What Micheal Fullan can teach instructional coaches

 No author has had a bigger impact on my thinking about change and leadership than Michael Fullan . In his new book, The Six Secrets of Change he provides a great deal of food for thought for coaches and other leaders of change in education.

Below, I'll provide a few quotations from Michael's book on each of the six secrets, and then offer a few of my thoughts about their implications for coaches.

Secret One: Love Your Employees

Michael references many authors in the book, but in this section he includes several insights he gathered from a very interesting book, which I'll comment on in the future, Firms of Endearment.  Here are a few quotations:

"One of the ways you love your employees is by creating the conditions for them to suceed" (p. 25)

"Carl Cohn (2007) says 'empowering those at the bottom beats punishing them from top" (p.25)

"… lead with credibility and caring, invest in frontline leadership, hire and retain for relational competence, use conflicts to build relationships, bridge the work-family divide, create boundary spanners, measure performance broadly, keep jobs flexible at the boundaries, make unions your partners, and build relationships with suppliers"   ( pg. 32)

My comments

Coaching it seems to me, has a major role in "loving your employees."  First, providing coaching that significantly supports professional learning clearly is one way that administrators can love their employees.  Second, coaches, by engaging in respectful, compassionate conversation one person at a time, can lead culture change that creates more humane, respectful conversations.  Third, punishing employees, as opposed to loving them, is likely the kiss of death for a coaching program.

Secret Two: Connect Peers With Purpose

"Purposeful peer interaction, or perhaps I should say positive purposeful peer interaction, works effectively under three conditions: (1) when the larger values of the organization and those of the individuals and groups mesh; (2) when information and knowledge about effective practices are widely and openly shared; and (3) when monitoring mechanisms are in place to detect and address ineffective actions while also identifying and consolidating effective practices."   ( pg. 45)

 "… identifying with an entity larger than oneself expands the self, with powerful consequences."  ( pg. 49)

"When teachers within a school collaborate, they begin to think not just about “my classroom” but also about “our school.”   ( pg. 49)

My comments

Reading this chapter, and listening to Michael at the recent SIM Conference, have got me thinking about ways in which coaches can expand their role to include supporting, facilitating, and operationalizing (that is taking ideas and helping them be translated into action) peer interaction in formal structures such as Professional Learning Communities and informal structures such as social settings.  Coaches, I think, can do a lot to accelerate and amplify meaningful peer interaction.

But I also think that Web 2.0 can provide a mechanism for educators to share ideas, gain and provide support, and interact in other meaningful ways.  It may be that the web will be an incredibly powerful tool for fostering purposeful, peer interaction. 

Secret Three: Capacity Building Prevails

"Another way to love your employees is to select them well and then invest in their continuous development" (p. 57)

"One of the ways not to develop capacity is though criticism, punitive consequences, or what I more comprehensively call judgementalism. Judgmentalism is not just seeing something as unacceptable or ineffective. It is that, but it is particularly harmful when it is accompanied by pejorative stigma, if you will excuse the redundancy. The advice here, especially for a new leader, is don’t roll your eyes on day one when you see practice that is less than effective by your standards. Instead, invest in capacity building while suspending short-term judgment"     ( p. 58)

My comments:  

Well first, of course, instructional coaching is a great way to build capacity in schools. Also, the approach Michael refers to as non-judgmentalism, parallel's my own belief in the importance of what I call the partnership approach.  Finally, one of the things that I am occasionally troubled by is the failure of school leaders to see the short-sitedness of focussing on quick fixes rather than long-term capacity building like coaching.

Secret Four: Learning is the Work

In this chapter Michael includes many ideas from Liker and Meyer's book  Toyota Talent, another book I'll be discussing on this blog in the near future.

"the most important job of any manager is to teach workers to become more effective; “the biggest success of any manager is the success of the people they have taught (L & M, p. 313)”    (p. 87)

…”real learning comes from repeated practice with additional coaching from the trainer (L & M, p. 246)” (p. 87)

“The objective is not to identify whom to blame for a problem, it is to find out where the system failed (L &M, p. 289)” (p.88)     

“ 'If you want great people to do their best work, the logic goes, then you’ve got to create the right working conditions the moment they walk through the door' [from Taylor and LaBarre, p.261).   And then you have to keep creating cultures of learning every day that they are on the job .      pg. 89

My comments

My first reaction, is right on!, that is exactly the way we see it, but I as I think further about this, I want to add that we need to consider how Michael's comments apply to coaches themselves, that is, how can coaches ensure that they are doing excellent work, that they are continually improving.  Since coaches are central to any organizational learning effort, I think it is essential that they are continuously learning and focussing on best practices.  To put it another way, if the coaches aren't learning, ain't nobody learning.

Secret Five: Transparency Rules

"Transparency concerns assessing, communicating, and acting on data pertaining to the what, how, and outcomes of change efforts" (p. 93)

"Transparency is not causing teachers to become what my colleagues Dennis Shirley and Andy Hargreaves (2006) characterized as “data-driving to distraction.” It is insufficient to have strictly a results orientation; you also have to learn the processes and practices to achieve those desired results" (p. 93)

"Transparency involves being open about results and practices and is essentially an exercise in pursuing and nailing down problems that recur and identifying evidence-informed responses to them" (p.99)

"To move beyond mere transparency, we have to work on the conditions under which transparency can be used simultaneously for both improvement and accountability. We know that people will cover up and not report problems if the culture punishes them So one thing we need to work on is developing cultures in which it is normal to experience problems and solve them as they occur – exactly what the organizations we have been discussing do. In other words, effective cultures embrace transparency and the use of data as a core part of their work" (p.101)   

"in all cases of successful change transparent data are used as tools for improvement" (p.102)   

My comments  

Authors such as Joellen Killion and  Nancy Love have much to teach us about how coaches can support the meaningful analysis of data as well as support instructional improvements that are derived from that data.  Also, again, coaches should also use data to honestly look at and improve their effectiveness.  By analyzing and acting on data such as implementation rates, number of teachers worked with, quality of implementation, student achievement improvements, and uses of time can all help coaches improve their practices.  

Secret Six: Systems Learn      

Michael includes a quotation from Hargreaves and Fink:  "Discontinuity that is reversing a bad situation needs to be pushed with steadfastness over a long period of time, until it becomes the new continuity. While planned discontinuity can yield rapid results, its leadership needs time to consolidate the new culture, to embed it in the hearts and minds of everyone.   Repeatedly, planned discontinuity was effective in shaking up the schools in our study but not at making changes stick… Leaders of planned discontinuity in schools were transferred to struggling schools elsewhere long before their existing work had been completed. The result was a constant cycle of change throughout schools in the system but little lasting improvement in any one of them [2006, p. 69]" (p. 108)                                                                                                                                 

"The first task of Secret Six is to enact the first five secrets. By so doing, organizational members will feel valued and be valued (Secret One), be engaged in purposeful peer interaction that generates knowledge and commitment (Secret Two), build their individual and collective capacity (Secret Three), learn every day on the job (Secret Four) and experience the value of transparency in practice linked to marking progress (Secret Five). The net effect is a critical mass of organizational colleagues who are indeed learners. Because their worlds have in fact become enlarged through wider engagement inside and outside the organization, they have a broader system perspective and are more likely to act with the larger context in mind"  (p.111)

"Leaders who operate from a position of certitude are bound to miss something, are likely to be wrong more than their share of times, and almost certainly will not learn from their experiences"   (p. 117)

My comments:

Of course, coaching stands at the heart of secret six in that coaches empower others to be learners, and by facilitating individual positive learning experiences.  By ensuring that individuals are successful, and by letting others know about that success, and by facilitating networking and sharing of ideas, coaches can be important creators of learning cultures.

Andy Hargreaves' idea about discontinuous change also has implications for coaches.  If schools are in a merry-go-round of change, what I call, the Atttempt, Attack, Abandon cycle, they make it difficult for coaches to be effective simply because teachers in such situations are often suspicious of any new initiatives.

All in all, taking the time to think this through a little, I am impressed by how valuable Six Secrets of Change could be for a coach.  THe more coaches know about change, the more successful they can be, and the more they will indeed be able to lead positive improvements in their schools.

Next week I will write about Slide:ology, a new book about preparing presentations by Susan Duarte, president of the consulting firm that helped Al Gore create his Inconvenient Truth presentation.  If you liked Presentation Zen, you'll find this book very interesting.    

Update on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 12:33AM by Jim Knight

You can see an edited version of Michael Fullan's presentation on the Six Secrets at the CRL Learns website

Twitter time for Instructional Coaches

 So how would coaches use Twitter?  To start, coaches could sign up for Twitter and then do a search for instructional coaches, or just search for Jim Knight since I'm following a growing number of coaches each day.  Then click on those coaches to follow them.  Try to follow as many coaches as possible.  Then, wait for them to follow you, and sign up when they want to follow you. Be on the look out for Twitter spam as marketers will try to get you to follow them as well.  Finally, to keep the community going, make it a point to make a post once or twice a day so that others have something to read.  If you find a cool article, do something creative at school, get a new idea, write a little tweet to let us all know what you are doing. Or, if you're facing a challenge, put out a little tweet asking for advice or suggestions. The more people contribute, the more valuable our twittering coaches community might be.  Also, consider using tinyurl as a simple way to share websites.  Finally, encourage your friends to get on, link up, and share.  How cool it is going to be when we have 1000 coaches sharing ideas and asking for suggestions all through our community.  And you can be one of the pioneers. I should mention that technology coach Cathy Baker from DuPage County, Illinois gets all credit for starting me thinking about twitter, and the use of tinyurl. And, you can follow her tweets by linking from my page, of course.

Update on Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 02:46PM by Jim Knight

Aaron Sumner pointed out this nice article about Twitter that offers a nice overview of what it is what its potential is. And, he pointed me to it on Twitter :)

Daniel Pink's Whole New Mind

Recently I received an email from a coach who asked me an interesting question. “Since computers and technology are becoming more and more powerful, don’t you think coaches will eventually be obsolete?”  

As it turns out, I just happened to be reading Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind, and it seems to me the book does a good job of explaining why we’ll likely need coaches for a long, long time.   In his book, Pink makes the case that we are undergoing a seismic shift to a world in which right brain thinking will be dominant.   I had always been a little skeptical about right brain thinking, but Pink’s book, and the ideas on his blog are truly food for thought.

Pink says the following.  This new way of thinking will be “animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life – one that prizes aptitudes that I call “high concepts” and “high touch.” High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning” (p. 3)

Pink identifies six “senses”, on which, he says,   “professional success and personal satisfaction increasingly will depend. Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning.   Here is what he says about each of these:

1. Not just function but also DESIGN. It’s no longer sufficient to create a product, a service, an experience, or a lifestyle that’s merely functional. Today it’s economically crucial and personally rewarding to create something that is also beautiful, whimsical, or emotionally engaging.

2. Not just argument but also STORY.   When our lives are brimming with information and data, it’s not enough to marshal an effective argument. Someone somewhere will inevitably track down a counterpoint to rebut your point. The essence of persuasion, communication and self-understanding has become the ability also to fashion a compelling narrative.

3. Not just focus but also SYMPHONY. Much of the Industrial and Information Ages required focus and specialization. But as white–collar work gets routed to Asia and reduced to software, there’s a new premium on the opposite aptitude: putting the pieces together, or what I call Symphony. What’s in greatest demand today isn’t analysis but synthesis – seeing the big picture, crossing boundaries, and being able to combine disparate pieces into an arresting new whole.

4. Not just logic but also EMPATHY.   The capacity for logical thought is one of the things that makes us human. But in a world of ubiquitous information and advanced analytic tools, logic alone won’t do. What will distinguish those who thrive will be their ability to understand what makes their fellow woman or man tick, to forge relationships, and to care for others.

5. Not just seriousness but also PLAY.   Ample evidence points to the enormous health and professional benefits of laughter, lightheartedness, games and humor. There is a time to be serious, of course. But too much sobriety can be bad for your career and worse for your general well-being. In the Conceptual Age, in work and in life, we all need to play.

6. Not just accumulation but also MEANING. We live in a world of breathtaking material plenty. That has freed hundreds of millions of people from day to day struggles and liberated us to pursue more significant desires: purpose, transcendence, and spiritual fulfillment.   (pps. 65, 66, & 67)

So what does this have to do with friends question about coaches becoming obsolete?   Well, I believe that many of that attributes Pink identifies, attributes that he says are things that computers cannot do, are precisely the attributes of effective coaches. That is, coaches need to be empathetic, craft stories, integrate ideas, simplify to create meaning, and heck, let’s play a little too.    I just don’t see the web being able to handle these human attributes, so until computers start to empathize and use the computer equivalent of their right brain, I think coaches will be needed.

Next week, I'll write about Michael Fullan's Six Secrets of Change

Twittering Coaches

At today's Instructional Coaching Institute, I proposed we create a country wide community of twittering coaches, that is coaches who update each other on their actions and communicate through twitter. So if you're reading this, and you're interested, just sign up to Twitter.com, look for me, Jim Knight, and then start following the people I'm following.  Right now the group is small, but all things start that way. Wouldn't it be interesting to see 100 or more coaches sharing their daily experiences all learning from each other, all through twitter? 

Coaching Burnout

Recently I received an email asking about coaching burnout. As I almost always do when I get a tough question, I sent it to my team, and asked for their thoughts. Here is what everyone said, starting with the question I received.

Jim, I think I am reaching burnout in this job. This is year four and finally we are building based and everything should be better than before, but I think I am nearing the end of my rope. Have others reported back to you that burnout around this time is common? It looks so tempting to just go teach and do the things I know I should do and put all my training into practice as opposed to attempting to get others on board. Is year four a key year? Or is it just me being "done" with the job?

My response:

I don't know if the fourth year is the issue, but the season certainly is. Rolling into the holidays, these holidays in particular, seems to be a darker time of the year for many, coaches, teachers, students, everyone. I don't know what advice to give you that will speak to your particular situation, but I'll give it a shot, and I'll also send this to me team to see if they have any thoughts. I have three thoughts. One is to not think of you job in terms of the long-term outcome, but rather to focus on each minute of the job. If each hour is meaningful, if you focus on the moment--this conversation right now--the rest will be OK. If you look at the long-term impact, at times in can be discouraging, but if you focus on each conversation, each person, and you say, I'm going to make sure this interaction is humane. I'm going to encourage respectful interaction. I'm going to be an awesome listener right now. If you take care of the moment, there should be more reason for hope. I think it is a good idea to review the partnership principles, review the communication strategies and see how they apply in this situation.

Second, is a bit of a cliche, but I think it is also very true. Any work worth doing will have its tough moments. I have been focussed on running a lot the past year and a half, and I decided that I wanted to run a marathon. This fellow--a track coach in Portland, Oregon--gave me a great bit of advice. He said, there will be a point where you will think you're not going to be able to do it. He said, just keep running, you'll get past that moment, and you'll get the strength you need to get to the end. He was right. There was a very tough stretch, but I stuck with it and made it. I think his advice applies to anything that is worth doing. There will be points where you really doubt what you're doing, but if you stick with it, you'll pass through that time, and you'll reach your goal.

Third, I say this all the time, but I think it bears repeating: don't lose sight of the moral purpose behind what you do. There are few jobs where you have more possibility to make a profoundly important impact on society--to make a difference. What could be more important than helping teachers reach out to more students. The thing, too, is that you never know what might happen. Change always goes in unpredictable patterns? You think there's no hope and something happens, and suddenly more and more people are on board. You just cant predict the future, so (here's where my first point comes in to play) just make every day count, and it is possible that you'll have a huge impact. You just can't know what might happen.

Coach A:

I can appreciate what this coach is feeling because I've been there before. I, too, am in my fourth year as a coach. There were times when I sometimes felt this way. When there is little teacher turnover at a school, a coach might begin to feel no longer needed. Of course there is a need, but it is more hidden. The teachers in "obvious" need of help have received assistance and the more resistant teachers remain. It takes more work to get those people on board. As my school experienced a lot of turnover in my last year there, I suddenly felt rejuvenated and needed. I also had this feeling when I came to my new school this year. I think the burnout factor also comes from teachers a coach is not able to help move in a positive direction. I invested a lot of time working with one teacher at my first school on classroom management, but he never fully improved, and he eventually left. There were times when I just wanted to teach the class myself. I still feel that way sometimes.

I've learned so much as a coach, but I also really miss teaching. I would like to take everything I've learned and put it into practice in the classroom because I think it would make me an even stronger coach. I would love to teach just one class so I could try out new strategies and practices, which would refresh my teaching juices. I think this would greatly help coaches keep in touch with what teachers experience daily in the classroom. Anyone who is not doing the daily grind -- teaching, grading papers, planning lessons, etc. - loses perspective at some point. It happens to administrators and I truly believe it even happens a little to coaches. I think this coach could deal with burnout in one of several ways: by finding some teachers she/he could really make a difference with; asking for placement at a new school; or asking to teach part-time (one or two classes) in addition to coaching duties. I'm sure this person has more to give as a coach, but she/he needs to recharge her/his batteries. The important thing is to know you're making a difference, even when it doesn't feel like it.

Coach B

I don't think this is a four-year phenomenon! This type of thinking happens to me every year. In my humble opinion, coaches are consistently reflective about many different aspects of the job, so inevitably, we are most reflective about our own abilities. The biggest concerns most of us face are, "Have I lost my effectiveness? Am I still making a difference?" This is especially difficult in a building that doesn't have the top-down pressure we all need. In a school without that pressure, a coach can sometimes feels as if he/she is flailing and running from issue to issue. I know I have felt this way since my one awesome principal left. Making that kind of new positive connection has been difficult in the interim.

We are practitioners of an imperfect science, and once we add the human element, everything goes haywire!

I think this coach is experiencing what most of us feel most of the time; however, don't give up. Even when we don't think we're making a difference, we're building relationships that will only serve us in the future.

Coach C

Change is messy and it takes much more time than most people think. How are you measuring your success? How are others measuring your success? Are expectations realistic? When I start to think about the enormous amount that needs to be done in my school, it can be overwhelming. When I think of people who start and then stop, it is discouraging. When I think of how the school has changed over time because I am here, I become hopeful again. Coaching is messy and the changes are often subtle so it is hard to measure success. Only you can answer the question if it is time to leave for something else. If you continue coaching, find ways to keep yourself refreshed such as meet with other coaches regularly, talk about successes even if they are small, share materials, and talk about how not to burn out. If that isn't available locally, consider a blog. When I start to feel weary, I do more model teaching so I can connect with the students again. Often doing what you are missing is a good cure for the doldrums.

Coach D

Well, I have barely been at this job four months, and only "half-time" at that, but I do know that motivating others really takes its toll, whether those others are students, teachers or friends. Being a coach is all about giving people the tools to improve their talents and then motivating them to put new tools or methods into practice. At some point a coach (whether coaching students in a classroom, or athletes on the field of competition, or teachers in a school community, or friends who need to make a change) must stand back and let the recipient fly or fall. Coaches who take on too much of the ownership for change will definitely burn out. Theodore Roosevelt offers good advise when he said "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." I can only be responsible for providing the water; I cannot drink it for the horse. When I try, both the horse and I will be frustrated and unfulfilled. This 4 yr veteran probably needs to make a list of all the things that would not be in place without coaching (like a scene from "It's a Wonderful Life); a hefty dose of gratitude and counting one's blessings can go a very long way to squelching burnout.