Leadership in a Transformational Setting

Raymond J. McNulty, PresidentRay@Leadered.com

@ray_mcnulty

“The future is not some place

we are going to, but one we are creating.

The paths are not found, but made, and the activity of

making them changes both the maker and the

destination.”--John Schaar

Making a better “20th Century School”

is not the answer.

Many of our efforts to transform education look like the same old system!

Themes1. Recap of Oct Key Points2. Leadership and Transformation3. Four Leadership Lessons4. A Model That Has Worked for Some5. Closing Point

Theme

•Recap of October Key Points

Schools are Improving

School

Improvement

Schools are Improving

School

Improvement

Changing

World

The primary aim of education is not to enable students to do well in school, but to help them do well in the lives they lead outside of school.

Current Standards

and Assessments

CCSS and NGA

Reading Risk

Mapping State Proficiency Standards onto NAEP Scales, IES August 2011

Math Risk

Mapping State Proficiency Standards onto NAEP Scales, IES August 2011

Best practices allow you to do what you are

currently doing a little better.

Next practices increase your organization’s capability

to do things it has never done before.

System Innovation

Sustaining Innovation

Next Practice

Disruptive Innovation

We have a flawed perspective of always listening to our best customers… They tell us how good the system is working

for them!

First Different - Then Better

First practice must change, then results,

then policy.

Current System

Something Different

NEXT PRACTICE THINKING• Get three, four, five…. answers

• Hard and soft ways of thinking

• Create a disciplined, managed space for development of new ways to accomplish difficult tasks… Versions

Theme

Leadership and Transformation

• Leadership today requires a balance of traditional skills mixed with innovation skills

• Stability, control and standardization mixed with uncertainty, ambiguity, innovation and disruptive thinking

What’s Your Profile?

All leaders have problems or situations in front of them for which there are no answers.

The skill set to do this is:

Current Leadership works hard to efficiently deliver the next thing that should be done given the existing system.

Delivery Skills

• Analyzing

• Planning

• Detailed Oriented Implementing

• Disciplined Executing

Innovators seek to fundamentally change the current model.

• Why accept the status quo?

• Look for new and better ways!

• Steve Jobs, “I want to put a ding in the universe!”

Discovery Skills• Questioning

• Observing

• Networking

• Experimenting

• Associational Thinking

• Delivery Skills

• Analyzing• Planning• Detailed Oriented

Implementing• Disciplined Executing

• Discovery Skills

• Questioning• Observing• Networking• Experimenting• Associational

Thinking

• Are you good at generating innovative ideas?

• Do you know how and where to find innovative people in your system?

• Do you know how to train your people to be creative and innovative?

Question Storming

• What is…

• What caused….

• Why… Why not….

• What if…

Highly Innovative Systems

• In your system is innovation everyone’s job?

• Is disruption part of your system’s innovation portfolio?

• Are small project teams central to taking innovative ideas to scale?

• Does your system take smart risks in the pursuit of innovation?

Scoring of Profile

Scoring

• 45 or above very high

• High 40 – 45

• Moderate to high 35 – 40

• Moderate to low 29 – 34

• Low less than 28

LeadershipSome in leadership positions believe we can transform our schools by the force of “their” effort.

This will not create a sustainable change.

The truth is for sustainable change and transformation to be successful the role of the leader should be to evoke from those in the system the inner qualities of:

• commitment

• creativity

• compassion

• courage

Those qualities are in us all and need to be channeled to drive the important work that needs to be done.

This is Leadership Density!

39

1 2 3 4 5

EmpowermentEmpowerment

VisionVision

1

2

3

4

5

6

Adaptive Leadership FrameworkAdaptive Leadership Framework

VISION A B

DC

AuthoritativeLeadership

Four Quadrants of Leadership

Collaborative Leadership

VisionaryLeadership

Adaptive Leadership

HighLow

Low

High

EMPOWERMENT

Theme

Four Leadership Lessons

LESSON ONE

Educational institutions tend to be allergic to conflict.

• conflict is dangerous

• it can threaten friendships

• it can damage relationships>

But, conflict is the primary engine of creativity and motivation.

So, a new tradition needs to be the norm:

Courage to surface conflicts.

LESSON TWO

Communication is in the mind of the recipient.

If you are the leader, people tolerate your ideas, but they act on their own.

>

Here’s a tip, communicate with emotion as well as logic.

Latest research shows that the brain’s limbic system, which

controls basic emotions, is more powerful than the brain’s neo

cortex, which governs intellect.

LESSON THREEThe culture of change

Detailed Complexity - determining all the variables in advance. (This is not reality)

Dynamic Complexity – unexpected, unplanned for situations that surface as you implement a change effort. (This is reality)

Senge suggests that those Senge suggests that those unpredictable, unplanned-for unpredictable, unplanned-for factors that seem to get in the factors that seem to get in the way, are in fact not merely way, are in fact not merely things that get in the way, THEY things that get in the way, THEY ARE NORMAL!!!! And everyone ARE NORMAL!!!! And everyone in the system needs to know in the system needs to know this.this.

LESSON FOUR

Most leaders die with their mouths open.

Leaders must know how to listen, and the art of listening is more subtle than

most think. “Leaders must want to listen.”

>

Great listening is fueled by curiosity. It’s hard to be a great listener if you’re not curious about other people and their ideas. What’s the enemy of curiosity? Grandiosity—the belief that you have all the answers.

>

Theme

•A Model That has Worked for Some…… (Starting Point)

• Aligned for Success

• Doctors/Nurses in Hospitals• Pilots in Flight• Teachers in a School System

Teaching

Organ

izational

Lead

ersh

ipInstructional

Leadership

Student Achievement

Rigor and relevance

Relationships

Content

Teaching

How

stu

dent

s le

arn

Inst

ruct

iona

l stra

tegi

es

Asses

smen

t to

guid

e

inst

ruct

ion

Embrace rigorous and

relevant expectations

for all students (+.75)

Cultivate

Caring

relationship with students (+.72)

Make content m

eaningful to llearners (+

.69)

Teaching

Use

Var

ied,

ong

oing

Ass

essm

ents

to In

form

and

diffe

rent

iate

Inst

ruct

ion

(+.9

0)

Engag

e in

Targe

ted

and

Susta

ined

Profe

ssion

al Gro

wth

(+.6

2)

1. Embrace rigorous and relevant expectations for all students (+.75)

2. Build strong relationship with students (+.72)3. Possess depth of content knowledge and make

it relevant to students (+.69)4. Facilitate rigorous and relevant instruction

based on how students learn (+1.28) 5. Use assessments to guide and differentiate

instruction (+.90)6. Demonstrate expertise in use of instructional

strategies, technology, and best practices (+.60)

Culture

Vision

Structure and

systems

Sel

ectio

n, s

uppo

rt,

eval

uatio

n

Organizational Leadership

Data

syste

msB

uild

lead

ersh

ip

Adj

ust t

he O

rgan

izat

iona

l

Str

uctu

reLe

vera

ge D

ata

Syste

ms

Organizational Leadership

1. Create a culture 2. Establish a shared vision 3. Align organizational structures and

systems to vision4. Build leadership capacity 5. Align teacher / administrator selection,

support, and evaluation 6. Support decision making with data systems

High expectations

Curriculum

Literacy and math

Dat

a-dr

iven

Provid

e

prof

essio

nal g

rowth

Instructional Leadership

Use Data to set High

Expectations

Align C

urriculum to

Standards

Integrate Literacy and Math

across Curriculum

Use

Dat

a to

Gui

de

Inst

ruct

ion

Cre

ate

Teac

her S

elec

tion,

Sup

port

and

Eva

luat

ion

Sys

tem

Instructional Leadership

1. Use research to establish urgency for higher expectations

2. Align curriculum to standards3. Integrate literacy and math across all content

areas4. Facilitate data-driven decision making to

inform instruction 5. Provide opportunities for focused professional

collaboration and growth

Solid Implementation • Focus

• Fidelity of Implementation

• Leading and Lagging Indicators

Proportions of students scoring in each decile of the MCAS 8th grade ELA distribution

Proportions of students scoring in each decile of the MCAS 8th grade Math distribution

MCAS math gains 8th to 10th grade, compared to others from the same 8th grade decile

(School Rank Percentile)

MCAS ELA gains 8th to 10th grade, compared to others from the same 8th grade decile

(School rank percentile/100)

“The main lesson was that student achievement rose when leadership teams focused thoughtfully and relentlessly on improving the quality of instruction.”

- Prof. Ron Ferguson, AGI Conference Report

•The Achievement Gap Initiative At Harvard UniversityToward Excellence with Equity

Conference Report by Ronald F. Ferguson, Faculty Director

For us, instruction focused on literacy across ALL content areas… NO

EXCEPTIONS!!!

Leadership That Provides a Streamlined and Coherent Curriculum

1. Restructuring Committee targets the Literacy Skill

2. Smaller subgroup drafts training script, brings draft to the full committee, revisions made

3. We roll out to faculty – step one: Interdisciplinary group training

4. Follow up in depts – how to implement in content area

Leadership That Provides a Streamlined and Coherent Curriculum

OPEN RESPONSE STEPS TO FOLLOW

1. READ QUESTION CAREFULLY. 2. CIRCLE OR UNDERLINE KEY WORDS. 3. RESTATE QUESTION AS THESIS (LEAVING BLANKS). 4. READ PASSAGE CAREFULLY. 5. TAKE NOTES THAT RESPOND TO THE QUESTION. BRAINSTORM & MAP OUT YOUR ANSWER. 6. COMPLETE YOUR THESIS. 7. WRITE YOUR RESPONSE CAREFULLY, USING YOUR

MAP AS A GUIDE. 8. STATEGICALLY REPEAT KEY WORDS FROM THESIS IN YOUR BODY AND IN YOUR END SENTENCE. 9. PARAGRAPH YOUR RESPONSE. 10. REREAD AND EDIT YOUR RESPONSE.

Follow up the Interdisciplinary Training.

Next step – HOW to bring this into the classroom

Lessons developed Implemented according to a

calendarNothing was left to chance!

So then what…

•70

As a follow up to this activity, I am requiring Department Heads to collect from each teacher at least one student sample from each of the teachers’ classes. The student samples should include:

Student NameTeacher NameDateCourse Name and LevelPeriodA copy of the reading selection and questionEvidence of the student’s active readingAll pre-writing work that the student has done, e.g.

websA copy of the written open response The new scoring rubric and completed assessment

 After you have collected the samples from each teacher and have had the opportunity to review them for quality and completeness, please send them to me in a department folder with a checklist of your teachers. Again, please be sure that your teachers clearly label their student samples.

The Open Response calendar of implementation is as follows:

Nov 2-6: Social Science, Social Sci Biling.Nov 30-Dec 4: Wellness, JROTC Dec 14-18: Science, Science BilingualJan 11-15: Business, Tech, & Career Ed.Jan 25-29: Math, Math BilingualFeb 22-26: Foreign Lang, Special EdMar. 7-11: English, ESLMar 20-24 Family &Cons. Sci, ProjGradsApr 5-9: Music, Art

• Technical Challenges

• Culture Challenges

• Leading and Lagging Indicators

Themes1. Recap of Oct Key Points2. Leadership and Transformation3. Four Leadership Lessons4. A Model That Has Worked for Some5. Closing Point

IF WE WANT..

Children to be brave and resourceful when confronted with the unknown…

Then they must see us taking risks and finding new ways to move ahead.

IF WE WANT..A new and better educational system

that educates all our children for success in the 21st Century….

We will have to be new and better leaders willing to take some risks

and expose our weaknesses.

• Effective and efficient approaches to increasing student achievement • Successful practices for teaching and learning from the nation’s most rapidly

improving schools• Practical strategies for using rigor, relevance, and relationships to increase

instructional effectiveness• Innovative tools and resources to support the transition to more rigorous

assessments

www.modelschoolsconference.com