The Ever-Evolving Leadership Lens

Good leadership is, quite frankly, good leadership.  The tenants have remained the same for centuries.  What’s changed is the environment in which one leads, and this impacts the lens that is, or should be, used to drive change.  Employing well-known and research-based strategies within a current context is a hallmark of influential leaders.  I am of the opinion that being able to adapt in a way that results in improvement across various dynamics is what it is all about. What’s the point of being in a position of influence and responsibility if everything either stays the same or regresses?  In a disruptive world, our lens must evolve.

During my time as a principal, disruption in the form of Twitter and a student telling me school was like a jail helped me embrace a better lens.  These events served as catalysts for challenging the status quo and working to usher in more innovative practices that were more aligned with preparing our learners for current and future success.  During this time, I developed the Pillars of Digital Leadership and later authored the book around concepts that I found pivotal to the change process leading to transformation.  

While I still firmly believe in their value, I have embraced a more nuanced lens that provides more clarity and relevance.  In education, effective leaders use tried and true strategies with a lens that focuses on the following:

• Learner Outcomes (improve)
• Personalized Culture (create)
• Professional Learning (provide)
• Multi-faceted communication (engage)
• Storytelling (embrace)
• Relationships (develop)
• Creating opportunities (prioritize)

Let me try to sum this all up in a concise fashion.

A pedagogical focus grounded in research and evidence is critical to improving outcomes for kids both with and without technology.  

Transitioning from a traditional to a more personalized culture emphasizes equity while providing learning spaces that are more reflective of the real world.  

For growth to be the standard, ongoing and job-embedded professional learning is needed as opposed to drive-by events and one-off PD days.  

Stakeholders are immersed in digital spaces.  As such, leaders should meet them where they are and engage in two-way communications that still leverage non-tech approaches.

The best way to control the narrative and tap into the power of emotions is through a storyteller-in-chief mentality.  

Relationships are everything.  By creating a positive brand presence, leaders can develop this priceless currency that will pay dividends time and time again.

Pay it forward. Students and staff thrive when leaders work to create unique opportunities to succeed. 

Truth be told, there isn’t just one right way when it comes to leadership.  If innovation is the goal, it is vital to view change from multiple perspectives.  As things constantly change, be open to allowing your lens to evolve, and in time you will maximize your impact.  

Preparation for the New World of Work

A great deal has been written about the future and the importance of preparing students with the skills, mindset, and attributes necessary for success in a rapidly evolving world. Truth be told, this is quite the harrowing task and one that should compel us all to pause and critically reflect on not only where schools are, but more importantly where our students need them to be. If schools continue down the track of sustaining outdated practices we will continue to churn out a population of students that are only good at doing school.  This applies not only to K-12, but also higher education.  Change is not coming, it is already here beating down the door. 

Speaking of change . . . With the rapid pace of technological change, specifically advances in robotics and artificial intelligence, it is nearly impossible to hypothesize the types of jobs that will be available.  Thus, schools and education in general need to create a learning culture that not only inspires students, but also prepares them for success in their future. This means re-integrating trade-based courses and programs that use to be the norm in virtually every school.  After all, the world will still need plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and auto mechanics well into the future. The caveat here though is to employ forward thinking to create new areas of study and exploration. These revamped programs should afford students the opportunity to use real-world tools to engage in meaningful work that aligns with a future-focused vision. How well schools do this might ultimately determine not only the future success of our students, but a prosperous future in general. 

Without a crystal ball it is difficult to foresee with certainty what the future will hold.  However, an endless array of cues garnered from technological innovation affords us the opportunity to reinvent schools in ways that can give students a fighting chance in the new world of work. We first acknowledge the fact that the way many of us were taught and assessed has little value in today’s world, let alone the future.  The second acknowledgement is that an effectuation with standardized test scores, grades, and homework will only result in schools going deeper down the rabbit hole.  Something must give.

The new world of work presents a wakeup call of sorts. A business as usual model based on efficiency, repetition, and knowledge acquisition will only prepare students for a world that no longer exists.  Skills that emphasize the unique abilities specific to human beings will enable not only current, but also future generations of learners to prevail in a world where technology will eventually replace most jobs currently available.  The challenge for education is to begin to embrace new modes of thinking and innovative practices that are disruptive in nature and difficult to assess using traditional metrics.  This shift will not be easy, but the outcome could pay off tenfold. 

We are at a crossroads in education.  Traditional measures of success often blind us from the truth.  Consider looking at the current job market and see where the trends reside by conducting an audit.  Then compare these to your curriculum, course offerings, pedagogy, learning spaces, available technology, schedule, and other key components of school culture to determine how prepared your students are for the current workforce.  Take your audit one step further and determine how/if imagination, negotiating, questioning, empathizing, storytelling, connecting, creativity, and design are emphasized in your school culture. This audit will help you determine preparedness for the new world of work. 

Disruptive Innovation

Education is ripe for disruptive change leading to innovative practices that improve learning outcomes for our students. What might have worked in the past will not necessarily have the same impact today, as the world has changed dramatically in a short period of time.  It’s safe to say that the seismic shifts we are witnessing as a result of technological advances will continue to reshape our world in ways that we could never have imagined.  Disruption has become commonplace in the new world and organizations have moved from adaptation to evolution in order to not only survive, but more importantly thrive.

We can learn many lessons from the past about change and disruptive leadership as certain organizations have embraced innovative ideas while changing the way in which they learn. Let’s take a walk down memory lane to see firsthand some powerful examples of disruptive innovation in action. Remember the days when many of us had a Blockbuster video card? If you didn’t have one you couldn’t rent a VHS tape of your favorite movie. If you did, the joy of watching the latest released movie was often squashed upon our arrival to the store as all the copies were quickly rented out. This didn’t change much when we saw the shift from VHS to DVD. So where is Blockbuster today? 

Many of you know the answer to this question already and know that Netflix caused the demise of Blockbuster. Netflix was willing to innovate and change the way they learned. No brick and mortar stores, DVD’s by mail, and eventually streaming video. Blockbuster never really knew what hit them until it was too late. The innovative ideas embraced and employed by Netflix were much more consumer friendly. They also aligned nicely with the technological changes that were occurring. The stubbornness and shortsightedness of Blockbuster along with their unwillingness to move away from business as usual resulted in their ultimate demise.

Let’s look at another example. How many of us had a Blackberry as our first smartphone? I sure did and many members of my Personal Learning Network (PLN) still make fun of me for it as I held on a bit longer than most. Well, the story of Blackberry ended just about the same way as Blockbuster. Apple and Steve Jobs disrupted the smartphone business with the iPhone. Not only did the iPhone decimate Blackberry and forever knock it off the pedestal as the gold standard device, but it also sparked the smartphone wars.  Virtually every touchscreen smartphone device today has come to us thanks to the iPhone. This is another example of a willingness to innovate resulting in a fundamental change to learning.

Here is one final example that is unfolding right before our eyes. The taxicab industry has been steadfast in their opposition to change. Any attempts to innovate now are futile as Uber seized on an industry that was not very consumer friendly. Uber owns no physical cars, yet is now valued at around 68 billion dollars. Anyone can get a ride using a consumer-friendly app to hail a ride for a fraction of the cost of a cab. In some cities you can even order food, helicopters, and jets. Don't think for a minute that Uber is waiting around for the next disrupter to come along and eradicate their business model. They truly understand the nature of disruptive innovation and change and are committed to being ahead of the curve.  They are doing so by investing in driverless cars. Their commitment to embracing innovative ideas and relentless pursuit of learning will keep them relevant for a long time.

There are powerful lessons schools can learn from the above stories of disruptive innovation.  In many ways I see similarities between schools and our education system to Blockbuster, Blackberry, and the taxicab industry. Even though there has been incremental change resulting in some isolated pockets of excellence in schools across the world, system change has been hard to come by. By employing disruptive strategies we can begin the process of creating a more relevant learning culture for our students. If we don't, history has already provided a glimpse as to what might happen. 

“Innovation, in an educational context, is creating, implementing, and sustaining transformative ideas that instill awe to improve learning.”

Disruptive innovation compels educators to go against the flow, challenge the status quo, take on the resistance, and shift our thinking in a more growth-oriented way.  Disruptive leadership will lead to disruptive innovation. If we hang on to the same type of thinking we will continue to get the same old results…or worse. This is why digital leadership is so important in a time of rapid change. There is time to go down the path less traveled and create systems of excellence that will be embraced by our learners and in turn better prepare them for their future. Think differently. Learn differently. Disrupt the system as we know it by embracing a business as unusual model. Let’s create a new normal.