them, were just natural parts of my view of school.  Unfortunately, the effect does not transcend to every kid. Sometimes they forget. Other times they just don’t care. Regardless of the reasons, I think it is essential to critically examine the message and lesson that we are imparting to our youth through this outdated and, quite frankly, insensitive practice. 

The policy for giving zeros to students who do not turn in assignments when they are due has pretty much been entrenched in schools across the world. It is one of many examples that fall into what I call the “death trap” in education – that’s the way we have always done it.  Just because something has been done in the past, or is a traditional component of school culture, does not mean it is an effective practice.  In my opinion, it is well beyond the time to revisit this practice and determine if it truly is in the best interests of our learners.  Take the scenario below shared by Powers Thaddeus “Teddy” Norrell.

Emily is an engaged student who always pays attention in class, has a high class rank, and has never made a grade lower than an A. Emily’s first four grades in physics are 100, 99, 99, and 98. Emily is set to have a 99 average for the term. However, she has had an unusually busy week, and when she arrives at school on the morning the final assignment is due, she realizes that she has completely forgotten to do it. She explains her situation to the teacher and begs to be allowed to turn it in the next day. The teacher is unsympathetic and assigns Emily a grade of zero for the final assignment, telling her that this will prepare her for the “real world.”

Let’s examine the last statement regarding preparation for the real world. Correct me if I am wrong, but in education, teachers and administrators don’t receive zeros if they:

• Don’t arrive to work on time.
• Fail to meet a determined deadline (i.e., turn in lesson plans, complete all observations/evaluations by a set date, etc.)
• Don’t read or respond to email and as a result, are unprepared for meetings or don’t get needed information to colleagues when required.
• Forget to call parents back

Now other professions might have stricter accountability, but more often than not, there is leeway.  The question then becomes what message or lesson are we really teaching students by giving zeros? If learning and growth is the goal, then it is our responsibility to tackle this issue as the negative impacts on our learners far outweigh the need to make an example or fall back on the “preparation for the real-world” rationale. 

As a principal, I worked with my staff to tackle this issue as well as the overall practice of grading. I’m not going to lie; it was one of the hardest change initiatives I ever engaged in during my tenure as principal. Now I am not saying our solution was perfect or the best by any means. However, it did represent a step in a better direction in that we focused more on learning as opposed to grades and marks. You can see the specific changes and associated rationale for our revamped grading philosophy HERE. Below is what the committee came to a consensus on in regard to zeros:

No zeros: Students are not to be assigned a grade of zero (0).  This not only reflects grading as punishment but also creates a hole that students cannot dig out of (Guskey, 2000; Reeves, 2004; Reeves, 2008; O'Conner and Wormeli, 2011).  This includes HW, quizzes, tests, projects, etc.  An exception to this would be cases that involved cheating, plagiarism, or a midterm/final exam no show without a justifiable excuse (i.e., doctor’s note, death in the family, etc.).

For some practical alternatives to dishing out zeros check out the latter portion of the article by Norrell titled Less Than Zero. It is important to determine why students don’t turn in specific assignments such as homework and projects as a way to mitigate even having to consider doling out zeros.  Consider the following questions:

• Is the assignment meaningful and relevant? 
• Does the learner see the purpose in it?
• Will feedback be given?

Reflecting on these questions can help lead to the creation of better assignments that are more relevant, and kids actually want to complete.  Punishing learners with zeros destroys both morale and a love of learning by digging a hole that many cannot recover from (nor do they have any aspirations to do so).  They also create a mirage in terms of what was actually learned.  If a grade does not reflect learning than what’s the point? We owe it to our students to pave a better path forward. 

Guskey, T. R. (2000). Grading policies that work against standards … and how to fix them. NASSP Bulletin, 84(620), 20–29.

O'Connor, K. (2007). A repair kit for grading: 15 fixes for broken grades. Portland, OR: Educational Testing Service.

O’Connor, K., & Wormeli, R. (2011). Reporting student learning. Educational Leadership, 69(3), 40-44.

Reeves, D. B. (2004). The case against zero. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(4), 324–325.

Reeves, D. B. (2008). Effective grading practices. Educational Leadership, 65(5), 85–87. 

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Zoning in on Change

The comfort zone is the great enemy to creativity; moving beyond it necessitates intuition, which in turn configures new perspectives and conquers fears. - Dan Stevens

There are many impediments to the change process. One of the biggest culprits is fear.  Many times, this either clouds our judgment or inhibits our motivation to take needed risks to both challenge and upend the status quo.  In other cases, we might be afraid of failure.  I often reflect upon how, throughout the course of history, many of society’s most celebrated success stories went through the heartache and letdown of not succeeding at first.  To put it bluntly, these famous failures have influenced our current lives in countless ways.  In their eyes, the act of failing was a catalyst to learn from mistakes and eventually implement ideas or create solutions that have fundamentally changed the world. Henry Ford said it best, “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” 

Another factor that has a negative impact on change is contentment.  An aspect of human nature is that when we are in a state of comfort, there is no real urgency to do something differently or better.  These mental habits lead to the creation of comfort zones that we rarely step outside of. Why should we if everything is great, right?  Or so our mind has us believe in a false dichotomy. The result is that we often then reside in a zone that is most comfortable, resulting in risk-averse behavior that impedes personal and professional progress.  What typically morphs are fallbacks on some of the most dangerous phrases in any profession such as that’s the way we have always done it, or it’s always worked this way. 

Comfort and fear are intimately connected. Whether separate or together they represent zones that many of us fall into and have trouble at times finding a way out of no matter how hard we try.  They work as powerful forces to keep us in respective lanes that are perceived to provide benefits, either individually or at the organizational level.  The reality though is that these zones hold us, and those who we serve, back.  For change to become business as usual and something that is pursued when needed, it is crucial that we identify where we are currently. The image below provides not only a great visual but also some critical context as to how we can put more energy into zones that lead to changes in practice. 

The main idea here is to find comfort in growth. As you look at the elements depicted in the image above, where do you see yourself dedicating the most time and energy? Be careful not to look at this as black or white.  There is a great deal of gray in each of the zones above.  I for one have added many additional elements through reflection to help move the majority of my efforts to learning and growth.  Consider developing questions aligned to each, using stems such as why, how, when, and what.  Improvement and ultimate success in the endeavors we are engaged in rely on acknowledging the zone where we spend the most time and making consistent efforts to invest more in learning and growth. 

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8 Ways to Overcome Management Fatigue

As a school administrator, I remember always having the best intentions when it came to instructional leadership.  During every summer, my team and I would reflect on the past year and establish a better vision and plan for how we all would collectively work to improve learning.  In theory, we devised ambitious, yet attainable goals during these months, or so we thought. Then reality would strike. It began immediately upon school starting with meetings and more meetings.  These were then followed by back to school nights and athletic events.  Throw in constant emails, texts, paperwork, parent issues, and calendar notifications, and the reality of educational leadership manifested itself in the form of management, which often came at the expense of instruction and school culture.

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Now I am not saying management is not essential.  Effective school leaders can find a balance between the three. The challenge though is when the scale tips in the direction of management more time is spent here than is needed or wanted.  Herein lies the rub.  The digital age is both a blessing and a curse.  The latter takes form when administrators feel they are a slave to email, their calendars, and paperwork in the way of digital documents. Ask any school leader if this is what he or she honestly signed up for and the answer is most often a no. Management fatigue can be grueling.  It also takes an eye off the most critical job of any school leader – improving learning while developing a positive culture. 

I will be the first one to say that it is easier said than done when it comes to creating a balance between management, instruction, and school culture. It was a significant point of contention for me that finally came to a head when I reflected on this question:

How does the time I am spending actually impact learning?

In reality, the majority of my time was not being spent on improving instruction or building up school culture. Without a good focus on these areas, it is quite difficult to improve learning outcomes. The question above helped me to evaluate better where the majority of my time had to be spent. If it’s important, you will find a way. If not, then you will make an excuse. Don’t try to find the time to become a leader of learning. Make the time by committing to a few changes that will create a healthy balance between management and leadership that impacts the learning culture.  Below are eight ways to consider making this a reality.

1. Commit to getting into classrooms more. First off, you can’t fix problems or issues with instruction if you don’t know about them. It is also impossible to give teachers valuable and needed feedback for the same reasons.  One of the most instrumental changes I ever made as a principal was committing to getting in classrooms every day, whether for unannounced observations and non-evaluative walks and sticking to it. 
2. Build time into your calendar to write up observations. Here in lies another powerful way I broke free from the stranglehold my calendar had on me.  By turning the tables per se, I blocked time after every observation to write it up and in this case being at the mercy of my calendar was a good thing as time was directly spent on developing suggestions to improve instruction and learning. 
3. Lead professional learning. Don’t ask others to do what you are not willing to do yourself. By planning and facilitating workshops and breakout sessions in your respective school or district, the chances of the specific strategy taking hold increase.  Remember, you get what you model.
4. Attend professional learning. I know full well how tough it is to get out of your building or district for a day. However, you really need this break from management responsibilities as well as to give your brain a needed push.  It will also help keep you on the cutting edge of the latest strategies in education. Although difficult, you must resist the urge to check email and engage in work not related to the session. If need be, step out briefly to attend to this out of respect to the presenter. Be present at all times, not just physically.
5. Cover classes. Better yet, teach a class. The former is a bit more manageable than the latter. During my first two years as an administrator, I taught a section of biology and wished I had continued to do so. Covering classes so teachers can observe their peers or attend professional learning not only gets you out of the office but provides you with an opportunity to connect with kids.
6. Greet kids as they enter and leave the building. If you want this to work, then don’t plan meetings during this time and leave the device in your office.  There is no easier way to build culture and relationships with those who you serve by sharing a smile, handshake, or works of encouragement to start and end the day. 
7. Eat lunch with the kids to get a pulse on culture. I loved spending my lunch in the cafeteria talking to my students. Not only did it give me a longer time to eat and relax but I also was able to receive Minecraft tips that I would later share with my son. The conversations also gave me valuable insight into what we could do to meet the needs of our kids better. 
8. Delegate. The role of a leader is to create more leaders.  You cannot accomplish this if you do everything yourself.  When it comes to delegation, management tasks should be the first ones that are delved out.  Examples include meetings, testing schedules, and budget preparation. I had a role in all of this and more as an assistant principal but continued to be highly involved when I transitioned to the principalship.  Once I began to delegate more of these responsibilities out it freed up more time to focus on all of the above items.

Don’t let the managerial aspects of leadership drag you down. Everyone has the same amount of time during the day.  Go back to the original question I posed to determine how you are spending your time to be primarily a learning leader as opposed to a manager.  Difficult choices have to be made.  These are not them when it comes to lessening the burden of management. Yes, it will always be part of the job. Just don’t let it become the dominating component.  

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The Art and Science of Leadership

Leadership is far from a science. Many would even argue that it is more of a form of art. Since effective leadership means different things to different people, I wanted to dive a little deeper into this debate to glean a better understanding as to what great leaders do. It consists of a convergence of art and science. Tanveer Nasser shares this perspective:

Unlike science, art allows for a more subjective interpretation of ideas or concepts; that there’s no need for a singular, fixed answer or definition to understand it. As many artists say about their work, it’s not so much what they wanted you to see as it is what you choose to perceive within their construct. 

There are also many scientific disciplines that have helped us to gain insights into what makes one individual a more effective leader than others. Thanks to discoveries in the fields of organizational psychology and neuroscience, we can gain a better understanding of what human traits or behaviors are best suited for leadership, and why they are of benefit to the organizations and teams these individuals lead. While science might not provide us with a clear definition of what leadership is, it has proved to be vital to not only improving how we perceive this function but also how those who lead serve others through these roles.

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Whether you are more on the side of art or leadership is beside the point.  Effective leaders consider not only specific requirements of the position and research, but also many unique components such as culture, environment, and the community. It is hard to say definitively that there is one style or technique that works best when all the variables are taken into consideration. Case in point. You could be a great leader in one position but be horrible in another if the same strategies are employed in different conditions. 

By employing strategies that intersect between art and science, leaders can excel in their position regardless of title.  Below are five main focus areas. 

People

It is the people who drive change, not one person.  They are the most critical resource in any organization. Great leaders don’t tell others what to do, but instead, take them to where they need to be.  It is about making the time to empower others to be great even if they think they’re not.  The best leaders take the time to understand the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of those who they serve to build a culture of success. Take care of your people and they, in turn, will take care of you. 

Alignment

Leadership can seem like a juggling act with all of the mandates, directives, and goals at play.  Great leaders understand the importance of the long game and ensure that the day to day work is always aligned with the bigger picture.  They understand that putting an enormous amount of energy into short-term goals that might not positively impact culture is not a prudent way to achieve lofty goals.  Always remember that implementing and sustaining change is more of a marathon than a race.

Collective

Success in organizations is never the result of one person.  Great leaders celebrate the accomplishments of others above their own.  They are always quick to build others up as a way to share how their efforts have led to better outcomes.  As the old cliché goes, there is no “I” in team. Great leaders understand that they have to get the majority of their people moving in the same direction not because they have to, but because they want to. A focus on the collective can help to achieve this.

Respect

For the most part, there are no handouts in life.  Just because someone has a title, position, or power does not mean they are a leader or deserve your respect.  Leadership is about action, empathy, modeling, and selflessness.  One of the best ways to earn respect is not to ask others to do what you are not willing to do or have not done yourself.  You don’t have to be likable to earn this. 

Integrity

There might not be a more critical focus than this one.  A person who possesses this quality is viewed as honest, moral, honorable, righteous, fair, and trustworthy.  In a recent article, Marcel Schwantes said this about integrity, “It holds intelligence and energy together, or everything crumbles.” He continues to go on by explaining that integrity is what makes it hard to question a person's decisions. His or her actions are open for everyone to see and you can rest assured that he or she will use good judgment. Integrity is the essence of great leadership. 

When it comes to effective leadership, and the qualities leaders possess, you don’t have to be on one side of the fence.  The key is to embrace both the artistic and scientific aspects while growing into the best leader for your respective organization, school, or district. 

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5 Strategies to Create a Culture of Accountability for Growth

In a world where ideas are a dime a dozen and shared openly on social media, it is incumbent upon all of us to critically reflect and determine if it is, in fact, a sound strategy.  Anyone who reads my blog knows that I am a huge proponent of research-influenced practice, evidence, accountability, and efficacy.  During workshops with administrators and teachers, I get to dive deep into these topics and outline the strategies that schools use to improve outcomes. In my opinion, this isn’t even really a debate for anyone that has worked in a school where outcomes were improved.  As any practitioner knows this is not the end or be all, but the reality is that results don’t come from pie in the sky sound bites.  Thus, improvement relies on an honest assessment of where current practice resides and making the necessary changes to move to where we need to be.

Let’s begin with this.  If you are an administrator, do you know what is going on in your classrooms? I for one did not know this for a while until we began to focus on ensuring a Return on Instruction (ROI).  It is hard to fix an issue if you don’t know it exists.  The same could be said about commending and then sharing effective strategies.  We don’t know what we don’t know.  Getting into classrooms more can be one of the most important decisions you make. If you are a teacher or coach, how often do you receive formal feedback on your practice and are given time to work on areas to improve upon? The only way to scale growth is to ensure that accountability structures are in place.  Formal observations are one means to help accomplish this. These differ from walk-throughs, as they are evaluative whereas learning walks are most often non-evaluative.

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The primary purpose of an observation is to help teachers, coaches, administrators, and other staff improve through connections to research-based practices, data analysis, good feedback, and reflection. A good observation is all about growth. They became ineffective when used as an “I gotcha” moment or provide no real strategies to improve.  Let me expand on the latter part of the last sentence. There is no perfect lesson, project, teacher, or administrator. Herein lies my crucial point. No matter where an educator is in their career and regardless of experience, there is always room for growth and the majority of educators are more than open to this.  Accountability for this has to be emphasized either through self-efficacy or sound observation techniques. 

Everyone can benefit from good feedback. The question is how do you determine if that feedback has been reflected upon and used to improve practice?  Taking a critical lens to your observation protocols can go a long way to ensuring efficacy by raising the bar across your system. Claims of good and better have merit when supported with actual observations and evidence that this is, in fact, the case.  This is what instructional leadership is all about.  Below are some strategies that I utilized to help create a culture where there was accountability for growth. Please note that not every contact point or conversation has to be evaluative. In the end, though, some people won’t respond to non-evaluative measures. Consistency is key.

• Get in classrooms more. Regardless of your role, commit to watching the practice of others to inform your own or to provide feedback later. 
• Make it a priority. Develop a daily schedule that consists of a combination of walk-throughs (non-evaluative) and formal observations (evaluative) and stick to it. We formally observed each staff member unannounced three times a year regardless of experience. This meant I had to not only build time into my schedule to conduct the observations but also to write them up. That’s why I always blocked off the following period after an observation so that I could write it up.
• Streamline the process as best you can. I created a template for myself and my admin team to use during observations. This allowed each of us to script by standard while also ensuring that the most essential sub-standards were front and center. You can view the template HERE. Note that this template was nowhere near as detailed as the actual tool uses, but it did greatly assist with the write-up process afterward. I also curated a document that had comments ready to go aligned to sound pedagogical practice and research where applicable. 
• Provide timely and specific feedback, but also make sure to follow-up with more walks and observations to ensure that the feedback was reflected and acted upon. I made it a point to conduct each observation post-conference the very next school day.  
• Create mechanisms for educators to share work through artifacts and portfolios. You can’t see everything during a walk-through or observation nor can you be everywhere all the time. These can be used to support what you don’t see during observations or to add more context. They can also be integrated as a way to add more substance and authenticity to mid and end of year evaluations. 

Complacency and mediocrity are a choice for many people. So is choosing to get better each day. The choice is yours. Every educator is ultimately accountable to the learners they serve. Thus, there is no real choice in this matter. Accountability should not be feared or frowned upon. It is prevalent in virtually every job sector as a means to improve performance.  When focused on promoting growth, accountability can help to create a culture of excellence while helping all learners achieve success. 

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The Case for Coaching Leaders

Growing up as a child I played numerous sports recreationally and in high school.  Upon entering high school   I was not the best athlete by any means, but football was one sport where I excelled more than others, and this led to some time playing in college.  Even though I had some fantastic coaches throughout my days playing competitive sports, I never gave much thought to becoming one myself.  Once I knew that my destiny was to become a teacher that was my sole focus. However, weeks before I was set to begin in my first role I was contacted by one of my former high school football coaches pleading with me to take the open freshman team role.  Initially, I resisted but then decided that this could be an excellent opportunity to connect with more kids and hopefully in the process pass along some of the life lessons that I learned from my former coaches.

I loved coaching football and eventually took on the freshman lacrosse and head ice hockey positions in my school.  For years I was able to teach both in the classroom and on the field.  That is one of the critical points of this post.  In many aspects, coaching is teaching, but without formal grades. As a coach, I provided lessons and strategies on skill development as well as competencies that pertained to excelling at a particular sport.  Each practice involved modeling, guided practice, and either individual or team practice. At the end of each practice, there was a closure activity where we reflected on the events of that day while preparing for a future contest.  The actual game was more or less an assessment of what my players had learned during practice.  

Coaching is so much more than the result of a game, match, or competition.  It is really about helping kids develop many of the qualities and characteristics in life that cannot be measured with an actual number such as leadership, commitment, perseverance, motivation, self-discipline, teamwork, resilience, enthusiasm, and reliability. The positive impact of a good coach can be felt for years and lead to success in both professional and personal aspects of life.  

When we reflect on some of the outcomes I have listed above, it is apparent how important the act of coaching is in numerous professions, not just in athletics. Many school districts invest in instructional and digital coaches to assist teachers in further developing pedagogical capacity in these respective areas.  This is a sound investment indeed, but research from the Wallace Foundation empowers schools to expand support to a group that is most often left out – leaders. In a recent article Marta Aldrich looked at a few studies highlighted below:

When it comes to the impact of school-related factors on student learning, research shows that school leaders are second in importance only to teachers — but also can have a multiplier effect on the quality of teaching. Historically, however, professional development has been limited to periodic workshops and training that focus mostly on administrative, operational, and compliance issues. They rarely receive ongoing, embedded coaching and problem-solving support based on the instructional needs of specific schools.

Leaders need consistent support and feedback on all aspects of the position to continually grown and improve, but the most emphasis should be on issues related to instructional leadership.  If teachers are being coached on research-based instruction and digital pedagogy for example, then leaders need to be well equipped to provide useful feedback and conduct effective observations or evaluations.  The same can be said about PLC’s, use of data, meeting the needs of learners with special needs, innovative practices, space redesign, etc. 

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I encourage you to take a look at the links to the research from the Wallace Foundation for more detail on the why and how of coaching leaders.  Peter DeWitt outlines some other key considerations when it comes to coaching leaders.

One of the issues with any type of coaching, and something I found in a small-scale study I did with a little over 250 participating principals, was when principals felt coaching was focused on their needs and remained confidential, as opposed to focusing solely on the needs of the district, it was beneficial to their growth. Leaders, like teachers, need to feel that there is trust when it comes to working with a coach. Additionally, leadership coaching is only an effective means of professional development when it has the following elements of effective professional development:  

• Happens over an extended period of time 

• Involves external experts  

• Teachers/Leaders are deeply engaged  

• It challenges existing beliefs (Timperely et al. 2007). 

Research has consistently shown that professional learning that leads to school improvement and meaningful changes to practice is ongoing and job-embedded.  It is incumbent upon organizations, boards of education, and school districts to commit to helping teachers and leaders through effective coaching practices.  Larger organizations and districts might be able to make it work within existing structures, but this does not eliminate some of the inherent bias and trust issues that will still exist.  Being coached by the person who will eventually evaluate your performance might not always lead to a trusting relationship. It is also important to have coaches that possess the practical experience aligned with the areas where a leader can benefit from job-embedded coaching.

In any case, coaching can lead to improvements in teaching, learning, and leadership.  These results are not isolated to just achievement data, but also to the many qualities and characteristics mentioned earlier in this post that cannot (and should not) be measured with a number. If the goal is to support our teachers better then commitments must be made to ramp up assistance to all school leaders, including central office. Investing time and resources in people, regardless of position, is the key to transforming school culture in a way that leads to better results. 

For more context you can view my video reflection below. 

A great deal of my work as of late with districts, schools, and organizations has been in the role of job-embedded coach. If you are interested in learning more about what this looks like shoot me an email (esheninger@gmail.com).

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Great Leaders Surround Themselves With Smart People

Leadership is a team sport.  It is not about what one person does, but instead the cumulative actions of everyone in an organization. Sure, a leader has to make some pretty important decisions at times that might require bypassing consensus or collaboration, but those are few and far between when you look at the big picture.  Success requires broad embracement of ideas where people are motivated to change because they want to, not necessarily because they are forced to. It’s both a two-way street and a give and takes relationship.  Effective leaders rely on the expertise of others regardless of where they are in the organizational hierarchy. 

The best leaders surround themselves with intrinsically motivated individuals who will not only perform at a high level with little oversight but will also push the leader to reflect and grow continually.  One of the most important decisions a leader can make is either through hiring new employees or placing current staff in a position to lead change even if he or she doesn’t have a specific title.  Steve Jobs famously said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” Don’t ever think you have the best ideas or answers because you don’t. If you work with someone who thinks he or she does, then that person is not a leader.  Leadership means we must be willing to check our pride at the door if leading change and success are the ultimate goals.

Always try to hire or surround yourself with people that are smarter than you. This should be the most natural part of a two-step process.  The next step requires giving up some control and trust.  It is this next step where great leaders get out of the way of people who have been empowered for their respective expertise. When I think back to my time as a principal, I tried hard to embody this.  When a math position opened many years ago, I hired Kanchan Chellani.  She didn’t tell me what to do per se, but little did she know that her actions did.  Her ability to effectively implement and model flipped learning in a pedagogically-sound way sent the message to me as a leader that I needed to work better to support the rest of the math department in this area. 

Another great example was the hiring of Laura Fleming.  I desperately needed an innovative leader in the library who could transform the space in a quick amount of time.  She hit the ground running and had full control over her budget and the autonomy to make any decision related to the space that would benefit our learners.  Successfully launching a makerspace was what she is known for, but her real impact was how she empowered learners regardless of labels and perceived abilities to find success in ways that they never had.  Laura not only transformed the space but her actions and resolve helped to transform the entire learning culture of the school and ultimately the district. Her creation of a micro-credential platform came well before any companies began to monetize them and pushed our teachers to learn in different ways regardless of time or place.

Being told what to do can come in many forms. Laura and Kanchan represented just two of the many teachers that I hired as a principal who indirectly told me what I should do through their actions.  There were also may other teacher leaders, as well as members of my admin team, who were not only wicked smart but also leveraged the professional relationship they had with me to guide me in a better direction at times. Depending on others for guidance and wisdom is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, it a definitive sign of strength. Effective leadership relies on making smart decisions. Make it easy on yourself. Hire or surround yourself with smart people, get out of their way, and don’t be afraid to let them “tell” you what to do. You need these people in your circle if you want to succeed as a leader. 

When it comes to leadership and people:

1. Hire or surround yourself with smart people.
2. Listen to them
3. Get out of their way
4. Leverage their expertise

Enough said.

Below are some more of my thoughts.

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3 Simple (Yet Powerful) Leadership Lessons

There is no shortage of leadership advice available to anyone who wants some.  A quick Google search of the best lessons or advice in the topic will unveil a treasure trove of tips, strategies, and ideas that can help anyone become a better leader in a classroom, school, district, or organization. In my opinion, the best leadership lessons come from experience.  Below are some key lessons I learned either as a principal or from other leaders that I had had the pleasure of working with throughout my career.

Inspect what you expect.

There always seems to be an overemphasis on the vision aspect of change.  A focus on the why is a great start, but the clarity of purpose and intent has to translate into action.  What often happens is we get so wrapped up in the “fluff” that our focus on the how and actual evidence of improvement becomes a distant forethought. Real change relies on seeing the process through from vision to strategic plan and having accountability mechanisms in place to ensure efficacy.  As I have mentioned in the past, leadership is not telling others what they should do, but instead showing them how to do it.  This is why the concept of Return on Instruction (ROI) matters when it comes to technology and innovation.  Accountability is the linchpin in the change process. 

Don’t expect others to do what you are not willing to do (or haven’t done) yourself.

Everyone wants change, yet leading scalable efforts is a difficult task, to say the least.  Getting everyone to embrace different and better is often easier said than done.  Success in any change effort in a school or organization relies on the collective efforts of the majority.  The best way to be a catalyst for change is to model expectations at the onset.  Change begins with you. Opinions, research, and ideas provide the fuel, but the spark needed to ignite the process is one’s ability to act and then model expectations for others. 

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Build relationships by seeing people for who they are.

It all comes down to relationships. Without trust, there is no relationship. Without relationships, no real learning or change occurs. The ability to build powerful relationships with adults and our learners relies on our ability to be empathetic and not look through what is often a biased lens.  There is good in every person, no matter what we might see or hear.  Leadership is about bringing out the best in all and moving past mistakes to unleash potential.  At times, we must also swallow our pride for the sake of building a relationship.  We must believe in what others have to contribute to the greater good and not be so quick to write them off.  It is easy to knock people down. Building people up is at the heart of empathetic leadership. 

In the end, the best leadership lessons don’t necessarily come from a book, article, or speaker but instead from what we learn during and after an experience.  In the words of John Dewey, “We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.”  Always make time to reflect on your experiences and then share lessons learned to push the rest of us to improve our practice. 

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To Innovate or Not to Innovate

Innovation has been a hot topic of discussion for the past couple of years even though it is not a new or novel concept.  New ideas leading to improvements have been occurring since the beginning of time.  All one has to do is take a look at the evolution of the human species to see how important innovation has been leading to society as we now know it.   Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei could be considered the forefathers of modern innovators.  Their ideas and inventions paved the way for all who followed. The industrial revolution brought the topic to the forefront. Shortly after the likes of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Alexander Graham Bell blazed a trail with some pretty amazing inventions that improved the lives of many.  

The rise of entrepreneurs in every facet of society, coupled with advances in technology, continue to push the conversation. With changes to current professions, entirely new occupations, and different expectations to succeed in a world that we have no idea what it will look like, the pressure is on to evolve or else.  Innovation has not trickled but instead flowed into the education space. It seems like everyone is talking about the need to innovate to improve education as a whole as well as learning for students. As a result, we have seen some pretty amazing changes in a short period in schools across the world. 

Image credit: http://oecdeducationtoday.blogspot.com/

I am all for innovation in education and played my part as a high school principal to usher in changes, both big and small, that led to evidence of improvements in teaching, learning, and leadership.  It is important, however, to pause and reflect on what we are trying to accomplish.  A recent Edutopia piece titled The ‘No' in ‘Innovate' really got me thinking about this topic.  The author challenges all of us with the notion that sometimes the best way to innovate is to say no. Innovation for many has become just another thing added to a long list of initiatives or expectations. 

Not all innovations are good for education when repeatedly packed on top of each other, and we can't assume that positive changes will always result.  It is also important to note that "saying" something is innovative and actually "showing" that it is are two different paradigms.  As the common saying goes, the proof is in the pudding.  A particular direction is needed to help align innovative change to the vision, mission, and culture of a respective school.  At the individual level, a basic need to support or enhance practice is at the core of a decision to innovate or not. It is important to consider both the short and long game as to what you hope to accomplish. 

So how does one decide to innovate or not?  To help with this decision consider the questions below. 

Why will it improve what you or your students do? 

How do you know it has led to an improvement? 

How do others determine if it has led to an improvement? 

What is needed to scale the effort(s)?

Innovation is a collective endeavor geared at not only individual but more importantly system improvement.  Research can be used to inform and influence the process but does not need to drive it.  What is important is to show how innovative practices can, and will, improve our work.  Evidence that illustrates efficacy helps move innovation from an isolated practice focusing on small pockets to scalable change that impacts an entire culture.  This is something Tom Murray and I showcase and discuss this extensively in Learning Transformed. Start small, but think and plan for big.  

Innovate with a purpose, but make sure this mission extends well beyond an individual level.  In the end, it's not about how much you innovate in education, but the resulting impact of the changes on the collective. 

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Leading is Not Easy

This post, like so many, has been inspired by something I read.  One of my favorite sites to glean more insight and knowledge on leadership is Inc.  Even though the site shares content specific to business growth and innovation so many of the articles and opinion pieces connect to leadership in the education space.  By using Flipboard I have instant access to many of the pieces that appear on Inc thanks to the fact that I have leadership set as one of my magazine categories.  If you are not using this app please download it to your mobile device.  It is one of the best ways to create your own personalized magazine based on your interests and social network activity that you can literally flip through.

The other day Flipboard exposed me to this gem written by Nicolas Cole titled The Brutal Truth About Why Being a Leader is So Hard.  The premise of the article, as the title implies, is the inherent difficulties associated with any leadership position. Cole goes on to explain the following:

"What's difficult about leadership is that nobody ever sits you down and "teaches" you what being a real leader is all about. There's no class in early education that defines leadership. Peers in group projects tend to label leaders as "overachievers" (and not in a good way). In college, leadership is reduced down to who is going to talk the most during a presentation. And even on sports teams, the leader is usually the best player--and wears a letter on his or her jersey as a trophy of their accomplishments."

His synopsis really resonated with me.  It is difficult to adequately prepare any leader for the challenges he or she will face as well as the decisions that will have to be made.  There are so many unique variables that just cannot be taught.  Learning about how to prepare a budget is entirely different than creating one on your own when all the unique challenges are factored in.  It’s tough work knowing that difficult decisions will have to be made at times, including letting staff go.  Making decisions in time of crisis is also a topic that is regularly explored in leadership courses.  The solutions addressed always sound great in theory, but their application typically isn’t very practical.  

Looks can be, and are, deceiving.  Talking the talk has to be accompanied with walking the walk. That’s the hard part. It’s relatively easy for people to tell others what they should do. However, true leaders go through the challenging work of showing how it can be done.  Here is some sage advice that I learned long ago as a new principal who started drinking the digital and innovation Kool-Aid long ago – “Don’t ask others to do what you are not willing or have not done yourself.” Modeling is one of the most impactful elements of leadership. It builds trust leading to powerful relationships.  

Accomplishments and success are earned through the actions that are taken that result in evidence of improvement.   Leaders know that it is not the work of one person that moves an organization in a positive direction, but rather the collective efforts of all.  The premise of every decision and action has to be geared towards the “We” instead of “I”.  It’s not about coming up with all the ideas, but helping people implement not only the ones you develop, but also the ones that they develop. Leading from the front is an outdated style that doesn’t foster shared ownership.  

It’s our experiences that help all of us to develop into better leaders coupled with the support we get from colleagues. From experience, we learn that trying to be right all the time only makes the job exponentially harder.  Work inside out to make leading a little easier by focusing on the why, how, and what in that order. Make the time to hone your communication skills, as you will not find an effective leader who is not an effective communicator.  Mastering this art is no easy task and takes constant practice and reflection in order to improve.

Regardless of your position leading is hard, yet gratifying work.  Keep an open mind, regularly reflect, pursue learning opportunities that push your thinking, and understand that you will never have all the answers (which is quite ok).  It is also helpful to be flexible.  I leave you with some more thoughts from Nicholas Cole that might just build greater leadership capacity in you and others:

"True leadership is the ability to communicate and effectively reach each and every person you work with, in the way that works best for them. 

It's the ability to be flexible. 

When everyone else is stressed, you're calm. 

When everyone else is out of gas, you inject more fuel. 

When everyone else doesn't know what to do next, you lead by example. 

When someone has an issue, you work with them and listen to them on a personal level."

Stealing from Ghandi, be the change you wish to see in education.  Just know that any change journey is not an easy one. 

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