Deep Work

As a turnaround leader, your day is full of immediate priorities - most of which are not the priorities that you started off with on your to-do list. A colleague of mine referred to her need to have time in her day for the "deep work" - time that she could prioritize toward the work that needs to be done or the tasks that need to be completed. So, the question is not only about how we prioritize our time so that we can accomplish the work that needs to be done, but also, what is the work that should be prioritized?

In many principal interviews, they will give you a scenario of three (or more) situations happening simultaneously and ask you how you would react. In most of these scenarios, there is an immediate crisis in the building (think safety), a parent demanding to meet with the principal, and a call from the Superintendent that must be attended to - all happening simultaneously. That is pretty typical - but you can usually add in a pressing deadline, classroom observations, meetings, and emails requiring immediate responses.

What are the priorities of a turnaround leader?

1. Inspect what you expect. You cannot turnaround a school without knowing exactly what is happening in classrooms on a daily basis. This is the priority. Observation. Feedback. Change. Seeing results in classrooms and in student learning. If you are not available because you are in classrooms supporting instruction, that will be understood.
2. Empower your team. The work of a turnaround leader requires a strong team - that includes your leadership team, your instructional team, your support staff, your teacher leaders, and your classroom leaders. Meet regularly with these key people to make sure that the work is being pushed out and that they own the vision enough to fill in when you are unavailable. Include opportunities for practice and rehearsal in your regular meetings so that you are confident that your team has the skills necessary to handle challenges when they arise. You are the leader, but a good leader has an even better team.
3. Make time to manage. Trusting that others will follow through on tasks and assignments is important, but so is checking in to see that these tasks and assignments are meeting deadlines and expectations. Building in the time at the beginning to ensure that everyone has the same vision of the work is also important to preventing frustration and feeling like you have to take over when things don't go as planned.
4.  Build a strong community. When your community is with you, then it makes it much easier to solve problems and keep things moving forward. Take the time to learn who the parents are who can help to move your vision forward and who can have a positive influence on the greater community.
5. Base everything in results. If you are not regularly reviewing your data - individual student data, classroom data, grade level data, interim assessment data, and student work, then you cannot make mid-course corrections or celebrate your successes. 
6. Keep an open door, but know when you need to close it. There are times when you need to close your door, do the work, and make the deadline. I don't do this often, but when I need to, I know that my team has what it takes to keep everything moving.
7. Take the time to go back to 10,000 feet. You cannot move a vision forward if you are stuck in the minutia. Emails have to be answered, phone calls must be returned, and meetings must be attended, but you have got to back up and return to your vision on a regular basis - for yourself and for your team.