A Principal Shares... The Power of Coaching

A LYS Principal shares the result of working with a LYS Coach this year.

SC,

I want you to know that Barbara Fine (LYS Legend, Icon and Coach) has really helped me and the staff turn our school around.  We are finally functioning as a school should function.  We are having significantly more success with our students with first instruction and we did not need to have one after school academic camp this year. Just spot tutoring by teachers when they felt the need.  There is sense urgency not just evident by administrators, but also by teachers.

I know that we are now doing what needs to be done to prepare our students for greatness.  This was never more apparent than on the last day of school when every child leaving us had tears. In the past I have seen crying, but this year every child walking out was crying.  It gave me chills.

Thank you and thanks Barbara!

SC Response

Incredible! It really sounds like you and your team have finally turned the corner.  

Just keep reminding your staff that now it is time to kick it into high gear and take advantage of the momentum that has been built.

Enjoy your Summer!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote); The 4^th Annual Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of January 24, 2016

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of January 24, 2016 when they were first posted.  And if you are on Twitter, you might want to check out the Tweeters who made this week’s list.

1. Even the best athletes in the world have coaches. (By @8Amber8)

2. Sometimes we learn as much from our enemies as our friends. (By @clwilkens)

3. Adult practice drives student performance! (By @KdherreraEMS)

4. Champions are champions not because they do anything extraordinary but because they do ordinary things better than anyone else. – Chuck Noll (By @CoachMotto)

5. Meeting minimum standards simply means that you are "Not Bad." Don't confuse that with actually being "Good." (By @LYSNation)

6. It's always fun hanging out at elementary schools! So much energy and excitement! (By @herbertoneiljr)

7. Researchers and scholars have found very large impacts of teacher quality on student achievement.  Teacher quality matters! (By @tgrierhisd)

8. You can't vote for pro-public education candidates if you're not registered to vote! (By @TACSnet)

9. It's hard to forgive when your first actions are revenge. (By @clwilkens)

10. Jeff Van Gundy (former college and NBA head coach) just dropped one of the most honest, surprising quotes on us: “A well-timed injury can be important for team chemistry." (By @LanceZierlein)

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Superintendent Writes... Attrition Plan Doom Loop - Part 2

In response to the 2/27/15 post, “Attrition Plan Doom Loop,” a LYS Superintendent shares the following:

SC,

This reminds me of a conversation we had when we first met and I was an Assistant Superintendent over HR (over 6 years ago). Our district was in a difficult financial situation and we were managing the budget through an attrition plan.  You advised us to amend the plan as soon as possible because we were accelerating the brain drain in our district.  It was the most hated / best advice I have ever received.  It made us realize that the plan we were implementing wasn’t the BEST plan.  It was simply the best plan for a FINITE time period. And then it was the WORST plan. 

We jettisoned the attrition plan at least 3 semesters sooner than we would have without your advice/ wake-up call.  The result. Two years after the old plan we were outperforming our surrounding districts even though we were the least affluent of our peers.

There are trade-offs we have to make when running a district.  Your value to us in that meeting was reminding us of that fact and helping us ensure that short-term financial gain didn’t turn into long-term student pain.

As always, thanks!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); TEPSA Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); Texas ASCD Summer Conference; NAESP National Conference; Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Early Success: A Coaching Exchange

The following is an excerpt between LYS Coach Harry Miller and the principal of a new LYS school.

(Coach Miller) It is exciting watching your people grow and increase the size of their bag of tools.  There is power in having all of the campus totally immersed in this endeavor; it’s hard to beat synergy. Remember, a rising tide lifts all boats!

(LYS Principal) Thank you for helping us.  You and the LYS Team have definitely sharpened some of our dull tools that needed to be revamped, and added a new set of tools to our toolkit.   As of now, here are my stats:

86 PowerWalks for the year

52 PowerWalks for the month

24 PowerWalks for the week (I'll have more tomorrow)

I'm proud of what I've accomplished thus far but am pushing for more PowerWalks.  I keep an eye on the Top Observers of the Month and I've noticed that one of our elementary principals has been in 3^rd place for most of the month.  She also knows this because I told her on Monday, “I'm coming for ya!!!”

I have been sharing what I have observed with my staff!  After which, teachers will write me meaningful replies back, or come into my office and thank me.  I thank them right back because they are the ones making such huge changes. 

Thank you, for everything you do and what Lead Your School (Fundamental 5, PowerWalks) has brought to our district. 

See you soon. 

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Principal Submits... Just Quote Einstein

A LYS Principal shares the following:

SC,

I saw the following quote and immediately thought of you. But not due to the Einstein part.

“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”  Albert Einstein

You cut to the chase.  Not because you don’t get it, but because you get it better.

SC Response

Thank you! That is much too kind, but it does validate the work we try to do.  As a profession we are bombarded with theory and ideas.  At LYS, we just try to show people what the theory looks like in practice and then how to do the practice with increasing frequency and quality.  So we strive for the simple explanation, because we know the execution is far from simple.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); Texas ASCD Summer Conference; ESC 14 Sumer Conference (Keynote Presentation); ESC 11 Summer Conference (Keynote Presentation); NEASP National Conference; The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Big Easy Writes... Its What We Do

LYS Coaching Legend, “The Big Easy,” shares the following:

SC,

I wanted to share a message that one of our principals sent me today.

"As always, I enjoyed our visit. I appreciate you taking time to provide me feedback over the years of your observations. And for the time you took to provide me with feedback from the team.

You told me I inspire you. However, I am always left inspired to do more and to be better each and every time we discuss school business. To end, I am touched by your sincere thoughtfulness and well wishes over the last few months."

 Sean, LYS has become an organization that goes beyond mere "stuff & things." All these years and going stronger than ever. My LYS take away... People matter!

The Big Easy

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); Texas ASCD Summer Conference; ESC 14 Sumer Conference (Keynote Presentation); ESC 11 Summer Conference (Keynote Presentation); NEASP National Conference; The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A LYS Assistant Principal Submits... Dr. Jim Davis, Our LYS Coach

A new LYS Assistant Principal submits the following:

SC,

I just want to let you know how much I appreciate Dr. Jim Davis. He has gone out of his way to make sure I had an opportunity to make up the training on the Fundamental 5 modules I had missed. Not only has he been very accommodating, he has been very pleasant and very professional. (He also went out of his way to set me up with an additional account so that I could have complete access to all PowerWalks data at both campuses I am assigned to). I have thoroughly enjoyed each of the training modules. He is an excellent presenter. The information I have gained in each of the trainings is very beneficial and I am pleased to have had the opportunities to gain this knowledge. Lead Your School is an excellent program. I look forward to any future trainings and/or updates. My thanks, again, to Dr. Davis.

SC Response

Thank you for your note and I agree. Dr. Davis has been a steady and guiding influence on me for over ten years now. There is no question that he is one of the “Good Guys.” And if the LYS Nation is wondering who is this Dr. Jim Davis, many of you know him by his alias, “The Big Easy.”

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
• Get the Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan App at the App Store – Fun 5 Plans
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: Oklahoma Association of Elementary School Principal’s Mid-Winter Conference; Region 16 ESC Leadership Academy (Keynote Address); NASSP Conference; NASB Conference

A Reader Writes... (The Summative Evaluation - Part 1)

In response to the 8/31/11 post, “The Summative Evaluation,” a LYS Principal writes:

This could have been a conversation between you and any number of us LYS Rookies. This second year is tougher and already more exhausting because the focus has to be clearer and the conversations that much more explicit - not to mention the monitoring of any TINAs that were implemented.

Today, I reflected that I had vowed that no matter what, I'd always put kids first. So tomorrow I'm going back and meeting with my people who aren't behaving like they clearly understand that. That rearview mirror on my way home has a way of telling me the truth!

SC Response

I don’t know if the second year is tougher, but it is definitely different. Now that you have a better feel for the routine parts of the job, for the first time you have the opportunity to look beyond yourself, and start to focus on making your people better. But you can only do that if you protect yourself from all the politics, administrivia and distractions that steal your time, attention and brainpower from what is truly important. That’s the value of the external coach. The external coach won’t let you excuse your way out of doing what is right for your students. The internal coach often has a different focus. Not wrong, just different.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Attend the LYS presentations at the Texas School Improvement Conference on 10/27/11

• Improve Now – 8:00am
• The Fundamental 5 – 9:45am
• You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See – 10:15am

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASSP Conference; NASB Conference

From the Ol' Ball Coach... Coach Thru the Doldrums

Last week I was talking to the Ol’ Ball Coach as I driving across the state to another LYS school. Before we hung up, he told to share the following with the LYS Nation.

Sean, you remind those schools that we are about to hit the doldrums. The time when the newness of the year has worn off and the anticipation of the end of the semester is too far off to matter. This is when coaching is critical.

Those teachers out there have to keep their classrooms exciting and keep those kids motivated to learn.

Those campus leaders (department chairs, AP’s and Principals) have to get in those classrooms to let teachers know that their hard work is appreciated and to help them overcome any half-steps.

And you and the LYS Coaching Staff have to keep those school leaders focused on what is really important, student performance and supporting teachers. Not meetings and district paperwork.

The value of coaching is best measured when it is easiest to choose the easy way out. Now, is that time.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Come visit us at the LYS Booth at the TASA/TASB Fall Conference on 9/30/11 and 10/1/11

Attend the LYS presentations at the Texas School Improvement Conference on 10/26/11 and 10/27/11

Readers Write... (The Legacy of a Great Coach)

In response to the 7/20/2011 post, “The Legacy of a Great Coach,” readers write:

1. Thanks for sharing. I am at T-CASE, today. He will be missed, but what a legacy of influence.

2. That is awesome! Made me cry.

SC Response

I agree and me too.

Harlan understood principal coaching. He had a rule for our relationship. At least twice a week he would remind me, “Son, this is your school, not mine. I’m going to give you my best advice for a given situation. Use it to inform your decision. I’ll adapt my advice based on what you decide.”

That is the same mindset I now use when I’m working with school leaders.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A Reader Writes... (I Got a Royal Flush - Part 7)

In response to the post, “I got a Royal Flush – Part 6,” a long time LYS’er writes:

SC,

So well said, I hate to add more, but you know I can't resist. Teachers get far too much abuse and not enough solutions to their problems. Let's start by remembering that the cornerstone of LYS is that modeling is EVERYTHING. Now contrast that to the current, ridiculous trend of cognitive coaching taken to the extreme.

I am not saying cognitive coaching is a bad concept in its entirety, but coaches of dubious ability and credentials have executed the cognitive coaching I have recently witnessed. After a little observation it is obvious they are using the meta-cognition component of cognitive coaching to cover up the fact they have NO CLUE how to actually solve problems themselves. If you have one of these people show up in your district or on your campus, pull out the ultimate trump card and ask him or her to, “SHOW ME!”

Now we are back to modeling and the cognitive coaches that I have observed will now find themselves in a pickle. Because as E. Don Brown says, “If you don't bring anything to the table, don't come.”

If ALL you have to offer your teachers is cognitive coaching, do yourself and your teachers a favor and just keep your mouth shut.

SC Response

I don’t condone your comment, but I understand it. I don’t believe that you have to walk a mile in someone’s shoes to be of assistance to them. But if you have never in your life walked a mile, what do you really have to offer?

There is no question that the coaching model is effective. But there are two variables that are critical to that success, the willingness of the learner and the skill set of the coach.

Learner willingness is what you bring to the table. Coaching skill set is what your coach brings to the table. If any of those two are lacking, the coaching relationship is greatly compromised. Not only do I believe this, I practice it. I tell the learner that if you don’t trust and value your coach, quit wasting your money and fire the person. I tell the coach that if the learner isn’t a willing participate and providing some effort, quit wasting your time and release the client.

But here is my caveat, and it does apply to your case, where you have inherited a coach of dubious experience and expertise. Don’t dismiss, but listen to your “coach” and study him and his reasoning. The mental process you go through as you prove or disprove his theory of action will help you gain better insight and understanding of what you do and why you do it. This is a tremendously powerful process. Essentially, cognitive self-coaching as a mode of self-defense.

And if you are really lucky, you may have the perfect anti-coach right in front of you. That is the person who is so consistently wrong that they actually help you make decisions. During my career I have had the incredible fortune (no sarcasm implied) to work with two such people. And they are still helping me make difficult decisions. When I find myself at one of those decision-making crossroads and I can’t decide which path to take, I ask myself, “What would Ron do?”

Then I do the complete opposite. It works every time.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Advice for the First Year Principal - Part 4)

In response to the post, “Advice for the First Year Principal,” a reader writes:

“SC, if it wasn’t for you I would not have made it though my first year. I don’t say that lightly, there were other first year principals in my district that didn’t make it. Why doesn’t our district hire you to coach all of our first year principals? Don’t they care?

To all the new principals out there, get LYS to your campus, even if you have to pay for it out of your own budget like I did. The stakes are too high to just guess all the time.”

SC Response
Thanks, for the high praise. It’s not the districts don’t care. I’ve yet to come across a district that wants principals to fail. Principals are like fighter pilots, very expensive and hard to replace assets. But I do recognize that many districts do a poor job of new employee induction in general and new principal induction in particular. It has been my observation that there are three common reasons why this happens.

1. Money and time. It takes both to organize and operate a meaningful induction program. Unfortunately, I haven’t found many school districts that are flush with cash and have nothing to do during the day.

2. A faulty memory. Part of the human condition is that we minimize or forget hardship and remember the good times and experiences. If this wasn’t the case, we could never get past tragedy. But a by-product of this is by the time you are in a position to support a first year principal, you have forgotten the toll it actually took on you. The highs you remember (of which there are a lot) the lows you forget (which at the time felt devastating). When you don’t remember things being that tough, in a world of limited resources, induction programs go from being an “A” priority to a “B” priority.

3. An outdated experience base. Many of us in mentoring and development roles today, earned our experience during times of less rigorous accountability. We forget that during our first year the stakes were lower. We actually had the luxury of time (relatively speaking) to learn our craft. Therefore, what I might view as a luxury, based on my experience base, is now a necessity.

If your district has an induction program, embrace it. If it doesn’t, find somebody you can trust and talk to them a lot. Just the process of stating a problem out loud often makes it less ambiguous and easier to solve. During my first year as a principal I was very fortunate I had the advice and council of an internal coach (Dr. Richard Griffin) and external coach (Wayne Schaper) and a coach that I hired from my own budget (Harlan Yetter). Would I have survived without them? Probably. Would my career trajectory been as steep? Absolutely not. My coaches made me and my school successful. Since then, I have been conscious of the need to pay that forward. It is unfortunate that many in our field view the need for coaching as a sign of weakness (ironic, since we are supposed to be focused on continuous learning and improvement). Because the more potential you have, the more valuable timely coaching becomes.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Asks... Interview Prep

A reader asks:

"SC,

I have an interview for a principalship next week. As part of the interview process, they have asked me to outline my plan for the first 90 days, if they hire me. Since I’m going to get this job, I don’t want this to be an empty exercise. Any ideas on what I should really do?"

SC Response
Here is my 80% plan for any principal stepping into a new school. But the same plan is useful for a sitting principal. If you are a sitting principal, just start the plan the day after the last state assessment test is completed on your campus.

1. Benchmarking and Campus Assessment. First, collect the most recent short-term and long term relevant objective data available and post it where it is visible to those inside the system (such as a semi-private conference or war room). The purpose is not to cast blame or embarrass anyone. The purpose is to visibly post the new starting line. Then have an outside set of eyes come in and give you an objective picture of what you are dealing with. Unfortunately, in your first days, you can’t trust the reports that you get from those close to the situation. It is not that anyone will outright lie to you, but you won’t be able to distinguish from those trying to be helpful and those who are trying to further their agenda. It is also a good idea to have an annual outside assessment of your campus operations (even your district undergoes an annual external financial audit). It is a simple fact that the longer we are embedded in a setting, the larger our blind spot becomes. I always had an annual external assessment of my campus (and later, campuses). I wanted to know where my deficits were before my boss pointed them out to me.

2. Purposeful Communication and Alignment of Vision. You have to know what your want your campus to accomplish and why. Then edit that vision to its concrete core and repeat it like a broken record. Next, look at look at systems and practices of your campus. Any of those that aren’t in alignment with what you are attempting to accomplish, quit doing as soon as it is feasible. To paraphrase Jim Collins, for the great organization, the “do not do” list is easily more important than the “to do” list.

3. Make the “Science” Non-negotiable. There is both a science and art to campus improvement. The science is made up three components: A non-negotiable common scope and sequence; Short-term common assessments; and the frequent and objective monitoring of classroom instruction (PowerWalks). If these three components are not in place, you will be busy doing a lot of stuff and things but you won’t be making much progress.

4. Continuous Improvement and Knowledge Building. Use the science of improvement to impact the art of improvement. Quickly identify what works. Celebrate it and replicate it. Just as quickly identify what does not work and replace that with something different. Keep observing, coaching and adjusting. As a profession, we abhor change but we love it when our students improve.

Keep your eye focused on student performance and don’t slow down.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (It's all About the Conversation - Part 4)

In response to the posts related to “It’s all About the Conversation,” a reader writes:

“As an extension to the blog discussion, don't get over focused on data when you first start your PowerWalks (frequent classroom observations). Your data will not be accurate or useful for some time. It will take you time to recognize what you are seeing. Ideally, you get some external coaching. If not, you can still learn the hard way like I did and see if your prediction concerning instructional quality translates to student success on accountability tests. My schools improved, some others' did not. The easier, faster, safer way is to go with external coaching.

While you are honing your power walking skills, at first just address the obvious such as NO INSTRUCTION, OFF TASK STUDENTS, and NO TEACHER PRESENT. Those are easy calls to make and there is no excuse for those scenarios, so pounce on them. Build your power walking skills up over say maybe a year at 25 per week and move on to more sensitive calls in years two. It's OK to have conversations your first year, but make sure many of those conversations are with expert teachers who you will use as mentors to other teachers (HINT: they can be your mentor to improve your instructional awareness, too).

As Cain said, there is almost a Zen like art to this process."

SC Response
Good post, even better advice. Though if you are diligent in getting in classrooms a lot (at least 25 times a week), reflect on what you are seeing, and discuss what you are seeing with other observers and teachers; in a semester you will be amazed at what you are able to piece together and how much more useful you will become to your instructional staff.

A critical piece that the writer dances around is this: Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.” I was talking to another early PowerWalks adopter (5,000+ documented observations) recently. We were laughing at how it seems that the more we observe, the more we realize just how little we know. Couple that with the fact that when we do figure out something new, it is usually so evident that we are embarrassed to admit that we hadn’t noticed it before.

The initial benefits of PowerWalks (again, frequent classroom observations) are these:

1. Because you are out more you can solve little issues at the source, before they become big problems.

2. Because you are out more you can get resources and support to teachers quicker and more efficiently.

3. Because you are out more you can recognize and reinforce the staff and students who are working their tails off to improve.

4. Because you are out more you can light a fire under the coasters and slackers.

5. Because you are out more you will make better decisions because you know what is really happening.

While you and your campus take advantage of the first level benefits of PowerWalks, you will slowly begin to develop insights that will eventually help your students, teachers and campus. As is it with most things, it takes time for your hard work to hone your book smarts.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (It's all About the Conversation - Part 3)

In response to the post, “It’s all About the Conversation,” a reader writes:

“We have a good boss. He just tells us we need a break and helps us. He has told us the same things you just wrote for this person. I guess you could say our boss thinks a lot like you!!!!”

SC Response
That’s great to hear, mostly the great boss part, but I appreciate the rest. None of us are perfect and having someone who we trust and who is focused on making us better makes it much easier to do our jobs. Plus, having someone who provides useful coaching feedback is a luxury that is afforded to very few of us in our profession. Though initially the process can be rough on your self-esteem, when you begin to see the fruits of your improved labor, you can’t imagine working without it.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Submits... The Fun 5

“SC,

Loved the Fun 5 training series! These reminders and improvements to my practice are absolutely imperative to my students’ success. Making the Fun 5 the expectation for our entire campus is the unified focus and vision that we need to reach Exemplary.

Thanks to you and the LYS Crew!”

SC Response
What can I say but, “WOW!” Our goal is to provide educators with practical tools, training and support that can be used immediately. As we told you at the end of the training, you have the tools, brains and passion – now go do something great.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Asks... Why You?

A reader asks,

“Can you please tell me why our district has contracted your services? I have read through your blogs and information and it seems to me that everything you say is basically common sense.

I was just wondering what you have to offer our district.

Thanks.”

SC Response
Thank you for reading the blog, reflecting on what you have read and being willing to write in and ask a critical question. You have validated one of our guiding principles. Common sense advice and solutions are our goal. Yes, it is fun to talk theory, but for us, one of the true measures of whether or not we are adding value is effectiveness; and effectiveness generally boils down to common sense.

Districts contract with us for numerous reasons, a few of which are explained below.

1. We are a company of principals, with well over 90% of our coaching staff having significant and successful principal experience. What this means to the client is that our advice, training and solutions are geared towards both effectiveness and efficiency. What we suggest has to work, but it also has to work without overloading staff and teachers who are already busy and working hard.

2. We focus on subtraction as much as we focus on addition. Instead of telling a teacher, a campus and/or a district, that they have to do something new on top of everything else they are doing, we show the client what to quit doing. Or, at the very least, how the new thing will quickly take other tasks or problems off their plates.

3. We believe that the great untapped source of professional knowledge is the campus. As such, our systems, tools, training and coaching are geared towards empowering the professionals in the field and channeling their collective brain power.

4. We coach 24/7. If a district, school, administrator or teacher needs help, we help, right then.

5. None of the above would matter if we didn’t get results. The districts and schools that we work with improve faster than other schools and quickly begin to outperform others. When that happens, students have both more and better options, which is what we are all working for.

Thanks for your comment and question, welcome to the LYS nation.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Brezina Coaches)

In response to the post, “Brezina Coaches,” a reader writes:

“It is hard to grow in any capacity without coaching. We all grow as leaders by reading this blog, but our organizations need more than this blog, they need personal coaches. This is where Lead Your School comes in. Lead Your School can provide the honest coaching your organization needs to grow. And no, I am not an employee. I am a real leader in a real school.

SC hits on another point. Coaching and teaching often points out inadequacies. This is not always a comfortable process. I have received some real honest feedback from E. Don Brown that was not comfortable to receive at the time, but I am a better leader now than I was even just 6 months ago.

SC is a better leader now, I have seen him grow. But I bet you some of the coaching he has received from Brown and Brezina has not always felt good. The point is we all need coaches, even our organizations, just to make sure we face our inadequacies. Even though it is not fun.”

SC Response
I believe that exceptional performers search for answers both internally and externally. If you are not reflective, your ability to improve will be greatly limited. And if you don’t have an objective person, that you trust, standing in your blind spot, your ability to improve will be greatly limited.

As the writer points out, every coaching interaction is not a “feel good" situation. This is becuase an effective coaching relationship requires a great deal honesty and significant give and take. As such I believe that there are two critical elements in selecting a coach.

1 - The coach should not be your supervisor. A truly honest coaching dialogue requires the sharing of questions and weaknesses. Your supervisor may mentor and support you, but providing him or her with a running list of your inadequacies is rarely a good career move. I am a product of external coaching. If not for Wayne Schaper and Harlan Yetter, I may not have survived my first year as a principal. Instead, my first year was so successful that it fast tracked me for promotions (not my goal, but a nice fringe benefit). In fact, I believe you should have the ability to fire your coach. If your coach isn’t making you more effective, get another one that does. Just try firing your boss.

2 - Select a coach that you trust and has experiences that will be beneficial to you. If you don’t trust your coach, then why are you wasting your time? And beware of the coach that has little practical experience. I once had “coach” from a service center come to advise me on a personnel issue. The advice seemed good and then I asked an innocent, yet crucial question. I said, “How did this work for you on your campus?” The response was, “Oh, I was never a principal.” After she left, I called Harlan Yetter. His advice was similar, but his actual prior leadership experience gave me the confidence to act.

If you are a supervisor, either provide an external coach for your key people, or give them the budget to get their own. When Brezina promoted me, I realized that much of my success was the result of the coaching I received. As such, one of the first things I did was hire Wayne Schaper to coach my principals as he coached me. There were just three rules. 1 – He would meet with each of my principals at least once a month. 2 – The content of those meetings would be confidential between him and the principal. 3 – A principal could replace Wayne with a coach of their choosing. Wayne never shared one conversation with me and not one principal replaced him.

I often sum up the power of a coach this way, “You can fool your mama, you can buffalo your boss, but you can’t B.S. your coach.” Dr. Mike Laird sums it up this way, “Your boss provides directives; your coach provides suggestions.”

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Morning Homework / Support Lab)

In response to the post, “Morning Homework / Support Lab,” a reader writes:

“Cain pointed this out to me a while back, and I must admit I was embarrassed to have not seen it myself. It is so incredibly simple, yet profound. When you have a captive audience, make the most of it.

In order to make this work it seems to me you need two things. One, you need teachers willing to volunteer or you have to be willing to assign these morning sessions as duty. The problem with duty assignment is, as Covey says, people volunteer their best. Of course you could come up with some financial incentives, but that will run into your second need.

Second, you need people who are intrinsically motivated to work with kids. Paying teachers may get them there, but getting their hearts and minds is another issue (of course this is true during the instructional day too, so this may be a non-issue). It seems to me you would not get much at all from adults assigned to this as morning duty.

And I suppose we can top this off with a third issue: the leadership had best be there too. You can’t lead from the rear, so if you ask others to be out front, be prepared to be there yourself. I think Cain is on to a good idea here, but I am fishing for ways to effectively implement this. Anyone?”

SC Response:
Again, LYS readers, chime in if you have some ideas.

First, like we discussed, don't beat yourself up because you can't see everything. No one can, hence the value of fresh eyes and external support.

Second, I think you may be over-thinking this. There are a couple of obvious answers. You could just schedule it as duty. I think there are staffers who would volunteer to come in early if they could leave early. I know I would have. I think another option would be to use counselors, department chairs and AP’s. With extra pay comes extra responsibility. But what I would do is toss this project to my department chairs. Empower them to schedule it, staff it and make sure it runs smoothly. After all, student success in their core area is their responsibility. And, if they don’t think it is their responsibility, you need a new department chair.

Third, I don't think that motivated adults is critical in the beginning. In fact I wouldn't even worry about it. Just make sure they show up and there are kids who need support. As the students respond and improve, so will adult attitudes.

Third, you are absolutely right. Leadership has to take an active interest in monitoring and supporting this. If we don’t, things will quickly return to exactly what we have right now – nothing.

This is the time to set this up, with implementation no later than the than the 3rd day of school. Some of you may wonder, “Who needs support by the third day of school?” How about every student who failed a class last year, every new student to the school, and every student who forgot to do their homework the night before, just to begin.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Brezina's Rule Commentary)

In response to answer for the question concerning Brezina’s Rule, a reader writes:

“This was a brilliant analysis and spot on. I just did my first master schedule and all we (me, the other AP, and the Principal) talked about was how to strategically place the weak teachers where they would not do the most damage and how to give them the worst conference. At the end of the day we were still not satisfied because some of our lazy teachers got to "piggy-back" on lunch for their conference period and that burned our butts.

You are exactly right. We spew rhetoric about what is good for kids and we never live up to it. If we ever truly put kids first, oh what a day that will be. Our hypocrisy knows no bounds apparently.”

SC Response
The first step in solving a problem is being aware of a problem. The easiest thing for any of us to do is to fall into habits and routines. As a species, we are hard wired to do just that, for survival. So our problem is two-fold. 1 - We naturally fall into habits (to which we become blind). 2 - We have the innate need to promote our own self-interest.

Just to reach this level of understanding is difficult, It requires us to face some uncomfortable truths about who we really are and the real motivation for the things we do. Most people aren’t willing to do this. Fortunately, these same people generally do not become school leaders. School leadership does require an above average capacity for empathy and self-reflection. As the reader writes, “Our hypocrisy knows no bounds.” This is not the realization of someone who is unaware and does not care.

So, if you agree that there is a problem, the question becomes, "now what?" Here is the three step process for breaking the cycles that cause the problem.

1. Get an external coach to work with you and your system. Why an external coach? The external coach isn’t subject to your habits, routines, and biases. The external coach asks why you do things (you will be surprised how many times you answer, “I don’t know, that just what we do”). The external coach speeds up your learning curve. And the external coach stands in your blind spot, helping you address the things you can’t see.

2. Build a system that removes choice. There is an entire book I will one day write on this concept, because what you need is a flexible, adapting system that removes choice. But today you just get the short version. As humans, when we are given the choice between doing what is easy, vs. what is right, over time the majority of our picks are “easy.” We cannot help ourselves, it is basic human nature. So you have to build a system that removes the “easy” choice. The system has to present us with only one option, do what is right.

3. Focus on the most academically fragile students in the system. Most systems make victims on the most academically fragile students. Don’t believe me? Who teaches your weakest ninth grade math class? Is it your best math teacher? Who staffs your ISS classroom? Is it your best motivator? When you put the success of your most fragile students first, it forces you to make decisions that improve the overall system, whether you want to or not. Consider the scheduling example that the reader used. If you put your weakest English teacher in the 12th grade AP English class, you would quickly get parent complaints and central office heat. You would have to do something and do it quick. You would have to coach that teacher to success or you would need to fire the teacher. Welcome to system based, student centered leadership.

Think. Work. Achieve

Your turn...