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Proactive Thinking- Maintaining Institutional Memory

What happens when you prepare a replacement? If change is inevitable proactive thinking protects the bottom line.

Last Monday there was a change of guard at NBC’s flagship late night show, The Tonight Show. While at a ratings high Jay Leno was replaced by Conan O’Brian. This move follows NBC’s belief on investing into the future and preparing a replacement; NBC executives announced the formal transition process back in September 2004. While Monday might have been Conan’s first time at the 10:30 time slot, he has been preparing for this position since 1993 at the 12:30 time period. After a week on the air, The Live Feed, an entertainment news site reports “the first week of O'Brien's "Tonight" has averaged a 4.7 rating in the summer -- 21% higher than Jay Leno's second quarter average with the show.”

For television networks, ratings are the bottom line while schools look at student achievement. Since change is inevitable the Florida Association For Staff Development addresses how proactive thinking will protect the school’s bottom line. An example is provided in the article, The Role of Staff development in Creating and Maintaining Institutional Memory, “If you agree schools are in fact experiencing a steady loss of knowledge, we propose a parallel, complementary, cost efficient enhancement of staff development’s primary role. It is suggested staff development purposely establish processes and strategies to capture knowledge from teachers prior to their leaving our schools. Significant improvements in individual and school performance can be made by capturing and sharing knowledge and expert skills acquired from our most competent teachers. Staff development research has shown teacher improvement is better accomplished by working with teachers within the school as opposed to going outside the schools calling on outsiders who come in, deliver a workshop and disappear.”

Sharing a Worst Practice

Sharing a Worst Practice for the sake of improvement.

Critics of sharing Best Practices argue that the lack of result data defeats the concept of a Best Practice. For the most part changing input behavior does not constitute improvement. Is it possible that sharing Worst Practices is a solution to identifying strategies for improvement? At least by sharing what did not work includes results data, granted not desired results, yet results.

I can reflect on activities this past year that failed, yet even though they fall short of being identified as a Best Practice, there is a need to share what did not work. Our Teacher Leadership design that involved a professional learning community with teachers from across the district failed to materialize. Analysis of the design, participant work, and interviews identified what to do differently to increase desired results. If offered again we would need to identify if participants are geographically undesirable and provide a plan for collaboration. My Worst Practice is not providing a structure during the course for participants to develop a plan to work together.

Inspired by Chris Blatman, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Economics at Yale University (http://tinyurl.com/qo9jq8)

A response to Chris can be found at Why Not Share Your Worst Practices? http://tinyurl.com/ouanyo

Conflicting Systems

A school has multiple systems serving children; it can be frustrating when good intentions prevent success.

To understand how organizational systems can work together to achieve a common goal, just watch an episode of Law and Order. To understand how dysfunctional systems can prevent a common goal, just watch an episode of Law and Order SVU. Have you ever noticed that the breakdown occurs when members of the organization make people-centered decisions? As much as I admire Detective Stabler and Detective Benson’s passion for the job, I want to scream every time they bend the rules for justice. People centered decisions has an impact on how systems work. Why don’t they see beyond the arrest and realize they are making it difficult for the District Attorney to make a case? Even with good intentions, desired outcomes only occur when both groups of individuals adhere to the norms of the system.

Preparing for next year

Another story about preparing your replacement.

The continued transition of quarterbacks was evident during this year’s traditional Orange and Blue Spring game. Ever since Tim Tebow grabbed John Brantley to join him in a victory lap around Florida Field the future of the Gators has always been peeking around the corner. As much as it pains the Gator Nation to accept that this is Tim’s last year, the process for preparing for the future has been as important as preparing for the next game. Last year we might have seen Brantley late in the fourth quarter cleaning up the carnage left by Florida’s players, however just as we were introduced to Tim during the Chris Leak reign this is the year to welcome John into the position. John placed an exclamation point at the Orange and Blue game by throwing for 265 yards with three touchdown passes and two rushing scores.

Coach Meyer and Tim are making decisions based on what is best for the organization. Can the same case be made for your leaders?

Planning in advance?

The distance between where you are and where you want to be can have an infinite amount of points in-between. Where should we identify the focus of planning?

I’ve been spending a considerable amount of time contemplating the relationship between planning and reaching goals. My obsession started with the excessive “coach speak” during the NCAA football season. While each coach had aspirations and goals to improve their rankings and receive a bowl berth, they effective coaches maintained their immediate focus not on the future in January, but on the next game. So I began to wonder, when it comes to planning how close to the point of action is necessary for success? Or was my question, does planning too far in advance increase your chances on missing your goals. I wasn’t sure, but I do know that the successful coaches didn’t prepare for the games two weeks away but planned for the next week. Yet is that close enough? Did they plan for each day of the week? Perhaps after the Saturday game and watching the game film, they planned for Sunday, and took each day one day at a time.

What are the aspirations and goals of our School Liaisons and Instructional Coaches?
I am curious to know how their planning is approached.

Systems Thinking

A system is a group of interacting, interrelated, and interdependent components that form a complex and unified whole. As you read the definition what connections do you make to your role of developing teachers?

"Systems thinking is a perspective because it helps us see the events and patterns in our lives in a new light—and respond to them in higher leverage ways. For example, suppose a fire breaks out in your town. This is an event. If you respond to it simply by putting the fire out, you're reacting. (That is, you have done nothing to prevent new fires.)

If you respond by putting out the fire and studying where fires tend to break out in your town, you'd be paying attention to patterns. For example, you might notice that certain neighborhoods seem to suffer more fires than others. If you locate more fire stations in those areas, you're adapting. (You still haven't done anything to prevent new fires.)

Now suppose you look for the systems—such as smoke-detector distribution and building materials used—that influence the patterns of neighborhood-fire outbreaks. If you build new fire-alarm systems and establish fire and safety codes, you're creating change. Finally, you're doing something to prevent new fires!"

Source: About Systems Thinking. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2009, from http://www.pegasuscom.com/aboutst.html.

Focus on improvement before the win

When inducting new football players to the team there are practical tips that I believe can be easily transferred to our work. Since new players are expected to perform with the same results as their veteran teammates here are two sensible acts that coaches can easily implement:

Tip #1- Reduce the number of plays to study. There is a greater chance of success that a new player will learn 20 offensive schemes than 50. Develop the first 20 to mastery before biting off more than you can digest. Assist the new player in identifying the best 20 plays for success.

Tip #2- Focus on the technique not on the Win. While the goal of the game is to add another number in the win column, the time spent planning, the time spent practicing, and the time spent reflecting should be invested on what skills and techniques need improvement. When working with the new player assist with focusing on the need without forgetting the purpose of the game.

Where does a coach focus support?

With the Miami Dolphin regular season ending at 11-5, where does a coach focus his support? Even the home/loss record appears insignificant with a difference of 1, how would a coach know where to begin? You need to look at the details. If a coach approached improvement with a desired state that focused on just the Wins, will this provide enough information to produce results? I’m not sure, but I would not want to bet season tickets on that choice. Perhaps if the desired state focused on Takeaways then the goals can address skills related to when a defense forces a fumble or registers an interception. Improving a specific skill will eventually help with the W column.

Prepare your replacement

When I sign off on my emails I leave the reader with the thought, “How has your support system prepared your replacement?” I started to use this phrase during the Induction Systems course based on the belief that if your work is producing results, there is a strong chance that you will eventually leave the organization (probably to replicate the success), and if the work is valuable then it must continue. To avoid starting at zero and maintain success then promote from within and only hire from the outside when change is needed.

Without any prompting from the Teacher Development Department, Florida Gator head coach immediately recognized the results of an effective induction system and identified Steve Addazio as his next his next offensive coordinator replacing Dan Mullen. The induction carrot is that Dan Mullen did not lateral into a similar position but moved from offensive coordinator to the head coach of Mississippi State. Dan’s legacy will continue with Steve and those who follow.

If you believe this might have been an induction fluke, think again…the last three offensive coordinators under Urban Meyer have become head coaches.