Colleagues,
Leaders work with others to get stuff done, but in the process, leaders can also seek to help those others grow. When a leader shifts from a purely “get this done” mentality to helping people grow, it is like flipping a switch. When a leader flips the switch of helping others to grow, it brings light into the entire organization. Do good and be well, Frederick
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Colleagues,
Before asking some reflective questions, I want to acknowledge that strategic leadership may be harder now than ever before. A number of the leaders I work with directly are responsible for the logistics of keeping school students safe amid shifting policies, expectations, and guidance. Figuring out socially distanced bus routes, one-way hall transitions to class, and how to fit 20 plexiglass safety screens into each classroom doesn’t make the school better over the long term, it simply allows for basic operations today. That doesn’t make it optional or unimportant. We may need to accept that our ability to engage in strategic leadership right now is limited. Maybe all we can do is nibble at the margins. That’s okay, as long as we keep nibbling. Yesterday I “unveiled” an updated view of the four principles of strategic leadership: purpose, problems, progress, and people. It makes sense to reflect on each of those, so consider this:
Please consider sharing your answer to one of these questions with me by replying to this email. Do good and be well, Frederick Colleagues, The first strategic leader email came out on June 29, 2019. Since that time, I’ve worked to refine the ideas around strategic leadership. We’ve talked a lot about the four principles of strategic leadership, but like anything they could use some refinement. Like the organizations we lead, good things should never be finished, they should always be evolving. Here is my updated take on the four principles of strategic leadership: Problems: Strategic leaders work to identify key problems that are barriers to fulfilling the purpose. They disentangle symptoms in order to focus on root issues.
Progress: Strategic leaders are relentless in driving incremental improvements. They break big issues into small pieces and tackle one piece at a time with a goal of making small but immediate improvements. People: Strategic leaders understand that the knowledge and skills of people are what drive success. Leaders prioritize developing people through multiple types of training and development as well as engaging in coaching and mentoring. Let me give a shout out to my mom who helped figure out progress as being the P for incremental change. Alliteration is fun, but it also makes things easier to remember. Do good and be well, Frederick Colleagues,
Your feedback helps me get better, so thanks to all of you who share! Speaking of feedback, my longtime friend, Nat Ellis, responded to Monday’s post on coaching: I would enjoy coaching teachers. You need to listen to their teaching style and develop plans and ideas that will help them grow. n athletics, we tell athletes the best way to do a specific skill. This is a powerful insight! There are some things for which there is one way. There are many things for which there are multiple ways. How does the nature of the task influence how we coach? There are lots of coaching models, but I will go with the one I know best – mine, which is heavily influenced by the work of Elena Aguilar. There are four stances of coaching (in my model, which is heavily influenced by Elena Aguilar):
These different stances work in different situations. If you want to learn more about a particular stance, let me know. Do good and be well, Frederick Colleagues,
Yesterday, I tried to convince you to watch a coaching video. If you want more, want to a laugh, and have 3:46, you can check out Key and Peale’s sketch entitled “If We Treated Teachers Like Pro Athletes.” If you are short on time, jump to 1:40 and watch the teaching highlight of the day! Thirty years ago, I took a coaching class that emphasized providing 10 positive feedback statements for every one critical feedback statement. A positive feedback statement tells someone what they did correctly and ties it to a positive outcome. “You measured each ingredient carefully and the cake has excellent texture and taste.” Positive feedback reinforces good technique. A critical feedback statement points out something that was done incorrectly and suggests a correction that will lead to a different outcome. “You added the salt twice, resulting in a salty cake. By putting away each ingredient after its use, you can eliminate that problem and make a tasty cake.” Critical feedback helps people replace poor techniques with better ones. Negative feedback is a generalized comment on an undesirable outcome. “This cake tastes awful.” Negative feedback undermines motivation and does nothing to improve performance. For the rest of this week, try providing as much positive feedback as you can. Go overboard, just for fun. Always be as specific as possible. Something good might happen. Do good and be well, Frederick |
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