Just about everyone I know has worked in a school, district, or organization that has gone through some type of planning activity to set itself up for future success. That said, I want to make this resoundingly clear: Not every school, district, or organization that I work with has an operational improvement plan.
As a disclaimer, organizations call these plans all sorts of different things, so whatever vernacular you may use is fine. I am talking about some type of organized, collaborative process where plans consisting of goals and actions for the coming year(s) are created and guide future organizational behavior.
So, reason number one your strategic plan may stink is that you don’t have a strategic plan.Now, do I think it is an absolute prerequisite that some formal planning and improvement process must be in place to get outstanding results? No. But, it is as close to a prerequisite as any other organizational structure we can put in place.
The second reason many strategic plans fail is that there is no continuity within the organization. To explain, our district-wide strategic plan focuses on performance, culture, and systems. Thereby, each school and department must have three goals with one directly aligned to performance, one directly aligned to culture, and one directly aligned to systems.
The third reason your plan may stink is that you write it each year, but do not use it. Creating pretty binders or awesome presentations for the governing board is useless unless you are willing to do the work necessary to achieve your goals. There are many high priced consultants that will come and do AMAZING work for you to ensure you have an incredible strategic plan. This means nothing if you do not execute the work on the back end.
The fourth reason your plan may stink is that you did not set lofty-enough goals. You played it safe. You tried to find something that would ‘move the needle’ but won’t really change behavior, culture, or the work done on behalf of kids.
The fifth reason your plan may need to change is the fact that the action-planning section of the plan is really light. This is a mistake that often happens with the best of intentions. Hours (possibly days) of meetings take place and you finally decide upon a goal. The whole group exhales, and then forgets the most important part – the discussion of changed human behavior to help achieve that goal! If you are unsure of whether or not your improvement plan has enough action steps, then pay specific attention to the TEST I provide below.
OKAY, enough of admiring the problem. Let’s turn all of these reasons why your plan may stink into a how-to for creating an amazing improvement plan.
RULE ONE -The purpose of an improvement plan is to CHANGE HUMAN BEHAVIOR in order to get new or improved results. If your plan does not focus on improving the performance of the adults within your school or organization, it is most likely not driving significant enough change.
RULE TWO – Alignment is imperative. Ensure that your plan is aligned throughout the district. If you are at the building level and there is no district-wide plan, then ensure it is aligned to the district mission, vision, and values.
RULE THREE -Shoot high and measure often. I would much rather someone transform behavior in their school and come up a little short of the goal than hit a goal by shuffling numbers or providing extra interventions to three kids who may shift the key data points. This also speaks to your efficacy. If you believe you won’t do great things, you won’t do great things. Period.
RULE FOUR -Know how to structure a plan. I encourage everyone to start with a SMART goal and then create action steps. For each action step the following should be included:
This provides structure and cohesion to the plan, and it also helps to organize both the actions themselves and how to best monitor the success of the plan.
RULE FIVE – “THE TEST” – Once people understand the concept of improvement planning, the last area to typically improve is the action-planning section. I refer to this section as the MEAT of the plan. I use this hypothetical test with the principals I work with . . . If you were to get a 500K bonus for accomplishing this goal, but the ONLY things you could change about daily practice in your building must be articulated in the action plan, are you comfortable submitting this plan to me, your district office, or other supervisor? Almost immediately, everyone says that they will send me another draft.
This is the bottomline: We will only be afforded new results if we exhibit new behaviors. Improvement plans that try to policy and program all new behaviors instead of focusing on the supported and demanded change in human performance and behavior will typically not transform an organization.
THE BEST THING I READ/WATCHED THIS WEEK
America’s Got Talent (My tweet kind of says it all.)
I cry about never in real life, but I’ll be damned if reality TV doesn’t get me.
— PJ Caposey (@MCUSDSupe) June 9, 2021
😢 😢 pic.twitter.com/HZSxm7cEAH
THREE PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Jon Bartelt
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Vala Afshar
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME SOON
ON DEMAND
Manage Your Time or Time Will Manage You Book Study
Communications – MicroCredential Certification through Illinois Principals Association
July 13
IASA New Superintendent Conference – Illinois
July 14
Institute for Educational Innovation Superintendent Conference – North Carolina
MORE OF MY MUSINGS
Podcasts
4 New Releases in the Last Month
Dr. Efrain Martinez and I chat around ‘The Journey’ of Leadership
A Keynote turned into a Podcast from IEI Spring Summit in Colorado
MCUSD Staff Room Podcast – End of Year Reflection
Transformative Principal with Jethro Jones (w/ Mike Lubelfeld and Nick Polyak)
Writing
NEW RELEASE – Teach Better Team Summer S.E.E.D.S
“There is the danger zone. As humans, we tend to be very good at relaxing. We tend to not be as good at recharging. There are significant neurological and biological reasons why, but I will try to not bore you with those details. The bottom line is that as much as staying up to 2am binging Netflix, eating pizza, and sampling craft beers sounds amazing, it is most likely NOT going to help you recharge. The good news is that we absolutely do know what will help you recharge if you choose to commit to these five steps to recharge your own battery.”
Unfinished Leader (written with Mike Lubelfeld and Nick Polyak)
School Leadership Framework for Growth and Development is now available on Amazon.
Edutopia –Leading with Integrity
“Every time you choose to avoid a difficult conversation, it is a selfish decision. Why? Because the only person who could possibly benefit from avoiding a difficult conversation is you. And that win is only emotional and temporary.”
ASCD – Four Must-Do’s For Empowered Principals
“Vision—now and always—is the difference maker. Great principals can imagine a brighter future for their building, even in the midst of tribulation, that can bring energy and excitement to those they serve. If you cannot imagine education at large and your particular school as significantly better and different than it is in its current state, it is going to be hard to lead significant change.”
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It would mean the world to me if you could share it with one person each week. We all get one chance to live a life of passion and purpose. Help me maximize my one at-bat.