Culture Gets Things Done

By: Etienne R. LeGrand, CEO Vivify Performance

Leading a school district today is a challenging job for educational leaders. There are pressures from every corner to get kids learning at higher levels. According to the Council for Great City Schools, most leaders’ tenure lasts an average of three years. Ever wonder how you can get your district running like a fine-tuned machine, allowing even more kids to learn, and increasing your job fulfillment?

The Stylists sang that “people make the world go ‘round.” It’s true, and people can also make your district “go ‘round” by functioning and performing at a higher level. But you have to be intentional at highlighting their importance—taking deliberate steps to highlight the “why” in coming to work each day and ensuring all of your faculty and staff feel like difference makers when they head home. The strategy for achieving these goals is attained when you establish a healthy high-performance district culture that aligns your people to its purpose and encourages and engages them.

How to Increase the “Sense of Purpose”

I’ve heard many superintendents say they’re tired of dealing with adult issues and that it’s about the kids. When the adult issues are overwhelming and take up too much of your mental energy, consider it’s not your people that are the problem, but your culture. One of the most vital ways to improve a district’s culture and focus on the student is to increase a sense of purpose. People want to work toward a common purpose; one they can be proud of.  Education doesn’t have to manufacture this because there is nothing nobler than enabling kids to learn so they can thrive and live meaningful lives.  Here are some to make establishing a sense of purpose a reality for your people:

·         Regularly and creatively share the district’s mission and values.

·         Show them see the “bigger picture.”

·         Get their input on processes and implement it where you see fit.

·         Encourage them to get involved in professional goal setting.

·         Talk to them about their personal goals and weave those goals into their work assignments.

 School district culture, often thought of by many as messy, too difficult to change and unrelated to performance, is the collective habits and behaviors of individuals and teams in your district or “the way things work around here.” With this in mind, how do things work in your district? Ask yourself:

·         What “shadow” am I casting on my district through my behaviors?

·         Do all of my employees (from safety officers and maintenance professionals) view themselves as a part of the team, contributing from their various roles to our district’s purpose? Do they each feel personally responsible for contributing to our district’s success or are do they feel that teachers are solely responsible for success?

·         Am I making investments in their development and is coaching and feedback how they are expected to become their best? Do they have what they need to perform their jobs well?

·         Do I publicly and privately recognize their contributions along the way?

 I really encourage you to sit with these questions—even write them down and share them with your teammates. This is all so important, because aligning your employees to your district’s purpose and developing and coaching them to be their best at work and home is the best and only way to reach the kids you’re desperate to help. You can’t get where you’re trying to go without your employees. The task is too big to do alone. You need more horsepower.

 Keys to Establishing a High-performance Culture

Culture is the key. Do you have a defined culture that everyone in your district has bought into and assumes responsibility for maintaining? If you’ve established core values that’s a good start, but have you defined the specific behaviors to reflect those values? Are those behaviors known to all employees, vendors, students and parents? Do you hire people who demonstrate those behaviors and have an onboarding process to reinforce the significance of your culture to the success you’re after? Are employees and kids recognized for making those values and behaviors come alive in your district?

 I want to partner with you through Vivify Performance to offer my proven belief that “culture is the way things get done,” combined with my years of expertise to help you answer the above questions and devise full-proof strategies to implement those answers

 Let’s establish a thriving district culture or make the one you have come more alive! Let’s chat today.