him to say things like, “You don’t get points for beating yourself up. It’s a long school year. If something is exhausting you, or you sense verbal, physical, or mental abuse, it is not okay. Come and talk to me sooner, not later.”
Then, he took time to thank them for coming and urged them to come sooner. The word spread, and the one-to-ones slowly became a new norm. Why slowly? Because while Tim ranks listening as a top leadership responsibility, it took time for teachers to grasp that the one-to-ones were as valuable to him as his other responsibilities.
Tim wanted one more new norm—percolating. For him, silence is natural as he digests new information or thinks through a decision, but he knows that most people are uncomfortable with silence. Normalizing it and helping others embrace it were important to his style. His staff got used to his longer-than-expected silences and learned to ponder their own ideas. They frequently bantered about “He’s percolating on that” or “Let’s give this time to percolate” and other like phrases in a good way, because they knew they were placing more value on establishing time to think. Tim also prioritized the leadership pole, knowing that the ultimate responsibility for student learning rested with himself as the school’s top leader. In his first months, he used the listening pole to find the pockets of excellence regarding the school’s existing initiatives and then shifted to the leadership pole to spread best practices. For example, some teams were more adept at using data to inform instruction. Tim invited them to capture their strategies in formats they could pass on to other teams—presentations, videos, protocols, and so on. He then worked with the other teams to ensure they had the time, support, and other resources to master the skills they needed.
Leadership and listening can work together on the most practical of issues. For example, as a newcomer, Tim noticed that how the school used its physical space was less than optimal. He provided a clear purpose by asking the staff to rethink the building as a blank map and consider what would work best for students. He asked questions like, “Can we get rid of hallway bottlenecks?” “If we move where our specialists are located, might we do less dashing about for interventions?” “Does our space create any problems among older and younger students?” and “What else might we change?”
As a result, several teachers volunteered to draw maps—and the ways in which their maps overlapped became the new building space plan. Their collective plan fostered buy-in for the immense task of packing up and moving classrooms during the last days of the school year. The staff figured out not just the what of the new map, but the how and when of the move.
Leadership Priorities, Listening Priorities
Not every school has a culture like the one Tim entered. If, unlike Tim, you take the lead in a building or on a team where the common vision has dimmed, the leadership pole may take priority; focusing on the listening pole for months might be disastrous if people need immediate inspiration. But imagine the disruption of change, change, and more change in a school like Tim’s, where collective teacher efficacy already exists. Will it continue if a new leader comes in on day one with a bold vision but fails to listen and understand how the existing culture already works?
Figure 4.1 illustrates the competing priorities inherent in the leadership and listening poles.
Figure 4.1: The leadership and listening loop.
It’s the principal’s job above all, and a key priority for every school leader, to ensure that all students are learning—a clear responsibility for the leadership side of this lens. The leadership pole—setting direction, advocating, influencing beliefs—thrives on extraversion. Leadership means setting direction and ensuring that expectations are clear.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
These points refer to the Jungian definitions of extraversion and introversion as a source of energy. See the appendix (page 217).
Listening can feel a bit countercultural in many countries because of cultural bias toward being extraverted (Kirby & Kendall, 2008). Traditionally, schools reward adults and students for speaking up quickly and participating in discussions. We expect leaders to be visible and involved, not tucked away in their offices. We worry about shy children. More and more, we expect teachers to collaborate. The fast pace of the school day, with multiple changes in activities and groups, also favors those who get their energy through action and interaction, but balance is possible.
Tim sums up his aha moment as realizing, “Leadership is listening!”
Consider two key interdependencies between the equally valuable leadership roles of leadership and listening: (1) leading the why and listening for the what and how and (2) leading for new norms and listening for obsolete norms. How might these affect your goals and initiatives?
Leading the Why and Listening for the What and How
Answering the question, “Why are we doing this?” is an ongoing leadership responsibility. It applies to the big picture (overall) vision of the school and to each task that members of the learning community are asked to engage in. How much of the vision comes from the top and how much a full staff can co-create may depend on the current level of collective efficacy. The right mix of top-down and shared leadership may change quickly, depending on the issue, how quickly trust is built, and a myriad of other factors.
Remember, though, that a common thread in literature on change in organizations is that it takes three to five years for a significant change to take hold and become part of the culture (Hall & Hord, 2010). As a leader, with all of the outside pressures on schools, it is tempting to jettison initiatives sooner than that, especially if they began under another leader. This is where both–and thinking is of great value. Yes, you (or those above you) may decide to shift strategic focus for very good reasons. However, using the listening pole will help you determine when to switch focus and when to work with what already exists. Consider listening to uncover the following.
♦ Consistencies and inconsistencies: Look for examples of effective practices not being maintained across all stakeholders. For example, a new leader might notice that although students receive consistent messages on behavior from adults in the hallways and cafeteria, classroom teachers are inconsistent on positive behavior interventions.
♦ Pockets of excellence: Look for specific areas of your school where there is excellence in practice. In the example about Tim Brown that started this chapter, he unearthed not just who was having the most success with using data to inform instruction but how and why they were having success. This allowed him to expand that pocket of excellence.
Listening provides these insights. Leadership turns the insights into action.
ASK YOURSELF
What are the patterns or ideas that everyone might benefit from, and who needs support? Are you more hands-on or hands-off? When are you comfortable setting the vision and letting others decide the what and the how?
Leading for New Norms and Listening for Obsolete Norms
Leaders who expect everyone to accept, adjust to, or work around their styles are usually abrasive, arrogant, or uncaring. However, each
