Coaching Excellence for School Leadership
Here is a free coaching excellence series that some leaders may be interested in.
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.
How One Teacher Made a Difference
Here’s a story about Roger Briggs who began teaching physics as a 25 year old in 1976 in Boulder, Colorado.
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.
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School Parents
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Case Studies
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Testimonials
“I can now honestly say that I have never seen such an approach produce such positive outcomes, goodwill and energy.”
– Deidre Anderson, CEO, U@MQ, Macquarie University
“An exciting and inspiring approach to tackling deeper systems transformation.”
– Professor Michael Fullan
“The Future Search conference encouraged me to take risks. When I heard about TIMMS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study), I went back to my colleagues and said, “I think we can do something with this. We finished 1st in Science and 6th in Maths.”
– Pat Franzen, Science Teacher, Naperville Community School District
“These exemplary principles for facilitating group process have helped us create the space where individuals can take responsibility for their own learning and act upon the decisions they make.”
– Deborah B Reeve EdD, Deputy Executive Director, National Association of Elementary School Principals
"The average scores for youth apprenticeship students went up 200 points on the Statewide standardised tests and enrolments increased by 300%. Today there is a waiting list!"
– Mike Erwin, Principal, North Montgomery County Technical Career School
“I was very impressed with the Future Search approach and have used aspects of it in my own school.”
– Richard Morgan, Principal, The Pittwater House Schools