LFKS Secretary
Many of us (myself included) have spent the last few
weeks staying up late, watching and cheering as our boys in blue (Royal blue
that is) scratched and clawed their way to a World Series Championship. They are at the top of their game. The fans have been swept up in the excitement
and marvel at what they can accomplish both individually and together as a
team. Most of us just watch the
ball. However, since I’m an old coach, so I also
like to think about how they got there. And because I’m a teacher at heart, I also wonder what lessons educators
can take from these boys of summer (and fall!).
In my most recent personal
blog, I wrote about the lessons we could learn from the Royals’ journey to
the 2015 championship. I cited 3
lessons, although I probably could have cited 30. There were so many teachable moments as we witnessed
the players taking advantage of tiny cracks in the opponents’ armor, making
amazing defensive plays, and banging out clutch hits as they “kept the line
moving.” But for this blog, my question is not about what we saw on the
surface, it is about things generally unseen by fans or media. The most compelling question for me is, “What did the leaders do?”
Communicating and Implementing
the Vision. As we celebrated with
more Facebook posts, tweets, pictures, and articles than I could count, I loved
reading about how we got there. There
was indeed a plan…. In fact, a long term plan….that guided the many decisions
that were made both on and off the field over the past few years. It wasn’t by accident that this team was
successful and is now in a position to be successful for years to come. It started with General Manager Dayton Moore
creating and clarifying a vision to develop a championship culture. From that beginning he made many moves, not
as fast as some would have liked, but he built the Royals team that we see
today coach by coach, player by player, and trade by trade. There was no magic
bullet or quick fix. Everyone had to buy
in and commit to the long haul. Even the
team owner had to finally demonstrate his full commitment by adding more money
to the salary pool so they had the necessary resources at their disposal to realize
the vision.
The Royals rise to
success focused on people first. As
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and other leadership books, writes, “Great vision without great people is
irrelevant.” They analyzed data
(player performances) but more importantly focused on the people behind those numbers. In a recent Yahoo
Sports article, author Jeff Passan illustrated how the Royals General Manager
understands the value of the people in developing a championship culture when he
quoted Moore as saying it was important
“to focus on people, trust them and bask in their success.”
When we want to affect change, taking care of
the people must be a top priority. Many
of the change models we have studied in Learning
Forward’s Educational Leadership Program (ELP) stress the importance of
understanding the needs and strengths of the stakeholders. How are we involving and nurturing the
teachers in our schools as we implement change that leads to excellent teaching
and learning?
Another key leader in the Royals success was manager Ned
Yost. Much maligned early in his tenure
in Kansas City, and even down the stretch for some on the field strategic decisions,
Yost is a skilled communicator of his philosophy. He also has learned to trust his players and coaches
to make good decisions – built on the purposeful work and preparation that
happens in spring training, before games, and during the off-season. He has made adjustments in his managerial
style that paid dividends with the Royals.
Yost, quoted by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer Tim Haudricort in an October
2014 article, says,
"I've learned to let my players be themselves. I'm every bit as patient as I was (in Milwaukee). Because I have great coaches, I think I listen a lot more than I did back then. I was pretty hard-headed. I'm a little more flexible now."
This shift in his own perspective and behavior helped
turn the tide for the improving Royals.
His understanding of his players created loyalty from those players and
a family-like culture where they support each other and believe they can overcome
any obstacle, which has led to this year’s wildly successful season when most
picked them to be at home watching the playoffs on TV. We take away from Ned and his staff the
importance of communication and trust, and the benefits of self-reflection. Leaders develop a culture of success by their
believing in their people, communicating their vision and assessing their own
performance as well. When you reflect on your performance as a
leader, are you looking at only the results or the process too?
Effective
leadership develops capacity, advocates, and creates support systems. The Royals organization is a model of this
type of leadership. Consider all the “home
grown” talent that makes up the majority of the Royals’ roster. They have developed capacity and provided
support for these young players that have led to quality skill development,
can-do attitudes, and championship thinking.
How are you developing the
capacity of your educators in your school or district to achieve the goal of
excellent teaching and learning every day?
Leadership matters
in every organization. We are in the
business of school and the leadership affects every aspect of the school. In order to create and implement a plan,
leaders must effectively communicate
the vision and ensure that decisions are made that align to the intent of the
plan. Leadership matters as we plan professional learning opportunities
that provide understanding and support of the change initiatives. Gone are the days where stand-alone staff
development days consisting of sit-and-get activities are considered effective ways to
positively impact professional learning.
In what ways is your school moving
past these one and done silos of learning toward more personalized learning for
individuals and/or small groups? How are
we addressing the learning needs of the faculty?
Three of the Standards
of Professional Learning really stand out when considering the Royals’
rise to success: Leadership,
Resources and Learning Communities. By developing capacity, prioritizing and
coordinating resources, and engaging in continuous improvement, organizations
such as the Royals, and more importantly your school, can develop collective responsibility
and achieve the outcomes set forth in the road map for success.
As you reflect on your own leadership journey, consider some
or all of the following questions:
·
How effectively
are you communicating the vision?
·
Have you surrounded
yourself with quality teammates and listened to what they have to offer?
·
How are
you building the capacity of those with whom you work and/or supervise to
achieve excellent teaching and learning every day?
·
How are
you creating and sustaining a culture of success in your school?
Consider the kind and quality of leadership that put
together this group of Royals players who had the talent, the heart, and the
commitment to succeed, and then let them play. What would teaching and learning
look like if Kansas schools did it the Royals’ way?
