Smooth Operators

Recently I was talking to some aspiring campus administrators when one of them asked, “How do effective leaders monitor the learning environment to ensure smooth operations?”

This is a good question with a multifaceted answer.  Here is the short version of my response.

1. The leader needs to possess and maintain a good dashboard of critical leading and lagging indicators.  The leading indicators help you prioritize your actions, allowing you to just eyeball what is working and devote time to potential pitfalls. The lagging indicators serve as a wake-up call to the fact that something is out of whack.

2. The leader needs to ensure the campus has an effective common assessment process.  The common assessment process is the best way to ensure appropriate content pacing and to determine which instructional practices work and which instructional practices do not work.

3. The leader needs to live in the classroom and in the student common areas.  The work of schools is teaching and learning.  To lead a school effectively you must have intimate, first-hand knowledge of the work.  Otherwise, you are just guessing, or leading by approximation.

4. You have to constantly talk to your people, and more importantly, listen to your people. This allows you and the organization to pivot with ease and speed when the need arises.

5. Finally, regularly confer with your custodians.  They know more about what is really happening on your campus that any other staff member.  And once they know that you have their back, they will always have yours. 

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

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