People Development is the Key to Organizational Improvement

All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual. 

Albert Einstein

Organizations will only improve as the people who work there improve their practices.  Much of what we currently do in terms of people development is isolated, ever-changing, and rarely related to organizational goals.


How can we begin changing the face of professional development?  


Effective professional development occurs at the intersection of meeting both organizational needs and individual needs.  How often does that typically happen in your workplace?  


Here are some ideas to begin moving towards more effective professional development in your workplace.


1. Differentiate - One size fits all doesn't meet the needs of your stakeholders  
2. Simplify - Choose one focus area the Development Plan
3. Recognize - Tap into individual strengths while raising the bar in other areas
3. Involve - Provide opportunities for individuals to be instrumental in developing their plan
4. Consistency - Avoid the temptation to constantly change your focus
5. Follow Up - Monitor the progress of individual plans through conversations and focused questions

Organizational improvement has ALWAYS been about people improvement.  Effective professional development will be the key to your organization's success in the new year.

Stop Waiting For A Map

"Please stop waiting for a map. 
We reward those who draw maps, 

not those who follow them."

- Seth Godin

This is one of my favorite quotes from the book Poke the Box (a definite must read for all individuals that breathe in and out).  

Leaders have a responsibility to initiate the drawing of maps that will move their organizations forward.  Unfortunately, these maps often appear in the form of lengthy, comprehensive improvement plans.  These plans are largely ineffective and stakeholders rarely get passed the first page.


I believe leaders should create a very different type of map.  Create a map that is similar to one that you would use in a GPS device.  These maps provide structure for reaching your destination but still offer you choice and flexibility.  They are relentless in getting you to your destination no matter how many times you fail.  They will reroute you no matter how many times you get lost in the journey.  Better yet, they typically fit on one page/screen. Leaders must take a GPS approach to moving organizations forward and exceeding goals.  


Put away the volumes of improvement plans that have done little to move organization forwards.  Instead begin creating a map for your organization by...

• Involving stakeholders in creating a map that will move your organization forward
• Including checkpoints to make sure that you are on the right track
• Honoring that all of your stakeholders at different starting points
• Differentiating development opportunities 
• Embracing failure that will eventually get you closer to your destination

There are many other factors involved in the creating maps.  What would you add?

What Are You Doing For Others?

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' 

Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Many of Dr. King's quotes resonate with me.  I often use them in speeches, presentations, and meetings.  This particular quote defines a large aspect of what we should be doing as educational leaders.    

Many leadership articles will encourage you to find a mentor.  I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for my friend and mentor.  I am encouraging you in this post is to become a mentor.  

One of my guiding leadership principles is the belief in leading, mentoring and developing aspiring leaders.  As a building principal, I always recruited and worked with people that were aspiring leaders.  Not all of these people wanted to run their own schools.  Many became teacher leaders or went into curriculum development, technology integration, etc.  This belief in mentoring allowed me to build capacity in the organization, distribute leadership, and develop talented leaders.

It doesn't matter how much experience you have in the field.  Someone out there has less! You will never know everything there is to know about leadership but you do have a lot to share with aspiring leaders.  We have all made great decisions and terrible mistakes that people can learn from.  Why not share that knowledge while providing a valuable service to the individual and the organization?

Here are some mentoring keys that I have used with aspiring leaders:

1. Set aside time to talk to your mentee.  I often did this in 20-30 minute blocks.
2. Provide your mentee with a leadership project.  I often would tie a school need to something the individual was passionate about.
3. Talk out loud about decisions, events, meetings, etc.  This provides a good sounding board for you but also allows the individual to hear your thinking.
4. Transparency is key.  Aspiring leaders need to see all sides of the profession. They need to know that:  
• Not every decision is a good one.  
• Not every project ends in success.  
• Not every parent is in love with your program

 

I believe that everything comes down to leadership.  Everything great is about leadership and everything bad is about leadership.  It is our responsibility to mentor the aspiring leaders that will lead future schools and future students.  This is just one response to Dr. King's question "What are you doing for others?"  

Are You Surrounded?

It is better to have one person working with you 
than three people working for you.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

My best friend always tells me that you should surround yourself with people that make you a better person.  This is a principle that effective leaders have always employed.  Great leaders surround themselves with a diverse group of people that push them to grow and develop.

Many leaders make the mistake of surrounding themselves with people that tell them what they want to hear which essentially stifles growth.  No one person has all the answers and the concept of group think just leads organizations down the wrong path.

This is an important concept to remember whenever you have the opportunity to hire, add, or remove people from your team.  How can you build a team that pushes you to be a better leader?  B

Differentiated Leadership

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." John Quincy Adams

As a classroom teacher I believed strongly in differentiated instruction due to the fact that my 20+ kids came in at all different levels. I always felt I was doing a disservice if I gave them all the same thing, at the same time, in the same way. I've always believed in high expectations for all students. I just knew that some students needed more scaffolding, support, etc. to get to their destination. As I transitioned into administration the concept of differentiation naturally came with me.

Differentiated leadership is really my daily approach/philosophy as an elementary school principal. I have nearly 100 staff members that are all at different levels in regards to pedagogical knowledge, classroom management, technology skills, etc. My approach to each staff member is very similar to the approach I used with students in my classroom. A staff meeting, professional development, etc. for all staff, at the same time, in the same way really just doesn't make sense. This is especially true since I believe strongly in modeling best practices for staff members. That's why the philosophy of differentiated leadership has been a cornerstone for our school's success.

These are the basic components to the differentiated leadership approach that I incorporate into my daily practices.

1. All staff participate in respectful work

2. Conversations, Planning, & Professional Development serve to build a foundation from which staff members can explore and create

3. Planning, Professional Development, and Coaching are based on individual learners and team needs

4. Multiple learning strategies and approaches are used in a coaching framework

5. Assessment and dialogue (formal & informal) occur in a variety of ways throughout the year

6. Administrators and teachers form a learning partnership where strategies are shared in order to move all students forward

You'll see that you can replace the adult in each principle with a student and you have the basic principles for differentiated instruction. There are certainly other principles that you could easily add. Please feel free to comment and add your own.