The only thing that might be harder than embracing change is making tough decisions. A hallmark of great leadership is creating the conditions to arrive at consensus when major decisions will impact the entire school or district. Giving others a say and allowing for critical conversation is a sign of strength, not weakness. As change is a process, not an event, discussions, feedback, and reflection can and should take time in order to make the best decision possible. This helps to ensure successful implementation and sustainability.
As a leader in your classroom, school, district, or organization the buck stops with you. Actions are what truly matter and ultimately determine your effectiveness. Actions change things and your decision to act under a variety of circumstances is more important than ever. Decisions made by leaders have always been placed under a microscope, but the digital world has opened the process to even more scrutiny. Many decisions must be made at the individual level and leaders understand this. In an age of mandates, directives, budget cuts, and a lack of time, getting some support to guide the decision- making process is a good thing. Enter the Eisenhower Matrix.
As I was perusing my Twitter stream the other day I came across this tool and immediately saw its value. Educational leaders are faced with a barrage of decisions daily and sometimes they come in clumps. During my time as a high school principal this seemed to be more the norm than the exception. So what do you do when faced with juggling numerous issues at a time? Some decisions have to take precedent over others. This tool can assist you with deciding on and prioritizing tasks by urgency and importance. Through a critical reflection of the decision at hand you can begin to sort out less urgent and important tasks that can be either delegated to someone else or not do at all. Below are some simple tips to consider when using the matrix to improve productivity by making better decisions.
The Eisenhower Matrix illustrates that indecision is an option available to leaders. In your respective position begin to align items to each box that correlate with the types of decisions you have to commonly make. The uniqueness of your position and professional beliefs will result in priorities that differ from your face-to-face colleagues and those in your Personal Learning Network (PLN). Delegate when possible, but own the decisions that will have the most impact on your students, school, and district.
As you begin to follow through on making both difficult and not so difficult decisions, be cognizant of what must come next, which might be even more important that making the decision in the first place. Be an active part of the process through modeling actions to bring about change. Don’t be a boss…be a leader. Anyone can tell others what to do. Showing them how is what separates real leaders from the pretenders.
As a leader in your classroom, school, district, or organization the buck stops with you. Actions are what truly matter and ultimately determine your effectiveness. Actions change things and your decision to act under a variety of circumstances is more important than ever. Decisions made by leaders have always been placed under a microscope, but the digital world has opened the process to even more scrutiny. Many decisions must be made at the individual level and leaders understand this. In an age of mandates, directives, budget cuts, and a lack of time, getting some support to guide the decision- making process is a good thing. Enter the Eisenhower Matrix.
Image credit: http://jamesclear.com/eisenhower-box
Image credit: http://www.ciaraconlon.com/
The Eisenhower Matrix illustrates that indecision is an option available to leaders. In your respective position begin to align items to each box that correlate with the types of decisions you have to commonly make. The uniqueness of your position and professional beliefs will result in priorities that differ from your face-to-face colleagues and those in your Personal Learning Network (PLN). Delegate when possible, but own the decisions that will have the most impact on your students, school, and district.
As you begin to follow through on making both difficult and not so difficult decisions, be cognizant of what must come next, which might be even more important that making the decision in the first place. Be an active part of the process through modeling actions to bring about change. Don’t be a boss…be a leader. Anyone can tell others what to do. Showing them how is what separates real leaders from the pretenders.
Eric your notion of seeking the answers to what comes next is so important. As leaders we must not fall into the trap of making a decision because of the results we sometimes immediately receive. Knowing what may occur as a result of a decision can be more than the decision itself. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It's allowed me to reflect on my own important decisions as of late.
ReplyDeleteAnother really important part of leadership is being able to listen to your constituents. It seems obvious, but it's often taken for granted. To make the right decisions, school leaders need to have a clear system for listening and answer the questions of students, parents, and staff.
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