Lead Like a Pirate:Book Study

Chapter 9: Harness the Power of Teams

Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.  --John Maxwell

Chapter 9 takes the reader on a journey using the PLC framework.  Shelley Burgess highlights how she built a Site Leadership Team, which was composed of one member from each grade level.  She discusses how she gave each member of her team a voice.  Her voice was no louder than anyone else's in this leadership community.  TOGETHER this team made decisions about how they wanted their school to function.  Shelley describes her role as a "summarizer and synthesizer" of their thoughts and ideas.  Shelley shares in this chapter the "Ten Tips for Teams that Tick".  Basically these are the basic tenets of a high performing PLC.  She discusses this process as a turning point for her school.  She also discusses how the leadership teams continued to grow in the second year and how more staff members wanted to take on leadership roles.Finally, in this chapter Shelley talks about the specific parameters that school leadership teams should use as their guide within to work effectively.  Want to hear about them?  (Read the book!)

If YOUR school is struggling with TRUE PLCs or effective leadership meetings, this chapter alone is worth the cost of the book.  These clear ground rules will help teams to understand what their part in the process is and how they can be a asset to their teams. Leadership roles (again) do not have to come with a fancy title.  Leadership roles are all around you.  You just need a vision and a will to help your school succeed in something that will benefit your students.  For example, I was new to a campus a few years ago.  I saw that there was a core group of parents that volunteered within the school.  However, I noticed that most parents only stepped within our doors when they had a conference or a program that their child was in.  Getting programs such as Watch Dog Dads in place and our Reading Prize Posse became a goal for me.  Reaching out to the community and going into the community as the "Prize Posse" that "caught" our kids reading in their own homes helped parents to connect with our school.  This brought about a whole new group of parents joining the ranks of our volunteers.  I did not have a fancy title, but I did have a passion for bringing our teachers, school, parents, and community closer together.  It took some work, but the pay off was well worth it!

Chapter 10:Find the Magic in the People - Not the Programs

"Programs don't teach kids; teachers do, and teachers are capable of making magic happen for kids."

This chapter touches on the power of the teacher within our school system.  While some programs claim to be THE key to helping your students achieve great levels of success, the only proven difference in highly effective schools are highly effective teachers. Districts spend a lot of money ensuring that "programs" are taught with fidelity. This sometimes works beautifully.  It works when the teacher is given a tool that he/she is able to use as just that - a tool. Basically the authors contend that teachers alone make the difference not the programs.  Teachers are the magic.  Good teachers know they should be creating experiences for their students that help them to understand new information.   Great teachers are allowing their students to go deeper into their understanding of the standards -more than any program is designed to do.  Teaching is hard - no doubt.  Classroom management, engagement techniques, depth of content knowledge, precise use of effective instructional practices, wise use of resources, an understanding of assessment and how to use it, long term planning and short term adjustments, are just a few of the daily duties of the average teacher.  This is not an easy job!  But the exceptional few make that daily duty an experience that our students hold onto and remember for the future.

Chapter 11:Get the Right People on the Ship

"Your crew is essential to the survival of your building and the success of your students."

Chapter 11 delves into how to find the right people to be a part of your crew.  There are interview questions included in this chapter to ensure that the people you hire are able to think on their feet and have the passion to help carry your school to greatness.  The last question that these pirate leaders ask in an interview is deceptively simple, and yet tells a lot about a new hire:  "What is something that you've read recently that has influenced you as an educator?"  How would you answer that question?

Chapter 12: If It's Important... 

Make Time For It

"Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem.  We all have twenty-four hour days".  --Zig Ziglar

As the authors discuss in this chapter, what you make time for gets done.  Just setting goals and priorities does not mean that these goals will be accomplished.  Building in time for teams to collaborate, will yield teams that DO collaborate.  Building in time for professional learning communities, will guarantee that "time" is devoted to that endeavor.  "If you have an initiative or a project you want to accomplish, it isn't enough to tell people what to do."  You must show people why it is important enough to devote time to - and you must show them how they can fit it into their schedules.  

Ask yourself this...  Does your team invest time in what matters?  Does everyone have a purpose on your team?  What are you spending your time on that will bring about a positive change to your campus?

Lead Like a Pirate: Chapter 7 - Set Your Compass & Chapter 8 - Avoid the Blame Game

Set Your Compass

What is the most important work you are focused on right now as a school team to improve student learning?

In chapter 7, the authors (Beth Houf and Shelley Burgess) talk about the importance of knowing your school focus or instructional vision.  Do you know yours?  If you were to write down your school's focus, what would it be?  Would it be the same as your team mates? Would it be the same as your assistant principal?  Would it be the same as your principal?  Long term vision should be your driving force.  "You must be crystal clear about what you and your crew need to this year, this month, this week..."  The first step is finding your focus as a school.  Break down that vision into actionable steps that you and your team can focus on with intensity.  In my opinion, one of the hardest things to do once you have a focus is to-

"Stay the course and push toward your goal 

with unwavering commitment."

Why do I say that is THE most difficult part of setting your compass?  We get side tracked during the school year with what I call ---> "The FLUFF"  

ie. new ideas from trainings or conferences, innovative teaching practices we found on pinterest, a cool website we found with great ideas...  

We get so caught up in "doing" teaching that we put our focus to the side.  We don't follow our actionable steps and we don't accomplish our goal.  All those "fluffy" things CAN help our focus, but we can't let those things overtake or become more important than our focus. 

Chapter 7 helps school leaders reflect on focus.  Create it - if they don't already have one.  And charges the readers to STAY THE COURSE.  

A vision builds trust, collaboration, interdependence, motivation, and mutual responsibility for success.  Vision helps people make smart choices because their decisions are made with the end result in mind.  Vision allows us to act from a proactive stance moving toward what we want.  Vision empowers and excites us to reach for what we truly desire."

 --Ken Blanchard, Leading at a Higher Level

Chapter 8: Avoid the Blame Game 

"If only teachers would...

If only the principal would...

If the students weren't so...

If the parents would just...

If the district would stop making us..."

That is the blame game.  How many times have I heard in my teaching career these same words?  Maybe phrased slightly differently, but I have heard them.  We blame.  "It can't be us, so it must be THEM."  Blaming is a culture that is in every school.  We even blame the tests we give children.  I have heard, "That's not how the question was asked last year!  If I had known that, I would have taught it that way!"  Beth Houf and Shelley Burgess explain that blaming is toxic.  "It gets in the way of creating the kinds of schools where all people thrive."  Think about the time and energy we DO waste blaming teachers, administration, parents, or the district.  If we SAY we are a team, shouldn't we be acting like a team?  It is the old "us" vs. "them" mentality.  I know I have seen that mentality in schools in which I have taught.  "Our kids don't have the same background as their kids."  "Our kids are lower than their kids."  "Our kids don't have the same experiences as their kids."  How do we get out of this mentality?!?  

"Be relentless in seeking out and nurturing each person's greatness."

"Being a leader of a great team requires that you HIGHLY VALUE each individual member of your team."  Beth and Shelley encourage leaders to let go of blame.  Reject the excuses and embrace the question, "How can I lead my school to greatness using the team that I have?"  Every person has unique talents, knowledge and gifts to share.  It is YOUR job as a pirate leader to bring out the best in every member of your crew.  Invest the TIME in getting to know your crew.  This will build relationships of trust.  Perhaps, this will move your team and school forward with a JOLT of positive momentum.  

Reflect on this -

• Do you partake in the blame game?
• What will you do next time you hear the blame game spark a conversation?
• What do you see when you look at your team members?  Do you focus on their strengths?  Do you think about their flaws?  How will you shift your thinking?
• How will you build your team to one that is highly valuing each and every member?

***When I say TEAM, remember that you are a leader in WHATEVER capacity you serve. You do not need the title of principal or team leader to BE a leader on your campus.  Start to lead out this school year.  We NEED you!

Lead Like A Pirate: Chapters 5 & 6

Chapter 5: Transformation

"Pirate leaders want to make a significant difference, a notable contribution, and transform the lives of their students."

This chapter discusses the need for a clear vision for your school.  Where do see your school?  What is your reality?  What work needs to be done to make that vision your new reality?  Transformation begins with creating a culture that truly wants what is best for every student in your school.  In this chapter, the authors talk about changing from a teacher led school to a more learner (student) led school.  Small changes can and will bring about big results.  On page 58, the authors discuss Response to Intervention.  In my opinion, why ARE we STILL talking about RTI? Surely we all have a good understanding of what it is and how to strategically implement tiered intervention.  RIght? No wait, that is CLEARLY wrong.  I have worked in two states during my teaching career and clearly RTI is still very misunderstood.  I think we basically, need to start thinking about RTI in terms of PLCs and how we will respond when OUR kids aren't learning or need their learning to be pushed further.  So, THANK YOU Beth and Shelley!  It is time that we DO think through RTI and how we are intervening with our students - all our students.  These are tough conversations that HAVE to be had.  These are tough conversations that will take our schools from good to great.

"Provide an uncommon experience for your students, and they will reward you with an uncommon effort and attitude." - Dave Burgess

Transforming our leadership practices will cause your teams to think about tough questions. Continuing to do things they way we have always done things, will give us the SAME results.  So, where do we begin this transformative journey? I'm not sure where you would begin, but if it were me...

• Grow your leadership team.  Use key people to begin a movement.  Yes, a movement that creates a buzz of enthusiasm.  This enthusiasm will be "catching".  And when we all have that "buzz", we are going to do powerful things to save our students. We will know and understand our vision, our mission, and have a shared focus.  
• Create a master schedule that clearly defines tier 1,2, and 3 intervention times.  Get all parties that have a vested stake in your community of learners involved in helping to fill gaps.  
• Use your PLC time to focus. (Focus on the 4 PLC questions to push your teams.) Think about this... What do we expect our students to learn?  How will we know they are learning? How will we respond when they don’t learn? How will we respond if they already know it?  These are hard questions, but they must be answered in order to move forward.
• Planning: Make time for talking, listening, and creating interesting lessons that are relevant to your students. Create lessons that are helping your students MASTER the standards.  Plan for those students that don't understand concepts, those that mostly understand, and those that already understand.

Chapter 6: Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm moves the world. --Arthur Balfour

This chapter resonates with me.  "One difference between enthusiasm and passion is that you can't fake passion."  Sometimes you DO have to fake it, till you feel it.  Sometimes there are mandates that you just don't feel vested in.  We might get a new teaching initiative or a curriculum change that rocks our perfectly ordered world.  As the leadership team, it is our duty to sometimes FAKE that enthusiasm.  There really are good reasons for most things that are added to a teacher's plate.  Find out the WHY behind a new initiative.  Often finding out the WHY is a simple way to change the mindsets of others - including yourself.  If we bring information to our teams in way that shows that WE don't care, I promise you - your team won't care.  They won't buy in and you have just created more negativity.  

"Enthusiasm is often the missing element to engagement."  Think about this - As a fourth grade teacher, I was tasked to teach my students all the different ways that you can and should use commas.  Now, this is NOT groundbreaking exciting stuff here, but I promise you this, my kids LOVED commas.  We rapped with them.  We created "cup songs" with them. We made videos to teach our parents.  Heck, I even had a t-shirt that said, "You had me at the correct usage of you're."  I'm telling you.. my kids loved commas.  Enthusiasm goes a long way towards turning what could be a negative into a resounding positive.  I can assure you that by the time we finished our unit on commas, I was LOVING the whole comma gig. I can also tell you that I had to fake it, until I felt it.  

Your attitude is contagious.  Are you spreading the right message?  Whether you are a principal, a team leader, a guidance counselor, or a bus driver...  are you spreading the right message?  Will you spread enthusiasm?  How will this chapter change who you are and how you will NOW lead out?