How the Mighty Fall: Educational Leaders Beware

If you're an educational leader, particularly one who runs a division or an entire school, and you aren't familiar with Jim Collins, you need to pick up his books and delve into them as soon as possible. His research-based books Built to Last and Good to Great chronicle some of the most successful companies in America in an attempt to discern what these companies do or have done to distinguish themselves from the rest of the competition. They hold great relevance for organizations such as schools.

Collins' latest book, How the Mighty Fall, examines some companies who have fallen from the top and plots their fall through the five stages of decline I have listed below. In the coming days I'll post specifically on some of these stages and discuss their relevance to educational leaders. For now, though, I simply want to share the five stages Collins has identified through his research and provide some anecdotal evidence about the relevance of this book for educators.

Collins, after much research, has identified the following five stages through which failing companies (and organizations) move on the way from the top to the proverbial bottom of the barrel.

Stage 1 - Hubris Born of Success

Stage 2 - Undisciplined Pursuit of More

Stage 3 - Denial of Risk and Peril

Stage 4 - Grasping for Salvation

Stage 5 - Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death

I find this model particularly intriguing at the moment because I know of two very similar schools I believe currently are moving through Stages 1 and 2. School A finds itself in the throes of Stage 1 and, as a result, heads into the 2009-10 school year with instability in leadership, a decline in teachers and a decline in enrollment. For years, School A has assumed students would flock to its campus simply because it is and always has been School A, of course. It's possible that School A has moved beyond Stage 2 and actually may be teetering on the edge of Stage 3 (if it's not there already). I'll be interested to watch over the next year to see if School A returns to its core values or if it Grasps for Salvation by bringing in a larger-than-life personality to save the organization (according to Collins, a very bad idea).

School B has moved through Stage 1 already and probably will get bogged down in the quagmire that is Stage 2. It seems that School B has added amendment after amendment to its mission statement in order to be all things to all people, a practical impossibility in the independent school world. It's Undisciplined Pursuit of More, led by a big personality, has expanded the curriculum such that the school now finds itself stretched in a number of new ways, each a departure from its mission statement and core values. Will the school realize where it is as it moves into and through Stage 3? We'll see.

Collins' latest work should be on your bookshelf and his vocabulary should be a part of your vocabulary if you are in an educational leadership position. I believe so strongly in How the Mighty Fall I have passed this along to my headmaster and we're going to present this book to our board of trustees as a book study. Add this to your library today then check back here periodically as I discuss some of Collins' finer points as well as the application of these points to educational leadership.

As a footnote, if you're already familiar with Collins and his Good to Great concepts, you can jump right into this book; however, I recommend, just as a refresher, starting in the Appendix which serves as a recap of the Good to Great model.

The Six Secrets of Change: Good Advice for Educational Leaders

I just completed The Six Secrets of Change by Michael Fullan and I must recommend this for all educational leaders in a position to affect change at his or her school. This research-based book by Fullan, who is Professor Emeritus at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, was written for business leaders and leaders of organizations. However, the book contains a wealth of information for those in educational leadership positions. The Six Secrets are outlined and summarized for you below.

1. Love Your Employees - "If you build your organization by focusing on your customers without making the same careful commitment to your employees, you won't succeed for long."

2. Connect Peers with Purpose - Leaders must "foster continuous and purposeful peer interaction." "Your employees must fall in love with their peers."

3. Capacity Building Prevails - You can accomplish significant improvements only when you build capacity (i.e. new competencies, new motivation) in your employees.

4. Learning is the Work - Learning outside the workplace will result in no change unless the learning is "in balance and concert" with the work.

5. Transparency Rules - There must be a "clear and continuous display of results and clear and continuous display of of what is being done to get the results."

6. Systems Learn - "The synergetic result of the previous five secrets in action is tantamount to a system that learns from itself."

I believe these secrets carry a great deal of weight when educational leaders seek to affect change with and through the faculty. After all, at the risk of sounding adult-centered rather than student-centered, faculty make or break a school. One of the things lending credibility to this book for educators is its examination of the McKinsey report, How the World's Best School Systems Come Out on Top, which says "the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers." Change can be a powerful tool but change must be managed and implemented appropriately. Fullan's Six Secrets of Change provides a framework for business leaders and educational leaders alike to make change and to make a difference within an organization or school. I've only scratched the surface of the wealth of information in Fullan's book so add this one to your library.

Educational Leadership Food for Thought from Philadelphia

The ISM conference Leading the Successful Upper School has delivered in spades. I recommend this for any division head regardless of years of experience. The conference has brought together division heads from across the country with myriad backgrounds and educational experiences. The conversation among the heads has been thought provoking, challenging and highly beneficial. Additionally, the consultants from ISM have presented philosophical concepts, useful information and researched-based strategies covering a wide spectrum of topics thus far including hiring and firing, managing stress, leadership, focusing on mission statements and managing change.

Below are bullet points of information I've picked up throughout my four days here in Philadelphia. These mostly are a random collection of statements and thoughts that made me think. I am not saying I agree or disagree with anything below but rather I am listing (in no particular order) some interesting and provocative ideas presented this week.

• The Development Office should focus on the development of relationships in which fundraising in as outcome



• The job of a division head is to impact teachers and make teachers better so they, in turn, can impact students



• Over time, all schools become adult-centered institutions because the adults in the building generally are there longer (in terms of longevity) than the students



• As an educational leader, your best work should be done in a servant paradigm not in a power paradigm



• It is important for faculty to engage in meaningful, adult conversation on a regular basis



• Research on teacher mentoring says mentoring is a waste of time unless it is a component of a full induction process (which may take between six months and three years)



• Professional development should be mandatory for teachers



• Teachers who are not interested in professional development should have no place in your school

Good Leadership Thoughts from Philly

Yesterday we talked at length about leadership and what leadership looks like for division heads in independent schools. Our presenter had prepared a list of leadership tasks for us to think about. I do not know where she got the list so I apologize in advance for not giving credit where credit is due. We focused on the fact that these tasks are just that: tasks of leaders. These tasks exist for leaders regardless of leadership style, personality, characteristics, etc. The list is intriguing so I'll share here without editorializing but simply as food for thought.

LEADERSHIP TASKS

• Leaders find and listen to their inner voice
• Leaders listen to and attend to others
• Leaders tell stories and inspired shared vision
• Leaders cultivate an organization's creative imagination
• Leaders evoke conversations that matter
• Leaders foster renewal

Professional Development in Philadelphia

ISM (Independent School Management) begins a week-long conference today in Philadelphia called Leading the Successful Upper School. I am fortunate to work for a school that believes strongly enough in professional development to send me to the conference. I arrived in Philadelphia on July 4, which couldn't have been more fitting for a history buff and former history teacher, and immediately set off on foot to explore the city. As I walked past Independence Hall and other incredible landmarks, I easily could imagine what it must have been like here 233+ years ago. The men who began this great experiment gathered together and drew strength and wisdom from one another in order to create something new and different and better. I can't help but think that when division heads from some of America's best independent schools come together this week in Philadelphia, we will draw from one another strength and wisdom with which we can return to our own schools and make them new and different and better. Throughout the week I'll post some new thoughts and ideas I pick up along the way at the conference.