The Sky is Falling!

It seems that the world’s attention is on COVID-19. We receive a daily barrage of information, directives, and perspectives on how best to manage this new reality of shelter-in-place. Watching local, regional and national leadership try to manage the situation reminds me of the times I have faced challenges in the school environment.

The challenges have run the gamut. While I was in Boston, we negotiated a gutted endowment by making major cuts to programs and personnel. We purchased protective gear in order to care for children and staff who might contract H1N1. We implemented a boil-water order in response to a contaminated drinking water source. We confronted children’s deaths, extended staff and family supports. We faced the reality of the Boston Marathon bombings, and sheltered in place when one of the perpetrators escaped to a place mere blocks from campus.

Leadership in these situations requires many things, but first and foremost, it requires calm. It requires the leader to learn as much as she can about a situation before she reacts to it. It requires precise communication that not only shares facts and potential solutions, but is reassuring to staff, students, and families. And it requires an outward appearance that is poised, positive and focused.

One of my favorite children’s stories was about the chick that was hit in the head by something while taking a walk around the farm. Chicken Little immediately assumed that what had happened to him was monumental, when in fact it was an acorn that fell from a tree and hit his head. As the story goes, he ran around the farmyard shouting, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” creating hysteria in those who listened to him.

I’ve worked with a lot of Chicken Littles in my leadership career, ones who take a panicked or fatalist stance whenever things are unknown or seemingly insurmountable.  Whether the situation is real or perceived, my reaction is typically the same. Stay calm. Question. Plan. Communicate. Implement.

Why is “stay calm” at the top of this list? The answer is simple, if often overlooked. When a leader responds to a challenge in a hyper or panicked way, she shifts attention away from the problem and onto herself. And that shift neither supports nor inspires onlookers.

I was at a regularly scheduled meeting once where the leader had spent a good deal of the day responding to a critical shift in events. He presented his scattered self to the meeting attendees in full view, talking about how distracted he was by the issue and what he was going to do to address his own self-comfort in order to get through it. Needless to say, the meeting was unproductive. Even attempts by attendees to help the leader address the critical issue were met with mild hysteria. The leader was so wrapped up in his own feelings that he could not hear.

Presenting a calm self is the first and most important thing a leader should do when confronting a tough situation. You might ask, “but what if I am not feeling calm? What if I am scattered like the person in your story?”

I am not saying you won’t be flustered or anxious or scattered. I’m saying that regardless of what is going on in your head, you need to present a calm and focused outer self.

When my mother was dying, I looked over at my dad, who was moving calmly from one task to the next. I commented on his calm. He said, “I’m like a missile: focused and ignited on the outside, exploding on the inside.” (My father launched missiles as part of his career in the Air Force.) Another way I’ve heard this described is being like a duck: gliding across the water while its feet are moving frantically underneath.

Whether you’re a missile or a duck, the point is that an effective leader is one who focuses not on herself, but on the problem and the people she supports during a time of crisis. Call on a mentor or a friend to help you self manage, and thoughtfully gather the colleagues you need to help you work toward solving the problem at hand.

If the sky really is falling, you’ll be prepared. And you’ll impart that sense of preparedness to those you lead.

Skipping Steps

Ringo Starr said it best: “If you wanna play the blues, you gotta pay your dues. And you know it don’t come easy.”

What does this mean for today’s budding leaders? In a nutshell: becoming a successful leader means that you must put in time and effort. It takes GRIT to be successful. There’s no getting around it—in a field where the pool of leadership candidates is small, and training and support are limited, emerging leaders need to make the extra effort to seek out mentors and other supporters to assist them in their quest for excellence.

We often look for newness when we are searching for just the right leader to create change in an organization. We are looking for a fresh perspective and a contemporary skill set. But that risks loss of valuable institutional knowledge. During a recent conversation with a young leader at a nonprofit, he remarked that “admittedly, the staff we are attracting are green”—this after teachers he perceived as rigid and unable to cope with change had left in droves. I thought it was an interesting admission—he had been actively encouraging existing staff to get on board with his ideas and intentions, but seemed content that seasoned staff had found the door and were replaced by younger and less experienced ones.

The idea of turnover during times of change is a blog topic in itself, but today’s commentary is about leadership progression—climbing the ladder, if you will, to positions with more authority and corresponding responsibility, in your own organization or one you have moved to.

My own progression along the leadership continuum was pretty straightforward. After an undergrad experience where I was tapped for various leadership roles, from resident assistant to sorority president to president of the Optometry Club, I arrived at my first teaching position in a rural high school with incredible energy and enthusiasm. I actually taught a class on leadership and ran the school paper. After completing my graduate studies, I embarked on a career as a teacher for students who were blind or visually impaired and worked as an itinerant teacher in a variety of districts. Initially, when someone tapped me on the shoulder to move to a supervisory role, I turned the idea over in my head and answered with a firm “no.”

But colleagues and friends continued to urge me to assume a leadership position, and I became first a supervising teacher and then interim Principal for a School for the Blind. By that time, I was pretty sold on the idea that my many years in the trenches would give me a unique perspective compared to other leaders without that experience.

 In that role, I flourished. The staff I inherited was so in need of someone to listen to, acknowledge, and support their intentions to do what was best for the children they served that I became their best advocate. Together we moved the school forward and built a student population that received an education focused on their unique needs. I participated in a couple of book groups around leadership and developed a respectable group of mentors and colleagues. And then… I was tapped on the shoulder once again to lead another school and its related programs through the recession. During that time, I was able to focus on some of my own special interests: transition and employment.

Unfortunately, politics, personality, and bad timing led me to resign from that position. I sought work on the national level. The Vice President position I landed with a national non-profit allowed me to learn a new skillset in a completely different environment. Today, I am exploring a variety of consulting positions where I could apply my abilities as a researcher, content expert, and systems-thinker.

Why share my personal experiences in this blog? Because my own personal leadership journey is one example of how leaders move along in the very small, specific, and elite world of blindness and visual impairment and sometimes find themselves in a professional role that challenges their ideals, expertise, and skillset.

I remember a conversation someone who had left a position I was considering. “If you’re looking to climb the superintendent ladder,” he said, “this is not the one I would recommend.” I was stunned. There’s a superintendent ladder, I thought? Who knew? I’m just interested in filling a position where I can apply my experience as a TVI and COMS to address the challenges of school administration.

In fact, the position I was seeking involved moving from managing 50 FTEs and $10,000 in discretionary funds to a position where I would be in charge of 450 employees and a $40,000,000 budget. Whoosh. How did I think I could manage such a great leap? What the heck was I doing? Who would help me make this leap? I was fortunate to have great support from colleagues around me, but I eventually sought an executive coach to give me honest feedback and help develop my skills. s

So this is my point. If you are considering a new leadership position or looking to lead an organization that is bigger or more complex than the one you currently serve, PAY ATTENTION.

Ask yourself:

·      Are you up for the challenge this new position will present?

·      Is there a position that might be a better fit for you where you can learn new skills that will prepare you for a future leadership position?

·      How will you manage the energy level this new position requires? Are there resources you can call upon to help you meet the expectations of the job?

·      Whom might you seek out as a mentor or sounding board when you take on a position that is different or more challenging than your previous role?

·      What are you good at? Whom will you need to call on to complement your current skills, support areas where you are not as strong, and candidly offer feedback to help you to grow as a leader?

This third bullet point is perhaps the most important. Let’s say you have climbed the ladder quickly, skipping over positions that might have taught you new skills and otherwise left you with deficits in your leadership abilities. What can you do to assure your success in your new role? Finding a leadership coach or mentor who is by your side as you transition is critical to your success. You will need to be able to look critically at your role and recognize where your deficits and inexperience limit you. You will need to be reading and writing in order to continue building on your previous leadership experiences and seek honest feedback about how your efforts are perceived. You will need to have someone – or someones—to talk to about all of this.

Above all, recognize that you have room to grow, and work hard to develop your skills while you are carrying out the role. … and you will likely need help to achieve leadership excellence.

One way or another, you gotta pay your dues.

A Leadership Stone for the New Year: Consider

I had all but given up on my one-word mantra: “consider.” Considering new opportunities had transported me into situations that were exhilarating, tough, and full of learnings. It had moved me from Colorado to Arizona to Massachusetts to Kentucky. It was the word I held onto when my dream shattered or I fell short of my goal. It had expanded my life in ways I hadn’t imagined when I was first licensed as a teacher in 1982. I had even planned to have the word tattooed on my wrist, a reminder of its power in my life.

Over time, however, I began to grow weary of the transitions, the frustrations and even anguish of trying new things. I kept picking myself up, learning from my mistakes, reveling in what I had achieved because I had considered, but feeling more defeated than refueled. I made the decision to step down from leadership and find a new way

I was even glad I hadn’t gotten that tattoo—considering new opportunities and challenges had left me deflated and, it seemed, alone.

Then I saw something on Facebook from an acquaintance whose viewpoints often differ from my own. It was a cut-paste that made fun of political correctness and its extremes. It ended with a statement: “This is what this country has become.”

Instead of scrolling past and keeping my tongue, I responded with this:

“When someone points out an issue to you, consider it. Turn it over in your hand and see if it speaks truth to you. If it does, consider changes you might make. If it does not, set it aside and continue on your way.”

In the moment those words came to me, I realized I was not done with the mantra that had propelled me through life for so long. The wisdom it holds is as strong as ever--I have just applied it in a different way.

In 2020, I will continue to consider, and I hope you will too. Without the power of considering something that is initially foreign to us, women wouldn’t have the right to vote, slavery would not have been abolished, and my leadership journey would have been brief. I am grateful for all I have experienced simply by considering.

Acknowledging mistakes

When I was a teenager, a high school friend admonished me for saying “sorry” several times throughout the day. Apologizing came naturally to me then, but it was based mostly on my lack of confidence rather than a real need to apologize for everything I did that was a little off. Fast forward to a few months ago, when the scheduler of a virtual meeting was MIA for her own meeting. My teammate and I waited in the cyber room for 20 minutes, then called it quits.

No big deal—managing one’s own calendar can be tricky, especially if participants are spread across the US. I sent her a quick email suggesting that we reschedule for the following week.

I was struck by her response, though—a couple of lines explaining how and why she had lost track of time and missed signing in. She never really owned the mistake.

I can remember numerous instances through the years where mistakes and follow-up communication have varied. A special education director would regularly show up for a scheduled observation several minutes late and would proceed as if she had not missed the first part of the lesson. Someone we contract with to rent out our house responded to a concern where we noted a mishap in a photograph taken of our home. A painting, instead of hanging in its usual spot on the wall, sat on the floor. When we asked what had happened, he said, “it became dislodged.” Both of these instances seemed to lack the basic courtesy of acknowledging a mistake.

During my tenure as a school administrator, staff would come to me to share a mistake they had made, for example, in a communication with a parent or the student himself. Many would apologize profusely, while others would spend the bulk of the meeting sharing copious amounts of details supporting their wrong-doing. Understanding why a mistake was made is important, but it doesn’t constitute an apology: it just feels like justification.

Like most of us, I have mis-stepped many times. I am reasonably comfortable with acknowledging my mistakes and I typically apologize readily. But HOW I apologize matters.

My take-away: In most instances, responding to a mistake requires a two-line answer: the first acknowledging that a mistake has been made and the second apologizing for it. This communication should be voiced rather than written, but in some cases, following up with a written note can be valuable. Our desired end result should be to acknowledge and then move past the error, learn from it, and not repeat it.

What's the big deal about efficiency?

I was walking around the campus of the school where I used to be principal, and I was struck by how drab it now looks. Sadly, this decline was already beginning when I left that position 10 years ago. During the time I was employed there, decisions were often made to increase efficiency or convenience, particularly in the most budget-lean years. A tree would die, and its spot would be cemented over. Planters filled with air-filtering plants were covered with wood and painted over because they required maintenance.

 Efficiency is usually about saving money, either to increase profit margins or fit necessary operations into a shrinking budget. Efficiency thinking is everywhere; we are encouraged to clean our homes in less time, order pre-made meals, whiten our teeth in 5 minutes a day.

 But efficiency as a goal can be misguided. What I’ve noticed is a tendency to complain and respond to an immediate financial situation, but not improve circumstances with an eye toward the future. Efficiency thinking is not imaginative, and it does not focus on long-term success. The tree example is a simple one: Planting a small native tree would cost under $100. It would not require watering after just a few months and would provide shade and aesthetic benefit for students and staff for years to come. Cement contributes to overall heat retention while adding nothing to the overall life of the campus. It is only “efficient” in the short term.

 Here’s an example that is larger-scale. In one organization, a decision was made to centralize marketing and communications services. Positions were plucked from other departments as seeds for the new department. Those affected by the loss of colleagues were very upset, and for their objections, they were labeled “resistant to change.” In a few months’ time, the new department set up an expensive ticket system for others in the organization to use to access their work. Staff in departments whose daily work depended on these services immediately experienced a lack of responsiveness from the new department—forcing them to turn to outside vendors to meet production deadlines. How is that efficient?

Centralization also meant that prioritization was established only through the new department’s eyes. Many members of the department were new to the organization, and their priority was placed on outward-facing projects rather than internal processes. Not only did they not fully understand the inner workings of the organization; they made no move to learn. Centralization, created in the name of efficiency, became a bottleneck for those in the trenches who needed to get their work done. 

Now don’t get me wrong. I believe in setting up processes that streamline our work and continuous improvement through data analysis and feedback. But once a more efficient process or methodology is implemented, it must be evaluated regularly to determine if the performance goals are met.

One of my recent reads was a book called The End of Average: How to Succeed in a World the Values Sameness, by Todd Rose. The book is filled with examples describing situations where our penchant for efficiency by using “averages” is actually harmful—even fatal, in one case covered in the book. For example, using data to derive averages to identify what is best for the average consumer, is an efficiency tool meant to cut costs and reduce time. But, as the book explains, these strategies do not lead to a better business or a better world.

How does all this lead to the formation of a leadership stone?

1.     Improving efficiency is not a goal but a tool to consider when looking at the bigger picture of what’s best.

If we make efficiency the goal, we can easily lose sight of the important work we are doing. Too many short-term solutions can deter our focus on long-term success.

2.     Looking for greater efficiency needs to parallel your organization’s mission, vision, and values.

Too often, we leave off talk of our organization’s guide stones in order to fix an immediate problem. Wouldn’t it be amazing if finding a solution to a problem were framed by the bigger picture? This kind of thinking will lead to more creative, sustainable solutions.

Efficiency has its place in any organization. Solutions that help us optimize existing skills and timelines are valuable. But if we lead with efficiency as the sole goal, we will miss opportunities for sustainable growth. Achieving balance between these opportunities will serve us best.