Be a Game Changer!

 



 

In 2015 I had the opportunity to hear future Hall of Fame Quarterback, Peyton Manning speak on leadership. I found my notes from his presentation and thought I would share them.

 

Here's the message; Be a game changer. Work to be the "X factor" in your organization.



 

1) Learn to thrive on being uncomfortable. There is no perfect pocket. As school and district leaders we start every day with our own to-do list. Most days that list doesn't get done and instead grows. It can seem frustrating and overwhelming at times. We have to accept that there is no perfect pocket or environment in which everything will go as planned. Just like a quarterback whose pocket is breaking down around him, we have to make new adjustments each day in order to move the ball down the field.

 

2) Devote yourself to intense preparation. Peyton spoke about the hours and hours he spent watching film of his opponents. He arrived long before the team for practice and often watched film well into the night. He was constantly preparing himself for success. As leaders we have to prepare ourselves to lead others. John Maxwell says that leadership is influence, if you can't influence then you can lead. As leaders we often get caught up in our data points that drive our decisions. However, I believe it's just as important to spend time with your followers. Take time to get to know them and truly listen to them. It sounds simple, but I think leaders can lose their ability to influence if they are not deliberate about connecting. Prepare to lead in multiple ways.

 

3) Invest in a coach. We all need mentors and people in our lives that will give us honest feedback. People who will point things out that others won't. If you don't have those people in your work life, go find them.

 

4) Find a way to instill trust in others. You can't lead without followers. Who wins the war? Generals or soldiers? Who loses the game? Coaches or players? What makes a car mobile? Engine or the tires? The answer to all of these questions is BOTH. If you don't instill trust in others, you won't have followers, you won't have influence, and you won't have a team.

 

5) Bravely adjust to realities; good and bad. Keep moving the chains. As leaders we have to stay cool under pressure and keep the organization moving forward.

 

6) Become a master observer. John Maxwell says good leaders walk slowly through the crowd and take time to listen. I'd say the same is true in becoming a master observer; slow down and take it all in.

 

7) Understand to sustain power and influence with other people, you have to earn respect by working not talking.

 



Leadership in the Movies: Change Management in Schools

     

     For many school and system leaders, change can be very difficult to implement. Often leaders think that they have a leadership position, therefore people will naturally get in line with a change initiative because it's coming from a place of "authority". If we are seeking true change and not just compliance, this perspective couldn't be further from the truth.
     Implementing change inside schools requires more than just new initiatives, rules, and processes. A key piece of the puzzle is making sure that the people inside the organization understand why the change is happening and are committed to the change. You must have your people behind the change if it's going to be successful. I believe two main ingredients must be present for successful change; TRUST and COMMUNICATION.
     Your people have to trust that you are changing things for not just your own benefit, prestige, or potential accolades, but for the benefit of the school and its students. Without trust, you'll see push back and resistance from the people who are unsure about why the change is happening. Some leaders move forward with trust while others naively move forward thinking that positional authority is enough to get the job done. Let's look at some examples.

     Doc's outlandish change initiative is to travel back in time. Marty is obviously not too sure about the success of this initiative, but because he TRUSTS Doc, he will stand in front of a car traveling at him at more than 80 miles per hour. I'd say that Doc has done some trust building.

     Let's take a moment and talk about moving forward without TRUST. This should concern a leader not just for the success or failure of the change initiative, but their long term success as the leader. When we lead and try to affect change from a place of positional leadership, we invite quiet dissension to glide in like a mosquito. This dissension will slowly and surely suck the effectiveness out of the leader to impact positive change in the school. 

      Some leaders expect loyalty, no matter what. I've always believed that loyalty should be a force that moves up and down any organization. It's not a one way street that moves from the bottom up. The most important thing for a school leader is to identify the need for change. In other words, "What needs to change in our school to make it a better place for students?" Once the "what" has been identified, the best leaders let their staff decide on the best strategy to address the issue. The staff has input and are emotionally invested in the initiative's success. 

     In summary, every successful change initiative must be about the students and the school and not about you. Your people need to know that your motives are pure and trust is that foundation. Once, an agreed upon need has been identified, communicate and work together to develop the most effective strategy to meet that need.

We Need Two Honorable Paths to Graduation

Why is our educational system set up with the premise that every student is going to a four year university? This year I began my first year as the Associate Superintendent of our school system. One of my duties is to oversee our system's special education programs. A major requirement from the Georgia Department of Education is to write a 20+ page plan of how we are going to improve the graduation rates for our students with disabilities. We must examine local barriers to success. Things like access to the general curriculum, attendance, and discipline data. All of that is absolutely fine with me. BUT, we also need to have a serious conversation about the barriers that the state has placed not only for students with disabilities, but students who wish to pursue something other than a four year degree.

There is a need to provide two honorable and valuable paths to high school graduation. Why must every high school student be required to take four theoretical math classes in order to graduate? Currently, students must take at a minimum Coordinate Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, and Applied Math Analysis. What about the student who plans to run their own poultry farm, or HVAC service? Would it not be just as honorable for them to take Accounting and Principles of Finance instead? This way they would actually learn about how to manage their money, the positive and negative power of interest rates, how to make needed investments, and how to depreciate their equipment. Could a student not substitute an Economics class that focuses on things like the Gross Domestic Product and instead take a Business Law class in order to learn about contract law? Is this not an honorable substitute? At the moment, our country has over 3 million skilled job openings. Openings for welders, truck drivers, electricians, plumbers, etc. Isn't it time that we take a step back and re-evaluate what we are doing?

Let me provide an example of how our requirements are actually causing students to drop out.

Here is a typical schedule for a ninth grade high school student on a 4 X 4 block.

Fall                                                                             Spring

1    Biology                                                                                    Civics

2    9^th Grade Lit                                                                          Coordinate Algebra

3     Elective                                                                                   Elective

4    Elective                                                                                   Elective

If this student fails Coordinate Algebra and Biology his 10^th Grade schedule now looks like this:

Fall                                                                             Spring 

Biology                                                                                   World History

American Lit                                                                         Coordinate Algebra

Physical Science                                                                    Geometry

Elective                                                                                   Elective

Does the above schedule offer the student a better chance of succeeding this year than last? ABSOLUTELY NOT! This pattern repeats itself throughout the next two and sometimes three years. Often by the time students are in the 11th grade they are so far behind in passing classes that seemingly have no bearing on their future, they simply give up. 

There is one prominent person in our country who wants to change this and that's Mike Rowe, the host of the TV Show, Dirty Jobs. Please take a moment and watch the first seven minutes of the video below.

I know what you are thinking. We have CTAE classes in which these types of skilled trades can be learned. You may also be thinking that we have now opened up dual enrollment for high school students to attend technical schools in order to gain access to learn these trades. YES and YES, all that is certainly an exciting step in the right direction! Our next step is to provide some honorable and valuable alternatives to some of our academic classes for those who absolutely know that a four-year college education is not an option. Especially, our students with disabilities.

Our current governor speaks of revolutionizing education in Georgia (once the election year is over... hmm). I would tell him, let's truly do something revolutionary and let's do something that no other state in our nation has the guts to do. 

The 12 Absolutes of Coaching

There aren't too many days that you get to read something profound and thought-provoking. I don't mean something that makes you say to yourself, "That was pretty interesting." I'm talking about something that stays on your mind the whole day because it causes you to look at  something in a whole different light.

Today our system's athletic director forwarded me a PowerPoint from a workshop of one of the most successful baseball coaches in the state of Georgia, Tony Wolfe. Our head baseball coach attended the workshop and shared the presentation and I think every coach in our system has probably read it. I'm going to share this wisdom with the Twitterverse. I'm not sure if all of this is Tony Wolfe's, but I'm giving him the credit. Here are the 12 Absolutes of Coaching from Coach Tony Wolfe. Read them, think about them, and take them to heart.

Tony Wolfe

Head Baseball Coach

Buford High School, Georgia

@bhscoachwolfe

#1 Great Assistant Coaches

• Model chemistry for the team
• Have roles and are allowed to do them
• Connect with players in a way that the head coach can't
• Have area(s) of expertise
• Are the engine that drives the team
• Are independent thinkers, but loyal followers
• The best friends you will ever have in coaching

#2 We Are Really Coaching Kids

• I started coaching baseball in 1983 but I learned over the years that I am really coaching kids.
• We get into coaching because of our love for the sport. To continue to be around the game after our playing days are over. But in time, you realize your love is really in coaching kids, not baseball.
• A great coach can coach anything, because he is coaching kids, not the sport.
• Teach/don't expect. Correct/don't criticize. Have more confidence in them than they have in themselves.
• We all have a coach that hooked us, made us love the game forever. It wasn't because he taught us the game, it was the impact he made on us.

#3 Be Significant, Not Important

• I spent most of my life wanting to be important, but through God, I learned to try to be significant!  It is not about Me!  It is about making an impact on others.
• Along with backwards thinking about baseball and kids, my goals were backwards.  I wanted to win everything- championships, coach of the year awards, fame, accolades.  Slowly, I learned that impacting kids were much more significant than trophies, awards and fame.  The greatest gifts are relationships, experiences, memories.  Are you making your players better people, people of substance?  Are you growing their character, their maturity?  Do you value them?  Will your relationship last when the games are over?  What would our worst players say about us. We have more impact on our players than anyone else.  

#4 Don't Let Ego Get in the Way

• Ego will always get in the way of leadership.  Anger and embarrassment come from ego. 
• As a young coach, I put too much of my identity in the results of my team.  I took it too personally.  Coaching is what we do, not who we are.  Pride can be a great motivation, but ego can also destroy connections, disrupt vision, and create a negative environment.  Control your emotions!  When we are embarrassed by our team’s play we create a negative culture.

#5 Work the Problem

• From the movie “Apollo 13”. 
• In a crisis, don’t let emotions over-rule your thought process.  Find a way, solve the problem.  There is a solution to every problem, it is our job to find it.

#6 Focus on What Your Players Can Do

• “Focus on what your players can do, not what they can’t do.”  (Jim Carter- GHS 1978)
• Too many times we focus on the negative parts of a player’s game.  Focus on what each player can do and use them accordingly.  We have gotten great results from players who had glaring weaknesses, by focusing on what they did well and then putting them in situations to be successful. See the strength, not their weakness

#7 Prepare Your Players for the Path

• Prepare your players for the path, not the path for your players.  Nothing ever goes as planned.   “We don’t rise to the occasion, we sink to the level of our training”
• Prepare your players to adapt, improvise, and adjust, to overcome.  Too many times we try to prepare the path for our team with an easy schedule, routine practices, and controlled outcomes.  Players have to be disciplined, and mentally tough, because something will always go wrong at a big moment.  Try to prepare your teams for everything that can be thrown at them, especially end of game  situations.  Have emergency plans that you have covered in case of injury or ejection.  We practice our emergency plan several times a year, especially as we enter the playoffs.  Prepare your players to be tough, disciplined, play-makers.  “Do they have enough bullets in the gun?  Are they trained to adjust and over-come on the fly?

#8 Be a Leader

• Rules without relationships will lead to rebellion.  Are you a leader, manager or ruler?
• It is easy to lead when things go well, but how we handle the bad times determines our true ability.
• Use unemotional discipline.  Love them through the period of discipline.  Have an end and a second chance. 
• Never miss a chance to lead (includes discipline). Consistent enforcement of rules. 
• The right words are as important as any physical punishment or loss of playing time. 
• Lead, don’t manage.  Display the poise and class you want your players to have.

#9 Invest in Your Best Players

• I coach good players better than the bad players.
• You can’t win without your best players playing well.  The problem is many times they are the hardest to coach.  You have to find a connection with them.  You have to find the right buttons to push to get the most out of them.  They want to be great, not just good.  Convincing them that you can make them better is the key.  Treat each player fairly, not equally.  Don’t let them get bored, demand they become leaders, teach them to be selfless.  Don’t let their talent and ego scare you.  Give them ownership of the team.  Responsibility makes them invest more.

#10 Sponge Theory

• Soak it all in, Pour it all out
• We ask our underclassmen to soak in everything they hear and see.  We want them to be seen more than be heard.  Learn everything you can about the game, your position, leadership, work ethic, team and family.
• We ask our seniors to pour out everything they have learned over their first 3 years.  Your legacy is what the guys behind you learn and continue after you're gone.

#11 Build a Growth Team

• We all need to grow as a leader and a coach!
• No one achieves success alone.  Surround yourself with people who make you better.  I  have learned so much about coaching/leadership from so many different people.  Sometimes nuggets come in the 5 minute conversation at lunch duty.  Most times, it has nothing to do with my sport.  Spend 5-10 minutes with other leaders and you will walk away with something new.  Have a group of people in your daily life who have leadership roles and you will become a better leader.

#12 Practice With the End in Mind

• If your practices are not preparing you for the end of the season, it is a waste of time.  Practice fundamentals that win in the playoffs.  Practice with tempo needed to win in the playoffs when things will be faster.  Practice with pressure, because your team will feel pressure in the playoffs.  Have emergency plans, because something will go wrong in the playoffs.  Practice what you repeatedly do in playoff games.  

Coach's Wolfe's last slide is something every teacher, leader, and coach needs to take to heart.

You have to go out on a limb to get great fruit.

Nehemiah 6:3  “I am doing a great work and can’t come down”

You are doing a great work!  Don’t let losses, bad parents, bad attitudes, bad umpires, keep you from your work.  Your impact is too great, your opportunity to change lives is too great.  It is God’s team and He has put you in charge of it.  

Get Yourself in Gear...And Stay There

In regards to a school year, the time between January and Spring Break is the longest of the year. It seems it will take forever for the next day off to arrive. I'm convinced this is why so many people love snow days. An unexpected break that falls from the sky. This is the season that educators can lose their drive. Stay motivated by these steps offered by Brian Tracey.

1. Get serious about going all the way to the top, to be the best at what you do. 
2. Hang out with the right people: winners who have positive attitudes and people with high aspirations who are progressing toward their goals. Avoid toxic people.
3. Take care of yourself. Eat healthy, exercise and get lots of rest.
4. See yourself as the best. Visualize yourself as the very best. All improvement in your life begins with an improvement in your mental pictures.
5. Use positive self-talk. Practice telling yourself, I'm the best, I can do it, and I love my work. Talk to yourself, envisioning the way you want to be, not the way you happen to see yourself at this moment.
6. Get going. When you have a good idea, act on it quickly. 

3 Secrets to a Positive Career in Education

Being an educator can be difficult and draining if you let it. I've seen educators over the years who quickly became negative and cynical. These folks are no longer an asset to our school community but a liability. Below are some tips that will keep your career in education positive and emotionally rewarding.

UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF EXPECTATIONS: Humans are conditioned and programmed to settle. As small children we have big dreams of becoming pilots, scientists, teachers, doctors, engineers, etc. As we get older we experience the frustrations and betrayals of life. We don't want to continue to get hurt so  we lower our expectations and thus lowering the demands we place upon ourselves. As educators we must beware of our unconscious, limiting beliefs regarding ourselves and more importantly our students. Push through these limiting beliefs and have high expectations. Teachers must set big goals and overcome roadblocks that get in the way of student success. Don't settle for second best for your students or yourself. Excellence is the result of high expectations!

COMMIT TO BEING A BETTER TEACHER EVERY SINGLE YEAR OF YOUR CAREER: You cannot continue to add value to your students without adding value to yourself. In other words, you can't give what you don't have. Some of you are reading this and saying to yourself, "I know the standards I'm supposed to teach." I'm not talking about content knowledge. Our students are constantly changing. The students today are different from the students of the late 1990's when I first began my career. Students today are so technology-oriented. Do your teaching strategies connect the standards with technology? Are you allowing them to use technology to create, connect, and curate? Are you hooking your students when they enter your classroom with something from their world? If you answered 'no' to any of the questions above, it's time to grow some more. Quickly find someone in your school who is doing all of these things and begin learning from them. It's important that you spend time with people you want to emulate. If you surround yourself with people who will not tolerate your low expectations, you WILL get better. Associate with people who are passionate, hungry, driven, successful and will not settle. Finally, we all have those voices from our past that bring us down. Overcome your inner critic and turn him into an inner coach.

TEACHING IS ABOUT SERVING, NOT BEING SERVED: Understand that happiness is about serving others. It's not about obtaining material items. The happiest and most successful people wake up each morning and ask the question, "How can I be of greater service to a greater number of people today?" There are a lot of highs and lows in teaching. Make sure that you know your purpose. If your purpose is to make money and enjoy two months in the summer lounging by a pool, you are going to be a negative and cynical educator. Build a strong social community of passionate educators who will challenge you to get better. Hopefully these people exist inside your school. I also recommend finding people on Twitter or Google+ from which you can learn and grow.

If you follow these simple ideals you will positively impact the lives of students and educators. As educators we will not enjoy a materialistic life, however we can leave a legacy of rich and rewarding relationships and hopefully help others to do the same.

A Military Approach to Teaching Standards

The United States Military is the best in the world when it comes to teaching standards. If the standard requires a soldier to change the tire on a Humvee, the soldier will change the tire in every possible condition. He will be required to demonstrate mastery during the day, at night, in the rain, in the snow, on a hill, and while under fire. If the soldier fails to demonstrate mastery he is moved or recycled to a group who is approximately two weeks behind the current group.  In short, he is remediated and given another chance to master the standard.  No one just gives up on the soldier! 

In education we need to be more intentional regarding our process of ensuring all students master the standards. How do teachers assess individual mastery of the standards at your school? What remediation structures are in place at your school? Remediation might include; double dosing of academic classes such as reading and math during the academic school day, after-school tutoring, Saturday tutoring, and targeted remediation by teachers during their planning periods.

The video below is an excellent example of how this should work in education.