Success in the midst of the Whirlwind?

Do you ever go home at the end of the day and wonder, "what did I accomplish today?"  The numerous decisions, thoughtful responses, intentional planning, collaboration with others, problem solving, managing of self and others, and unexpected distractions consume the day to day.  The daily whirlwind seems to describe it best!

Most days, we are all just trying to survive the whirlwind, and whether we admit or not, how we respond to it impacts our well-being, socially, emotionally and physically. It's most obvious that the whirlwind isn't going away, it's just life the way we know it!  So what can we do ensure that we maintain our well-being and continue to progress towards our goals in the midst of the whirlwind? In today's blog, I thought I would share some suggestions on how to move forward on the important goals while the whirlwind happens.

I recently read "The Four Disciplines of Execution" by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling and made some connections between the four disciplines and our four Strategic Plan Pillars.  I'll try to be brief but want to describe a few strategies that can keep the focus on the important in the midst of the whirlwind and impact our overall well-being in the end. 

1. Focus on the Wildly Important Goal (WIG)--(Personalize)this could be District Level Goals, School Level-School Improvement Goals, PLC-grade level or content specific goals.  This also relates to personal goals around saving money, losing weight, balance in life, etc...The idea behind this discipline is to focus on LESS so you can do MORE! 
2. Act on Lead Measures (Empower) (Personalize)--they must be predictive and be influenced by the team.  At the district level, our three priority goals (PLC's, Standards Based Planning, and Designing instruction using data) are the actions that we believe will move the needle.  As a result of this focus, we have been intentional with professional learning.  At the building level, school improvement plan strategies such as PLC's, standards based planning and using data may be lead measures. In the classroom, standards based instruction -learning targets and success criteria aligned to the standards, specific actions around establishing conditions for learning. formative assessment results on specific standards, student goals, ELOs may be lead measures.
3. Keep a compelling scorecard (DESIGN)--at the district level-Wednesday walks and student achievement results are a way to keep a compelling scorecard.  At the school level many schools are keeping actions boards, have data rooms, regularly reflect on action plans in school improvement plan, and surveys regarding implementation.  At the classroom level-formative assessment, student data dashboards, pre-test/post test data, office referrals (positive/negative) may be included in the scorecard.  
4. Create a cadence of accountability (Partner)-Data Rounds are one way to create a cadence of accountability-meeting two times a year with principals to have process continuous school improvement progress and needs for support.  At the school level, PLC members holding each other accountable, school improvement teams driving next steps along with observations and coaching all provide ways to be accountable to make progress toward goals.  At the classroom level, students goal setting and regular monitoring and feedback may be the accountability measure.

The authors refer to research, when team members are involved in creating the commitments of themselves and to each other, ownership increases. The team can then focus energy on the wildly important goal(s) without getting blocked by the shifting whirlwind of change that happens day to day.  Feeling success drives motivation and engagement as well as improves overall well-being.  

I'm sure you can all make connections to what you are already doing that aligns to these four disciplines and describe other ways that you are successfully achieving goals in the midst of the whirlwind!  After reading this book, I continue to reflect on how I can improve and grow in the four areas of discipline to improve my leadership.  My goal is to not allow the whirlwind to take me away from the important- achieving the vision for our students!