Surviving as a school or district administrator these days can be challenging. Parents can be demanding, students’ needs and behaviors can require our intervention, and teachers can seek our time and attention. Just getting through the day can be a Herculean challenge. This is real.
So, when faced with all the challenges that come with the job, how do some leaders thrive, finding time to truly lead their schools and districts toward improved academic achievement and growth? What sets these leaders apart from their colleagues is clarity of vision and the ability to create cohesiveness around that vision.
If you want to be a leader who thrives, you must be able to articulate what you’re working towards and why it matters. You need your “what” and your “why” – your theory of action. “If we do this, then that will happen.” IF our classrooms all reflect high-quality instruction that looks like X, THEN our students will become Y.
Central to this premise is that you can articulate what you’re working on and what the outcome will look like. And when you can, your role is to develop and empower your team to bring that vision to scale.
Leadership is a team sport, so gather your team. Define your “what” and your “why” together. Articulate your theory of action. And then, support the heck out of your team and make sure that every person in your school or your district knows the “what,” the “why” and the theory of action. To be clear, this is not about writing “smart goals” to increase test scores. This is about charting a course for how to achieve greatness based on how you’ve chosen to define that.
If you want to know how successful you’ve been in promoting the vision, consider a simple test. Find a critical friend or hire a consultant and ask them to walk around your school or district asking folks what they’re working on and why. You’ll know quickly if your crew is all rowing in the same direction.
If they are, keep up the good work – study it, improve it and stay the course! If they are not, gather your team. Start there. Can every member of your team articulate the “what” and the “why?” If not, fix that first. Then, ensure that the members of your team know who the members of their teams are.
Getting your whole district or school to work together means creating a network of empowered leaders who are all leading in the same direction, towards the same vision. You can do it – go thrive and be great!
Become the school or district leader you aspire to be with the education programs at American College of Education.
