THE SUCCESSION CHALLENGE

ISSUES IN SUCCESSION MANAGEMENT with

Leaders of learning

are ordinary people who, through extraordinary commitment, effort, and determination, have become extraordinary and have made the people around them exceptional.

Summary

Sustainable leadership

Sustainable leadership matters, spreads and lasts. It is a shared responsibility that does not unduly deplete human or financial resources, and that cares for and avoids exerting damage on the surrounding educational and community environment.

Hargreaves & Fink 2003

Seven principles of sustainable leadership

1 Depth It matters 2 Endurance 3 Breadth 4 Justice It lasts It spreads It does not harm the surrounding environment Continued…

Seven principles

of sustainable leadership

5 Diversity It promotes diversity & cohesion 6 Resourcefulness 7 Conservation It conserves expenditures (human/material) It honours the past in creating the future

Principle 2: Endurance

Sustainable leadership lasts. It preserves and advances the most valuable aspects of learning and life over time, year upon year, from one leader to the next.

Succession Planning

Ensuring the right person is in the right place at the right time for the right reasons

Succession Management Succession management involves the long term development of a pool of well prepared, contextually sensitive, dedicated leaders who are available for promotion whenever the need arises within an organization

Leadership Succession in Three Countries •

Ontario Canada –South Board of Education - 83 schools

•

Eastern School District – 10 schools ( one secondary)

•

Midlands Local Authority - 614 schools

SUCCESSION ISSUES Generic Policy Procedural

Generic succession Issues 1. Supply and Demands 2. Warm Bodies or Leaders of Learning 3. Boomers and their Babies 4. Location, location, location 5. Diversity

1. Supply and Demands

In Australia ?

There is no shortage of qualified potential leaders in Australia but there is consistent evidence that significant numbers of teachers are deterred by the modern principalship with its emphasis on management rather than educational leadership, does . . . . point strongly to the need for coherent and robust efforts to redesign this critical educational work.

Barty, K., Thompson, P., Blackmore, J., and Sachs, J. (2005). Unpacking the issues: Researching the shortage of school principals in two states of Australia The Australian Educational Researcher,Volume 32, Number 3, December,1-18.

In New Zealand ?

There is a shortage of suitably qualified teachers applying for such positions. Typically, the reason cited for not applying is that the requirements of the job have grown to the point where they seem unmanageable. As workload increases, there is no corresponding reduction in ancillary functions which are unrelated to the professional role. There are issues around the relative remuneration and/or the ‘do-ability’ of the job.

OECD (2008).

Improving School Leadership: Country report for New Zealand

, retrieved from www.oecd.org/edu/schoolleadership , December 2008.

In Ontario?

Given the increasing complexity of managing schools and the multitude of demands made of educational administrators, boards of education are facing the need for leaders who are of the highest caliber in a time when fewer young teachers seem interested in pursuing the principalship as a career track .

Ontario Principals’ Council

2. IMAGE OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP Warm Bodies

or

Leaders of learning

What is unique about educational leadership?

Leadership is Important

As far as we are aware, there is not a single documented case of a school successfully turning around its pupil achievement trajectory in the absence of talented leadership

.

One explanation for this is that leadership serves as a catalyst for unleashing the potential capacities that already exist in the organisation.” Leithwood, K, Day, C. Sammons, P., Harris, A., and Hopkins, D. (2008).

Four ‘Layers’ of Knowledge 1. knowledge of the substance/subject matter: What the work is about?

2. knowledge of how to facilitate the learning: The how of the work? 3. knowledge of how teachers learn to teach and how others can assist their learning: The how of learning for the previous two layers.

4.

knowledge of how to guide the learning of other adult professionals: The how of learning for the previous three layers.

Stein, M.K. & Nelson, B.S. (2003)

A Leader of Learning

There’s no way in five years of teaching experience that a person can know and understand all three divisions (ages 4 to 16), and that worries me because, number one, I don’t know how you can support your staff and number two, I don’t know how you can be believable to parents that you really have a clue on what’s going on for their children. Whereas I pulled on my experience so often especially working with parents of special needs kids, but also parents whose children were struggling in whatever way, or even parents whose kids were gifted and didn’t understand why we might not want to identify that particular thing until later in their life.

Canadian elementary prinicipal

PETER DRUCKER Do you know what business you ‘re in?

Purpose

?

• • • • •

Test scores?

Over subscribed schools?

Customer satisfaction?

Short-term achievement targets?

‘ Adequate yearly progress ’ ?

Standards and Sustainability

Testing



Achievement



Learning

Hargreaves & Fink, 2006

What Matters ?

•

What does the focus on standardized outcomes determined by external (to schools) testing actually stand for and thus do they represent valid, worthwhile or meaningful outputs?

•

Does increased emphasis on preparation for the tests and the adaptation of teaching and curriculum to the requirements of test performance constitute worthwhile effects of ‘improvement’?

•

In terms of economic competitiveness, is what is measured here what is needed?

Stephen Ball, The Education Debate

Standards and Sustainability

Testing



Achievement



Learning or Learning



Achievement



Testing

Hargreaves & Fink, 2006

Educational leadership

is about a passionate, steadfast, obstinate commitment to the enhancement of ‘ deep ’ learning for all students – learning for life, learning for understanding, learning for an increasingly fluid, messy and risky world.

The Two Hungers

In Africa, they say there are two hungers, the lesser hunger and the greater hunger. The lesser hunger is for the things that sustain life, the goods, and services, and the money to pay for them, which we all need.

Left Brain Thinking

Any job that depends on routines - that can be reduced to a set of rules, or broken down into a set of repeatable steps – is at risk.

Daniel Pink - A Whole New Mind

Why Indians can’t Fix Your Car … the emerging labor market is not between those with more or less education, but between those whose services can be delivered over a wire and those who must do their work in person or on site. The latter will find their livelihoods more secure against outsourcing to distant countries. You can’t hammer a nail over the Internet. Nor can the Indians fix your car. Because they are in India

.

Michael Crawford

Going Deeper

The greater hunger is for the answer to the question ‘why’, for some understanding of what life is for .

Handy, C. (1997).

The Hungry Spirit.

London: Hutchison, p.13.

Deep Learning

Our educational system does its best to ignore and suppress the creative spirit of children. It teaches them to listen unquestioningly to authority. It insists that education is just knowledge contained in subjects and the purpose of education is to get a job. What ’ s left out is sensitivity to others, non-violent behaviour, respect, intuition, imagination, and a sense of awe and wonderment.

The Body Shop

Broad Learning

The Right Side of the Brain The future belongs to those who ‘do’ engage the right side of the brain, with its abilities to think holistically and long term, recognize patterns, interpret emotions and nonverbal communications, . . . . The top jobs of the future are in the helping professions, designing new or modifying old products, and creating new technologies. At the same time we will still need people who can build houses, repair the plumbing, put in sewers and attend to all the services that make modern life livable .

Based on Daniel Pink

Five pillars of learning

• • • • Learning to know* Learning to do* Learning to live together* Learning to be* • Learning to live sustainably UNESCO

Learning: The Treasure Within,

1996. Commitment

Are we hiring and supporting : Leaders of learning or Managers of things ?

3. Boomers and their Babies

The Vets

Pre -1928

Margaret Thatcher, George H.W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, Jimmy Carter Shaped By the depression and World War II Thrifty, corporate structure and chain of command

The Silents

1928-1945 (demographic trough) Woody Allen, Gloria Steinem, John McCain Influenced by vets and indirectly by depression and W.W. II Conformist, play the game, delayed gratification, intact families

The Boomers

First stage 1946-1953 Tony Blair, Bill &Hilary Clinton, Bill Gates, George W. Bush, Prince Charles Second stage 1953-1963 Steve Jobs, Barack Obama (cusper) Numbers (competitive), good times (optimism), television ( informed), Dr. Spock ( indulged), self absorbed (me generation), live to work (never really retire)

Generation ‘X’

1963 -1978 (Demographic trough) Michelle Obama, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Michael Dell, Wayne Gretzky Economic downturn, latch-key kids, Skeptical (work to live), life-work balance, technological literacy (solitary)

The Millennials 1978 - 2000 Prince William, Prince Harry, , Lebron James, Sidney Crosby, Daniel Radcliffe, Britney Spears Wired, (facebook, My Space, You Tube), good times, indulged, helicopter parents, work to live collaborators, customizers, freedom ( entitlement), speed, entertainment, innovation, integrity

The Future of Leadership ?

One reading of these norms is that this new generation will burst the bonds of industrial age structures and cultures and move the education of our young people into a high-tech era of collaboration, innovation, and creativity. Another reading might suggest however, that this is a generation, that is ill prepared for the hard work, perseverance, and sustained inquiry that educational leadership requires and is more interested in going along, getting along, and when things get tough, moving along.

The Succession Challenge

Are Millennials up to the succession challenge

“ This is a generation that is more interesting, more confident, less hidebound and uptight, better educated, more creative, in some essential fashion, unafraid” OR This is the “dumbest generation” that suffers from “vigorous indiscriminate ignorance? No cohort in human history has opened such a fissure between its material conditions and its intellectual attainments. None has experienced so many technological enhancements and yielded so little mental progress.”

How do we adapt notions of educational leadership designed in large measure by boomers to appeal to younger generations while conserving the best of the past (dedication, hard work, perseverance, sustained inquiry) ?

4.Location

Location Location

The World is Flat ?

THE WORLD IS SPIKEY

“There are many advantages that children can enter this world with including intelligence, physical power, and agility, good looks and caring parents. It also matters where you live” Edward Leamer

Deep Learning 30% produce 50% The Creative Class

Florida, R. (2002).

The Rise of the Creative Class.

New York: Basic Books

Diversity Talent Technology Tolerance

Attracting Leaders Aesthetics –parks, culture, history, sports facilities Basic Services –affordability, public transportation, health and educational facilities, churches Openness - tolerance, public safety, quality of leadership Florida, R. (2002).

The Rise of the Creative Class.

New York:Basic Books.

How do we balance QUALITY EQUITY EFFICIENCY ?????????????

Some Operational Issues a. Grow your own or hire and hope b. Hire for potential or existing proficiencies c. Rotating leaders d. Unplugging the pipeline

a.Grow your Own or Hire and Hope

Succession Management identify transitions recruit Appraisal (Feedback)

&

support develop celebrate select induct

b. HIRING FOR POTENTIAL OR EXISITING PROFICIENCIES

c. Rotating Leaders

d. Unplugging the Pipeline

Assistant principal: career position or Principal in training

Some Procedural Issues 1. Entry and exit strategies 2. Selection strategies (vetting, interviews) 3. Honest feedback 4. Induction processes (the first year) 5. Appraisal of performance 6. Local Politics 7. Preparing faculties for transition

In Memory of Jock

Succession Planning

Ensuring the right person is in the right place at the right time for the right reasons

Succession Management Succession management involves the long term development of a pool of well prepared, contextually sensitive, dedicated leaders who are available for promotion whenever the need arises within an organization

1. Supply and Demands

There are concerns across countries that the role of principal as conceived for needs of the past is no longer appropriate. In many countries, principals have heavy workloads; many are reaching retirement, and it is getting harder to replace them. Potential candidates often hesitate to apply, because of overburdened roles, insufficient preparation and training, limited career prospects and inadequate support.

[i] Pont, B., D. Nusche and H. Moorman (2008),

Improving School Leadership: Policy and Practice: Executive Summaries

OECD, Paris, retrieved from, www.oecd.org/edu/schoolleadership

,

accessed December, 2008, 1

2. Leaders of Learning is about a passionate, steadfast, obstinate commitment to the enhancement of ‘ deep ’ learning for all students – learning for life, learning for understanding, learning for an increasingly fluid, messy and risky world.

3. Leadership and the Millennials The succession challenge is to rethink our notions of leadership and of leadership development designed “for another time” to invite, prepare and sustain newer generations to assume the mantle of educational leadership.

4. THE WORLD IS SPIKEY

“There are many advantages that children can enter this world with including intelligence, physical power, and agility, good looks and caring parents. It also matters where you live” Edward Leamer

Learning from Noah’s Ark

1 Don’t miss the boat 2 Remember we’re all in the same boat 3 Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark 4 Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big 5 Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that has to be done

Learning from Noah’s Ark

6 Build your future on high ground 7 For safety’s sake, travel in pairs 8 Speed isn’t always an advantage; the snails were on board with the cheetahs 9 When you’re stressed, float awhile 10 Remember the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals

11 No matter the storm, there’s always a rainbow waiting

The woodpeckers may have to go