lt meeting

Leadership Team Meeting for Live OakFebruary 23, 2010

4:30-5:30 PMAgendaBy the conclusion of today’s activities members of the Live Oak Leadership Team will

• Be able to identify key elements of a high-performing team;• Compare and contrast a principal-led team to a teacher-led team and discuss the

benefits and potential challenges of each;• Identify strategies principals can use to support high-performing teams• Identify person strengths and area for growth in building and leading effective

teams..

Time Topic Materials

5:30-5:40 Introductions, Agenda and Objective Review Agenda

5:40-5:50 Aspects of High-Performing Teams Pre-work

5:50-5:55 Video 1-Beach Court Elementary Video

5:55-6:10 Video 1-Reflection and Discussion Reflection Document

6:10-6:20 Video 2-Monarch Academy Video

6:20-6:35 Video 2-Reflection and Discussion Reflection Document

6:35-6:45 Personal Strengths/Weaknesses in Building and Leading Teams

Action Planning Document

6:45-7:00 Personal Professional Development Action Plan

Action Planning Document

© 2008 New Leaders for New Schools and Educators for Social Responsibility 1Culture And Climate Resource Materials

Compiled by New Leaders for New SchoolsWorking Draft As Of September 15, 2008

Building a High Performing Leadership Team

LEADERSHIP TEAM STANDARDSI. CORE BELIEFS, VISION, AND MISSION

A. Each leadership team member believes that every child can reach high levels of academic excellence.B. The team embraces that its primary focus is student learning.C. The team has ambitious and measurable student achievement goals and a comprehensive plan for achieving those goals.D. Each team member supports and upholds the school vision and mission for the school relentlessly throughout the year.E. The team members ensure that standards, instruction, curriculum, assessment, and programs are aligned with the school

vision and student achievement goals.II. CULTURE OF COLLABORATION

A. The leadership team values the role of staff members as partners in the effective functioning of the school; the role of families as partners in the education of their children; and the role of the governing board as partners.

B. A system of communication to involve and inform all stakeholders is in place and used.C. The processes and decisions of the team are transparent to all stakeholders.D. The diversity of the school staff is reflected within the team.E. The team aligns the work of the team to its relationship with other teams and structures in the school.F. A climate of trust, respect and mutual accountability exists among the members of the school leadership team.

III. CYCLE OF IMPROVEMENTA. A 4-step Cycle of Improvement is used to inform leadership team decisions: (1) Analyze Data, Diagnose and Plan; (2)

Implement; (3) Reflect; and (4) Adapt and Improve.B. Team members facilitate the 4-step process for other teams in the school so that all staff use the Cycle of Improvement to

make decisions and inform their practice. C. Time is made available for the learning of the 4-step process to occur – both within the leadership team meetings and in

other staff / team meetings throughout the school.D. The team ensures that professional development is aligned with the needs identified by the Cycle of Improvement process.

IV. EFFECTIVE TEAM PROCCESSES A. A set of ground rules / norms has been discussed and accepted, and each leadership team member abides by those rules.B. Roles within the team are identified and rotated in order to share responsibilities and build leadership skills.C. Team members understand the levels of decision-making; team consensus is the preferred method for decision-making. D. Meeting agendas are developed with clear outcomes, specific timeframes and processes for achieving those outcomes.E. Problem-solving and conflict resolution tools are used when appropriate; debriefing of difficult discussions and decisions is

held routinely.F. At the end of each leadership team meeting, action steps and deadlines are identified, and the person responsible for each

step is noted; these action minutes are communicated to appropriate stakeholders in the wider school community.G. An evaluation of each meeting is conducted for continuous improvement.

V. STRATEGIC PLANNINGA. The leadership team translates the vision and mission of the school into a step-by-step school improvement (action) plan.B. The team sets priorities and allocates resources based upon these priorities.C. In the school improvement plan, the team determines what success will look like by identifying the measures of progress. D. A variety of data sources are used to monitor the school’s progress and the team uses technology to expedite the reporting

of data.E. The team analyzes its data continuously to modify or refine its intervention strategies quickly.F. The leadership team sets clear expectations for the performance of staff.G. The team monitors student learning to evaluate the effectiveness of staff members and provides support (professional

development) to improve teaching.H. The leadership team supports the administration in improving or removing underperforming staff.



Creating Your Own Leadership Team Profile

Think about what it takes to give you the feeling of power or control over the events for which you are responsible. Answer the questions below about yourself in your role as a team member. This will create an individual profile of you as a team member.

What motivates me as a team member?

What unique perspective, strengths, or skills do I bring to the team?

What opportunities can I take to assume greater responsibility or make a greater contribution to the team?

What additional information or assistance do I need to work productively?

In what ways can I work best with others on the team?

Make a power profile of your group using the profile on the next page.



Team Profile

Team member Skills / strengths /

contributions

Areas of learning or

growth

Responsibilities or roles willing

to take

What is needed to work most effectively?

What are the strengths of the group?

Are there areas where individuals or the whole group will need some assistance?



Team Charter ProposalPurpose

What is the purpose of our team?

The purpose of the leadership team is to ensure that all students at our school reach high levels of academic achievement.

Decision-Making Process How will we make decisions? If we chose consensus, what is our fall-back

position should we not be able to reach consensus?

The team will attempt to reach consensus for all major decisions. When consensus can not be reached, the principal will make the final decision, with the ongoing support of the entire team.

Roles and Responsibilities Each meeting should have a facilitator, recorder, time-keeper

Facilitator, recorder and time-keeper will be chosen at the beginning of every meeting.

Working Agreements Given the purpose of our team and our responsibilities, what working agreements

do we need in order to do our best work together? What is our process for resolving conflict?

Conflict that arises will be dealt with professionally and respectfully. One-on-one conflict should be dealt with individually and then brought to the principal if unresolved. Group conflict should be an agenda item for discussion, with the principal having been made aware of the concern before the meeting.

Team NormsWhat norms do we want to hold ourselves to in these meetings and in the way we act as a team?

Agenda Items for Next Meeting• Review Charter and Norms

• Goal Setting

• Clear roles and responsibilities

• Meeting outcomes and agenda with Action minutes Ongoing



What does leadership

look like in our school?

How do we lead our

faculty?

• What does it look like to

model the way?

• Distributive leadership?

• What is the loose-tight

relationship?

What is the work

of our team?

• What is the purpose

of the team?

• What are the expected

outcomes of our work?

• What does the Diagnostic

Tool tell us?

• Which UEF lever are we

focusing on?

• What is our strategy

for this work?



6. Family and Community Involvement

Standard: A New Leaders School has a comprehensive system in place to engage families and the community in their children’s education, healthy development, and future aspirations.

Expected outcomes:

- Frequent contact between families and their children’s home-base teacher, academic subject teachers, and / or advisor includes grade report conferences and other meetings and communications related to students’ academic and behavioral performance and personal learning plans.

- Parent meetings, activities, workshops, and events are aligned with the developmental, age-level, and postsecondary needs of their children and are responsive to the needs and requests of parents.

- Parents are actively involved in supporting academic, behavioral, and mental health interventions designed to meet their children’s specific needs and challenges.

- Parents are full participants in their children’s postsecondary planning process.

- Efforts are made to ensure high family attendance and involvement in school-wide community events, celebrations, rituals, and school orientation activities.

- The local community directly supports the school’s educational mission and community partners provide services and resources that enhance the school’s educational program and contribute to students’ healthy development.



Cycle Of Improvement



ImplementHow do we implement our plan with quality?Quality implementation utilizes an efficient process to build the expertise of staff as you go, direct resources to your focus area, and changes practices.

ReflectWhat have we learned so far?What new knowledge have we learned duringimplementation? Do we have a new understandingof our prior assumptions and practices? What changes do we need to make to our implementation plan?

Adapt and ImproveWhat practices will we change?The role of the New Leader and the leadership team is to continuously make the case with all stakeholders involved why this is the right work for the school, to celebrate success along the way, to build thecapacity of others to lead and sustain the work and to analyze the data and make changes in real time.

Analyze, Diagnose and PlanWhat is the right work for our school at this time?The right work for a school touches the whole school- every professional, every classroom, every day. Diagnosis: Depending upon the focus—Data Driven Instruction, Culture or Leadership Teams—utilize the specific standards, assessments and diagnostic tools.Plan: A quality plan identifies clear and measurable goals, has a specific timetable, holds individuals accountable for implementation, identifies needed resources, and tracks progress along the way.

School Climate and Culture Survey

Purpose: The purpose of the climate and culture survey is to assist in gathering the data necessary to identify what should be the school’s focus for culture change this school year.

Details: The survey is for all faculty, staff, parents and students.

Steps: Implementation of this survey is recommended as follows: 1. Announce that the school will be conducting a climate and culture survey,

including when the survey will be distributed and expected back.2. Distribute the survey.

a. For Parents, preferably allow no more than one week for parents to get it back and provide positive reminders throughout the week including an incentive for the students to encourage their parents to complete the survey.

b. For students, provide sufficient time for them to complete the surveys in class and ensure their anonymity (be sure to use the K-5th or 6th-12th grade versions).

c. For faculty, provide sufficient time for them to complete them during a faculty meeting and ensure anonymity.

3. Compile the data and calculate the percentage of answers for each question1.Using the data from faculty, student, and parent responses, we recommend that the principal and leadership team take five minutes to circle data that jumps out, both positive and hopeful as well as surprising or somewhat disturbing. Look particularly at clusters of responses that add up to large numbers: (AGREE-STRONGLY AGREE number clusters and DISAGREE-STRONGLY DISAGREE number clusters). Use two different marker or pen colors to distinguish

Sample Target Goals and Outcomes

Sample Target Goals: What's the big picture change you want to see in students, faculty, and / or within the school culture?

Increase positive perceptions of school environment as a place that feels safe, respectful, friendly and welcoming to students and faculty.

Increase the levels of civility, respect, courtesy, and positive interactions in public spaces.

Increase student and faculty investment in the maintenance, upkeep, and beautification of the school environment.

Establish consistent enforcement and accountable consequences for attendance, school-wide rules and procedures, and public space incidents.

Establish consistent classroom disciplinary practices, referral system, and consequences throughout the school.

Increase the number of formal and informal opportunities and events that recognize students’ academic achievement and other individual and group contributions and

1 A spreadsheet will be available via The Community where you can put in the results, and the percentages will be calculated automatically.



accomplishments.

Increase student attachment to school through participation in school-sponsored activities outside of the normal course of study.

Increase the opportunities for students and faculty to listen to each other, share points of view, and problem solve collaboratively.

Increase the number of adult and student driven initiatives that communicate the value of learning, achievement, and career and collage aspirations.

Increase the opportunities for student voice in the governance of the school.

Fully implement the ASCA counseling model within the school culture.

Increase parent involvement in their child's academic progress, personal and social development, and postsecondary planning and preparation.



Student Outcomes: Use SMART criteria to develop your outcomes: Are they SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, AUTHENTIC, REASONABLE, AND TIME-SENSITIVE?

Reduce the weekly number of late arrivals by _____%.

Reduce the weekly number of during school tardies by _____%.

Reduce violent and dangerous incidents (code of conduct levels 4-6) by ______%

Reduce incidents of bullying, harassment, and exclusion by ____%.

Reduce number of public space referrals and incidents by _____%.

Reduce the number of classroom referrals by 20%.

Increase by 20% the number of students who report out 4's and 5's and decrease by 20% the number of students who report out 1's on the safety, civility, respect section of the annual school climate and culture survey.

Increase the number of students by _____% who are involved in the maintenance, upkeep, and beautification of indoor and outdoor public spaces.

Reduce incidents of property vandalism, destruction, and graffiti by _____%.

Increase the total number of students to ________, who receive some form of written recognition, appreciation, congratulations, thank-you from an adult in the building.

Increase the number of students who are involved in academic support and enrichment initiatives by ______%.

Increase the PASS rate by _____% for _____ grade students enrolled in __________.

Increase the number of students by ____% who receive

Increase the numbers of students who participate in at least one school-sponsored activity by ____%.

Increase the number by ________ of out-of-building learning experiences and non-traditional independent learning courses for which students can receive credit.

Increase the number of “cool scholars” by _____ who are academically at risk students.

Increase the number of events and activities by ______ that explore, explain, and showcase teen culture.

Increase the number of local people (respected and admired by students) who become “school is cool” advocates by ________.

Increase the number of students by _____ who enroll in summer school and pass their courses.




(Thank you to Dianne Meltesen in the Bay Area for these tools.)

PurposeThe purpose of these tools is to help a leadership team lay a strong foundation for its team. The first tool asks each member of the leadership team to create a profile and the second tool captures and organizes each team member’s profile in a matrix so that team members can share with each other what they need from their colleagues in order to do their best work.

Details and StepsEach member of the leadership team should complete the first page. Their responses can then be added to a large piece of chart paper or dropped into a table created in Microsoft Word and then displayed through a laptop and LCD projector.

Facilitation TipsThis tool will be most effective if it used after the leadership team has created its team charter so that norms for group interaction and communication have been clearly established.

It could prove useful to have leadership team members revisit their and their colleagues’ responses at least one other time during the school year to see if individual’s responses have changed. If a new member is added to the leadership team it would be important to give them the opportunity to complete the profile, review with his or her colleagues the profiles of the other team members, and talk through as a team how the new member’s profile adds to the team dynamics.

VariationsAny team in the school can use this tool, including grade-level and department teams.




Think about what it takes to give you the feeling of power or control over the events for which you are responsible. Answer the questions below about yourself in your role as a team member. This will create an individual profile of you as a team member.

What motivates me as a team member?

What unique perspective, strengths, or skills do I bring to the team?

What opportunities can I take to assume greater responsibility or make a greater contribution to the team?

What additional information or assistance do I need to work productively?

In what ways can I work best with others on the team?

Make a power profile of your group using the profile on the next page.



Team Profile

Team member Skills / strengths /

contributions

Areas of learning or

growth

Responsibilities or roles willing

to take

What is needed to work most effectively?

What are the strengths of the group?

Are there areas where individuals or the whole group will need some assistance?



Leadership Team Standard IV: Effective Team Processes

Leadership Team Action Minutes

Purpose: The purpose of this tool is to provide a template for leadership teams to use during their meetings. The action minutes track the tasks to which members of the leadership team agree and include a date for completion to ensure accountability.

Details: Action minutes can be tracked on chart paper over the course of the meeting or tracked by the facilitator (or a designee responsible for action minutes) during the meeting. It may be helpful to teams if the facilitator sends the action minutes immediately following the meeting via email to all members of the team.

Steps: In the Who column, there may be more than one person indicated with the primary person responsible signified with the asterisk.

Facilitation Tips: Action minutes can be used in all school meetings; for example, in a parent meeting, grade level team meeting, student study team meeting, IEP meeting and student council meetings. This is a simple practice that can be used effectively throughout the school.

Variation: Specialists can use action minutes in their meetings with New Leaders or when they work with a New Leader and his or her leadership team to model the practice.



Action Minutes

Date:

Who?

Asterisk (*) indicates leader

Decision To Be Made / Final Decision

Tasks / Resources By When?

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*




Leadership Team Charter

PurposeThe purpose of this tool is to provide a process for the New Leader and the leadership team to lay a strong foundation for their team. The purpose of a team charter is for all team members to be in agreement on their team’s purpose, decision-making process, the role of the members and the working agreements that guide how the team does its best work together.

DetailsThe team charter is best established before the school year starts but can be established at any point during a team’s existence. A team charter can be created within one hour. It is best if the New Leader comes to his or her leadership team with a proposed team charter. From the start, the New Leader will need to be clear with the leadership team in regards to which parts of the charter can be changed based on the team’s input and which parts cannot. For example, the New Leader may have a non-negotiable point within the purpose statement—The purpose of the leadership team is to ensure that all students at our school reach high levels of academic achievement.

Facilitation TipsThe leadership team charter should be shared with the entire school community. It is helpful for teams to revisit their team charter throughout the school year to make any upgrades to the charter and to remind themselves of their charge and their agreements to each other. It is an effective practice for leadership teams to review their working agreements at the beginning of meetings and / or include the working agreements on agendas to keep them top-of-mind for all members.

The leadership team charter should include the following:

Purpose What is the purpose of our team?

Decision-Making Process How will we make decisions? If we chose consensus, what is our fall-back

position should we not be able to reach consensus?

Roles and Responsibilities Each meeting should have a facilitator, recorder, time-keeper

Working Agreements Given the purpose of our team and our responsibilities, what working

agreements do we need in order to do our best work together? What is our process for resolving conflict?

VariationsAll teams within a school can have a team charter. It is important that the New Leader and the leadership team engage in the purpose of other teams and their decision-making process so that teams other than the leadership team are clear about their role in the school and what they have authority to decide.




Plus / Delta Evaluation

Purpose: The purpose of this tool is to provide a process and template for leadership teams to evaluate their meeting at the close of the meeting.

Details: The meeting leader should have chart paper and markers so that this will be a public activity for the team.

Steps and Facilitation Tips: The last ten minutes of each meeting should be reserved for the team to evaluate its results, processes and relationships.

Step 1: Begin with the plus column. Ask the team to share what worked for them during the meeting. List their contributions exactly as offered, without commenting (a simple “thank you” is fine) or editing so that the feedback can be viewed exactly as it was given.

Step 2: Continue to the delta column. Delta is referring to the Greek symbol for change; therefore all contributions should be considered action-oriented upgrades and stated by beginning with a verb. For example, “less complaining” can be rephrased as “be more focused on what we can control.” Again, do not comment or edit, but write the deltas exactly as stated (as long as they use a verb).

If team members give a very long plus or delta, it is OK to ask them to make it more succinct. Also, it is OK for team members to offer opposing views (one person’s plus can be another person’s delta); just capture them on the chart paper.

Step 3: When planning the next meeting, try to address the deltas, if possible.

Step 4: Begin the next meeting with feedback on feedback, and remind the team to try to keep the momentum of the pluses, while mitigating the impact of the deltas. Adjust norms / ground rules if necessary.

Variations: As the team becomes higher functioning, the plus / delta protocol will take less time.



Plus / Delta Evaluation

Plus Delta




A Collection of Effective Team Processes

(From the Bay Area’s packet on Building School Leadership Capacity)

Purpose

The purpose of this set of tools is fourfold: Assist the school leadership and leadership team in creating a stimulating and safe learning

environment for adults in teams / learning communities (Initiate the Learning Team), Provide ideas that can be matched to a variety of challenges a group is having with

regaining and maintaining focus (Ideas For Helping Groups Or Individuals Correct Their Course),

Outline steps that groups can take in problem solving (Actions And Interactions), and

Outline the Basic Building Blocks For Promoting Participation In Shared Decision Making

Steps

The first three tools are informational materials that can be used as discussion pieces with the New Leader and the leadership team.

The fourth tool, Basic Building Blocks For Promoting Participation, can be used as a self-assessment tool that each member of the leadership team completes. The team can then either tabulate the responses and share a summary of the findings, or if the group has established the practice of open, honest, and reflective dialogue, then each member of the leadership team can share his or her own response in a round-robin followed by a discussion focused on action steps the team can take to ensure the building blocks are in place.



Initiate the Learning Team

The following guidelines are designed to assist the school leadership and leadership team in creating a stimulating and safe learning environment for adults in teams / learning communities.

Elements Description Approach

Clarity Alignment between all group members about the purpose, outcomes, roles and norms for the learning team in general and for each group session.

Make time at the beginning of each small group session to have team members ask questions for clarification, restate goals in their own words and validate relevance or value of the session.

Trust The degree to which all group members believe that they can speak openly, try new behaviors, give and receive feedback and honor confidentiality.

Build trust over time by asking the group to create operating norms that the team needs to follow to establish and sustain trust.

Boundary The ability of the team to acknowledge and then set aside issues or concerns that are not directly related to the goals and tasks of the learning team during each session.

Acknowledge that all participants have many issues and concerns that they bring to each meeting. Provide a brief check-in at the beginning of the first small group session to help the team express and set-aside concerns not relevant to the goals and tasks of the day.

Accountability Agree on how the team and its facilitator will hold themselves and each other accountable for reaching goals and honoring norms that support learning / growth.

The facilitator builds agreement with the team to share accountability for the success of the team. The facilitator provides examples of tools or behaviors each team member can use to help keep the team focused, and ensures that there is time at the end of each meeting for reflection and feedback about the team’s progress.



Ideas for Helping Groups or Individuals Correct Their Course

The following ideas can be matched to a variety of challenges a group is having with regaining and maintaining focus:

1. Revisit goals and instructions to increase clarity of direction.

2. Limit or adjust the time an individual or group is investing in a particular activity or discussion.

3. Use forms / formats / protocols to help remain focused.

4. Note on a flipchart any concerns or issues that may be important but not directly related to the current goal or activity and address those during reflection time or at another time.

5. Increase listening and reflective questioning to ensure people’s ideas are heard and validated.

6. Advocate less and inquire more.

7. Ask each person to state how the current group dynamic is hindering their learning or participation.

8. Agree to drop a topic or issue that is sidetracking the group.

9. Create and honor a time limit for a brief venting of individual or group frustrations.

10. Ground the group in the value of their work with stories or personal reflections of success.

11. Keep record of actions and progress as well as next steps and individual responsibilities so group can see its progress.

Ask your team / group to identify other ideas for keeping on task and achieving their goals.



Actions and Interactions

(Adapted from The Adaptive School: A Source Book for Developing Collaborative GroupsRobert Garmston, Bruce M. Wellman)

The actions and interactions shown in the chart below are steps that groups can take in problem solving. These actions would occur in long-term groups that deal with complex challenges. These principles can be used as steps in a process with the group recording the key elements or actions as the group progresses.

Principles of Effective Transactions

1. Distinguish between inference and data.

5. Disagree openly with other members of the group.

9. Reveal and examine all relevant information.

2. Test assumptions and inferences. (Look for root causes; gap analysis)

6. Jointly design ways to test disagreements and solutions.

10. Check for group member understanding.

3. State assumptions, reasons, and beliefs.

7. Get agreement on what words and concepts mean.

11. Keep discussions focused.

4. Explain reasons behind statements, questions, and possible actions.

8. Exchange relevant information with non-group members.

12. Make decisions by consensus. (Devise a back-up plan for decisions if necessary.)

13. Engage in self-critiques and reflect on the process of the work. Examine the results and follow the above principles in assessing and revising the work.



Basic Building Blocks for Promoting Participation

Y / N Basic Building Blocks Question Answered

Agendas for each meeting are designed and distributed prior to the meeting.

What will we accomplish at the meeting? What do I need to be prepared to discuss or do?

There is clarity on the roles and responsibilities for each team member, especially specific meeting roles like chair, facilitator, and recorder.

Who will be leading the meeting? Is there a special role I need to play? How will information be recorded and distributed after the meeting?

Ground rules for how the group will try to interact and run the meeting are clearly posted in front of the room (or clearly understood by the group).

What are the expectations of how we will interact in this meeting?

The group / team reviews the agenda, purpose and outcomes for the meeting and ground rules, and invites members to ask questions for clarity and / or to add to the agenda.

Will we build a shared understanding with each other about our goals and operating process for the meeting? Is it OK to ask questions for clarity and / or to question the agenda?

The group shares a common definition of how they reach decisions. The process is made clear.

How will we make decisions as a group? Will we vote or build consensus?

Agreements and action plans are clearly recorded on a flip chart or board in front of the room.

Are we accurately capturing the work of the group? Have we all agreed to the same decisions and action steps?

Time is made at the end of each meeting to reflect on what the team accomplished and to improve meetings in the future. Next steps are made clear including each person’s responsibilities and results.

Can we provide open and honest feedback to each other? Can we acknowledge our successes? Do we use feedback as a tool for continuous improvement? Do we know what we will do next?

Additional Resources Professional Development Kit, Bay Area New Leaders for New Schools “Building a New Structure for School Leadership,” Richard Elmore,

www.shankerinstitute.org Leadership Capacity for Lasting School Improvement, Linda Lambert, ASCD, 2003. Nine Lessons of Successful School Leadership Teams, Bill McKeeer and the

California School Leadership Academy, WestEd, 2003. The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins, HBS Press, 2003.



http://www.shankerinstitute.org/


5-Finger Consensus (a.k.a. Consensus Voting)

(Adapted from Keys to Successful Meetings, by Stephanie Hirsch, Ann Delahunt, and Sherry Sparks)

PurposeThe purpose of this tool is to clarify the definition of consensus and to provide New Leaders and the leadership team a quick tool to help the team when it cannot come to consensus and needs to find a solution that everyone can support.

There are many definitions for consensus, among them: “Consensus is a decision-making process in which all parties involved explicitly agree

to the final decision. It does not mean that all are completely satisfied with the final outcome, but that the decision is acceptable to all because no one feels that their vital interests or values are violated by the decisions made.”Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

“Consensus is a general agreement in accord or with the sense of the group. Consensus is often considered unattainable because it is mistakenly seen as complete agreement or unanimity. In fact, consensus is simply an agreement to move in a common direction for a certain period of time.”Mirja Hanson, FACROLE

“A consensus decision is one that each and every team member is willing to support and help implement. All Key Stakeholders have had an opportunity to give their opinions and to understand the implications of various options. All members, including the leader, have the same formal power to support or block proposals."Interaction Institute for Social Change

StepsIf a team cannot come to consensus, and it is very important to find a solution that everyone can support, the leader can use 5-Finger Consensus as tool to get the team to resolution.

Post the proposal and ask individuals to react to the proposal by raising the number of fingers that corresponds to their position. If a team member is at 3 or below, they should make a proposal that will move them to a 3 or higher. “What will it take to move you to a 3?”

5 I’m all for the idea – I can be a leader.4 I’m for the idea – I can provide support.3 I’m not sure but I’m willing to trust the group opinion.2 I’m not sure – I need more discussion.1 I can’t support it at this time – I need more information.Fist No – I need an alternative I can support.




Problem Solving and Action Planning

PurposeThe purpose of this tool is to provide a New Leader and his or her leadership team with a structured process for identifying a problem, understanding the root causes, and coming to agreement on solution steps. The tool is designed to keep the New Leader and the leadership team from jumping to an inappropriate or incorrect solution when faced with a problem.

A New Leader and a leadership team could use this problem-solving and action-planning tool in conjunction with the Cycle of Improvement tools when the team is faced with a problem or challenge and is not sure how to address it and / or previous efforts to address the problem have not been effective. This tool provides a step-by-step approach to taking a critical look at a problem and potential solutions. It is important that the action plan from this tool be folded into the larger implementation plan that school builds in the Cycle of Improvement.

DetailsDepending on the capacity of the New Leader and the leadership team, a Specialist can either facilitate the process outlined below or serve as a process observer while the New Leader and the leadership team lead themselves during the process. It is important that there be clearly defined roles for this meeting—a facilitator, a recorder, and a timekeeper-- and that members of the leadership team understand the levels of decision making prior to the problem-solving and action-planning process. Specifically, as solutions and next steps are identified, the leadership team can make what decisions and the New Leader should make what decisions?

The time needed to complete this protocol depends upon the scope of the problem and the capacity of the leadership team. Leadership teams that are tightly aligned in vision and mission and have clear decision-making processes will be able to complete this protocol in a high quality way in a shorter amount of time that a leadership team that is still forming.

Steps1. Identify the problem: what do we want to change?2. Analyze the problem: what’s preventing us from reaching the desired state?3. Force field analysis: what could help or hinder our efforts?4. Brainstorm solutions: how can we make the change?5. Select and plan the solution: what is the best way to do it?6. Action plan: who, what, where, when, and how to evaluate? Who to involve,

enroll, and get input?

VariationsThis tool can be used by any other team in the school (for example, a grade-level team that has identified a grade-level challenge whether it is related to their team functioning and collaboration or student learning).



This tool can also be used by a Specialist in the leadership development of a New Leader by jointly identifying an area of growth in which the New Leader has struggled to improve and analyzing the root causes in order to take new action steps.



Problem Solving and Action PlanningIssue of Concern:

Current StateIdentify the problem.

Desired StateWhat do we want to change?



CausesAnalyze the problem.

EffectsWhat’s preventing us from reaching the desired state?

Clear, concise problem statement (identify sub-problems where applicable):

Before we go any further…Control – Are we the right people to tackle this problem? List other stakeholders.

Importance and difficulty – How much does it matter whether this problem is solved? Is it possible? Do we` have the will?

Time and resources – How long will it take to resolve this problem? Have we got what it will take to do this job?



Return on investment – What is the payoff? Does it justify the investment of resources?



Helping ForcesForce-field analysis

Hindering ForcesWhat could help or hinder our efforts?



Brainstorm Solutions How can we make the change?How can problem causes be eliminated?How can barriers be minimized?What positive forces can be maximized?



Select and Plan the Solution What’s the best way to do it?Criteria for evaluating solutions

Resources (budget, people, materials, etc., available to group) Time (length of time it takes to solve problem) Acceptability (stakeholders and organization will accept solution – and

changes involved) Return on investment (expected pay-off from solution) Control (implementation is within control of group) Appropriateness (solution solves problem)

Solution(s) Chosen:



Action PlanWho, what, where, when, and how to evaluate?Who to involve, enroll, get input?Who? What? By When? How

Monitored?

Problem Solving process taken from Continuous Improvement: Problem Solving Manual, Montgomery County Public Schools Summer Leadership Conference, 1997.



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