What makes certain organizations better than others?
At the cusp of the 'second season' of the NHL season, and frustrated by the yearly meltdown by the Toronto Maple Leafs, I began thinking: 'what makes an organization effective?' Also, if an organization is successful for a sustained amount of time, what is it about that organization that perpetuates institutional success on a consistent, year in year out basis?
My questions:
* What does Detroit do that makes them successful?
* How do they treat their people?
* Why don't other organizations try to emulate the success of successful organizations?
After reading the Forbes article,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2013/05/15/the-red-wings-and-how-to-be-successful-for-the-long-run/
there are several points that are worth discussing in the context of of educational leadership. For example,
The Detroit Redwings organizational structure breeds a culture of excellence. Players are immersed in a culture that is transparent, positive an driven. Players are chosen not only for their 'skill set', but for their desire to win, strength of character and 'role' determination. That is, the team is structured so that players 'rise' to the high level of the 'culture of excellence'. The organization, in turn, values each of its components; the scouts, the managers, the 'role players' whose specific 'expertise' is sought after, illuminated and enhanced. All members of the organization feel part of this 'culture'. Indeed, the culture has bred success, as the Redwings have made the playoffs for 23 years in a row, in spite of the challenges of a typical NHL season. The wings also mentor and build their culture by having their leaders actively support, cheer and provide feedback to their people. They do not sit back and watch--they get involved and 'make it happen', rather than 'wait for it to happen'.
As well, one of the most powerful ideas from the Forbes article is: We don't REBUILD, we RELOAD
And, build around a 'core'; core principles and core players.
Above all else; have a VISION of who you are, who you would like to be, and How you will get there
Other organizations attempt to build 'winning cultures', but often fall short. Establishing a tradition can be daunting. Some teams attempt:
* best players--not the best 'character players'
*Reactive 'change' when things aren't going well--dissolves trust and becomes counter-intuitive to the culture of 'success'-- athletes won't take risks, because they know when they 'fail', they will be benched
*Constantly changing personnel: Failure to establish a substantive 'culture' when there isn't stability
*Top down leadership; players don't feel their expertise/skills are valued; 'us vs them' relationship whereby the gap between leaders and players exposes mistrust
*wait for it to happen, instead of 'make it happen'; organizations who don't have the vision to build and sustain their leaders by distributing leadership roles
What does this mean for Educational Leadership then?
The keys, here are:
*Transparency
*An agreed upon 'culture of excellence'; if you honour staff 'where they are' in terms of instructional expertise, you can build a staff that will rise to the 'culture of excellence' you establish. When you actively pursue a culture where teachers 'add' to the culture with their knowledge, experience and expertise, you raise the success of your school
*Raise the bar high--staff/students/stakeholders will 'rise to the challenge' and feed into the 'tradition of excellence'
*Develop specific 'expertise' of your people; let your leaders lead; make them feel part of something 'bigger than them' that is--a culture where success if promoted, noticed, valued and sustained through feedback and pragmatic approaches to change, challenge and crisis
*Trust is established because 'everyone plays a role'; there is the realization that there is a variety of skill sets, experience and history. If we all agree to 'get better every day', consistently refer to our 'culture building'
*We don't REBUILD--we RELOAD: As educational leaders, we enter school cultures that have already been established. Some cultures, have been sustainably running for years; others have had haphazard, inconsistent 'rebuilds' every few years.
The key here is to 'meet the staff where they are'. The Redwings, don't rest on their success, because they know, that as an organization they have to be moving forward, continually GETTING BETTER. If you enter into a school that has an already established 'core' of success, learn it, live it and then lead it. Conversely, if you are entering a school where the culture is 'missing', establish a 'vision' of shared expertise, high expectations and build relationships with the 'role players' on staff. Accentuate the abilities and expertise of your 'core' and build from there.
Setting the VISION---For a culture of excellence inside of a school
IF the expectations are:
1. EXPECT CHANGE: Who we are are educators; We do what is best for our kids; We change our practice constantly to meet the needs of our kids; IT's easy to by cynical about CHANGE in education; We can get beaten down by the wave of change, or SURF IT!
2. YESTERDAY was YESTERDAY; TODAY is TODAY: What was good THEN, won't always be good NOW. What is good NOW won't always be good TOMORROW. We know responsive educators 'meet the needs of their students' , and know when it's time to CHANGE--instead of maintaining 'what we've always done'.
2a. It's the 21st century. Let's 'meet the students where they are' and ensure our instructional methods and use of technology meets the needs of ALL of our students
3. IF we want our students to get better; WE have to get better; Getting better doesn't happen by chance--it is strategic, takes effort and gets us out of our comfort zone; AND... it's MESSY
4. We all are EXPERTS in something; We all have skills we at which we are GETTING BETTER; We learn from our mistakes, and strive to leave our 'comfort zone' "FAILURE LEADS TO SUCCESS"
5. We WILL make mistakes. We will support each other through our mistakes and GET BETTER as a TEAM
6. SET HIGH Standards for our Students: we have the MOST CRUCIAL Role to play---SET HIGH Standards for our TEAM It's WHO we ARE:
7. Remember our SCHOOL VISION; It's why we are HERE. We all know environments where we don't do our best work; LET's build a VISION where YOU will DO YOUR BEST work because that's WHAT YOU DO
8. We change lives, and work hard at doing so. When it's time to WORK, we WORK. When it's time to PLAY, we PLAY HARD too!
My questions:
* What does Detroit do that makes them successful?
* How do they treat their people?
* Why don't other organizations try to emulate the success of successful organizations?
After reading the Forbes article,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2013/05/15/the-red-wings-and-how-to-be-successful-for-the-long-run/
there are several points that are worth discussing in the context of of educational leadership. For example,
The Detroit Redwings organizational structure breeds a culture of excellence. Players are immersed in a culture that is transparent, positive an driven. Players are chosen not only for their 'skill set', but for their desire to win, strength of character and 'role' determination. That is, the team is structured so that players 'rise' to the high level of the 'culture of excellence'. The organization, in turn, values each of its components; the scouts, the managers, the 'role players' whose specific 'expertise' is sought after, illuminated and enhanced. All members of the organization feel part of this 'culture'. Indeed, the culture has bred success, as the Redwings have made the playoffs for 23 years in a row, in spite of the challenges of a typical NHL season. The wings also mentor and build their culture by having their leaders actively support, cheer and provide feedback to their people. They do not sit back and watch--they get involved and 'make it happen', rather than 'wait for it to happen'.
As well, one of the most powerful ideas from the Forbes article is: We don't REBUILD, we RELOAD
And, build around a 'core'; core principles and core players.
Above all else; have a VISION of who you are, who you would like to be, and How you will get there
Other organizations attempt to build 'winning cultures', but often fall short. Establishing a tradition can be daunting. Some teams attempt:
* best players--not the best 'character players'
*Reactive 'change' when things aren't going well--dissolves trust and becomes counter-intuitive to the culture of 'success'-- athletes won't take risks, because they know when they 'fail', they will be benched
*Constantly changing personnel: Failure to establish a substantive 'culture' when there isn't stability
*Top down leadership; players don't feel their expertise/skills are valued; 'us vs them' relationship whereby the gap between leaders and players exposes mistrust
*wait for it to happen, instead of 'make it happen'; organizations who don't have the vision to build and sustain their leaders by distributing leadership roles
What does this mean for Educational Leadership then?
The keys, here are:
*Transparency
*An agreed upon 'culture of excellence'; if you honour staff 'where they are' in terms of instructional expertise, you can build a staff that will rise to the 'culture of excellence' you establish. When you actively pursue a culture where teachers 'add' to the culture with their knowledge, experience and expertise, you raise the success of your school
*Raise the bar high--staff/students/stakeholders will 'rise to the challenge' and feed into the 'tradition of excellence'
*Develop specific 'expertise' of your people; let your leaders lead; make them feel part of something 'bigger than them' that is--a culture where success if promoted, noticed, valued and sustained through feedback and pragmatic approaches to change, challenge and crisis
*Trust is established because 'everyone plays a role'; there is the realization that there is a variety of skill sets, experience and history. If we all agree to 'get better every day', consistently refer to our 'culture building'
*We don't REBUILD--we RELOAD: As educational leaders, we enter school cultures that have already been established. Some cultures, have been sustainably running for years; others have had haphazard, inconsistent 'rebuilds' every few years.
The key here is to 'meet the staff where they are'. The Redwings, don't rest on their success, because they know, that as an organization they have to be moving forward, continually GETTING BETTER. If you enter into a school that has an already established 'core' of success, learn it, live it and then lead it. Conversely, if you are entering a school where the culture is 'missing', establish a 'vision' of shared expertise, high expectations and build relationships with the 'role players' on staff. Accentuate the abilities and expertise of your 'core' and build from there.
Setting the VISION---For a culture of excellence inside of a school
IF the expectations are:
1. EXPECT CHANGE: Who we are are educators; We do what is best for our kids; We change our practice constantly to meet the needs of our kids; IT's easy to by cynical about CHANGE in education; We can get beaten down by the wave of change, or SURF IT!
2. YESTERDAY was YESTERDAY; TODAY is TODAY: What was good THEN, won't always be good NOW. What is good NOW won't always be good TOMORROW. We know responsive educators 'meet the needs of their students' , and know when it's time to CHANGE--instead of maintaining 'what we've always done'.
2a. It's the 21st century. Let's 'meet the students where they are' and ensure our instructional methods and use of technology meets the needs of ALL of our students
3. IF we want our students to get better; WE have to get better; Getting better doesn't happen by chance--it is strategic, takes effort and gets us out of our comfort zone; AND... it's MESSY
4. We all are EXPERTS in something; We all have skills we at which we are GETTING BETTER; We learn from our mistakes, and strive to leave our 'comfort zone' "FAILURE LEADS TO SUCCESS"
5. We WILL make mistakes. We will support each other through our mistakes and GET BETTER as a TEAM
6. SET HIGH Standards for our Students: we have the MOST CRUCIAL Role to play---SET HIGH Standards for our TEAM It's WHO we ARE:
7. Remember our SCHOOL VISION; It's why we are HERE. We all know environments where we don't do our best work; LET's build a VISION where YOU will DO YOUR BEST work because that's WHAT YOU DO
8. We change lives, and work hard at doing so. When it's time to WORK, we WORK. When it's time to PLAY, we PLAY HARD too!