Good is the enemy of great

How does an organization move from good to great? Is it easier to move an organization from bad to good? I think there is a bigger appetite for change when the organization is considered bad. In a bad organization there are many signs that make improvement easier. When an organization is good there may be resistance to continuous improvement.

I am rereading Good to Great by Jim Collins. Collins analyzed the most successful companies in the world to figure out what caused good companies to become great.  It's a classic leadership book that provides excellent insights on how to move an organization from good to great. Good is the enemy of great. There isn't a lot of incentive to change when we are getting good results. If we are a good school, a good company, a good nonprofit, a good organization, why change?

My single biggest hurdle as a leader is that we are a good at what we already do. We were good long before me. So how do I as a leader move us to the next level? How do I get people to believe in continuous improvement when we are already doing pretty well? I am very interested in the strategies that Collins found in each of the great companies he researched.

All great companies had what Collins calls a Level 5 Leader at the time of the transition from good to great. Level 5 Leaders were not the stereotype CEO with a large ego. They were humble and ambitious at the same time. They were often quiet and reserved. Most of them were hired from within. Collins describes them as more of a plow horse than show horse.

Level 5 Leaders focused on first who, then what. Rather than coming in with their own plan and implementing. The leader in each of these organizations first focused on the people. Collins explains,

"They first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it" (p. 41). 

It may be easier to do this within a business setting as opposed to an educational setting. Nonetheless, I think this is a very important concept.

What does this look like in action? Collins suggests the following:

"When in doubt, don't hire - keep looking" (p. 54). 

"When you know you need to make a people change, act" (p. 56). 

"Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems" (p. 58).

Level 5 Leaders confront the brutal facts in their organization.

"When you turn over rocks and look at all the squiggly things underneath, you can either put the rock down, or you can say, 'My job is to turn over rocks and look at the squiggly things,' even if what you see can scare the heck out of you" - Fred Purdue

It's so easy, and not mention less stressful, to not actively seek out the problems within your organization. Our employees will not go out of their way to share the "squiggly things," we must seek those out for our self.

In any organization it's difficult to not get side tracked and seek out quick fixes. Collins explains that all great organizations have a hedgehog mentality. This means that they have decided where they are going and they prevent any additional initiatives from steering them off course.

"For a hedgehog, anything that does not somehow relate to the hedgehog idea hold no relevance" (p. 91)

We have really tried to hold true to our school goals. Our main mode of school improvement is largely teacher collaboration. If there are proposed initiatives that aren't inline with teacher collaboration then we stay away from them. It is easy to get off target, because many of us want results now. Collins suggests that transitioning from good to great does not occur in one fell swoop.

"There was no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary break, no miracle moment, Rather, the process resembled relentlessly pushing a giant heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond" (p. 14)

You should read: 12 Huge Mistakes Parents Can Avoid

First and foremost I am not an expert on parenting. Like everyone else I am learning as I go. I am a father of four children and their ages range from eight years old to 11 months old. Like most parents I want to do my best to raise my children. I believe raising children to be productive human beings has got to be one of the toughest things to do. I recently read the book, 12 Huge Mistakes Parents Can Avoid by Tim Elmore. He provides us with excellent insight on the struggles we deal with as we prepare our children for life. I want to share a few key points below.

We won’t let them fail. Life is about failure. If we don’t let them fail along the way how will they ever deal with the harsh reality of life? If we swoop in and rescue them from everything as they grow how will they cope with their first real failure? We see an overwhelming amount of students have their first setback while at college and they never recover. Benjamin Franklin said, “The things which hurt, instruct.” I think it’s important that we put our children in situations to take a risk and experience failure. It’s also important that we talk about our own failures throughout life.

We project our lives on them. Many parents live their lives vicariously through their children. This is hard not to do. For these parents it offers them a second chance to get it right. I can remember when my oldest daughter was four years old, I got her into a soccer league in Minot. At the time I wanted nothing more than for her to be excited about soccer. Unfortunately for me she could care less. She was more concerned about playing in the gopher holes on the soccer field than scoring goals. This was a good education for me as a parent. I realized that I cannot project my personal ambitions on to her. As a parent I can expose her to these different passions of mine, but I need to realize that she will have her own passions and they may not match mine. I need to be okay with that.

We just want them to be happy. Every parent wants their children to be happy. Tim Elmore makes the argument that happiness should be thought of as a byproduct and not the ultimate goal. We often think happiness is related to material wealth, but we all know people who have everything and are not happy. Life disappoints. Being happy is dependent on how we react to or perceive events that occur in our lives. During their early years we should be communicating that they are loved, safe, valuable, uniquely gifted, and supported. As they transition to adolescence our message should shift. We need to help them understand that life is difficult, you are not in control, you are not that important, you are going to die, and life is not about you. These may be perceived as harsh, but they are true statements. If they are to become productive human beings then we should prepare them for this. Happiness is important, but there will be bumps throughout life. Think of happiness as a byproduct.

We remove consequences. You may have heard the term “helicopter” parent, this is when we fight the battles for our children. This type of parenting does not create independence. There are times when our children need support, but we have to be careful in how much support we provide. When we insulate kids and remove consequences from actions, we fail to prepare them for the future that awaits them. Elmore explains, “If we really love our kids, we do not make it our aim to get them to love us back. That is the by-product of our loving them and leading them into adulthood. Our kids don’t need us to be their pals – they need us to be their parents.”

We won’t let them struggle or fight. One of the biggest issues we see in school is the ability for children to delay gratification. Take a minute sometime and search “Marshmallow Test” on Youtube. This is a research study where students were brought into a room and at the table was a plate with a marshmallow on it. The test was to see how long the child could wait until he or she would eat the marshmallow. If they waited long enough they would receive a second marshmallow. Researchers came back years later and tracked the original children that took part in this test. They found that those who were able to wait were highly successful in college and on the SAT. The ability to delay gratification is very important for kids. Do we allow them to struggle for a bit or do we immediately provide them help?

When we affirm looks or smarts instead of virtues, their values can become skewed. Roy Baumeister, a leading advocate of self-esteem research found that self-esteem does not improve grades, advance careers, or lower violence. We need to be encouraging a growth mindset for our kids. I am not saying we shouldn’t praise our kids because I think praise is important. We should praise their effort, creativity, hard work, and persistence – more than the achievement itself.

We prepare the path of the child instead of the child for the path. When we encounter situations that are out of our control, the worst reaction is to force ourselves in and manipulate a better outcome for our kids. If we are focusing on life preparation we need to realize that we are not always going to be able to fight their battles. I understand that I cannot control how other kids treat my child, the teacher they get, my child’s attitude toward me, how happy, talented, smart, or beautiful my kid is. I can influence them and help them find ways to cope with the issues that occur in life. Elmore explains, “You cannot control your child’s attitude, but you can influence it. You cannot do the job interview for her, but you can prepare her for it. Influence is not control.”

Explaining the North Dakota State Assessment Results

This week the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction released the results from the new North Dakota State Assessment (NDSA). All public school students are required to take the test in grades three through eight and 11th grade. Students throughout the state took this test last spring and we are just now receiving the results. This is the first measurement of the newly implemented Common Core standards. The new NDSA has been dubbed a next generation test. The test has been developed to measure more than just rote knowledge. It includes performance tasks and is completely online.

Early results from other states showed substantial decreases in performance levels of students. North Dakota scores indicate a decrease as well. On October 27, the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) released proficiency levels, 46% were proficient in English and 40% were proficient in mathematics. At Rugby Public School District, 44% of our students were proficient in English and 43% were proficient in Math. This year’s scores should be viewed as a baseline set of data.

I have a few concerns with the release of this data. Last year many schools experienced difficulties administering the test. In Rugby, close to half of our fourth grade English data has not been published. During the testing window a few grade levels had to retake the entire test due to errors. We also experienced testing errors throughout the process. It was very clear that the test was not ready to administer last year. Due to the issues mentioned above I personally question the validity of this data. According to the news release from NDDPI not all tests have been scored at this point. It is unclear why NDDPI would rush to release proficiency scores when they could change.

The data from the NDSA are one many components we use to measure our effectiveness. We prefer our own locally developed assessments, the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), and the ACT. Teachers use their collaboration time to develop assessments that provide important data that is used to improve instruction. We continue to administer MAP assessments two times a year and we believe these assessments are much more reliable and easy to administer. The ACT is administered once a year for the junior class and this data is used to measure college and career readiness. I am hopeful that our NDSA testing experience will be better this year and that we don’t panic due to these initial scores.

Link: ND DPI press release

Vertical alignment ideas

We are using one of our upcoming early out professional learning days for vertical alignment.

On October 28th we will be having crucial conversations about gaps and overlaps that exist between grade levels. We expect authentic honest conversations. This is not about pointing fingers, it's about developing awareness. 

Each PLC group will begin to think about weak areas that may exist that are either identified by data or by teacher perception.  

Each PLC group will be led by a facilitator. The facilitator will take notes or assign someone to take notes. The facilitator will guide the conversation and follow the format below. 

Preschool - Grade 8 will use the following format: 

• Each PLC group will review and compare their ELA I Can Statements with the rest of the vertical team. 
• After all grade level teams have presented their ELA I Can Statements. The vertical team will analyze and look for gaps and overlaps that exist between the ELA I Can Statements from grade level to grade level. The vertical team will identify weak areas and discuss solutions within ELA.
• What is mastery and how is mastery assessed at each grade level? 
• Develop action steps for the next meeting on November 18th. What will need to happen between the meetings?

Grade 7-12 will focus cross-curricular activities: 

• Review the data and discuss what we do well and what we need to improve on?
• How do we do more together?
• How do we embed more 21st Century Skills like creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration?
• Develop action steps for next meeting on November 18th. What will need to happen between the meetings?

I think any time when we have conversations about vertical alignment and what kids may be missing it is easy to get defensive. A healthy culture creates opportunities for difficult conversations to occur. 

How have you used vertical teaming to address gaps and overlaps?