NWESD Administrator Professional Certification Program

Dr. Jerry Jenkins, SuperintendentDr. Kathy Shoop, Assistant Superintendent

Considering Readiness to Increase Leadership

Effectiveness

Why are some schools successful and others

not when implementing the same improvement

strategies?

--Guiding Question--

• After considering relevant data, you determine curriculum, instruction and formative assessments need to be aligned to the CCSSs and Smarter Balanced multi-state assessment.

• Identify strategies for four different levels of readiness.

--Group Work--

1) Staff is Able and Willing to . . .

--Group Work--

develop/revise curriculum, classroom instruction, and formative assessments to the CCSSs and Smarter Balanced multi-state assessment.

2) Staff is Able, but Unwilling to . . .3) Staff is Unable, but Willing to . . .4) Staff is Unable and Unwilling to . . .

Different Situations Require Different Leadership and Implementation

Strategies

--Fundamental Belief--

Identify Constituents• Who might be impacted?

–Staff?–Parents?

–Other Schools?–????

–Students?–Community?

Assess Constituency Readiness

The two major components of readiness are ability and willingness.

Assess Constituency Readiness

Ability is the knowledge, experience, and skill that an individual (or group) brings to a particular challenge or opportunity.

Assess Constituency Readiness

Willingness is the level of desire that an individual or group has to accomplish a particular challenge or opportunity.

Assess Constituency Readiness--Individually & Collectively

Individuals may be at varying levels of readiness for a specific challenge or opportunity, while their collective constituency is at a different readiness level:- student vs. the student body- parent vs. parents as a whole- staff member vs. the collective staff

Assess Constituency Readiness

If the challenge or opportunity requires something never experienced before, normal fear of failure can be misinterpreted as low desire (unwilling).

Assess Constituency Readiness

Readiness assessment is not a negative personal reflection--everyone is more ready for some opportunities than others.

Readiness assessment permits the system to better meet its responsibilities-- as a first step to identifying the how.

• Without using names, can you identify a failed school improvement effort that might have been more successful if implementation strategies had been better aligned to constituent readiness?

--Group Work--

--Planning Guides/Process--• Issue/challenge• Time line

Considerations• Constituency

Identification• Constituency

Readiness• Implementation

Schedule• Next Step

School Improvement Planning Technical Assistant Project (SIPTAP)

Opportunity Organization Form—_________________ Each school team has learned several process tools and an overview of the improvement process. Several tasks need to be coordinated and facilitated so that staff are meaningfully involved without overwhelming them. This work sheet should be of assistance. Issue/ Opportunity: Date needed by: ___________________

What will this be used for? When will it be needed for this purpose?

Who should be involved: ___________________

Who would be impacted? What is their readiness for issue/opportunity?

Willing (Attitude) Able (Skills)

Desired process(es): ___________________

What data processing is desired (e.g., collection, prioritization, evaluation)?

How much time is available? Participant experience/comfort? Would one process yield better data for a subsequent

step? Implementation Timeline:

ACTIVITIES/STEPS TIMELINE WHO IS RESPONSIBLE 1) ____________________________________ ________ ____________________

2) ____________________________________ ________ ____________________

3) ____________________________________ ________ ____________________

4) ____________________________________ ________ ____________________

5) ____________________________________ ________ ____________________

6) ____________________________________ ________ ____________________

7) ____________________________________ ________ ____________________

8) ____________________________________ ________ ____________________ Next Step:

See back

--Sample Assessments--Able (skills)• Continuous Improvement• Leadership Team• Time• Resources• District Understanding and

Support• Processes in Place• Site Council• ________(Bldg Specific)

Willing (attitudes)• Staff Change Actions• Value Data in Decisions• Value Input• Receptive to Change• ________(Bldg Specific)

Readiness Assessment—General Readiness

ISSUE/CHALLENGE: Engage school stakeholders in a continuous improvement process focused on improving student achievement

Abilities (Able)

Stakeholders understand that the continuous improvement process is a process, not an event, and that the first “round” will take a number of months to complete

Yes No

Leadership Team includes a person knowledgeable about the continuous improvement process or technical assistance for the process is available

2-3 hour blocks of time are available for whole staff involvement in the process (LID, early release, extended time, etc.)

Resources are available to provide Leadership Team meetings

Relationship of School Improvement Leadership team with district office has been clarified and support exists at the district level

Communication and decision-making processes are established in the school

Relationship of the Leadership Team with the site council has been clarified

Site Specific Factors: * * *

Attitude (Willing/Secure)

Staff are ready to focus on actions that will improve student achievement

Yes No

Staff value the use of data for decision-making Staff value giving input during decision-making Staff are receptive to the idea that change may be necessary Site Specific Factors: * * *

CONCLUSION: Relative to this issue/challenge, the constituents impacted are:

________ Unable and Unwilling (or insecure) ________ Unable but Willing (or motivated) ________ Able but Unwilling (or insecure) ________ Able and Willing (or motivated)

ACTION PLAN: Therefore, the proper leader/implementation plan is:

Determine Proper Leadership Strategies

Readiness, defined as willingness and ability, varies from challenge to challenge.

So, how do we appropriately adjust implementation strategies?

Levels of Constituent Readiness

Constituent readiness can be divided into four transition levels. Each represents a different combination of ability (skills) and willingness (desire).

Unable and Unwilling

Able and Willing

Able, but Unwilling

Unable, but Willing

Matching Leadership to Situation

Able and Willing/ConfidentAble, but Unwilling/InsecureUnable, but Willing/ConfidentUnable and Unwilling/Insecure

Constituent Readiness

LeadershipStrategy

Matching Leadership to Situation

Able and Willing/ConfidentAble, but Unwilling/InsecureUnable, but Willing/ConfidentUnable and Unwilling/Insecure

Constituent Readiness

LeadershipStrategy

Telling/Teaching

Selling

Participating

Delegating

Levels of Constituent Readiness

Unable and Unwilling

Able and Willing

Able, but Unwilling

Unable, but Willing

At the lower levels of readiness, the leader is providing the direction—the what, where, when, and how —decisions are leader directed.

Levels of Constituent Readiness

Unable and Unwilling

Able and Willing

Able, but Unwilling

Unable, but Willing

At upper readiness levels, the constituents become more responsible for decisions—decisions become constituent directed.

This transition from leader to self-direction often results in apprehension.

What do we do if the affected constituency

lacks the skills/abilities? Identify gaps Provide meaningful

training/information

What do we do if the affected constituency

lacks the willingness/attitude?

Identify issues Develop intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic Motivation

1) Control

2) Cooperation

3) Support

4) Challenge

5) Meaning

Five variables if intrinsic motivation:

Lanford International, 1998

Intrinsic Motivation

BibliographyThe following related readings contain good ideas considered in this program:

Belasco & Stayer. “Flight of the Buffalo,” Warner Books, Incorporated, 1993.

Covey, Stephen R. “Principle-Centered Leadership,” Simon & Schuster, Incorporated, 1992.

Hersey, Blanchard, & Johnson. “Management of Organizational Behavior,” Prentice-Hall, Incorporated, 2001.

Holcomb, Edie L. “Getting Excited About Data,” Corwin Press, Incorporated, 1999.

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Pros• Creates joy in learning.• Everyone gets training

on how to improve processes.

• Promotes recreational learning.

• Higher quality work from larger percent of workers.

Intrinsic Motivation concentrates on creating systems and processes where people are encouraged to discover for themselves why work/learning is important, and thus are more likely to contribute quality effort. Intrinsic systems do not rely on rewards and punishments.

Cons• Results usually show

gradual improvements.• This level of training takes

time away from work itself.

• Requires an abundance of learner resources.

• Must rely on trust and training instead of inspection to achieve increased levels of quality.

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Pros• Gets quick results.• Inspector learns much

about the process.• Relies heavily on training

so only the inspector needs training.

Extrinsic Motivation concentrates on creating levels of rewards and punishments to manipulate people into creating quality work.

Cons• Requires increasing levels

of rewards and punishments to achieve better results.

• System is only as good as the inspector’s ability.

• Workers only correct mistakes identified by the inspector.