Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox) (John Lennon)

Dan Rockwell makes some worthwhile points about the paradox of power in a recent blog (whole thing is here)

Paradoxically, I feel more powerful in the classroom that I ever did as a Principal, or even a Head of English in various schools.

The paradox is that the higher you ascend the leadership ladder, the less power you actually have.

Why is that? Dan provides some following thoughts:

• Healthy power is using skills and abilities in service to others.  
• You don’t need authority to have power.  
• The more power you have, the more valuable you are when you serve with humility.

So, if you are truly being a leader, the more you actually concede power to others.

This is something micro managers and control freaks don't get.

As Dan says:

• The paradox of power is it grows when it’s shared and shrinks when it’s hoarded.

Or as I say: if you employ good people, get out of their way and let them do their job.

There goes my hero, watch him as he goes (Foo Fighters)

 

Dan Rockwell on coaching:

Coaching is slow

In the short-term command and control is fast. Eventually, authoritarian styles stifle initiative, create bottlenecks, add stress, cause adversarial relationships, and demotivate.

Coaching requires up-front investment that produces long-term benefit. Coaching-leaders go slow to go fast.

Hours are like diamonds, don't let them waste (The Rolling Stones)

70% of Americans said they “never had enough time,” in 2011. It rose to 80% in 2018.  It's probably 90% in 2024.

Wednesdays, especially, have turned into a manic day for me. No one wants or needs to know how busy I am, but Wednesday's become a full-on day. Chocka.

So, I turned to Dan Rockwell for advice.

Here he is on four ways to do less but get more done. I'm keen to see if any of these will work for me on Wednesdays.

#1 Choose one important thing to do today. 

I’m talking about choosing one or two places to invest your time, energy, and talent in order to make meaningful contribution.  

This one is impossible on a Wednesday

#2. Make your own decisions.

A person who lets others run their life does what matters to others.

Don’t live to only serve yourself, but don’t let others run your life either.

Realize you chose to work where you work. If the downside of your job is heavier than the upside seek a new job.

Not a practical solution for my Wednesdays.

3. Go to bed.

What fool believes tired people get more done? You get more done by getting enough rest. Too much rest is exhausting. Too little rest is debilitating.

I'm usually exhausted by 9.00pm and usually sleep until my 4.30am alarm.

#4. Put white space on your calendar.

Back-to-back meetings indicate poor management. Get more done by realizing schedule management is self-management.

Yes, I think I need to reorder a couple of things on my Wednesday schedule.

Luke, you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view (Obi Wan Kenobi)

Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

Dan Rockwell, as I've said before, is prolific on his blog - The Leadership Freak.

Because he is bold and forthright, I enjoy his work. He usually makes good sense too.

Here he is on leadership and being liked - People don’t like you until you like them.

People don’t care if you’re successful. A few want you to fail.

Most people look at leaders with skepticism. They wonder about your motivation. Are you in leadership just for yourself or will you lookout for the interests of others as well? This is a question of heart. Is your heart big enough to make room for others?

We are fascinated with ourselves. The best leaders are fascinated with people.

A leader who doesn’t care about being liked is a tyrant or a fool.

Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it (Daniel Kanneman)

Photo by Samuele Errico Piccarini on Unsplash

I caught myself overthinking something this week and that's rare for me (it took me a while to even realise I was overthinking too. Again - rare). 

It's of interest to me why I did that and what I can do next time. 

So, I went to my go-to - Dan Rockwell, for some advice and here's what he has come up with:

The more you think about something, the bigger it becomes. 

The sooner you act, the clearer you become.

Focus on thinking, get more thinking.
Focus on action, get results.

Action creates clarity. Inaction magnifies confusion.

Thanks Dan. One for me to file away and pull out when needed.

Those who think they know, don’t (Edward de Bono)

While recuperating from covid-19 this week, I enjoyed reading this post by Dan Rockwell looking at four ways to improve your leadership.

First - Quiet your ego. 

Relax! You aren’t better than others. You don’t control the world. The universe won’t flinch when you’re gone.

Second - Embrace learning.

Compared to all the things that could be known, you’re a moron.

“Those who think they know, don’t.” Edward de Bono

Learning and relearning are more important than the things you know.

Third - Lift others.

Arrogance puts people down. Greatness lifts people.

How do people feel about themselves after spending time with you?

Fourth - Stand for something that matters.

Being great requires unbending commitment and unquenchable tenacity.

Great to be reminded of those things.

Let the hour be mine. Take the high road, take the low. Take any one you're on (Bob Dylan)

Photo by carolyn christine on Unsplash

In 2022 I have decided to get a grip of my schedule.

As Dan Rockwell says:

A person who has a grip on their schedule has a grip on their life. Cramming more activities into less time is like walking on marbles. Running from one thing to the next means your life is frantic and shallow.

The secret to getting a grip on your schedule is serving the Big Rocks.

The first Big Rock is taking care of yourself. Take care of your body, soul, and spirit.

The second Big Rock is taking care of others.  

For the first time as a Principal I have decided to take my allocated release periods in 2022. Enough is enough. I'm done with covering everything that needs covering, being time poor and not looking after myself.

Every year as a Campus Principal I am allocated non-contact/release periods and Learning Centre supervision/coaching periods. In the past, like other Campus Principals I suspect, I've completely ignored those allocations and allocated myself none of the non-contacts. Actually that's not 100% accurate - I've allocated myself four and then allowed them to get swallowed up in 'needs must' scenarios.

Next year, I don't have a teaching allocation and our two distinct Learning Centres have merged into one by staff consensus. That expands our supervision and makes it a lot easier for me to take my release periods to do my job - which is to lead and manage the campus and look after my staff better - not by doing their job for them, but by being kind to myself.

I've had this aim for a number of years but this time - cards on the table - I told my staff about it. 

I'm determined to make this work in 2022.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen (Winston Churchill)

Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

Listening is a skill, and like any skill it needs tending to from time to time.

Because, let's face it, listening to someone else's point of view can be tricky at times.

Listening is often hard work. Zoom meetings do NOT help in this regard.

Impatience is a factor. Zoom meetings do NOT help in this regard.

And, patience can be stretched to the limits. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone wants to be heard.

I sometimes struggle with people who love listening to the sound of their own voice.  

What to do in these situations. What to do?

I like Dan Rockwell's advice. His three C's.

Two in particular resonate with me.

Calmness - listening requires a calm spirit (I aim to tell all my restless thoughts to go forth and multiply)

And, compartmentalisation. As he says, "Set a fence around your listening space. You don't have anything else to do except attend to the person speaking."

This last one is much easier to do in person. Zoom is not so easy. 

But I'll work on it. 

 

Long ago and far away I heard your voice (Blue Oyster Cult)

Our post covid-19 world will take some bedding in for lessons to be learned.

However, Dan Rockwell's poster statement (above) bears thinking about right now, as he says - Leadership is all about people, now more than ever.

Why is forward-facing kindness important? 

Because education is all about relationships. 

George Couros also mentioned this in a recent blogpost:

"You have a focus on relationships first (staff and students). – One of my favorite principals in the world stated that if you were exceptional with connections but weak with content, you could last a longer in education than if the reverse is true. Of course, we want educators with both, but focusing on the relationship piece is paramount, this goes beyond students as well. I know some very gifted educators, who are great with children but struggle with other adults. The focus is on finding school teachers, educators that are focused on the benefit of every child in the school, not only ones they teach directly. If the word “relationships” does not come up in your interview, I would be concerned."

Relationships and communication. Without those two elements, good will struggles to exist.

Have a think about how you were treated during covid-19.

See what I mean? Relationships right?!

It's a new dawn people (Grace Slick at Woodstock)

Photo by 30daysreplay (PR & Marketing) on Unsplash

It's a new year! New starts!

Yes, that also means it's goal setting time for Mandy, me, and the rest of the blogoshere!

It can't be avoided - discussion on Facebook on whether to have new year resolutions or not doesn't help and pretty soon we'll be back at school leading students in the art of setting goals for their year.

But before we start on that proud tradition - some cautionary words from Dan Rockwell to reflect upon:

Some limitations of goals-only thinking:  

Goals restrict happiness. Goal-fever puts off happiness until goals are reached (adapted from, “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear)

Goal-driven leaders minimize difficulties and exaggerate opportunities. False optimism results in best-scenario-thinking.

Setting a goal is easy. Choosing the next best step is the challenge.

Goals are outside your control. But behaviors are within your control.

Yes, we should exercise some caution: students can become hugely invested in a big audacious goal - say, a pass rate figure for a year group. The potential pluses are obvious - collegiality and group strength/expectation can raise students up to higher levels of performance/achievement. The potential negatives are less obvious - what about the students who don't buy into the goal or who can't/won't reach the needed levels to meet the goal?

Worth thinking about as we approach goal setting season. 

Bring before me what is mine the seven seas of rhye (Queen)

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

This post is inspired by Dan Rockwell's seven reasons why humility is a brilliant idea.

Here they are:

1. You’re not as smart as you think. Make room for ignorance. You don’t know what you don’t know. I am reasonably comfortable with this.
2. People that seem stupid become smart as time passes. I definitely got smarter when I had my own children and even smarter since my daughter had her own child.
3. Compliments are only partially true. People smile and tolerate your unattractive qualities. I'm very, very suspicious of compliments. Beware the insincere!
4. Self-made is an arrogant myth. We all stand on the shoulders of others. You’re reaching too low if you aren’t standing on someone’s shoulders. Again - very comfortable with this - I have acknowledged my mentors plenty of times in this blog.
5. Control is illusion. You live a life of dependency. Absolutely! 
6. Success, in large part, is good fortune. You were at the right place at the right time. This is true for me. I've been lucky, but I've made my luck a lot too. I've also been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But that resulted in my coming back to Hawke's Bay and being in the right place at the right time. Weird how things work out!

Walk this way! (Run DMC)

Photo by Mark Hayward on Unsplash

According to Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® are:

1. Model the way.
2. Inspire shared vision.
3. Challenge the process.
4. Enable people to act.
5. Encourage the Heart.

Without fact checking the source, I'm happy to see 'Model the way' as the lead out batter to the list.

Dovetailing as it does with the authenticity I wrote about last time, being what you want to see is crucial (Mahatma Gandhi knew what he was talking about).

And that means an exemplary leader's character is on the line.

Otherwise you're a hypocrite who pretends to have virtues, moral beliefs, principles that you do not actually possess.

And who wants to follow a leader like that?

I'm gonna learn to dance if it takes me all night and day (Chuck Berry)

Photo by Geran de Klerk on Unsplash

Exciting news!!!

One term into our appraisal process for the year and we've managed to complete pretty much all of the interim interviews to check that all teachers have their goals set and are now engaged in their personal inquiry linked to their goals.

Sounds a little complicated when I write it like that and not wildly exciting, but it's nicely straightforward in reality and important man!

Remember: Your focus determines your reality (Qui Gon-Jinn).

Simply put, it's all about targeting ways of improving learning via improving individual teaching practices.

I like the following chart from Dan Rockwell via his Leadership Freak blog where he cites Bob Proctor.

In our context, personal change begins with a 'what if...' and a good idea. But good ideas aren’t enough.

According to Bob:

You have a 10% chance of making change if you say, “That’s a good idea.”

You have a 25% chance of making change if you say, “”I’ll do it.”

You have a 40% chance of making change if you set a time to do it.

You have a 50% chance of making change if you plan HOW to do it.

You have a 60% chance of making change if you make a commitment.

You have a 95% chance of making change if you set a specific time to share your progress with someone.

That's SUPER encouraging. 

Next step for me after these first term interviews is setting times to have teachers share their goal and inquiry progress.

My goals beyond (John McLaughlin)

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

Holidays always help turn my attention towards what I want to achieve in the new year (which is next week). There's plenty of down time around family get togethers to reflect and ponder.

Resolutions are not my bag, maan, but setting some short term objectives mos def is (my bag). As you all know: Your focus determines your reality (Qui Gon-Jinn).

Clarity is easier for my professional goals. Here they are:

Get into more classrooms - provide better feedback for teachers - improve my appraisal for others and myself.

Personal goals are trickier. Basically, I have no idea...yet.

Dan Rockwell's post is helpful here as he asks good questions.

#1. What do you need to stop doing in 2018? (If you can’t completely stop it, how might you do less of what drains the life out of you?)

#2. What might you do that gives you energy in 2018?

• What did you do in 2017 that lit you up?
• What projects jazzed you up?
• What personal values were in play when your energy went up?

Values of personal enjoyment/ learning and communicating via reading (50 books in 52 weeks) and writing (my blogs) are my answers.

This year, maintaining the reading discipline proved relatively easy compared to being more proactive with the blogs.

To help with that and reduce the vast number of bookmarks (in my education, music and personal folders) I'm going to concentrate more on writing in 2018.

So, maybe less reading (a book a week became fairly all consuming) and more writing will create the much needed balance to the force.

To have a post go viral  is my personal stretch goal, my wildly audacious goal, my goal beyond for 2018. 

In the light you will find the road (Led Zeppelin)

Photo by David Moum on Unsplash

Hurricane Irma was not the only storm happening recently.

A good friend of mine was navigating a fairly brutal storm of her own.

Initially, there were a few flight or fight style decisions to be made. In the end, fight was the only option.Quitting is not an option if you follow the 'never give up, never surrender' mantra from Galaxy Quest!

Soul searching was the order of the day and she is (it's an ongoing process) weathering the tempest and learning tons of stuff about herself. 

Like what?

Stuff to do with 'above the line' thinking like owning the failure (that comes from, and leads to, greater empathy) with no blame or excuses.

And courage - she found it tough to admit she could do better; she told her students, "I need to improve. You need to improve".

Although it has tested her optimism, she has realised that stuff needs addressing if the culture is to improve.  

Finally, she has learned a valuable lesson in fortitude.

Dan Rockwell says: Own the consequences of your failures, but don’t circle the drain. Remorse for causing harm is healthy, but bags of guilt crush the spirit.

“Woe is me,” might seem noble, but it’s self-centered.

 She'll be stronger for this experience!

It's stopped rainin', everybody's in a play and, don't you know, it's a beautiful new day (Electric Light Orchestra)

Decisions decisions.

Recently, I wrote about my daily decision making. Sometimes decisions can come back to bite me, but I can't travel back in time via Rapid Roy (Skoda Rapid), my version of a DeLorean, and do over. Gotta live with a bad decision and endeavour to learn from it.

I like to continually remind myself of Buddhism's eightfold components to the path (which it itself is the fourth noble truth). 

Right Mindfulness is one of the eight.

Right mindfulness means being aware, mindful and attentive to three things: the activities of the body; sensations/ feelings; thoughts/ideas.

The head and the heart are clearly key components to Right Mindfulness.

Earlier this year, The Leadership Freak (a.k.a. Dan Rockwell) weighed up some of the head and heart-based questions that lead to decisions. I bookmarked the post and (like the noble eightfold path) return to it from time to time.

His judgement is that heart-based questions like:

• What does integrity/honesty/openness tell you to do?
• What does respect for others tell you to do?
• What does compassion/kindness tell you to do?
• What does courage/confidence tell you to do?

should rule the day.

He's really talking about Right Mindfulness, and asking some brilliant questions.

The way is clear.

You may say I'm a dreamer (Dr Winston O'Boogie)

Are you a DOER, a DREAMER, or a FEELER?

These are the three categories Dan Rockwell names in his blogs.

Briefly: 

Doers: Plan, organize, make lists, and find energy in finishing things.

Dreamers: Figure things out as they go, love new ideas, bristle at organization and find energy starting things.

Feelers: Despise conflict, display deep loyalty, do things themselves rather than ask others to do hard things, and find energy in relationships.

Me? All three at various times.

Here's my revised look at the above list but with the bold stuff being me (by me):

Doers: Plan, organize, make lists, and find energy in finishing things.

Dreamers: Figure things out as they go, love new ideas, bristle at organization and find energy starting things.

Feelers: Despise conflict, display deep loyalty, do things themselves rather than ask others to do hard things, and find energy in relationships.

Now - your turn!

Put me in coach, I'm ready to play (John Fogerty)

Teachers are coaches. It's what we do - we look and learn and we coach.

Most days we get it right. Sometimes we don't.

We've moved to a coaching model for the staff, and we're about to move to a coaching model for the students under the umbrella of our new Peer Support initiative.

During the early stages we're bound to get some things wrong. Maybe Dan Rockwell's advice will come in handy.

He reckons there are five key aspects to coaching:

#1. Stay curious.(Resist the temptation to give quick suggestions. You know the answer for you. Be curious about the answer for them.Develop a few go-to questions.Tell me more about that.What’s the next step?And what else?)
#2. Be honest with your feelings.
#3. Be direct.(Say what you see.   Prepare coachees by saying, “I’m going to give you very direct feedback.”Explore the difference between intention and impact. Most people don’t intend to shoot themselves in the foot.)
#4. Practice patience.Coaching is a process. 
#5. Be timely.(Coach in the moment. Don’t wait two weeks for the coaching appointment.)

Simple and effective advice! 

Ideas to live by, never mind as a coach! 

Just what makes that little old ant think he'll move that rubber tree plant? (Frank Sinatra)

Not everything is a BIG initiative in life. Mostly it's all incremental small steps, both forwards, backwards and forwards again!

Recently, our staff has been discussing ways we could implement some of the initiatives that were suggested at the Leading Remarkable Learning conference.

We came up with five things we want to see implemented at our campus:

• Innovative learning environments (inspired from Mark Osbourne's keynote)
• Coaches (a buddy/ reciprocal sounding board) (from Sir John Jones)
• Self-Organised Learning Environments (SOLEs) (from Sugata Mitra)
• Assessment for the future (also Sugata Mitra) Where do we want to head? What does success look like for our Westmount students? How do we get there in our context?
• All the while following the concept that 'Relevance and context is everything' (Frances Valintine) (This may involve Mindlab's Postgrad Cert in Applied Practice – digital and collaborative practice; taking students to Mindlab facility; Self-directed learning (SDL); and innovation – what is next?

'What is next?' indeed! Anyone wanting to lead innovation must travel via this question.

Well here are some thoughts gleaned from Dan Rockwell's blog about our next moves and what initiatives need:

1. New initiatives need to inspire energy to survive and thrive. Does the new idea generate enthusiasm in current team members?
2.  New ideas need committed champions. Who on the team is ready to lead the charge? 
3. Look for champions who aren’t already leading. Include new employees and people with untapped potential when exploring new ideas. See who steps up.
4.  Listen to the concerns of dedicated doers. People who are already getting things done, understand what it takes to get things done.
5. Cut stretch goals in half and move forward. Small choices are easier than big.
6. Keep everyone in the loop. People on the fringes grab the rope after first-movers generate a win or two.
7. Give life to new initiatives by giving them flesh and bones. Give enthusiasm a job. 

I could tick quite a few of these five initiatives for these seven principles of success (or needs).

Our five initiatives came from group choice and they each have their champions. Possibly the next stage, for me, is to discover the doers and the champions and see how they match the ideas. 

The loop sounds easier than it is in practice - some people like to know everything and the other end of the continuum are those on a need-to-know basis. All up, that one sounds like one for me to look after as Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Giving flesh and bones is well placed at number seven. If the other things happen then meat and potatoes...erm...flesh and bones, will flow (that all made much more sense in my head).

Anyway, FORWARD!

If I were you, I'd make it better (Al Green)

Painful leadership vs inspirational leadership.

The Leadership Freak blog by the wonderful Dan Rockwell recently highlighted this distinction.

His painful list included:  

• Nit-pickers  
• Ball-droppers  
• Drama-makers  
• Down-in-the-mouthers  
• Hand-wringers

These unattractive characteristics don't require any further explanation. 

According to Dan, on the other side of the leadership coin (yes, I know, it's not a binary situation but this is still cool and relevant) are leaders who:

• Care deeply about relationships - (it’s not just results) 
• Invite and act on feedback 
• Advance the agenda of others, without sacrificing your own 
• Understand the difference between advising and advocating 
• Say what others fear saying

I'll be aiming to keep these two models in mind as I move back into a senior leadership role for 2017.