The Pressure to Perform

As a turnaround leader, you are always aware of the pressure to hit the targets - to achieve the goals of the turnaround plan. It can color the way that you look at the progress that you are seeing. When you are looking at data - even when it shows growth - you are painfully aware that it is not enough growth. The pressure to perform can impact the morale of the staff and lead to anxiety in both the adults and the students within the school. Teachers can worry that they won't be able to keep their jobs if they don't demonstrate enough growth in their data. Students can feel like they are "less" than students who are moving faster. Parents can start to feel like they wish it could go back to when they were blissfully ignorant of how the school was performing because it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with the "old ways."

Our targets require that we move from 2% proficiency on state assessments (our baseline) to 85% proficiency within three years. That seems like a pretty difficult mountain to climb. We broke the targets into grade level proficiency targets so that we could see how we would get there, one step at a time. Even so, 85% proficiency means that all students are involved. Twenty percent of our population receives ESL services and 15% of our students receive support through special education. Eighty-five percent proficiency includes these students. When we say that we believe in meeting the needs of every child, every day, we mean that all of our students need to be performing at a level that meets or exceeds grade level expectations. That is a very real pressure to perform.

Celebrating each step along the way is an important aspect of continued improvement. We may not have hit our goal, but when we see that our students are improving in their reading comprehension, or have used text-based evidence in their writing, or can explain how 5/8 is larger than 1/2 on a number line, then we need to celebrate.

We need to celebrate in our own teaching and in our own leadership as well. Each day there is an opportunity for us to see something that we did that made a difference. Maybe the conversation you had with a colleague helped a light bulb go off and they have renewed commitment to the work. Perhaps you only had to speak to your most challenging child once during your whole group instruction. It could be that you finally got some supports for a parent who is in severe need. Whatever the celebration, take the time to acknowledge it and know that the work that you are doing matters. Don't give up. Keep encouraging those around you to stay the course. No matter what - do NOT lower your standards. Make sure that because of your leadership, your teaching, your support that your students will achieve  - and it will all have been worth it.

Leading People - Not Just Leading Change

While leading change and leading transition, we can lose sight of the fact that we are leading people. All of the initiatives, all of the targets and goals, all of the pressure to achieve in a turnaround school can cause a leader to lose sight of what people need in terms of support.

In the book, Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute, we are challenged to look at the ways that we, as leaders, see ourselves as in charge or more right than those we are leading. Sometimes when we are "in the box" we forget that leadership is more about serving others. Personally, I am about the work. Having an intense work ethic does not preclude caring about the people involved in the work. However, when you are "in the box" you can tell yourself that you are right in the way you communicate about the work that needs to be done. Forgetting to think about what the people involved in the work need in order to feel supported and cared about is a huge mis-step in managing transition and change in a turnaround school.

Reflecting on leadership as service to others helps us to be mindful of what the people involved in change need - even when it does not align with our own personality or personal needs. Getting "out of the box" and seeing people as people, rather than employees, is necessary as people manage the transitions and changes involved in turning around a school.

Knowing and understanding that the work of supporting change means supporting the people through the change is a shift in thinking for a turnaround leader. We sign up for leading a turnaround school because we have the vision to see the end result. We know and understand that shifting our practice, using data, and a deep commitment to the vision can be the vehicle through which we move a school from failing to achieving. But that only builds a foundation. We cannot hire and fire our way to achievement. We must commit to developing, caring for, and supporting the people who are in the midst of the change and transition in order to move the work forward. Supporting the work means supporting the people who are in the work - even when what they need is different than what you may need as a leader. Knowing what your people need is essential for a turnaround leader.

Change vs. Transition

As a leader in a Turnaround School, I signed up for change. It underscores the primary responsibility of a new leader charged with turning around a school's poor performance. Anyone who signed on to the work at our school had to agree that the old practices were not effective and that we must embrace new, more effective practices in order to move in the right direction. Everyone agreed that change was necessary and the underlying excitement and enthusiasm for starting the work was amazing.

Transition is different. Less of an event and more of a process. There was a clear change when I came on as the leader. Signing on to be a part of that change was an event. Transitioning to what the change embodies in everyday practice is a deeper, more difficult, more reflective experience that challenges us to make decisions daily about what moving forward will look and feel like. As we move through the transition period, we can be pulled by the lure of past practice or "the way we used to." It is a powerful call that can cause conflict as we move forward. The juxtaposition between the perception of the change and the reality of the change can cause people to question and doubt their continued involvement in the work.

A dear colleague and friend shared an important article about managing change and transition with me. William Bridges cites Moses as an effective leader at managing change and transition. He describes periods of the change process as "the wilderness" and "the neutral zone." Bridges states, "Since the wilderness can be so wide and the Promised Lands can take such a long time to reach, people need some quick successes to reassure them." (http://www.wmbridges.com/pdf/getting-thru-wilderness-2006-v2.pdf ) We have seen early successes that is reflected in initial data, observation, and impact on students that we share and celebrate. Even with these successes, there is still an underlying fear of what is to come. Bridges calls this the neutral zone. He says, "The fear that an organization will become a victim of its transition lies behind the panic that often sets in when things are changing." The key to managing this fear is to listen to, understand, and appreciate where people are in the change process. Supporting and encouraging the people in the organization will help to move through the transition process. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/bridges-transition-model.htm

We are on the right path to turning our school around. The feelings of uncertainty that exist are a natural part of transitioning to a great, new future. Understanding how to support people through the change and transition is as important as the vision of how we will get there.

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