Andrew M. Cole Senior Consultant to The Wallace Foundation

Transcription

1 How Effective Principals Lead Change: Lessons From Great School Leaders Presentation to the 12 th convention of the International Confederation of Principals Helsinki, Finland Andrew M. Cole Senior Consultant to The Wallace Foundation August 6, 2015

2 Our discussion today Work being done on Developing a Principal Pipeline and Support for Principals conducting School Improvement Change Efforts Examples of Change Efforts Background and Concepts of Collaborative Change Tools that support a Collaborative Change Process 2

3 The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. Michelangelo 3

4 To achieve a sustainable strategy, the leader must be clear and intentional about the change process, specific about the goals, open to better strategies to achieve the goals-and must continuously reassess all aspects of the change process as the work proceeds. If the change is well led, the results should make additional changes necessary-indeed, you will reach a series of destinations that lead to further destinations. Jody Spiro Leading Change Step-By-Step 4

5 About The Wallace Foundation The mission of The Wallace Foundation is to foster improvements in learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children and the vitality of the arts for everyone. Our approach Work with our grantee partners to develop -- then broadly share -- evidence-based, practical insights 5

6 Wallace s education leadership initiative: Our strategies: 26 states; 15 main urban districts Commissioned research to fill knowledge gaps and evaluate across sites Resulting in: Over 70 research reports States revised leader licensing requirements and leader preparation program accreditation requirements 6

7 Principals key to retaining good teachers It is the leader who both recruits and retains high quality staff. Indeed, the number one reason for teachers decisions about whether to stay in a school is the quality of administrative support and it is the leader who must develop this organization. -- Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World, Linda Darling-Hammond, et al, Stanford University,

8 Effective principals have core competencies Shape a transformational vision of academic success for all students Create a hospitable climate Manage people, data and processes Improve instruction Lead the professional learning community Cultivate leadership in others - Far cry from leaders as superhero Source: The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning, January

9 Good leaders are hard to find There is no shortage of certified principals but there is a shortage of qualified principals -- Beyond the Pipeline, The Wallace Foundation, % of superintendents around the country report difficulty finding qualified principals. 61% of superintendents in urban areas can t find the leaders they need -- Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World, Stanford University,

10 But good leaders can be developed Graduates of effective programs are: Better-prepared Perform better in high-needs schools Twice as likely to actually become principals (60 percent vs percent) Source: Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World, Linda Darling-Hammond, et al, Stanford University,

11 Putting it all together: The Principal Pipeline Leader standards Highquality aspiring leader preparation programs Selective hiring Evaluation and onthe-job support 12

12 Principal Pipeline Districts Denver, Colorado New York City, New York Charlotte Mecklenburg, North Carolina Prince Georges County, Maryland Gwinnett County, Georgia Hillsborough County, Florida 13

13 PLC Project What do the implementation of the five core competencies look like in practice Principals from the six districts decided to demonstrate practices by developing indicators of five core competencies in order to better inform practitioners within their districts Two principals per practice volunteered to demonstrate how they implement the competencies in their schools Hearing the principals Public Television videoed the project 14

14 Effective principals have core competencies Shape a transformational vision of academic success for all students Create a hospitable climate Manage people, data and processes Improve instruction Lead the professional learning community Cultivate leadership in others - Far cry from leaders as superhero Source: The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning, January

15 Principal Stories 16

16 CHANGE PROCESS TOOLS Conceptual maps Leading Change tools 17

17 Assessment-Challenge-Support: Key Components for Development Center for Creative Leadership Understand strengths, developmental needs, personality preferences, learning styles, context, and current state. A developmental experience with lasting impact. Create safety for taking risks and provide resources necessary for success. Identify new behaviors and expected outcomes, take risks, and stretch out of comfort zone.

18 Direction Alignment - Commitment Direction: Agreement on what the collective is trying to achieve together. Alignment: Effective coordination and integration of work so that it fits together. Commitment: Willingness to make the success of the collective (not just individual success) a personal priority.

19 Effective Leadership Direction-Alignment-Commitment Model Coordinated, facing same way but lacking momentum Promises without delivery Nobody walks the talk Only easy things get done Failure to progress Uncoordinated buy in Competing for resources Failure to agree on deadlines and ways of working Willing cooperation - lacks purpose Inertia Running in circles Teams going nowhere fast; Everyone heading in different directions

20 The 4 P s of Change Purpose - Why we have to do this Picture - How will the attainment look and feel Plan - How we get there step by step Part - What is my role to move this forward

21 Leaders and Managers Center for Creative Leadership Planning Budgeting Organizing Controlling Staffing Problem solving Within paradigms Manager Leader Vision/Direction Setting Aligning People Motivating Inspiring Coping w/change Between paradigms Trust 1999 Center for Creative Leadership. All Rights Reserved.

22 Leading Change Tools Step by Step Assessing Readiness Analyzing Stakeholders Minimizing Resistance Determining Your Change Strategy Securing an Early Win Engaging Key Players Scaling and Sustaining Continuous Improvement *Jody Spiro

23 The Eight Steps Step 1: Determine your change strategy. Before one can lead change, it must be clear what strategy is being pursued. Step 2: Assess readiness. We have learned the hard way that members readiness is crucial to the success of the work.

24 The Eight Steps Step 3: Analyze the stakeholders. Stakeholders will often see themselves as winners or losers even after benefits become apparent. Step 4: Minimize resistance (and increase your resistance tolerance). We were able to determine what we needed to do to get the change strategy accepted.

25 The Eight Steps 5. Secure a small, early win. It is so important that people see that we are on the road to something and that isn t going away next year. 6. Engage the key players in planning. Collaborative planning is the antidote to Groundhog Day.

26 The Eight Steps 7. Scale and sustain the change strategy. Planning for sustainability at the beginning of the strategic planning process was the most important thing we could have done. 8. Build in ongoing monitoring and course corrections You need a team of people who will continuously assess progress and share their perceptions and lessons learned.

27 Assess Your Situation What results do you need to achieve? What are the critical behaviors I need to influence? How will I motivate and enable change?

28 Readiness Strategies Low Readiness Needs HIGH STRUCTURE Specific clear outcomes Templates for work plans and budgets Ground rules for meeting participation Meeting decision formally recorded and promptly distributed Continuous review of progress Use structured questioning to lead group conversation

29 Medium Readiness Needs Moderate Structure Decision Sheets Jointly set Meeting Agendas and Ground Rules Collaborative Planning

30 High Readiness Needs Light Structure Jointly set the agenda and let the group decide how to achieve them

31 What is an Early Win Plan for an Early win Early means early Demonstrates value and reduces resistance It must be tangible to see It must be achievable Non-threatening to those who might oppose your change Shared value-currency everybody recognizes 32

32 Mistakes to avoid Not being early enough Not using data Not delivering on the early win Keep doing only small wins and not building on the momentum to do something larger

33 What is Your Early Win? From your significant change you focused on earlier, WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED AN EARLY WIN? Share with a partner what is your early win and what would you expect to achieve with it. 34

34 Capacity To Change RESPONSE TO CHANGE Entrenched-Denial or action frenzy Learner-Constructive Exploration Overwhelmed-Withdrawal and immobilization Poser-False Bravado/Self- Promotion Comfort With Change

35 We don t see things as they are, we see things as we are. Anais Nin,

36 For these and other resources on leadership and other topics: 37

37 Teachable Point of View A TPOV is a cohesive set of ideas and concepts that a person is able to articulate clearly to others. Tichy, 2002

38 CEBE: Leadership for Learning Collaborative Edge Building Resilience Developing Human & Organizational Capital Employing Growth & Development Planning Evidence (Actionable Knowledge) Leadership for Succession Planning Career Development Professional Development Learning Transforming Learning, Growth, & Achievement Systemic Coherence Designing a Shared Vision Distributing & Empowering Leadership Utilizing Learning as Strategy

39 Principal Supervisor Initiative Sites Broward County Public Schools Cleveland Public Schools DeKalb County Public Schools Des Moines Public Schools Minneapolis Long Beach Tulsa Public Schools*(Lead District) District of Columbia Public Schools*(Lead District)