{"id":3108,"date":"2014-10-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-08T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/virgel-hammonds-six-insights-into-leadership\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T12:53:08","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:53:08","slug":"virgel-hammonds-six-insights-into-leadership","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/virgel-hammonds-six-insights-into-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Virgel Hammonds\u2019 Six Insights into Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"virgel\"<\/a><\/em>This is the second in a two part series on RSU2 in Maine. The first post is A Quick Update from RSU2 Maine<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

We all know that the magic ingredient to successfully bringing about any systemic reform is leadership. We know it, we talk about it, but what exact leadership style and strategies are needed?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve listened to superintendents, district teams, principals, and teacher-leaders talk about the importance of leadership in converting schools to competency education. There seems to be something special about the type of leadership that is needed, but I hadn\u2019t been able to put my finger on it until I spoke with Virgel Hammonds, superintendent of RSU2<\/a> in Maine.<\/p>\n

Hammonds issued a caveat at the beginning of our conversation on leadership, reminding me that he considered himself a new superintendent and that he was still figuring out the role. He then laid out six insights about what is required of district leadership in proficiency-based systems that struck me as coming from the voice of experience.<\/p>\n

1. No One Has All the Answers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hammonds described the trap that captures educators as they ascend the career ladder. As authority increases, education leaders are positioned as the ones who have the answer. The trap is that having the final say can easily come to mean \u201cthe one who has the right answer.\u201d Leaders can start to feel that they have to have the right answer, or worse, that they in fact do have the answer.<\/p>\n

Hammonds explained that leaders have to move away from this thinking, \u201cAs districts and schools convert to proficiency-based learning, they are knocking down load-bearing walls. It\u2019s impossible to have all the answers because any organizational change often has multiple consequences.\u201d He said learning to be a superintendent in a proficiency-based district meant he had to let go of the pride of having all the answers. \u201cNo one person is going to do this all by themselves or be able to figure it all out entirely by themselves. Instead, we have to ask ourselves, \u2018How can we take a position of trust and respect that can harness the collective intelligence needed to bring about transformative change?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Make Decisions Around the Best Interest of Students<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hammonds said that he is often asked about the Lindsay<\/a> story (he was a high school principal in that California district) or the RSU2 story, as if there is a step-by-step process that other districts can follow. \u201cIt\u2019s not about one method. Every district and school has its own history and culture. They need to be able to tap into the assets of their communities and schools to develop the vision, guiding principles, and process that is right for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

One thing that superintendents have to ensure is that decisions are being made around the best interests of students. Adult issues or traditional ways of doing things \u2013 contracts, bus schedules, and athletics \u2013 can easily drive decision making if superintendents aren\u2019t vigilant. With all the complexity of how schools operate and the incredible number of small decisions that need to be made daily, Hammonds warns that leaders can get stuck being a manager rather than a leader.\u00a0 Leadership is needed to take a step back and ask, \u201cHow is this moving our kids along their learning progressions? How is this providing learning opportunities that are meaningful to our kids?\u201d Hammonds emphasizes superintendents have to consistently role model how to make decisions in the best interest of learners.<\/p>\n

3. Courage to Confront the Truth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Superintendents have to have the courage to confront the truth. If they don\u2019t, it\u2019s unlikely anyone else will. First, they need to know where their students are on the learning progressions and if growth is happening. They can\u2019t hide behind any type of excuse. If they are acting in the best interest of kids, they need to be honest about how well students are learning \u2014 or not.<\/p>\n

Second, they have to be able to identify when a process or approach isn\u2019t working. \u201cAdjust it now if you know it\u2019s not working,\u201d Hammonds said. This can be one of the harder leadership functions because everyone is working so hard, and they might have spent months trying to develop a new process. But if it isn\u2019t working, they need to deal with it, not wait until the end of the school year. \u201cWe have to be courageous to confront activities that aren\u2019t moving kids in their learning. We can\u2019t be afraid to confront the truth. If a process isn\u2019t working, either refine it or scrap it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to explain, \u201cSchools are big ships that are really hard to turn. So we need to have the courage to say when it needs to turn. We need to think about different ways to turn it. \u00a0In the long run, we need to be building in processes that make it easier to turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turning the ship also means engaging educators effectively. Ensuring that Professional Learning Communities are nurtured is critical. Another is finding ways to engage the more skeptical educators. Hammonds explained that educators who have seen the schools change course over and over again based on the last conference the superintendent went to, or who have had to participate in processes that weren\u2019t making a difference for students, can easily become skeptics who will just wait out the next reform.\u00a0 He said by confronting the problems and asking \u201cWhy isn\u2019t it working?\u201d, leaders can start to engage the skeptics. In fact, they often have a lot of insight into why something isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n

4. Use Your Guiding Principles<\/strong><\/p>\n

When complex problems emerge, Hammonds returns to RSU2\u2019s guiding principles<\/a>. These aren\u2019t guiding principles that sit in a notebook or look good on the website. They are active principles such as \u201cStudents learn in different ways and in different timeframes,\u201d \u201cMistakes are inherent in the learning process,\u201d \u201cTeaching is collaborative and involves on-going learning,\u201d \u00a0and \u201cLearning Communities encourage and support risk taking and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hammonds explained that the guiding principles help us refocus on what we are trying to accomplish. \u201c We go to the guiding principles whenever we encounter tough decisions.\u201d He encouraged districts to think about how they will use guiding principles when they are writing them.<\/p>\n

5. Be Relentless AND Slow Down to Get it Right<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Hammonds feels a great deal of urgency to get the system, structures, and processes right. He emphasized, \u201cWe have zero time to waste.\u201d Yet, he doesn\u2019t think we should waste time on band-aid approaches, either.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to be relentless in that we need to figure things out. As a superintendent, I also need to be clear about when we need to slow things down in order to figure out complex problems. My job is to keep the pressure on without forcing staff to feel that they need to come up with a short-term fix.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Hire Leaders Who Can Build Collective Capacity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hammonds and I also talked about what he looked for when hiring principals.\u00a0 He looks for individuals who are active \u00a0learners themselves, who practice a collaborative approach to work, and demonstrate humility in knowing that others will have valuable information and ideas needed to solve problems. He also seeks two additional qualities. First, he seeks an unwavering commitment to serving their community and children. He explained that he will push several times in interviews to determine how deep and unswerving this commitment is.\u00a0 Second, he seeks people who lead, listen, and seek to understand others in order to empower them to reach their full potential. It\u2019s leadership through empathy and empowerment. For example, he listens to learn if candidates understand that supporting and empowering teachers is an essential element to supporting students. The bottom line: Hammonds seeks leaders who are dedicated to building the collective capacity of their schools.<\/p>\n

\u00a0—<\/p>\n

As I listened to Hammonds, I was reminded of my experiences in non-profits working in partnership with Lotus (you\u2019ll have to shake some brain cells loose to remember their products) in a continuous improvement environment. One of the functions of leadership was to help sort out which processes needed to be addressed and within what type of timeline. Essentially, leaders helped the organizations decide where to focus energy, engaged people in figuring out how to solve the problem, and once those decisions were made, their job was to help the organization stay the course. It sounds much like the structure laid out by Hammonds in his six insights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","mapsvg_location":""},"legacy_category":[],"issue":[370,368],"location":[94],"class_list":["post-3108","cw_post","type-cw_post","status-publish","hentry","issue-lead-change-and-innovation","issue-issues-in-practice","location-maine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVirgel Hammonds\u2019 Six Insights into Leadership - Aurora Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/virgel-hammonds-six-insights-into-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virgel Hammonds\u2019 Six Insights into Leadership - Aurora Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is the second in a two part series on RSU2 in Maine. 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