The session is now available to download at http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/coachingexcellence.html

It is run jointly by the Australian state and federal governments and has lots of, dare I say, ‘great’ ideas.

Although it is being facilitated by Duct Tape Marketing, some of the guest coaches relate equally to school leaders.

If you have an interest in stress free productivity, I highly recommend the session with David Allen.

And for ideas on leadership and authenticity, check out the most recent session with Steven MR Covey.

At the outset, a persistent thought kept coming to Briggs “Our schools could be so much better.”

Briggs became Science Department Chair and realised that although he wasn’t principal or district superintendent, that he could at least focus on turning his own department into an area of greatness.

As he said “I rejected the idea of being just a member of the ‘worker class’, accepting good as good enough. I couldn’t change the whole system but I could change our own 14-person science department.”

As Jim Collins recounts, he began the same way all good leaders begin “First get the right people on the bus”.

Given the low level of pay and incentives, Briggs had to rely on finding people who shared his dream of greatness.

With the Teachers Union the way it was, Briggs focused on getting the right people on the bus, instead of getting the wrong people off it.

Two examples of the way he did this were:

1. Reverting 3 year tenure from an almost automatic “Yes” to the default of ‘No, you won’t get tenure unless you have proven that you have earned it through good performances.

2. When one of the department’s good teachers came up for tenure, Briggs decided against it. As Briggs said, “He was a good teacher but not a great one. And I just felt we couldn’t accept merely good for our department.” Shortly after a spectacular young teacher became available and joined the department. As Briggs Said “Had we tenured the other teacher, we’d have a good person in the seat, whereas we now have a great one.”

In recounting this story, Jim Collins in Good to Great and the Social Sectors points out 3 lessons for all school leaders:

1. You can build a pocket of greatness in the middle of an organisation without executive power

2. Start by focusing on the First Who principle – do whatever you can to get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.

3. Use early assessment mechanism and rigorously employ them.

Now, the important question - what can you do to build a pocket of greatness in your area of responsibility?

PS I’ve said it in an earlier post but I’ll repeat. Collins book is an important read for all school leaders.

They were fed up with creating strategic plans that made for good door stops and not much else. And they knew that the right approach would result in enthusiasm and engagement from all relevant internal and external stakeholders

They held a 1 day forum with 60 attendees representing MUSR Board, MUSR staff, Club reps, students, University staff and external partners.

CEO, Deidre Anderson described the outcomes as ‘fantastic’.

In fact, they found the approach so effective that later in the year, Macquarie University used it to develop a new world class sports management academic program including students, elite sports people, sports industry professionals and education (including University, TAFE and schools).

Now, I know that this isn’t a school (obviously). But exactly the same principles and approach apply to schools and school districts.

If you are a school leader, school staff member, parent or student who is interested in school change, I strongly recommend that you take a look at this Community Based Organisational Development Case Study on Macquarie University Sport & Recreation.

“…a proactive response to our new understanding about what all children need. We can no longer separate the child at school from the child after school and from the child at home. The well-being of the whole child is tied to the well-being of the whole community.”

What a quote. Or try this simpler version:

“It takes a whole village to raise a child.”

More information about this important concept of Schools as Centres and how it relates to the work of Great Schools Australia.

Think about your own school or school district for the moment and ask yourself these questions.

1. Are you clear on your measures for success?

2. Are these measure appropriate relative to your mission or purpose?

3. Do you consistently focus on those measures and assess your progress?

The confusion arises because, in contrast to the business sector, the outcomes are not fully easily measurable. Of course, its easy to measure student results but when it comes to focusing on the child’s overall development - well, not so easy.

But as Jim Collins says in Good to Great and the Social Sector:

“…separate inputs from outputs, and hold yourself accountable for progress in outputs, even if those outputs defy measurement…To throw your hands up and say “But we cannot measure performance in the social sectors the way you can in business” is simply lack of discipline. All indicators are flawed, whether qualitative or quantitative. Test scores are flawed, mammograms are flawed. crime data are flawed….What matters is not finding the perfect indicator but settling upon a consistent and intelligent method of assessing your output results, and then tracking your trajectory with rigour. What do you mean by great performance? Have you established a baseline? Are you improving? If not, why not? How can you improve even faster towards your audacious goals?”

And don’t be afraid to involve staff, parents and students in identifying and setting these goals.

Here’s one Australian school that has taken a small step in the right direction (and is refreshingly willing to publicly admit that they have room for improvement).

PS If you are wondering if there is a link between our name (Great Schools Australia) and Collins books, the answer is yes and no. No in the sense that we did not derive our name fom his work. Yes in the sense that, with a couple of exceptions, we like much of what he has to say. I highly recommend Collins books for school and school district leaders.

One area that the book focuses on is student engagement. Three case studies are talked about.

• In Santa Monica, California School District, student voices were heard, student leadership was acknowledged, and the issue of equity and equality for all students shifted in a positive direction. Students took it upon themselves to focus on closing the achievement gap.

• In the Novato, California, School District students were involved in creating and sustaining a safe, just and respectful learning environment after racial incidents tore at the school community.

• In the Lester B. Pearson School District, Montréal, students formed a council that has become an official consultative group to the school board while another group is busy helping create a flexible timetabling for the high school.

More on each of these case studies will be covered in future posts.

In our experience, many schools and school districts struggle with creating a positive culture.

How important is it?

Well here is what noted US education expert Thomas J Sergiovanni says in The Lifeworld of Leadership when considering the basis for a school’s success.

“Most successful school leaders will tell you…it’s getting the culture right.”

So much for the focus that most schools give to teaching and learning. Don’t get me wrong, having a focus on teaching and learning is key. But don’t forget that you are not just a school but also an organisation –- and subject to all the same issues as any organisaton.

What Segiovani is saying is that if you get the culture right the rest will follow.

If you would like some objective indicator as to your current school culture, take our free survey — and consider having the courage to ask other school community members (including staff, parents and students) to take it also.