Going After Big Results: A Different Take on Leadership Development

Going After Big Results:

A Different Take on Leadership Development

RBL-APPS.COM Jolie Bain Pillsbury 1

Going After Big Results: A Different Take on Leadership Development

• Examples of Big Results

• The Theory of Aligned Contributions

• The Leadership in Action Program (LAP) Design• What is the experience?

• What is the method?

• What are we learning?

• Where are additional resources?


Big Result: All Children in Baltimore City Entering School Ready to Learn

BLAP Launched September 2003

Source: Maryland State Department of Education


Big Result: All Ex-offenders in Marion County are Successfully Reintegrated into their Community



Leadership Development: A Strategy for Accelerating Results

30+ Multi-sector Leaders invited to:• Commit to a big result

• Use four leadership competencies

• Take aligned actions • Make a measurable

improvement in the big result in fourteen to eighteen months

Leadership in Action Program:An Application of the Theory of Aligned Contributions


Program Design Creates Pre-conditions for Leaders Contributing to Big Results

• Call to Action

• Container

• Capacity to Collaborate


The Call To Action from an Accountability PartnerThe Baltimore City LAP Call to action:

To make a measurable difference in the school readiness of Baltimore’s children by November 2004.

Right now in Baltimore City there are nearly 42,000 children, birth to age five. More than 8,000 of them will enter kindergarten each year for the next five years. An average of 6,500 per year will become students of the Baltimore City Public Schools. Less than 30% enter ready to learn as measured by the MMSR-WSS.

Accountability Partners: • Mayor• Foundation President• Business Roundtable Chair• Governor’s Office For Children Sub-Cabinet

The call to action specifies:• A population• A big community wide result• An indicator• A time frame• A forum for public accountability for working to make measurable progress



The Container

Physical EnvironmentData Rich EnvironmentFocus on the Population, Result, IndicatorStrategy Implementation

Implementation TeamCoach/Facilitators skilled in Results Based Facilitation Coaching the four competenciesProject ManagerSite CaptainDocumenterDiarist

Real Time Documentation:Index of Decisions, Action AgendaPostersTimelineNotes,Resources (Result Based Leadership Tools and Methods, Action Commitment Tracking and Analysis, Competency Assessment and Feedback

The Capacity to Collaborate: Developing Roles as Collaborative Leaders Together

• Four competencies applied while “doing the work”

• Collaborative Leadership Roles and Relationships developed by:• Taking action together • Holding each other accountable• Practicing skills together• Giving each each other feedback • Using competencies to have authentic

conversations and address conflict

• Aligned Actions increase over time leading to implementation at scope and scale


Jolie Bain Pillsbury 11

From The Beginning…

• Result in the center • Using data• Building relationships • Doing the work heterarchically• Practicing the skills

RBL-APPS.COM

How are the children doing?

• What do you notice about kindergarteners entering school ready to learn?

• Are there disparities related to place, economic status, gender, language, race/ethnicity or other attributes?

• How do you feel about what you see?Data walk with another leader in the program


Doing the Work Using the Tools and Methods

RBL-APPS.COM

“It’s not business as usual.It’s a different intensity ofcollaboration and sometimesdifferent conversations.” Mary Leffler, Indiana Volunteers of America

Making Progress Over Time Working With Performance Data


• Seven to Ten Two Day Sessions

• Over 14 – 18 Months

Returns to IDOC due to Technical Rule Violations

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

# o

f re

turn

s

CTP Return - Techincal Probation Violation - Technical Parole Violation - Technical

Source: IDOC January 2011 Monthly Report to the Elkhart County LAP


Producing Tangible Results

RBL-APPS.COM

“Did I originally buy into LAP? No.

Do I buy into it now? Yes.

I can actually see tangible results of what we’re doing.

That’s what sold me.”

Mike Lloyd, Transitional Facilities and Community-based Programs Director for the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC).

Low-Cost/No-Cost Strategies IncreaseNumber of State ID’s Issued to Ex-Offenders


Leadership Development Method

Action Commitments establish public accountability at the individual,

the workgroup and the whole group level

Person Role System Framework enables leaders to consciously

apply skills in multiple roles

Competencies develop as leaders use skills, tools and methods to

work towards achieving the big result

Reflection, feedback, coaching and use of data inform both the

assessment and development of mastery

Leadership = aligned contribution to the big result

RBL-APPS.COM

Aligned Actions: Drive Big Results


Person-Role-System: A Foundation

Person: who you are influences your leadership in role

Role (s): formal and informal authority to accomplish tasks

System: sectors influence role parameters


Developing Competencies Drives Aligned Actions

Four Competencies:1. Results Accountability

2. Race, Class, Culture

3. Collaborative Leadership

4. Leading from the Middle


Collaborative LeadershipTakes up leadership role in the group

I understand the concepts of boundaries of authority, role and task.

I take up the role of facilitating joining, problem-solving, decision making and holding of accountability.

I help group move forward by working with others between meetings to accelerate progress.

Developing Applying Mastery

Session 1 Session 5 Session 90%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%


Tool: Accountability Pathway


Results AccountabilityMakes aligned contributions to accelerate measurable improvement in the result

I understand the use of performance measures.

I use performance measures to track contributions of self and partners.

I uses performance measures to align contributions and create collective accountability.



10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

RBL-APPS.COM

Method: Friedman’s Performance Measure Questions to implement strategies:

How much did you do?

How well did you do it?

What difference did you make?

21

Race, Class, CultureTakes action to address race, class and culture disparities.

I am willing to assess the impact of my own choices and actions (individual, organizational & system level) on disparities.

I seek out and implement best practices to address race, class, and culture disparities.

I implement best practices with partners to address race, class, and culture disparities.


Session 1 Session 2 Session 5 Session 90%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Method: 5 Steps to Address Disparities

1. Identify a disparity for a population

2. Within the context of place and time, explore race, class, culture factors that contribute to the disparity

3. Consider what works to address those factors and the partners who can contribute

4. Develop a strategy that addresses the factors and incorporates what works

5. Make aligned commitments to take action to implement the strategy (who will do what when and with whom)



Individual Leadership Portfolios

Leaders track their development overtime:

MBTI, Sector, Title, Role,

Authority, Accountability

Action Commitments Made and

Kept

Competency Assessments

Assets and Resources

Attendance by session

RBL-APPS.COM

High Action/Low Alignment

2

High Action High Alignment

5

Low Action/Low Alignment

2

Low Action/High Alignment

5

Workgroup High Alignment/High Action Self-Assessment

What will it take:• To move to high

alignment/high action?

Or• Stay in high

alignment/high action?



Are You In High Action and High Alignment?No Action

(0)Pre-Planning

(1)Planning/ Preparing

(2)Execution

(3)Increasing Scope/Scale

(4)

No action No action directed at

result No action directed at

individual leadership development

Collecting information and data to assist with understanding issues

Sharing information to make others aware of RBL group

Developing leadership skills

Planning strategies Preparing products Meeting to leverage

contribution to achieving results

Joining new members Collecting information

or data to assess specific needs of population and to strengthen strategies

Implementing strategies Collecting information

to study effectiveness of strategies

Providing information to target populations for their use

Restructuring strategies for better impact

Expanding scope within the group or agency/community

Expanding scope to broaden reach across agencies and communities

RBL-APPS.COM

Session 2

1359%

00%

941% Complete

Did not complete

Don't know

Total=22

Session 4

17

0

4

Complete

Did not complete

Don't know

Total=21


Design, Tools and Methods Help Leaders Contribute to Big Results

“Getting a lot of leaders in the room and getting them to agree on something and work toward something is hard. Without LAP’s structure, facilitation, and tools, we would never have the strategies we have now. ”

Rhiannon Williams-Edwards, Executive Director of Public Advocates in Community Re-Entry (PACE), initially served as Mayor Ballard’s Director of Offender Re-Entry during the LAP.

RBL-APPS.COM


Leaders think and act in service of big results

RBL-APPS.COM

“LAP led me to think more globally. How do we move the needle for all children in DeKalb County? It has pushed all of us in LAP to look beyond our own narrow interests.”

Allen Shaklan, Executive Director of Refugee Family Services, a non-profit agency in Stone Mountain,

Georgia


Emerging Evidence: Design, Tools and Methods Contribute to Big Results

1. Accountability and leadership skills can lead to stronger and more aligned strategies, and these strategies are sufficient in producing a change at the community-level.

2. There is utility in providing support to collaboratives as a whole, and in particular, focusing on collaborative leadership development.

3. Collaborative leadership skills add to the impact of accountability for improving the productivity of collaboratives, but also have a direct effect on community-level changes that occur beyond the scope of the collaborative.

RBL-APPS.COM


Skills, tools and methods are portable and useful in many environments…

RBL-APPS.COM


In organizations working with executive teams…

RBL-APPS.COM

Baltimore City Department of Social Services

Big Results Sustained over Five Years


In universities working with undergraduates…

RBL-APPS.COM

Beginning of Big Results in One Semester


What We Are Learning

• Theory of Aligned Contributions as implemented in LAP and in other Results Based Leadership programs provides a framework for collective impact

• There is an emerging evidence base for leadership practices that catalyze collaboration for results

• There is an opportunity to apply the leadership practices in a variety of settings

RBL-APPS.COM


Summary

Enter with results and leave with aligned action commitments.

1. It works.

2. It is challenging work.

3. It gets easier with practice.

RBL-APPS.COM


Where You Can Learn More:

• Tools:• Results Based Leadership Applications

• RBL-APPS.COM

• Practitioners:• Results Based Leadership Consortium

• RBLconsortium.com

• Research and other Resources:• University of Maryland, College Park, School of Public Policy, Results Based

Leadership Collaborative• publicpolicy.umd.edu/rblc

• Foundation Experience and Knowledge:• Annie E. Casey Foundation Leadership Development Unit

• AECF.org

RBL-APPS.COM


Questions?

RBL-APPS.COM

Going After Big Results:

A Different Take on Leadership Development


Supplemental Materials

1. Leading from the Middle (MBTI)

2. Collaborative Leadership (Proposal Based Decision Making)

3. Going to Scale with State wide Institutes

4. Analysis of Action Commitments Over Time

5. Key Findings 2011 Research Brief

RBL-APPS.COM

36

Leading from the MiddleUses understanding of preferences to move self and others from “talk to action.”

I understand my own MBTI and those of others, and am aware of the impact of own preferences one own choices as a leader

I use understanding of the impact of MBTI preference to see possible choices or behaviors that move the group from talk to action.

I apply MBTI awareness in making choices about communication, approaches to problem-solving, and conflict resolution to accelerate movement from talk to action.



10%20%30%40%50%60%70%


Collaborative LeadershipMakes proposals to develop accountability for collective decisions.

I make proposals and build on the proposals of others.

I problem-solve to help group reach convergence and be accountable for implementing decisions.

I facilitate or lead proposal-based decision making and am able to resolve conflict during process.



10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

% Not at developing

% Developing

% Approaching

% Sustaining


Method: Proposal Based Decision Making


Going to Scale Statewide...

RBL-APPS.COM

Representatives from Early Childhood Councils form teams and who attend Institutes to learn and then take the methods, tools and skills back home


Aligned Actions: Quantity and Quality

Leaders use data to make progress

RBL-APPS.COM


Key Findings 2011 Research Brief The University of Maryland School of Public Policy

publicpolicy.umd.edu/rblc

Documenting Commitments Increases Accountability Rates 17- 25% A formal, written process for documenting leaders’ commitments increases the accountability rate by 17% percent for individual commitments and 25% percent for group commitments.

Same Sector Partners Can Increase Accountability Rates by 16%.Increasing the number of same‐sector partners by 5% can improve accountability by 16 %.

Increasing attendance rates significantly increases the quality of members’ actions and partnerships. Attending more sessions increases the:

• Quality of commitments. Commitments made by leaders with better attendance have the potential for greater impact and are more closely linked to the collaborative’s shared goals.

• Number of commitments made by leaders.• •Number of partnerships that leaders develop.

RBL-APPS.COM

Documents

Going After Big Results: A Different Take on Leadership Development