Colleagues,

Yesterday I asked who you should focus on growing:

• The super 2%?
• The excellent 20%?
• Or everyone else?

 
A variant of the Pareto Principle is the 20-60-20 rule. Twenty percent will be on the positive side, 60% in the middle, and 20% on the negative side.
 
This ratio is used a lot in change management. The idea is that you begin a change process with the first 20% of people. Once you have momentum you begin to bring along the 60%. At the point that 80% of the people have made the change, the final 20% will either follow or leave.
 
Yesterday was “who should we work with?”
 
Today, I think that was the wrong question.
 
We have an ethical obligation to help everyone in our organization grow and get better. Allowing someone to languish and rot is not acceptable leadership behavior.
 
What’s the right question?
 
It isn’t who, but how.
 
How should we work with people in different performance levels?
 
If you feel good about how to answer that question – yay! Kudos for you.
 
If you aren’t sure, consider checking out the features section on my resources page to learn more about nine-box and the cube of development. It may not fully answer your question, but it will help you get started.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,

 
The Pareto Principle suggests that 80% of an effect is generated by 20% of the work, or by 20% of the people.
 
In working with a community of assistant principals (APEx), about 10% are highly engaged, 10% moderately engaged, and 80% are in the background. 
 
In your organization:

• Who should we focus on? 
• Do we fly high with Godin’s 2%?
• Do we maximize our efforts by focusing on the 20%?
• Do we try and move the entire organization by focusing on the 80%?

 
Please, pause and think about this.
 
…
 
 
The fourth principle of strategic leadership is focusing on people.
 
If you don’t have a clear answer to the questions above, how can you be strategically focused on developing your people?
 
Maybe you are just stumbling around?
 
I would love to get your reaction to this. Please consider clicking here to send me a brief reaction.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,

We’ve talked a lot about systems this week.
 
Why?
 
Systems either keep us on the treadmill of the urgent, or they help us become more strategic and intentional.
 
Creating strategic systems takes time, but it also takes reflection.
 
It’s Friday. 
 
Please take some time to reflect – it is the only way you are going to grow!

• What is something in your organization that isn’t working?
• What aspect of the job is someone struggling in?
• How are you consistently helping people grow?

 
All of these things are about systems.
 
Two final things…
 
First, please listen to yesterday’s podcast, even if you aren’t an assistant principal or even an educator. It is saturated with inspiring and powerful ideas about leadership. This is the best episode we’ve done so far. It will make you laugh, cry, think, smile, and grow.
 
Second, consider sharing a sticking point with me. That is a place where your processes aren’t working. I’d like to hear where the difficulties are and maybe explore some ways to unstick them.
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,

“Whenever you put a good person in a bad system, the system will always win.” – Dr. Mary Hemphill
 
Strategic leaders build systems that support good people. The work of leaders is the work of aligning system structures, resources, and people to the purpose of the organization. That’s it.
 
One challenging situation is building a system that supports people who are struggling to do their job well. 
 
Strategic leaders don’t hammer – we aren’t blacksmiths.
 
Strategic leaders support – we are servants.
 
Supporting doesn’t mean ignoring accountability, it means developing a process that empowers the person to take responsibility for their own growth.
 
That process will look different based on your context.
 
In today’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast, the incomparable Dr. Mary Hemphill shares an example of how to support someone who is struggling, and how to build a better system.
 
Honestly, if you need to be inspired and pick up some great leadership wisdom, regardless of your field or role, listen to today’s episode (releases at 3pm). I guarantee you will be glad you did.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick

Colleagues,
 
Yesterday I shared our podcast production process, which relies heavily on SOPs.
 
SOP Benefits

1. Increase quality of results
2. Decrease effort and time
3. Decrease stress
4. Ensure compliance with policy
5. Improve safety

 
MVP Process for Writing a Procedure:

1. Name the SOP
2. Identify the priorities. Why write an SOP? How will you know if it is successful?
3. Identify the desired end point (when is the procedure complete?).
4. Identify the first step.
5. Map the A-B steps from the first one to the final outcome.
6. Implement, monitor, and adjust.

 

• Steps 1-5 should take a minimum amount of time. 
• The SOP doesn’t need to be good, just good enough to test. 
• Create a better procedure over time based on results

 
Our podcast editing SOP is three pages with eight steps that include about 50 sub steps!
 
It took Lance and I about three hours to write.
 
Every time he edits a podcast episode it saves me 60 minutes. More importantly, it provides peace of mind. Once I finish recording a show, I send one email and everything else gets done without any effort or care on my part.
 
To date, Lance has done about 20 episodes, so I have saved 17 hours – since January!
 
If you want more detailed instructions and an annotated example of an SOP, you can go to the resources page of my website here.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick