1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,720 Episode 8. 2 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:14,680 This is a brief episode about leadership. 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:19,520 I'd like to start the episode by describing two of my former colleagues. 4 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:23,280 First I was working for a school administrator who had recently begun their doctoral studies 5 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,800 and they had one complaint about their coursework. 6 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,800 They would say, I have to start every paper by explaining why the ideas we are studying 7 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,880 won't work for me in my current situation. 8 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:38,520 So that was a leader who rejected all the generalizations about schooling that they 9 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:40,280 were being taught. 10 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:45,040 A few years later I was working with a school administrator who was participating in a Leadership 11 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:46,160 Institute. 12 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:50,480 They would go for day long seminars and then return to the school to share what they had 13 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:51,480 learned. 14 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:56,800 Well, more accurately they shared what they had been told but they had not reflected on 15 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:02,080 it to understand it critically so I would say they really hadn't learned it. 16 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:07,880 So this is a story of a leader who blindly accepted and repeated all the generalizations 17 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,040 about schooling they were being taught. 18 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,360 If you've been working in education for more than a couple of years you probably have encountered 19 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,560 leaders who adopt both of these approaches. 20 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,920 In this episode I want to encourage leaders and my specific audience remember is school 21 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:28,280 leaders and school IT leaders but I think my message is appropriate for all leaders 22 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,680 to take a medium road. 23 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,320 The most effective leaders are those who closely look at the ideas they are being taught but 24 00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:37,040 they are critical of them. 25 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:42,160 So they accept only those that make sense and they reject those that do not. 26 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:44,600 Now of course making sense is difficult to define. 27 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:50,640 For leaders have several factors that they must consider when deciding what makes sense. 28 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,440 First does this new idea align with your theory? 29 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:59,400 We all know that educators tend to reject the importance of theory but we all have assumptions 30 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:06,400 about learning and learners, teaching and teaching, technology and likewise all the 31 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,520 ideas you are taught have similar theories. 32 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:11,680 They are all grounded in theories. 33 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:16,720 If we articulate our theories and understand them, understand those assumptions then we 34 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:22,080 can better understand the decisions we make as leaders. 35 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:28,000 Consider will your system allow the change or the new idea that you are thinking about? 36 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,880 All systems and especially IT systems are contingent. 37 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:36,400 What we have done previously affects what we can do in the future. 38 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,800 Next do we have the capacity for it? 39 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,720 Students have limitations, budgets, personnel, skills. 40 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,760 These all determine what we can do and what we can't do. 41 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,320 There are other factors we have to consider when deciding what makes sense but these examples 42 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:57,600 illustrate the reality that some ideas, some things we are being taught are contrary to 43 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:04,000 what we believe the right thing to do is and some things are not possible given the situations 44 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,360 or circumstances in which leaders find themselves. 45 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:12,560 To be an effective leader, one must refine the ability to differentiate what makes sense 46 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:14,400 from what does not. 47 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:19,440 Reject the ideas that you should, accept the ideas you should, but be sure you know which 48 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:20,760 is which. 49 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,120 My advice is to take a few steps. 50 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:28,280 First again, know your theories, know your assumptions, articulate them, be familiar 51 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:33,600 with the folks who came before you who share your vision and understand their rationale 52 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:38,800 and understand the problems with their theories and with yours too. 53 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:44,320 Second, be critical of your situation and be critical of what you are being taught. 54 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:49,080 As leaders we must take advice from those who have more experience than we do but they 55 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,040 don't have the knowledge of the specifics of our situation. 56 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:58,920 Our situation is also the result of decisions that may not have been informed by the ideas 57 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,760 that are currently being taught. 58 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:06,840 The generalizations that we are being taught might be applicable to our situations or they 59 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:07,960 might not. 60 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:13,400 The only way to really know is to critically assess the ideas you are being taught and 61 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:19,360 critically assess your situation so you can accurately determine how appropriate new ideas 62 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:21,840 are for you and your situation. 63 00:04:21,840 --> 00:04:24,200 Now third, take some time. 64 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,040 Leadership decisions are permanent. 65 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:30,840 Sure we can all roll back decisions but folks will remember the time wasted with bad decisions 66 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:35,320 and those memories will affect your ability to delete in the future. 67 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:41,000 So be critical of your ideas, take the time to truly understand what is a good idea for 68 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,360 your situation and what is a bad idea. 69 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:48,160 So the messages I would have for the two leaders I described at the start of this episode are 70 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:49,160 these. 71 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,000 To the doctoral student, be open to new ideas. 72 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,880 There is a reason why folks are advocating them. 73 00:04:54,880 --> 00:05:00,160 Don't assume they don't apply to your situation just because they were developed in circumstances 74 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,480 that were ostensibly different from yours. 75 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:08,600 If you look deeply you might find more similarities than what you see on the surface. 76 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:13,240 To the institute attendee, not all ideas are good ideas. 77 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:18,640 So our effectiveness as leaders depends on our ability to find and use the good ideas 78 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:30,840 but only the good ones.