This week I am going to see the new Transformers movie with my daughter. Three weeks ago we saw the new Terminator movie. Yes, I like science fiction and yes, I like a good sequel. And yes, technically the Terminator movie is a sequel to the sequel of a sequel to the original. No, I am not enamored with sequels, but if I liked the storyline and enjoyed the characters the first time around, then why not revisit them in a new adventure? A good sequel is a chance to explore new action, reveal hidden plot lines, all while maintaining enough continuity to satisfy the returning viewer and be entertaining enough to enthrall audience members who are new to the storyline.
So it is in that spirit of the sequel that I revisit the objective of last week’s blog: Leadership is Art. Cue the appropriate background music and cut to the flashback…Leadership is Art…an artist produces work that provokes an emotional response…an effective leader also deals in emotions by communicating a universal vision that inspires followers to perform with a renewed passion. Referring to someone as an artist is a high level compliment, just as the term leadership is the epitome of the concept of management.
Ordway Tead (now there is a name for you…Ordway), a noted scholar in the field of management, titled one of his book’s The Art of Leadership. Tead speaks of the value of having a vision; “The mere presence of a sound purpose is obviously not enough. It must be felt to be sound by all. In other words it must be surcharged with a dynamic emotion, with a hopefulness, with a will to win and an abounding robust sense of joy in the job” (p. 98). This was originally published in 1935, but if it were re-issued today then it would rise to the top of the charts, becoming the required text for leadership programs. Find yourself an old copy via Amazon for $4 (or at your local university library) and you will discover that much of today’s leadership literature is just rephrasing the work done a century ago, but missing the eloquence and enthusiasm.
But lets get to the issue that has been rattling around my brain for the last week: Leadership and Art; both words are nouns, although both connote action, which should classify them as verbs. I may be getting out of my league here (as I was sick the week they taught grammar, syntax, and speeling in school) but it really seems that leadership should be classified as a verb. Art is synonymous with creation and stimulation, so is leadership. Leadership means influence, action, accomplishment. Leadership is not static; let me rephrase that: effective leadership is not static. Today in education, progress, growth, and reform are the keynote attributes of leadership. Leadership is action!
Leadership is a verb.
Leadership is a verb because it is intimate with action (for full disclosure I must state that I am influenced by the title of a poem by Buckminster Fuller titled God is a Verb). The hope is that the actions of the school's staff is in response to a vision that is so well crafted and communicated that they respond with a visceral sense of purpose. The education of our youth is far too serious a concern for there not to be deep joy and laughter. If however, we perform our jobs without emotion, if our actions are merely robotic responses conveying standardized educational practices, then we are surely losing the battle for the souls of our pupils. Leaders are at war with the machine-like compliance to external standards. Leaders must take action to instill a sense of purpose that will drive reform in turbo gear. If you are listening to this message, then you are part of the resistance…you are an artist.
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. Terminator Salvation, trailer: http://terminatorsalvation.warnerbros.com/
PSS. Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen, trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/transformersrevengeofthefallen/transformers_trailer_large.html
PSSS. God is a verb: http://wholeearth.com/issue/1010/article/194/god.is.a.verb
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
leadership is art
Born, as we all are, helpless and speechless and dependent upon others for all the necessities of life, we must acquire slowly and gradually the capacities which make life more than a sum of vegetative and animal processes. As the utterly self-centered and uncomprehending infant develops, the chaos which is his world begins to take on order and to mirror the objective world which lies about him. He learns to relate his cries, wails and random movements to what the things, and especially the persons, in his environment do to him. At some point in his growth he grasps the difference between things, which simply affect him, and persons who communicate with him. Throughout the rest of his life he elaborates the distinction. He learns that he must not treat persons as things: this is the dawn of morality. He learns that a more penetrating, a more comprehensive grasp of things enables him to do with them what he could never do by his untutored impulses: this is the dawn of science. He learns, for example, that with the particular tones of his voice, gestures, combinations of words, he can make others aware of what he sees with his mind's eye: this is the dawn of art. Albert C. Barnes
Many of the lines contained within that quotation resound with truth, so please excuse me for including the bulk of it. Written by Albert Barnes, it is an excerpt of a piece concerning his good friend, John Dewey (and shame on me that I can not locate the exact reference at this time).
I wish to focus on one particular truth and place it in the context of effective leadership; a leader knows that with the “particular tones of his voice, gestures, combinations of words, he can make others aware of what he sees with his mind's eye: this is the dawn of art.” An artist holds a special rank in society because of his or her unique talent. An artist has a mystical ability to create work that can evoke/provoke an emotional response.
“The soul never thinks without a picture.” Aristotle
This quotation is attributed to Aristotle in Scott, Jaffe, and Tobe’s (1993) Picturing Excellence in Organizational Vision, Values, and Mission (p.86). The authors contend that imagery is essential for communicating the vision and subsequent mission of an organization. Once an image is manifested, it can be utilized to “remember” the future. Wow, remember the future. Let that concept roll around the brain a little bit.
The ability to create a universal image, with its associated emotional attributes, can serve as more than just a mere goal, it can become a visceral target, seemingly made tangible due to its emotional content. The best current example of the use of imagery is the campaign poster from the last election…you already know what I am going to say…the iconic graphic image of Obama with the simple word Hope. A vision can be a powerful engine to motivate people.
Noted scholar on leadership issues in education, Kenneth Leithwood cites vision as the foremost dimension of his list of five dimensions of transformational leadership. The others being; 2) common goals, 3) high expectations, 4) intellectual stimulation, 5) individualized support. A well crafted vision satisfies the first four dimensions of his leadership attributes. Communication is the key. Howard Gardner’s recent work on leadership identified three intelligences at work in effective leaders: existential, interpersonal, and linguistic. Existential is the deep thinking, big picture stuff, which is the essence of visionary thinking. Interpersonal means that the vision resonates with the staff. It literally places a song in their hearts. Linguistic means the leader possesses the ability to craft the vision. Deep response…emotional impact… these are the seminal characteristics of the work of an artist. Therefore, leadership is art.
You might say to yourself, well I’m not an artist, I’m not particularly gifted in linguistic skills… well first off don’t say that too loud since it is the equivalent to overhearing a waiter whispering to the busboy that he had just dropped your steak on the floor, picked it up, pulled off most of the hairs and dust-bunnies, and put it back on your plate. In other words, never advertise your inadequacies. How was that for a visual image? Not quite the deep-thinking quality, but maybe a bit of an emotional response. However, the goal of a leader is to craft and promote symbolism that is representative of deep thinking, does develop emotional response, and is deemed to be powerful enough to become the stimulus for ‘remembering’ the future.
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. For some practical tips on how to become a PowerPoint artist, see Garr Reynolds work: http://www.slideshare.net/garr/sample-slides-by-garr-reynolds
PSS. Leithwood’s five dimensions of leadership can be found in: Leithwood, K. (1994). Leadership for school restructuring. Educational Administration Quarterly, 30(4), 495-518.
PSSS. Scott, C., Jaffe, D., and Tobe, G. (1993). Picturing Excellence in Organizational Vision, Values, and Mission (pp.73-90). Mento Park, CA: Crisp Publications, Inc.
PSSSS. Shepard Fairey is the artist of the Obama poster: http://creativebits.org/files/Shepard_Fairey_obama-poster.jpg
Friday, June 12, 2009
plays well with others
Gary Yukl’s 2002 book, Leadership in Organizations, cites an early study of leadership conducted by Ohio State University that created a list of 1,800 examples of leadership behaviors. The authors whittled the list down to 150, and then identified the two most critical leadership behaviors as; 1) consideration, and 2) initiating structure. I translate that as: A leader needs to be nice and play by the rules (rules that they help establish/clarify).
When you were a child, consensus on which rules were being used in a game was essential for determining how much disagreement about the outcome was going to take place. In the game Four Square, is palming the ball allowed?; in Tether ball, will double hits be allowed?; in Monopoly will the monies collected from fees and fines be put into a joint kitty to be won be the player landing on Free Parking? If the rules are not clearly established, then argument will surely ensue (and your brother will flick the game board upside down and storm off in anger…purely a hypothetical example).
Rules are essential. The rules of a school, formal or informal, are a major component of its culture.
However, the concept of ‘rules’ is far different than ‘initiating structure’. The key word there is ‘initiating’. A workplace already has its set of rules. The leader, if he or she is acting as a change agent, is by definition in the position of changing the status quo. Reform requires a change in the rules of operation. Sometimes the leader may even have to act as a change terrorist and blow up the existing structure. For the veteran staff this is akin to changing the rules in the middle of the game (so watch out for the equivalent of the scattering of houses, hotels, and other play pieces caused by this upset).
Buckminster Fuller’s view on rules and rule-changing is that leaders should create a new system that makes the existing reality obsolete (I know, easier said than done, but it still should remain the goal). Effective leaders can direct the flow of change with the use of positive influence. Yukl states that “Influence is the essence of leadership” (p. 141). Influence means that you can impact the structure. So, that is a quick idealist primer on the ‘initiating structure’ piece of leadership.
Rules and structure are one component and ‘consideration’ is the other component. The trait, consideration, connotes an understanding and appreciation of other people‘s view, combined with the ability to communicate with them. The antithesis of this is exemplified by the chain gang boss in the film Cool Hand Luke, who utters the classic line in response to Luke’s (Paul Newman) continual conflict with the rules, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate”.
Consideration. Be nice. Play by the rules.
Here is a thought: When school systems file a posting for an administrative position, the usual routine is to have the candidate submit a resume, 3 letters of recommendation, and college transcripts. Perhaps the process should be amended…candidates should submit copies of their report cards from 4th grade to see if their early character development demonstrates the proper credentials as evidenced by the praise “plays well with others”.
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. An excellent synopsis of Fuller's ideas on leadership, this should be mandatory reading for all leaders: http://www.readyaiminspire.com/Buckminster_Fuller_Leadership_By_Design.html
PSS. Clip from Cool Hand Luke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_aVuS7cOIQ
PSSS. Other quotes from Cool Hand Luke: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061512/quotes
PSSSS. A snippet from Yukl's book: http://217.140.32.103/media/F7B/97/randd-leaders-business-yukl.pdf
When you were a child, consensus on which rules were being used in a game was essential for determining how much disagreement about the outcome was going to take place. In the game Four Square, is palming the ball allowed?; in Tether ball, will double hits be allowed?; in Monopoly will the monies collected from fees and fines be put into a joint kitty to be won be the player landing on Free Parking? If the rules are not clearly established, then argument will surely ensue (and your brother will flick the game board upside down and storm off in anger…purely a hypothetical example).
Rules are essential. The rules of a school, formal or informal, are a major component of its culture.
However, the concept of ‘rules’ is far different than ‘initiating structure’. The key word there is ‘initiating’. A workplace already has its set of rules. The leader, if he or she is acting as a change agent, is by definition in the position of changing the status quo. Reform requires a change in the rules of operation. Sometimes the leader may even have to act as a change terrorist and blow up the existing structure. For the veteran staff this is akin to changing the rules in the middle of the game (so watch out for the equivalent of the scattering of houses, hotels, and other play pieces caused by this upset).
Buckminster Fuller’s view on rules and rule-changing is that leaders should create a new system that makes the existing reality obsolete (I know, easier said than done, but it still should remain the goal). Effective leaders can direct the flow of change with the use of positive influence. Yukl states that “Influence is the essence of leadership” (p. 141). Influence means that you can impact the structure. So, that is a quick idealist primer on the ‘initiating structure’ piece of leadership.
Rules and structure are one component and ‘consideration’ is the other component. The trait, consideration, connotes an understanding and appreciation of other people‘s view, combined with the ability to communicate with them. The antithesis of this is exemplified by the chain gang boss in the film Cool Hand Luke, who utters the classic line in response to Luke’s (Paul Newman) continual conflict with the rules, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate”.
Consideration. Be nice. Play by the rules.
Here is a thought: When school systems file a posting for an administrative position, the usual routine is to have the candidate submit a resume, 3 letters of recommendation, and college transcripts. Perhaps the process should be amended…candidates should submit copies of their report cards from 4th grade to see if their early character development demonstrates the proper credentials as evidenced by the praise “plays well with others”.
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. An excellent synopsis of Fuller's ideas on leadership, this should be mandatory reading for all leaders: http://www.readyaiminspire.com/Buckminster_Fuller_Leadership_By_Design.html
PSS. Clip from Cool Hand Luke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_aVuS7cOIQ
PSSS. Other quotes from Cool Hand Luke: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061512/quotes
PSSSS. A snippet from Yukl's book: http://217.140.32.103/media/F7B/97/randd-leaders-business-yukl.pdf
Friday, June 5, 2009
contrived compliance
I do believe that I am the only one in my household that knows how to close a closet door. Specifically, the coat closet next to the side door remains open 24/7. I am talking full-fledged wide open, not merely ajar. My household includes three able-bodied, intelligent children whom possess a reasonable amount of acquiescence to their parents’ wishes, but not when it comes to this simple task. I have tried one-on-one training, punishment, rewards, and good old-fashioned tongue-lashings, but to no avail. We have had “family meetings” on the topic, where they will dutifully listen, nod their heads in agreement to the proper course of action, verbally commit to compliance, and yet, not one of my three daughters is capable of closing the closet door on a regular basis. Their commitment evaporates the moment the meeting is adjourned.
How many times have you attended a professional development workshop and have had staff members present the façade of commitment but upon return to their classrooms any pretense of practicing the new reform initiative ceases immediately. Close their door and boom, back to the same old same old. Granted with some poorly structured workshops there is not enough practical involvement to allow for acquisition of a particular skill or instructional strategy. But, if the structure of the seminar is sound and there is the opportunity to create the necessary artifacts, then the commitment to incorporate the new instructional strategies should be stated by the participants with purity of intentions. It is the disingenuous, contrived compliance that is my rub. I would much prefer honest debate about the worthiness and practical applications of a new procedure than feigned compliance. Unity does not require uniformity.
I believe that dissent can be a positive component of a healthy school climate.
One of the main characters in the TV series M*A*S*H serves as a classic example of how dissention can be productive to an organization. Hawkeye Pierce was forever chaffing at regulations and rebelled in many ways, but his intentions were to improve the quality of life at the camp and to improve the medical care of the injured (For insight into Alan Alda’s psyche and how his personality was well suited to that role in many ways, I suggest a read of his book, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I‘ve Learned). The character Klinger however, takes noncompliance to the extreme with selfish intentions by his attempted use of cross-dressing to get discharged. That is an example of non-productive non-compliance.
Richard Elmore, in School Reform from the Inside Out: Policy, Practice, and Performance (2004), states that only 25% of the participating teachers will employ the skills or instructional strategies delivered during professional development. Twenty-five percent is a rather lame compliance rate. One person I know thought the solution was to offer 4 times as many seminars in order to achieve 100%. Hmm… Honest discussion at the onset (in a climate where open discourse/dissent is invited) can help to alleviate the problem of staff who will talk the talk with no intention of walking the walk.
Honest onset.
Cultivating the culture of the school so that professional dialogue includes freedom for dissention is a difficult task, but is worth the effort. The rebel is the first to see the chink in the armor, and can therefore help prevent problems that will become evident to others in the long term. Remember, nothing is quicker in abetting teacher dissatisfaction towards professional development than suffering through another aborted reform initiative.
If the byproduct of open discussion is a firmer commitment to reform, then it should be worth the energy to create the climate that explores the worthiness of school goals. Otherwise administrative energies will be depleted by proctoring professional development that is translated into practice by a mere minority of the staff. Administrators should be encouraged by the vitality of dissent since it may translate into greater commitment. I myself am now emboldened to act, and I think I will start a discussion with my children about committing to turning off the lights when leaving a room…
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. Hawkeye's effect on the climate of the unit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qbdm2xQnNM
PSS. Elmore’s comprehensive paper on the pathologies inherent in the current structure of schools and suggestions for a new approach [Building a New Structure for School Leadership (2000), which is chapter 3 in his book: School Reform from the Inside Out: Policy, Practice, and Performance (2004), ] http://www.shankerinstitute.org/Downloads/building.pdf
How many times have you attended a professional development workshop and have had staff members present the façade of commitment but upon return to their classrooms any pretense of practicing the new reform initiative ceases immediately. Close their door and boom, back to the same old same old. Granted with some poorly structured workshops there is not enough practical involvement to allow for acquisition of a particular skill or instructional strategy. But, if the structure of the seminar is sound and there is the opportunity to create the necessary artifacts, then the commitment to incorporate the new instructional strategies should be stated by the participants with purity of intentions. It is the disingenuous, contrived compliance that is my rub. I would much prefer honest debate about the worthiness and practical applications of a new procedure than feigned compliance. Unity does not require uniformity.
I believe that dissent can be a positive component of a healthy school climate.
One of the main characters in the TV series M*A*S*H serves as a classic example of how dissention can be productive to an organization. Hawkeye Pierce was forever chaffing at regulations and rebelled in many ways, but his intentions were to improve the quality of life at the camp and to improve the medical care of the injured (For insight into Alan Alda’s psyche and how his personality was well suited to that role in many ways, I suggest a read of his book, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I‘ve Learned). The character Klinger however, takes noncompliance to the extreme with selfish intentions by his attempted use of cross-dressing to get discharged. That is an example of non-productive non-compliance.
Richard Elmore, in School Reform from the Inside Out: Policy, Practice, and Performance (2004), states that only 25% of the participating teachers will employ the skills or instructional strategies delivered during professional development. Twenty-five percent is a rather lame compliance rate. One person I know thought the solution was to offer 4 times as many seminars in order to achieve 100%. Hmm… Honest discussion at the onset (in a climate where open discourse/dissent is invited) can help to alleviate the problem of staff who will talk the talk with no intention of walking the walk.
Honest onset.
Cultivating the culture of the school so that professional dialogue includes freedom for dissention is a difficult task, but is worth the effort. The rebel is the first to see the chink in the armor, and can therefore help prevent problems that will become evident to others in the long term. Remember, nothing is quicker in abetting teacher dissatisfaction towards professional development than suffering through another aborted reform initiative.
If the byproduct of open discussion is a firmer commitment to reform, then it should be worth the energy to create the climate that explores the worthiness of school goals. Otherwise administrative energies will be depleted by proctoring professional development that is translated into practice by a mere minority of the staff. Administrators should be encouraged by the vitality of dissent since it may translate into greater commitment. I myself am now emboldened to act, and I think I will start a discussion with my children about committing to turning off the lights when leaving a room…
Make a good day,
Tod
PS. Hawkeye's effect on the climate of the unit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qbdm2xQnNM
PSS. Elmore’s comprehensive paper on the pathologies inherent in the current structure of schools and suggestions for a new approach [Building a New Structure for School Leadership (2000), which is chapter 3 in his book: School Reform from the Inside Out: Policy, Practice, and Performance (2004), ] http://www.shankerinstitute.org/Downloads/building.pdf
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
