Recently I was attending an OVEC role group meeting, where educators of a similar job position came together for fellowship and learning. During an open forum discussion, the topic of implementing high quality instructional resources (HQIR) came up. (In Kentucky, schools have been legislatively mandated to adopt HQIR for our core content classes that have been vetted and meet certain criteria.) An educator shared their district's challenges with following through with such change, particularly for teachers already struggling with barriers to overcome, and especially when it feels like forced compliance from outside pressures rather than motivated from the inside. (There were a lot of shared head nods from those in neighboring districts.) The educator finished the lamentation with the remark, "At least at our district, we are all on the same boat." I then quipped, "But is the boat a cruise ship, or the Titanic?"
We shared a laugh in the room, and I made a few points about leadership -- in short, when there are very few silver bullets to solve complicated problems, and change is always painful (even when it's perceived as a good thing), a major part of the success in a new initiative comes down to the tone set by leaders and how they model a positive stance. At the same time, this is not to dismiss the genuine ache felt by educators, whether it is in HQIR implementation or whatever other major change you are trying to enact. We riffed for a few minutes on the metaphor of "cruise ship or Titanic" before moving on.
After the meeting, I kept ruminating on the idea, and that led to today's blog entry. In the initiative you are currently in, do you see signs you are on the Titanic, or a cruise ship? As a leader, how can you shift from the former to the latter? (By the way, an educational leader here is broadly defined. Of course a superintendent or principal has positional authority, but leaders in a district or school setting come in many forms.)
Here are signs what ship you're on. Come aboard! We're expecting you!
Titanic
- Reacting to icebergs vs. proactively charting a course around planned-for problems. The Titanic was only outfitted for enough lifeboats for a third of its passengers. (Interestingly, at the time, this was over the legal requirement. It was assumed such lifeboats would calmly ferry passengers from a sinking ship to a rescue ship over several relays.) The captain of the Titanic received several warnings about icebergs from other boats in the Atlantic, but chose to ignore them. There was pressure for the Titanic's maiden voyage to land in New York in record time, so a "damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead" mentality was pervasive amongst its crew. Both of these short-sighted choices forced the crew and passengers to react to a catastrophic disaster in real time. Imagine if a proactive approach for the journey was done instead. How can we chart a course around our known icebergs? What pivots can we make when an unforeseen iceberg looms? Do we have enough lifeboats (i.e. resource support in all its forms: human capital, guidance, funds in the budget) for the perils ahead?
- First class versus third class perceptions. Passengers from the third class of the Titanic perished at a much higher percentage than the first class, although the difference in voyage experiences between the classes was obvious long before the Titanic hit an iceberg. What is the perception on your ship? Do the admin have a different view of reality than the teachers? Are there some perceived as sipping champagne while others feel they are being shoved into steerage without sunlight? Is everyone's voices being heard not just equally, but equitably? (From an equity perspective, the ones who are actually doing the hardest work of the change -- likely, the teachers in classrooms -- need more representation at the table, not just "a" seat at the table.)
- Rearranging the deck chairs. It's an old Titanic joke about pointless action that may avoid facing the true crisis at hand, but in education we can find ways to make it even worse. We not only ask the teachers to shuffle the components on their already spinning plates, we often add to the plates. In other words, we don't just rearrange the deck chairs, we double them. If we are asking our staff to do work while implementing needed change, let's make it genuinely purposeful in a way that actually does what the point should be: to help students. While we are at it, it would be better to not simply add more to the plate, but find ways to transform the plate itself. Putting band-aids on a broken system is the equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs while the boat sinks. Let's build a new boat instead!
- "And the band played on." The story of the Titanic musicians continuing to play while people were rushing to life boats is traditionally presented as an example of stoic courage -- a way of setting a calm tone in the face of panic. But seen in another light, it could be perceived as pollyannish at best, or insensitive at worst; to mix our analogies, our plucky musical leaders could be seen as Neros fiddling while Rome burns. Yes, let's set a calm and confident tone, but let's also make visible signs that we recognize the struggle of our shipmates and they are not being ignored.
- Servant leadership. A cruise line that hopes to stay in business knows they don't exist without their clientele. Therefore, no one on a cruise ship, from the captain to the custodian, is above the main work of making the passenger happy. One of the best things a leader can ask is, "How can I remove an obstacle in the way of your joy?" A good leader listens; a great leader follows through with a promise to make things better.
- Personalized opportunities. A popular cruise ship offers not just a single buffet table, but buffet tables of different cuisines for different levels of appetite. A cruise director wants to not only offer a schedule of multiple activities, but makes sure there are entry points for a passenger regardless of their ability level (beginner, intermediate, advanced). How can we make sure we personalize the learning for teachers in the face of our new initiative? How can we guarantee there are multiple entry points, whether you are an excited innovator, a skeptical laggard, or somewhere in between?
- "All-inclusive." Applicable to both vacation resorts and cruises, there is a real comfort (and joy!) knowing that every meal, drink and activity is already prepaid. How can we make sure the total cost of the journey is factored in and taken care of before leaving the harbor? We sometimes forget items like the cost of personalized learning (the facilitators, the staff stipends, etc. ) in light of only budgeting the annual subscription fee for the new tech platform. Let's also remember that the "cost" to implement an initiative is not just money spent, but can also be calculated in time, sweat, and other metrics. Furthermore, you should extend the idea of all items being included in the cost of our journey to all people being included. Make sure the voices of the table are truly representative of who is affected by your initiative. It's also better to fold in the skeptics early on to earnestly hear their concerns than to ignore them while they deflate morale from the margins.
- Docking for excursions. (I thank OVEC's Chrissy Jones for this phrase!) Sometimes you just need to get off the boat, hit the shore, and see some new sites. There's a psychological and physiological need why cruise ships build in visits to exotic ports into their cruising agenda. Whether it's at the start of the initiative for inspiration, or in the middle for calibration and/or affirmation, or at the completion of certain phases to share and celebrate your successes, venture outward! This could be visits to other schools or districts, or participating in conferences; this could be virtual or in-person. That said, there is true power in the organic, natural bonding that occurs in a team that goes off-site together. It's a social component that can't be replicated in a school hallway five minutes between periods, or in a faculty meeting jam-packed with need-to-know items.
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