A School Leader’s Guide to Building Culture
Show Description:
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” -Peter Drucker, Author
“Culture is like the wind. It is invisible; yet its effect can be seen and felt.” -Bryan Walker, Partner and Managing Director,
Ideo “Corporate culture is really hard to define; it’s the side effects of working for your organization.” -Jacob Morgan, Author,
The Future of Work How can you build a great culture if we can’t see or define it? It requires hard work, but it is not as complicated as it seems. Today, I will demystify organizational culture by helping you define it, understand the components, and learn the process for improving it. If you are a regular listener, and/or read my daily email, and/or have read my book, A School Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose, then you will hear several of my most common themes and ideas woven together in a way that I have not really articulated previously.
The Big Idea
How do we build a better culture?
· Why is culture important?
o Easier to do great work in a great culture
o Culture is the rising tide that lifts all boats
o Recruitment, development, and retention
· What is culture?
o A reflection of the degree of alignment within an organization; a sum of the inner forces
o The six dimensions of organizations
· MVP path to growing your culture: Align the purpose, structures, and resources to make it easier for people to do the work AND help people develop the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and health they need to be good at what they do.
· What do we mean by alignment?
o Clarity and consistency of purpose, driven by the people
o Structures make focusing on core work easier
§ Teacher lesson plan example
§ ILT example
§ Flow of information (district example)
o Resources are invested in the core work, distractions are eliminated, attention is protected
o People receive training in the areas they need (KSDH)
· How do we get there?
o Relationships (four phases)
§ Learn: Purpose, aspirations, strengths, barriers, pain points
§ Support
· Align to decrease barriers and ease pain points
§ Empower
· Provide opportunities to use strengths
· Empower decision-making
· Help them identify and focus on their growth goals
· Trust them
§ Grow
· They lead
· We support
· KSDH
· What we get:
o People know why they do what they do
o Policies, rules, schedules, make it easier to do the work and
o Most time and attention is focused on the most meaningful work
o People consistently get better at their craft and experience success
o People feel valued and trusted
Sponsorship:
I want to thank IXL for sponsoring this podcast…
Everyone talks about the power of data-driven instruction. But what does that actually look like? Look no further than IXL, the ultimate online learning and teaching platform for K to 12.
IXL gives you meaningful insights that drive real progress, and research can prove it. Studies across 45 states show that schools who use IXL outperform other schools on state tests. Educators who use IXL love that they can easily see how their school is performing in real-time to make better instructional decisions.
And IXL doesn’t stop at just data. IXL also brings an entire ecosystem of resources for your teachers, with a complete curriculum, personalized learning plans, and so much more.
It’s no wonder that IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. Ready to join them? Visit http://ixl.com/assistant to get started.
Close
· Leadership is a journey and thank you for choosing to walk some of this magical path with me.
· I love hearing from you. If you have comments or questions, or are interested in having me speak at your school or conference, email me at
frederick@frederickbuskey.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.
· If you are tired of spending time putting out fires and would rather invest time supporting and growing teachers, consider reading my book, A School Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose. The book is available on Amazon. You can find links to it, as well as free book study materials on my website at
https://www.frederickbuskey.com/reclaiming-purpose.html· Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.
· Remember the secret to good leadership:
o Be intentional in choosing how you will show up for others
o Be fully present
o Ask reflective questions
o And then just listen
o Don’t overcomplicate it, the value is in the listening.
· Have a great rest of the week!
· Cheers!
Frederick’s Links: