Posted on by hildaweisburg

When Plans Change – Leaders P.I.V.O.T.

GUEST POST – Written by Rona Gofstein

Graphic showing an arrow with a change of direction leading to a lightbulb suggesting this is the better idea. The caption reads: When things go in an unexpected direction, you may need to P.I.V.O.T.

It’s the beginning of a new school year. You had plans. Great plans. Perhaps you were going to start a new collaboration with a teacher, introduce a program you spent the summer developing, reorganize part of your library, or finally make progress on a goal you have been thinking about since the end of last year.

And then something happened.

Life—and school—doesn’t always go according to plan. An administrator has a different priority. A teacher you hoped to work with is suddenly unavailable. A budget gets cut. Or something happens in your personal life that changes how much time and energy you have to give. What do you do when the plan you carefully created is no longer possible?

You P.I.V.O.T.

Pivoting doesn’t mean abandoning your goals. As leaders, we need to recognize when circumstances have changed and find another way forward. Here are five steps to help you do that.

P – Periscope – Several years ago, I wrote about the idea of using periscope to look beyond what is immediately in front of you. A submarine’s periscope allows those below the surface to see what is happening above and around them. We need to do the same. When something disrupts your plans, your first reaction may be to focus on the problem. Instead, raise your periscope.

What else is happening? What has changed? What are you not seeing because you are focused on what went wrong? Talk to colleagues. Connect with your PLN. Look outside your library or even outside education. A different perspective may show you possibilities you couldn’t see before.

I – Initiate – Now that you have changed your perspective, start generating ideas. Don’t worry yet about whether they will work. Make a list. Could you modify your original plan? Could you work with someone different? Can you make the project smaller? What are other ways to achieve the same goal?

As librarians, we are good at finding information. Use that skill on your own problem. Ask questions. Do some research. Reach out to someone who has faced a similar situation. At this stage, you aren’t looking for the answer. You are looking for possibilities.

V – Vision – You know how often I write about having a Vision for your library. There’s a reason for that. Your Vision tells you where you are going. When circumstances change, your Vision is what keeps you from getting lost.

Look at the ideas you generated. Which ones are aligned with your Vision? Which support your Mission? Which reflect what you believe is important for your students, teachers, and school community?

Your original plan was only one route. Your Vision is the destination. When you remember that, changing the route doesn’t feel quite so much like failure. It’s leadership.

O – Options – Once you reconnect with your Vision, look again at your list of possibilities. Now see which ones become Options. Which are realistic given your current circumstances? What resources do you have? Who could help? What can you change? What can’t you change?

We sometimes get so attached to the way we planned to do something that we overlook another option that could work just as well—or perhaps even better. Leaders don’t need to have only one answer. They need to be able to recognize which option works best for where they are now.

T – Take One Action – This may be the most important step. When plans fall apart, particularly when several things seem to be going wrong at once, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Suddenly you have to create a new plan to create along with everything else you already have to do. Don’t try to fix everything today.

Send one email. Make one phone call. Ask one person for help. Rewrite one part of the lesson. Schedule one meeting. Do one thing that moves you toward the option you chose.

Then take the next step when you are ready.

We tell our students that mistakes and setbacks are part of learning. We need to remember the same is true for us. A plan that doesn’t work isn’t a failure. Things can change. Sometimes we learned something we didn’t know when we made the plan. And sometimes we simply need a different route.

The school year may have only begun, but that doesn’t mean everything will begin exactly as you planned. Raise your Periscope. Initiate new ideas. Reconnect with your Vision. Consider your Options. Then Take one action. You don’t need to have everything figured out. You just need to P.I.V.O.T.—and keep leading.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

Finding New Approaches to Effective Leadership

Leaders have go to responses that support their success in projects, challenges, and interactions, but with all that has been happening in the last several months, you may find that what worked in the past isn’t getting the results you want. If you’re experiencing this, the solution may be to try an opposite but equally effective approach.

A post on the District Administration site by Michael Moore, Rethinking Leadership, Plus 6 Tips to Improve Effectiveness, asks us to consider what he refers to as the “polarities” in leadership styles.  If what you’ve done isn’t working, he suggests being ready to move to the opposite pole. It will be unfamiliar at first, but the results will be worth it.

Consider these six polarities among the nine he offers:

  • Act – Plan – In a new situation, do you go into action mode first? Or do you wait and take time to plan? Both have advantages and if one is what you always do, considering trying the other and seeing what results you get.  
  • Think- Feel – It’s easier to respond to people’s ideas, but it’s important to be able to identify their underlying feelings.  Which is your go-to style and can a switch give you a better result?
  • Confident -Modest – Leaders need to be confident, but children and adults respond well when you let then know about your failures and challenges.  If you are too confident, no one will see a need to help, and you may find yourself doing everything.
  • Just-Compassionate – Is there flexibility in your structure? When there are library guidelines instead of rules, then changes can be made based on equity and unexpected circumstances. It can make decisions less clear-cut, but ultimately you will take better care of people that way.
  • Answer -Ask – Notice how you respond when people come to you with questions. Do you need to have an answer? Are you willing ask more questions or say you don’t know? (related to Confident-Modest)
  • Solution – Problem – Similar to the Act-Plan polarity, do you move quickly to find a solution or take time to explore the roots of the problem and learn if there is something deeper creating the situation? Sometimes the problem can tell you more.

After explaining the polarities and how a switch can support your success, Moore offers six tips for becoming a more effective leader.

  1. Tell People Why – Transparency in decision-making gives others a chance to contribute. Their input may sometimes save you from a serious error, and their involvement builds relationships.
  2. Be Clear About Specific Behaviors You Want – This applies most often to your dealings with students, but it could include teachers with whom you collaborate. When explaining what you want, include the why so your audience better understands your decisions. You can also consider giving them a chance to discuss how they see it working.
  3. Build Networks of Support – I have long recommended you use your PLNs but also build support with others in your school and district as well, particularly your principal. This will help when faced with sudden changes or unexpected absences.
  4. Lighten the Load – Collaboration and delegation are the secret to effectiveness.  I once worked in a school where each teacher in a grade level created the unit in a specific subject area (ELA, social studies, science, math, health).  They would then exchange their work across the grade level. Look for ways you can do this. If there are other librarians in your district, reach out and get creative.
  5. Measure and Track Results – Incorporate informative assessments into projects so you can accurately tell whether you are achieving your goals or need to change something. Be willing to make changes as necessary and celebrate successes.
  6. Vary Your Pace –You can’t be effective if you are overwhelmed and exhausted. Build in time-outs so that if a crisis comes, you have more energy. Those who exercise or weight lift are advised to change up their pace.  It is strengthening.  You will get more done. 

No matter how much you accomplish, there will always be more – the next project, a new challenge or a change in administrators.  Before automatically using the same techniques, take time to see what’s effective and what’s not working as well, then decide what you can do to support your success. Leaders are willing to try new approaches.