Download - Hills Leadership PPT 2015
Dr. Alberto Vazquez Matos
Chief of Staff
Hil lsborough County Publ ic Schools
EDUCATIONALLEADERSHIP& ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
“A school of excellence is not about who we accept into our schools, but who we give
back out to society-Productive citizens for the world”
Reflect on your leadership journey What experiences have led you here? What have you done in your life that indicates leadership
capacity?Know your story of leadership – understanding your
history and what has led you to this point will allow you to more authentically lead.
A LEADERSHIP JOURNEY
Context for leadership – what has worked in one time and place may not work in another. Great leaders make history or… History makes great leaders
You are chosen…uniquely chosen to be here today, in your role as a Administrators for Educational Institutions.
As people contributing to society, we believe that it is our obligation to give back to our community as effective school educators.
“The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is pi led high with difficulty, and we must r ise with the
occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.”Abraham Lincoln
TIME & PLACE
Growth = Leadership + InnovationG = L + I
GROWTH
We must continually challenge our closely held assumptions – what was right as recently as a decade ago may not be so today
After careful professional consideration and analysis we have to be willing to disrupt ourselves personally as well as professionally if it is in the best interest of students
This task is beyond just public school educators: the whole academic arena has to be involved in promoting quality public education
Growth, however, should never be one dimensional – this isn’t solely about teacher performance, or even academic achievement. Results from succeeding in areas of Mentoring, Excellence,
Service Learning, and Student Leadership
LEADERSHIP
In order to create long term growth and sustainability schools need to have strong leaders who focus on establishing clear Vision and Mission (culture), rigorous academics (excellence) and active stewardship (service learning and leadership).
It should be our primary focus – effective leadership eliminates minor problems and mitigates large ones.
Leadership in Mission Core of all that we do
Leadership in Excellence Rigor and laser focus on student learning measured by data
Leadership in Stewardship We are not owners but inheritors; obligation is to continuously
improve for future generations – return with increase
INNOVATION
Schools need to adapt and innovate to meet the needs of the 21st century family and student. The ways that have worked in the past will not in the future so change is a requirement for growth.
Technology IntegrationCurriculum Innovation
Language immersion, FSS, Blended learning, etc. We are limited only in our imaginations – tap into
what you are passionate about. Let us re-imagine!
“Leaders breathe new life into organizations by insisting that the people and the organization need to
adapt to changes in the outside environment. Given the speed and complexity of external change today, leaders
need to stimulate internal change to keep up. “The basic idea is that if your organization is not
changing and growing, it is dying.” Blessings for Leaders, Dan Ebener (p. 82)
INNOVATION
My intent is not to give you the reasons why to implement but to identify things to do when you commit to move forward
Applies to any tough decision you make Leadership has to come from you as a district or local leader –
can’t delegate to others when a tough decision needs to be made
Good to Great by Jim Collins Level 5 Leadership Confront the Brutal Facts
Five Leadership Principles Stick to your Core Relationships Reflect Confront with Tact Breadth vs. Depth
Reflective questions
LEADERSHIP & PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
Paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will – ambitious for the organization’s sake, not your own
Look to set a path that will lead to even greater success after you leave – set your successor(s) up to succeed How do you ensure your district or school succeeds and grows
for the next 100 years? What steps do you take right now to help ensure that it does?
Passionate need to produce sustained results with workman like diligence
Look out the window when there are successes and in the mirror when there are failures
Level 5 Leaders attribute much of their success to luck and others rather than personal input - humility
LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP
To lead is to make decisions; to make decisions is to displease some who are being led… Decision making can cause anger and frustration with key
stakeholders Key is to have a core:
‘All about the kids’ ‘All students will learn’ ‘Compassion, care, good character will be tangible
throughout the school’Return to the core when key decisions need to be
made and you will be consistent It will earn you respect but not always love
STICK TO YOUR CORE
Relationships drive everythingKey in any leadership role but especially in schools
Daniel storyEmpathy is a key leadership trait
Understand what people are going through Active listening is important
All relationships are important but don’t let adult issues affect the students
Presence establishes relationships Invest time in knowing names and histories of principals,
teachers, etc.
RELATIONSHIPS
What core principle is central to you as a leader? Think specifically about instructional leadership: what is a non-negotiable for you as a school leader?
Over the long term how can you set up your successor to see academic growth and success for students?
How do you ensure that the focus of any decision is student focus vs concern about adult perceptions? In other words, how do you ensure that adult issues don’t influence how you make decisions?
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
In order to grow into greatness, you must face the brutal facts of your current reality
You should create a culture wherein people have a tremendous opportunity to be heard and for the truth to be heard – especially by the leader. Lead with questions, not answers Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion Conduct autopsies, without blame Create red flag mechanisms that turn information into
information that cannot be ignored
CONFRONT THE BRUTAL FACTS
“My job is to turn over rocks and look at the squiggly things, even if what you see can scare the hell out of you.” (Fred Purdue, p. 72, G2G)
Mistakes will be made – know that from the outset – but the only bad mistake is one that you don’t learn from
Good leaders are continually reflecting on their work and they are continually trying to further develop themselves professionally
Carve out time at the end of each day to reflect on what has happened – good and not so good – and be honest about how you can improve moving forward.
Write daily at the end of the day to reflect openly about the challenges and successes you experienced
REFLECT
Conflict is part of leadership but how you handle conflict will determine your success.
Two stereotypes: The table pounder The ostrich
Neither is effective – a good leader confronts the issue in a tactful way that allows the employee to know what is expected, how to get there and what the leader will do to assist in the process
Issues need to be addressed – documentation is important as is positive and constructive feedback.
CONFRONT WITH TACT
Extended Learning Time – Bell to BellDepth, Differentiation, STEMFrom www.timeandlearning.org
Make Every Minute Count (Depth) – Maximize every minute Homework collection, busywork, time off task
Individualize Learning Time and Instruction (Differentiation) Remediation, Enrichment, Acceleration Mitigate homework and increase classwork
Strengthen instruction and relentlessly assess, analyze, and respond to student data To do this well requires time
Look at the issue as a professional educator and have confidence in your expertise
LEADERSHIP IN EXCELLENCE
What is a brutal fact that I must confront regarding instruction and learning in public schools in this district?
What in my district do I have absolute trust in, regardless of the present reality?
What is some adversity that I am facing now that I have to deal with head on?
REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS
Gordon Bennett: “You can’t control the length of your life but you can control the depth of your life.”
Same for your leadership tenure – plan for each year as if it is your last.
Think long term but know that every day requires you to bring your best – and to lead your staff to do the same.
Focus energy internally – don’t obsess over things which are out of your control.
GO BIG: DEPTH V. BREADTH
When faced with a large problem, the inclination is to look for a larger solution Might not be the best approach Small, practical improvements can build momentum
Think of the problems we face as a giant hole. We have stopped digging, now time to fill the hole There is no big boulder, so we have to put rocks and
pebbles in every single day…
LARGE PROBLEM, SMALL SOLUTION
“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know
you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from
discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”
Sir Winston Churchill