The Gatekeeper of Ideas

Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

I was recently watching a video on YouTube. The person was telling an anecdote about Vince McMahon. Years ago, when he was running the WWE/WWF, he was be the deciding factor when creatives pitched their ideas. 

All ideas ran through him and he solely had the power to approve or reject ideas.

I think overall he was very successful, but the person narrating said that he would sometimes approve poor ideas that would eventually tank or be unsuccessful.

It goes to show that there should be check on one's power by committee.

What happens when the committee is ineffective?

Handling People Problems

Photo by Juri Gianfrancesco on Unsplash

Ugh, people problems are the worst to deal with. Unfortunately, I tend to avoid conflict so I don't think I have ever learned to deal with them properly. 

Fortunately/unfortunately I have recently been getting a lot of practice.

Recently, I was in a meeting that was a little ... contentious. This meeting was the result of a long and drawn out series of meetings that have brought us to this point. In one of the more recent meetings, I had felt attacked, so I attacked back.

This is my reflection for how I should handle this kind of situation next time.

• Listen

Everyone should listen without judgement, but especially leaders. When listening we should not jump to conclusions, but listen to understand the other side. Does the other side have a point?

• Apologize early and accept responsibility

It is better to apologize and try to move on than dig in to your position or double-down. You might win the battle, but end up destroying your reputation or the culture around you. Leaders think of the collective before themselves.

• Look for win-win situations

Are there any win-win situations? Could you as a leader turn down the temperature and give in a little bit?

• Pause before speaking

This is something I am working on. I tend to, and especially in this situation, I was always listening to respond right away and not fully listening to what was going on. I have wanted to respond right away, instead of letting myself take in what was said first. 

• Question instead of accusing

There was a point in our negotiations where something was said about the timeline to make criteria for the process. The response was three weeks. I lost it. After six months of going through this conflict resolution, and after two years between when the events happened and now, there was no thought of criteria. (That is basically what I said.)

Another chap in the room said, "Let me ask this in another way. How many hours would it take you to complete the criteria?" The answer was 3 hours - which still made me furious. But I was impressed with the rewording of my question. 

On Giving Feedback

WHY DO YOU GIVE FEEDBACK?

This might seem obvious to you, but have you crystallized why you are giving feedback? Have you thought about it? 

Do you plan how you are going to give feedback? 

At its best, feedback can 

• motivate 
• teach
• correct

However, if done improperly, it can also

• demotivate
• demoralize
• depress

WHEN

Who is the feedback for?

It is strange to ask, but when you consider this question, you start thinking with an empathy mindset. So, it is best to ask the receiver when the best time will be. Chances are, they will always say OK.

It is always best to ask:

Can I give you some feedback?

When is the best time to give you feedback?

Feedback is probably best given sooner than later. Given too late it is almost torture.

HOW

Have you ever had a superior only give you negative feedback? 

Employees who experience negative feedback can become demotivated, detached, and can actually start to avoid contact their the manager. 

Is there something of a feedback framework?

Can you find something good in what happened? Or do you only focus on the bad?

Do you plan how you are going to give feedback? 

https://knowyourteam.com/blog/2019/09/24/when-to-give-feedback-to-an-employee/

https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/employee-feedback-examples/

School is an Infinite Game

I enjoy all things Simon Senek. 

In this video, he talks about how often in business you hear about sales targets or goals being made. But he argues that they are meaningless because nothing happens if those targets are not met. He says business is an "infinite game" where we are always striving to be better and we should be looking at how much growth has been made. 

Isn't that what school should be for - to move people forward?

My Biggest Regret

via Google Search

I don't like to ruminate, but I do catch myself wishing I could have done things differently in the past.

It was the first month into a coaching position that was new to both me and the school. I was asked for some ideas for math ... I had some, but I also had an awesome math book. I am embarrassed to admit what I did next - I went to this teacher's room, handed the book over, and said something like, "Read this. It's good."

No offer to come in.
No observation.
This issue didn't have anything to do with tech and I was a technology coach after all.

If I could do it over I would go in and observe. Then I would meet with the teacher. I would then go through the book and pick a few (3-4 perhaps) of the ideas out and make a menu from which the teacher could choose. I would brainstorm ideas along with the teacher how to make it work.
I would then offer to model or co-teach a lesson.

That's what I would do now anyway.

I want to think that this particular decision wouldn't have made a big difference in my time as a tech coach. But then again, maybe had I worked more closely with the teacher I could have gotten more teachers on board faster.

And it wouldn't be weighing on my mind even now.

Coaching Plan

One of the drawbacks to trying to complete this course over the summer is that I am relatively on my own. While I could send emails to my coworkers who are off resting during their break, I prefer to not bother them. So there are a few things I could not do to make this plan more robust, but school starts in two weeks, and at that time I can make the necessary changes that need to be made.

Throughout the summer I had been writing down my ideas for the upcoming year. So when we got to this point, I had something I could fall back on (see Jim Collins Good to Great). But it didn't come to me at first and I had to play with a few ideas before I had my plan. The first plan I made didn't have a school-wide goal. Which could be OK because I will be able to go to school tomorrow and talk to someone, but the group I chose to use was not very solid. That's when I thought back and decided to use the Elementary Team.

I am excited to get this plan underway for a few reasons. It ...

• is aligned with school's goal
• gets teachers talking with each other about tech integration
• creates transparency among teachers. Transparency leads to more ideas.

Again, this is not a final plan, but a direction I want to take.

Coaching Plan -- Pre-Scenario

This module is based on a sample scenario.


What is Mr. Park's most important coaching role?
In this scenario, the school is new to coaching (as well as the Mr. Park) and with most teachers, I think it would be best to ease into the role. Using this as a guide, I think the two scenarios Mr. Park should take are:

Classroom Supporter
Mentor

Bust since this is supposed to be a single role, I'll go with Classroom Supporter. I think both roles are important, but of the two, I think coaches should be in classrooms as much as possible, hence, classroom supporter.


Whom should Mr. Park coach?
In this scenario, there are two groups of teachers interested in working with the coach: Group 1 is not experienced, Group 2 is a little more experienced.

This is a hard call to make, but since the coaching program is new, I think the choice would be to work with the more experienced and confident group first. That way, this group could get up and running and be used as a support group for others.

The danger in supporting the less confident group first is that less experienced individuals usually take longer to grasp concepts, which takes valuable time. While it is not the goal to speed through coaching cycles, and it is important to take time with those who need it, I think it is important for the coach to use time wisely.

That's what I thought before I reread each scenario. The school's academic focus is writing across the curriculum. Since the first group is interested in writing, that's where Mr. Park should start. In addition, the two groups don't seem as far apart as they did when I first read the scenarios.

What could Mr. Park do to align his coaching work with the school's focus on writing across the curriculum?
For one, he could work with the first group of teachers who specifically said they want to integrate writing. He could then use those examples to show other staff in the school what they did. I would share the results whether they were successful or not; teachers could learn from both the exemplars and learn what not to do with the examples of failure. 

Mr. Park could also offer workshops and/or roundtable and/or create a book club that talks about how to integrate writing into the curriculum. These could be safe places for teachers to suggest ideas and take a more leadership role. 

I think Mr. Park should also work with the administration to figure out the best strategies to repeat the message of the goal the school is striving toward. This can be in meetings, placing posters strategically around the school, and could include the goal in the teacher evaluation -- anything to keep the message alive and in teachers' minds.


What resources could the school contribute to the coaching teams?
This is an interesting question. I suppose this is to get coaches/potential coaches thinking about what resources they potentially need to ask their administration for -- before starting an initiative.

In this scenario, the administration could supply resources such as books on writing, additional professional development related to writing, and most importantly, could think of ways to make time for teachers to collaborate and work together.

I am left pondering the following questions for my own situation ...
Who will you coach?How will coaching align with your school's academic goals?What kinds of support will your school or district provide?

Define Coaching Roles and Responsibilities

Image via The ISTE Coaching Academy

Review the possible roles and responsibilities and think about which would make the most sense for you to adopt.

ROLES

• Providing just-in-time, just enough advice or training on teaching strategies, or integrating technology.
• Co-planning technology-rich, active, engaging learning activities with collaborating teachers.
• Helping teachers adapt and adopt innovative examples of standards-based, technology-rich projects that are relevant to participating teachers.
• Modeling or team teaching and reflection
• Observing teachers and encouraging reflection on learning activities

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Working with fellow teachers and administrators to determine the most appropriate use of coaching resources.
• Aligning coaching with the existing school professional development initiatives.
• Coaching one or more teachers consistently over an entire school year.
• Tracking coaching work using appropriate tools, for example, a log or record of collaboration; and providing coaching program updates as appropriate to peers in the coaching program and to school staff.
• Engaging administration to support the coaching program as a multi-year investment in teaching and learning improvement.

===

Which of the above roles and responsibilities would make sense in my situation? I think they could all work. 

For the roles, I am currently doing all of them [until now on a limited scale with certain teachers] but I really need to emphasize reflection next school year. Those reflections will allow teachers to show other teachers what works as well as what doesn't work.

Responsibilities too is an area that I am almost doing all of -- if even on a small scale during the first year. Looking at the responsibilities, the weakest of them has been the communication with administration. This school year, that will be a focus.

As a side note, this year I will put more of an emphasis on collecting data about the coaching program.

Effective Professional Learning-1

What professional learning is going to best prepare teachers to meet their students’ needs?
Part A: Typical Professional Development
Take a moment and jot down some notes on what typical professional development in your school looks like.

• Sit and get 
• Sometimes not needed -- could be unrelated to what I do, or I could already know it and be ready for the next step 
• Forced 

What is emphasized in this typical model?

• This model is a top-down approach. The choices come from the top with little or no input from teachers. What is emphasized? Whatever is determined as important is emphasized.
• From my own past experience, this can lead to disengagement or cynicism towards school-offered PD. 

Part B: Discuss Characteristics of Effective Professional Learning
Think of a time that you learned something from a professional development experience that changed your practice as a teacher.

A few PD days stand out to me:

1. Teacher workshop in Yokohama -- my first experience at a "real" PD event
2. Making the PYP Happen
3. Google Summit

What made the experience so effective?
In these PD experiences, I was able to take a few things back to school with me to use right away. I was given a "menu" of choices and decide which was best for me (except MTPYPH).


Take notes on the characteristics of this professional development experience.

• vibrant -- lots of energy
• community
• models what should be done in the classroom

People there wanted to be there, and were interested in learning and improving. 

What Makes a Good Boss?

I've had several jobs in my life. By my rough count, I'm at around 20. That is 20+ people who have been in charge of looking out to make sure that I succeed.

A few years ago I would have phrased that last sentence differently, but I have come to realize that those in positions of authority are also in positions where they are responsible for their subordinates (for lack of a better word) success.

So, what makes a good boss in my opinion?

A good boss ...


Listens
This is especially improtant for me since I need, thrive, on talking out my ideas. This isn't only for my benefit, good bosses know that listening leads to understanding.

Listening blurs into being generous with time. Those in leadership positions have to deal with a lot of stuff. I respect those leaders who recognize that it is as important to take time for those they serve, as their other tasks.


Asks for others' opinions
When leaders ask for, and act upon the opinions of others, it builds self efficacy. When I was first asked my opinion on an imporant topic, I was taken aback. It was a welcome change from the past, and it probably increases motivation and loyalty.

If leaders ask and ignore opinions too often however, it can leave people confused and angry.


Delegates tasks meaningfully
Good bosses don't give busy work. They look to increase peoples' capacity to perform better by delegating challenging tasks.


Looks to help instead of criticize
Criticism does not solve problems. It only makes people angry and hurt.


Has a clear vision
This was something that drew me to my current school. A strong and bold vision helps motivate and drive me forward.

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Citations

(This list was built on their ideas, tailored for me.)
Other blogs also do leadership posts, and I have read too many to pinpoint exactly where some of these ideas first came from.

• Harvard Business Review has a list of what good bosses do differently.
• Leadership Freak
• George Courous
• Cameron Morrissey