Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Lead Like the Great Conductors

Being a conductor as well as a leader, I find this to be an excellent TED talk. Throughout the talk Talgam presents the work of various conductors, demonstrating the clear connection between conducting and leadership. This was all very interesting to watch, but my favorite idea from the video is when Talgam likens leadership to building a rollercoaster.

“You have the plan in your head. You know what to do, and you become a partner, building the rollercoaster…as you actually take the ride.”

Leading 21st century educational change of the second-order fits this metaphor of building a rollercoaster. Second-order change: (1) Is perceived as a break with the past; (2) Lies outside existing paradigms; (3) Conflicts with prevailing values and norms; and (4) Requires the acquisition of new knowledge and skills.

Since the world is a rapidly changing place, there can be no detailed instructions for change. It is not possible for everything to be in place before the “train” leaves the “station.” However, it is the force of the process – a leader with a vision, the skills to work with people and a thirst for change – that keeps everything from falling apart. In the process of reinventing education, there will be moments of thrilling success – like feeling gravity at work as the rollercoaster winds around a curve with great speed. There will also be moments of fear – like slowly climbing a steep hill and then ferociously racing to the bottom. Educational leaders with a mission and passion for challenging the status quo cannot avoid the thrill nor the fear. For our efforts at change to be successful, we can only embrace thrill and fear for once the ride has begun, it cannot be stopped.

Posted by Randy on 02/02 at 07:30 PM
21st century education • Change • Leadership • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Monday, February 01, 2010

Educon 2.2

The day after the Educon 2.2 weekend, the session that continues to swirl around in my head is the session titled SpeedGeek Learning: A Platform for Disruptive Inspiration. The session was moderated by Ben Wilkoff and focused on the question: What is your innovation?

As I shared during the session, it seemed to me that the discussion was focused on what I’ll call micro-innovations - small-scale innovations, mostly hatched in one’s classroom. What was missing from much of the thinking in the room were macro-innovations. In no way do I intend to lessen or discredit the micro-innovations. These are important! However, the changes we are talking about in education should eventually be seen on a large scale. One of our main struggles is pockets of innovation that never get beyond a single classroom in a school building. Some of the questions I am pondering: Is it the macro-innovations that change the system? How do we turn micro-innovations into macro-innovations? Should we be taking our micro-innovations and nurturing them into macro-innovations. Is this the change that education needs? If it isn’t, are we just cogs? Or, should we strive to be the linchpin (as Seth Godin suggests in his latest book)? Basically, I’m talking about scaling up here - moving from pockets of change to systemic change.

As someone who’s interests focus on educational leadership in a technology-rich, networked world, I think the key to scaling up the micro-innovations is leadership. I still think this is a misunderstood piece in the conversation. In fact, it’s often not a piece in the conversation. In my assessment, many of the conversations this past weekend focused on teaching and learning - and that is great. We must have those conversations. However, leaders must be able to speak as part of those conversations. From the work that I’ve been doing related to my dissertation, our leaders, in large part, don’t know how to have the kinds of conversations that were going on at Educon. If we don’t address the leadership piece, the conversations will continue to take place at the level of teaching and learning, and we will continue to have pockets of innovation - the micro-innovations. There are many reasons why SLA is successful. I believe leadership is a big reason for the successful outcome. If the leaders can’t have the conversations - lead the conversations - the change will never happen. This is leadership at all levels - teacher leadership, principals, central office, state and federal leadership. I want to keep the conversation going at the student and teacher level, but I want to expand that conversation at other levels. I know from my own experience, this is not an easy task. But it is crucial if we are to ever bring about changes in the larger system.

Related to the question - What is your innovation? - I would ask school leaders: What is your innovation? I think we would get some interesting responses. Later this week, I’ll write about how I define innovation and share what I think my innovation is. I’ll also be writing about some of the findings from my research that relate to leadership, innovation and scale.

Posted by Randy on 02/01 at 05:41 PM
Educon 2.2 • Innovation • Leadership • Scale • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Better

I haven’t been blogging of late, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing or reading. Much of my writing has been in other places and related to the work I am doing in my doctoral program. As I am driving or exercising, I have been listening to audiobooks lately. Granted, they are not like reading a book where you can re-read or easily refer back to something later. I just finished Atul Gawande’s Better.

In the Afterward he offers five suggestions for being a positive deviant:

  • Ask an unscripted question. This allows you to get to know the human side of who you are working with.
  • Don’t complain. This includes not blaming and taking ownership for things that aren’t the way you would like them. Do something about it instead.
  • Count something. This can inform where you should be focusing your efforts.
  • Write something. This forces you to clarify your thinking and it gives something back to your community.
  • Change. This means finding something new to try.

How many of these do we practice in education? Do we really get to know our student? Our teachers? Or are we so focused on that content? Or that test? Or that latest Initiative? When we offer criticism, do we offer a solution, or are we just complaining? Do we play the role of victim to the parts of the system we have little control over? Do we use our own research, no matter how informal, to inform our practice? Do we share what we learn with others? Do we use new tools and their affordances to communicate in ways that weren’t possible years ago? How do we respond to change? Are we early adopters? Late adopters? Or forever resistant?

Posted by Randy on 03/30 at 04:03 PM
Reading • Leadership • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
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