A Reader Writes... Team Planning - Part 1

In response to the 8/14/12 post, “A LYS Principal Asks... Team Planning,” another LYS Principal writes:

SC,

Excellent post.  This makes a lot of sense and is better guidance than I have given my teams. The direction I have given them has primarily focused on using the four questions from DuFour to guide planning.  I have also worked with them to conduct data reviews on a 6-week basis. I realize that I need to be more hands on and engaged with them in this process.

SC Response

The mistake that most principals make (and yes, I made the same mistake when I was a principal) is that we carve out time for team planning and then assume that staff will know how to use it effectively.  They won’t. But here is the kicker; it is not their fault.  The staff can’t see the bigger patterns that motivated you to carve out the planning time (they are busy teaching all day).  The staff can’t come up with an effective group planning agenda on their own (again, teaching all day). And the staff won’t produce the product you envision unless you are engaged in the process.  For all the skills your staff does possess, actual mind reading in exceedingly rare in teacher populations.  Which means, as you have realized, that if leadership isn’t involved in instructional planning, a critical component of school success now hinges on hope and luck.

There is nothing wrong with using DuFour’s 4 questions.  I just believe that the questions are most useful in a low accountability environment.  Given enough time, the questions can move an organization to an improved performance stratum.  The issue is that time is luxury that few schools possess.  We now have to build staff understanding and capacity as we increase the pace of academic growth at an accelerated pace.  The meeting cycle I shared does exactly that.  It is correlated to Foundation Trinity and forces the instructional brainpower of the organization to focus specifically on the Foundation Trinity components that it uses and/or impacts the most.  Those components being a Scope and Sequence, Common Assessments, Teacher Craft, and Data Analysis and Adjustment.

You just have to keep reminding yourself that productive team planning does not occur by accident.  It takes preparation, leadership, monitoring and follow-thru.  In other words, work.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

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A Reader Asks... A Common Interview Question

A reader asks:

"SC,

In my interviews, I am being asked about team building with teachers. How do I approach that?"

SC Response
In an interview there is a right answer and a wrong answer. But there is no telling what the panel is looking for, so in this case, "right or wrong" can be very subjective. Therefore, I would give them the correct answer and let the chips fall where the may.

Typical team building exercises, in general, are a waste of time. At best they create the illusion of team. I caught you during the “trust fall” so now we are a team. Hooray!

Creating a real team is an on-going process built on creating esprit de corp, a sense of purpose, goal accomplishment, and shared responsibility. And a little shared ordeal goes a long way towards cementing the deal.

So as a leader, I have to set the expectation that working as a team will be the new norm. I have to create time for teachers to work as a team. I have to make it clear that a viable product will be produced by the team. I have to monitor and support the teams. I have to celebrate team wins. I have to conduct blame free autopsies of team failures. And finally, I must repeat this process over and over until it becomes the norm. A true mission oriented team is a powerful entity. But it rarely built by chance.

Whether or not your interview panel will like this answer is a coin flip. But if they don’t like the answer, we both know that you wouldn’t be happy or successful there.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Disguised Opprotunity

Recently, I was talking to a group of principals that work in a district that is going through both planned and unplanned transitions (no, I’m not talking about your district).

A number of the principals were stressed, concerned, scared, and/or completely freaked out about dealing with all the unknowns. My advice, “Don’t be.”

Now before you decide that I’m being glib, understand that I am completely serious. One of the best things that can happen to you and your staff is to be thrust unexpectedly into a crisis situation. Crisis sharpens the senses, forces you to disregard the unimportant, forces you to rely on your team, forces you to be creative under a deadline, and forces you to face and conquer your fears. In short it forces you and your team to ignore what is petty and deal with the issues that are critical to survival.

If you manage a crisis correctly and you will build a motivated team that will find “routine” problems a piece of cake. The technical term for this is "shared ordeal," and it creates powerful and lasting bonds. In practical terms, this means that a good crisis is a gift. Don’t waste it.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Teacher Stress - Part 20)

In response to the post, "A Reader Writes... (Teacher Stress - Part 18)," a reader writes.

"I have to respond....mainly because I don't think generalizations are helpful...and there were certainly a lot of generalizations made here. There are bad central administration staff...just like there are bad principals, assistant principals, and teachers. Must we continue to beat a dead horse by generalizing, stereotyping and focusing on the bad apples? This approach really seems to create an environment that does not produce collaboration and team work between the "players" that need to be making it happen for the kids.

None of us, in this business, are an island. Even good principals require a team to make them good principals. The success or failure of my campus depends on a strong team; on the campus and at the central office. Yes, we, as principals, can move our campus forward even with an ineffective central administration. But that is a tough fight. A central administration staff that is supportive and working toward campus success makes my job so much easier.

In this blog, we've criticized Assistant Principals (I couldn't survive without mine); teachers (that is where it all happens); counselors; and central administration staff. Not sure we've started in on food service and transportation...but they may be next.

Careful....we may choke on our principal haloes."

SC Response
Great post. Like I tell everyone, if you don’t like the tone of the blog, change it by sending in a comment.

First, if you talking specifically about, “Teacher Stress – Part 18,” you missed the context. I stated that I was describing a district that is in a doom loop. That obviously describes a narrow niche of school districts. It does not describe the majority of districts. On the other hand, having a working understanding of the dynamics of a doom loop district allows everyone else to do some self monitoring and self reflection. If you recognize some of the patterns or practices occurring in your district, fix it. If there ever was a case of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, this is it.

Second, yes there are poor performers in every role, from Board Member to Para-professional. And beating the dead horse gets tiresome. But this blog is driven by people who are trying to improve things because they want to, not because they have to. When that is the case, dealing with poor performers is a much more complex issue. It is much easier to improve the “have to” situation. Hence, the regular discussions.

Third, I know that the poor performers are in the minority, most educators are good people who try hard and want what’s best for their students. But we are also a profession that engages in very few professional behaviors. To not point that out and not work everyday to fix that situation would not be professional.

Fourth, effective teams are built on honest assessments and professional expectations. Dealing with that doesn’t always feel good. But this is where the role of leadership is most important, doing the hard stuff. One
reason why I often point out the frailties of upper management is because as the outsider, I can. The subordinate can’t point out to the boss that she is letting the team down, and survive. In that context, I see the blog as a vehicle that promotes reflection and examination of our practices through the lens of effective vs. ineffective. In this particular case, your post made me re-examine the recent content of this on-going conversation. After all, there is a fine line between constructive feedback and petty whining.

Finally, I’m the last one to claim that principal’s are perfect. In fact, I know of no one who holds principals more accountable than I do (other than Brown). Any principal that we have worked with can attest to that. Or as one principal stated, an LYS assessment is not meant to be a self esteem building exercise. But we do it, because we are zealots for public education and we believe that the work we (public educators) do is too important and too serious not do at full speed.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (The Harris County Incubator - Part 2)

In response to the post, “The Harris County Incubator,” a reader writes:

"I am with ya on that one. Old-timers work as a true team always. Old-timers know the meaning of doesn't matter if you like who is on your team they are still apart of the team and will be treated as such. Old-timers...yep they know what it takes to make any part of the job work. They don't blame, they simply take up the slack and get it done. They don't try to find fault they simply figure out how to get it done and it gets turned in on time. They figure out how to get it done without the finger pointing (not a team like behavior) and they get things done. Old-timers know that a team is human and therefore will mess-up. But you have to be there to help your team members when they mess up and fill in the holes they made so the team doesn't go down but remains a whole team. Old-timers, we should all learn from them and their ethics of teamwork."

SC Response
I have to admit, I can’t tell if you are trying to be funny or sarcastic. I’m going to take the high road and assume that you were attempting to make your point through humor.

There is no doubt that the old timers I was writing about focused on building great teams, but there was no question that THEY ran the team. And as a member of their team, you had responsibilities and you were expected to produce.

As for the credit or blame, there was little pressure because it was understood if something worked, they got the credit and if it didn’t work, they got the blame. And you are right, finger pointing was kept at a minimum, but the autopsies of failure were expected and brutally honest. Also, if you couldn’t produce, as with any team, being cut was a real possibility. It still amazes me when I go into a district and one year contracts, six month reviews, and ownership of your objective results seem to be fictional concepts. This is why I constantly remind leaders that the system produces what the system expects.

Paige, Brezina, Schaper and Neeley didn’t give a squat about my morale or self-esteem. But they did care about my continuous growth as a leader and the continuous, objective improvement of the performance of my teams. That focus continues to serve me well.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Asks... (Hide and Seek)

A reader asks, “how would you deal with faculty on campus that hide in their rooms and will not help out?”

Good question, and a problem that most campuses deal with on at least an infrequent basis. The answer is situational. If the staff member is leaving at the end of the year, as long as that person is meeting his or her instructional responsibilities, I would most likely let time solve the problem.

On the other hand, if the staffer has no intention in leaving, I would respond differently.

First of all, I would make sure that the staffer is actually avoiding meaningful and important work. Skipping a worthless “gritch” session is understandable. Skipping team planning, not so much. I would also check myself, to make sure I am both setting the proper example and communicating my expectation. If I can’t make time to attend and monitor planning sessions, are they really that critical? Also, if I don’t communicate why team work is important and that I expect everyone to work together, then the issue really deals more with my leadership than with staff behavior.

Finally, I would have to look at the overall effectiveness of the teacher. Some people are natural lone wolves. If the lone wolf is exceedingly effective with academically fragile students, then I can tolerate the behavior for a long, long time. If the lone wolf is a prima-donna that can only teach “upper level” students, then that staff member and I are going to have a number of difficult conversations until either the behavior changes or one of us leaves.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your Turn…