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I bottomed out in the early fall. I had recently spent some time with a friend who worked outside of education. When I went through my recent experiences of getting yelled at while grocery shopping and having people chastise me as I was eating breakfast with my kids, and showed him some social media posts, he simply shook his head. A few moments later, he offered me a job. I chuckled. He didn't. Lunch ended and he asked me to think about it.

And for the first time in my career as superintendent of schools for the Meridian School District in Illinois, I did. For years, I really believed that I had the best job in the world, but at that moment any other job seemed better than the one I had. On the entire rainy drive home, that offer was all I thought about.

Then, almost serendipitously, my phone rang.

A principal I coach was on the other line. She was clearly on the verge of her breaking point. I could relate. She was days, if not minutes, away from throwing her keys on the desk and walking out without looking back.

I started the pep talk. I asked the probing questions. I provided suggestions. The call ended. She was in a better place-but I was in a better place as well. In that moment, I realized that I needed to hear everything I had said-potentially more than the person I was trying to coach.

My point is, it seems we've all hit what feels like our rock bottom at one time or multiple times throughout the course of the pandemic. First, wherever you are right now is perfectly fine. Struggling-that's OK. Thriving-good for you, keep it up. The only thing not acceptable is resigning yourself to staying in a bad place and thinking there's no way forward.

Below are the four insights that helped pull me from the darkest place I've been in during my career, and I hope they can be useful for you.

1. Realization

When his team was struggling, Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino once started a rant to the media acknowledging the difficulties and providing a dose of realism by saying, "Larry Bird [all-time-great Celtic] is not walking through that door, fans."

I share this anecdote because as educators we must start to accept that easier is not walking through that door anytime soon. Two questions clarify this point.

Ask any veteran teacher or principal when the demands of the job become easier. In my experience they can't answer, because as their personal skills continue to develop, the job continues to morph into a more difficult enterprise.

What could the local school board, state officials, or federal government enact or decide immediately that would make this year easier? The answer is most likely nothing. I ask myself this question frequently because there are things I'd like to see done differently and it's easy for me to complain about them. But in the end, the only path forward is likely the one we forge individually.

2. Articulation

Once I acknowledged that I was my single best hope to pull myself from this funk, I had renewed agency, but I still didn't feel better-about anything. The next step I took did make me feel better.

I decided to be vulnerable and honest. I spoke my truth to my board and leadership team. I shared exactly where I was, both mentally and emotionally. I wasn't in an emotional state, so I could communicate rationally, but I was brutally honest.

Two things happened immediately. I received a tremendous amount of support and recognition of my vulnerability. This helped. But not as much as the next development. I simply felt about six inches taller with the weight I had been bearing now lifted by speaking my truth to the universe.

To move forward, we first have to decide that we can't move forward without increased personal agency and without acknowledging exactly where we are currently to the people we trust enough with our vulnerability.

3. Clean the Plate

Right now, in classes, schools, and districts, we should focus on what we need to keep and what we can let go of, not what we need to add. In the frenzy of the moment, with the narrative of learning loss and additional federal funding, many resources and tools are being thrust upon principals and teachers without a deep understanding of the actual need and the high level of stress emanating from each educator within our school buildings.

I'm guilty of this personally and need to do better.

While these resources may be helpful, right now each "helpful" resource feels like one more 20-pound straw on the camel's back, and everyone needs to recognize that.

The conversation should focus on what has gone well in the past two years and what we need to keep in order to best serve kids, and, at the same time, what we've learned we no longer need. We must actively seek, at both the organizational and individual levels, to clean the less meaningful and frustrating elements of the job off the plate.

To be honest, as educators we often talk about wanting things taken off of our plate, but we often hold every element of our work close to our heart. We recently instituted a partnership with a 24-hour online tutoring program, Paper, so that our teachers don't feel compelled to be tied to their email in order to ensure that kids are supported at night. Some have leveraged this partnership and have freed themselves from this personally assigned responsibility and guilt, but others still haven't been able to forgive themselves of this task. Even cleaning your own plate can't be done solely through the work of others; it's a process you must actively participate in as well.

4. Seek Joy in Work

As part of cleaning off my plate, I forced myself to make a list of the five things that bring me the most joy in my job. The list included one-to-one meetings with my direct reports, proudly representing the district in different capacities, data talks, coaching my leadership team through difficult situations, and spending time investing in my board of education.

Then I intentionally rerouted my calendar for two weeks to dump as much joy-those five activities-into my day as possible. It worked.

What happened by default was that I spent less time on the distractions that were not only a time sink but also an emotional drain. It turns out the very loud minority of people who were making my job very difficult didn't deserve the attention and cognitive space I was giving them. The people who really mattered-like my team and my family-deserved that space. As I made this decision, my hope and joy returned.

In conclusion, I'm calling on each and every one of us to take agency in the fact that we are most likely our only way forward, and we must move forward with great intentionality. As leaders-which all of us are, regardless of title-we must be beacons of hope and joy in our organizations. We receive the behaviors we model and tolerate, and if we're joyless in our job, that negativity will spread. We must set the tone and start moving ourselves forward.

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How School Leaders Can Build Realistic Optimism This Year

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I bottomed out in the early fall. I had recently spent some time with a friend who worked outside of education. When I went through my recent experiences of getting yelled at while grocery shopping and having people chastise me as I was eating breakfast with my kids, and showed him some social media posts, he simply shook his head.

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Administration & Leadership

With the right guidance, teachers can promote students' independence in the pursuit of challenging goals.

Every teacher I engage with offers a sincere smile when I talk with them about student empowerment. Every teacher I encounter wants students to have the autonomy to make choices and take control of their own learning.

This idea, however, loses its luster when we all begin thinking about the practices required to make this happen and the fear of students not making the right choices for their own learning. Is there a way for students to take responsibility for learning and make sure that they learn at high levels? If so, what do I do?

Research on power dynamics in a classroom can be confusing for practitioners. Professor John Hattie's groundbreaking work, Visible Learning, examines more than 800 meta-analyses on student achievement, and on one hand, the research shows that student autonomy is highly motivating and can lead to increased student achievement. However, other research within the same synthesis of meta-analyses shows that student control over their own learning leads to a negligible increase in overall learning. What seems to be the major conflict?

Autonomy, it seems, does not wield long-lasting success if it's not centered on clear goals and demarcated by accountability and support. As columnist David Brooks shares, "Freedom is not an ocean you want to swim in; it is a river you want to cross so that you can plant yourself on the other side." Student autonomy requires a river to cross-clear and challenging goals, high levels of support, and a means to check on progress over time.

As such, the main crux for students to engage in empowerment and increasing academic achievement has to do with how teachers and students work together to share power and take collective ownership over the work rather than relying on a power differential in which one group possesses all or the majority of power in the classroom. The key is to focus on the "we do" of learning-students and teachers working together.

Such shared power is critical when the river to cross is challenging.

Shared Power and High Rigor

Students are unlikely to be successful in a shared power situation if they are not expected to accomplish challenging goals. Hattie's research has shown that deep learning is primarily driven by strategies that require student discourse, high levels of evaluation and reflection, and peer-to-peer feedback. In this way, shared power and high levels of rigor go hand in hand. We, therefore, need a "we do" culture and complex work.

Adaptability and situational skills:Actions that are linked to dispositions, tools, and strategies that enable students to engage within each level of complexity.

Balanced learning complexity: The equal intensity and integration of surface, deep, and transfer learning.

Creating a culture of belonging: Students and teachers work in partnership to learn and teach together in the pursuit of growth in learning.

One way to start this work is to redefine our concept of power and rigor; assess our current level of rigor in our schools; and then invest time, energy, and effort toward habits of practice that promote learning.

Step 1: Redefine rigor. Start by creating a shared definition of rigor with all stakeholders. For example, one school might share that rigor is the following:

Next, provide tangible examples of rigor by showing student work, illustrating teaching strategies that are demonstrating deep-to-transfer learning, and discuss the research on the levels of learning. Allay fears of surface learning by acknowledging that it is important, we know how to teach it, students know how to learn it, and we need to spend time on deep-to-transfer learning. Keep the conversation focused on the ABCs of rigor.

Step 2: Assess the ABCs. Determine the knowledge and skill level of staff on teaching deep-to-transfer learning, the proportion of deep and transfer requirements in curriculum, assessment and instruction of learning relative to surface knowledge and skill, and the degree to which power is shared in the class. Some of the best ways to capture this data are through easy-to-access data points such as classroom observations and teacher and staff interviews and surveys.

Step 3: Build habits of rigor. Start with changing practice first. Provide staff professional learning opportunities in engaging in rigorous learning and sharing power in the classroom. Ensure that you and the facilitators model the exact practices of rigorous learning and shared power. There is a good chance that the people needing to run this work with your team are already within your staff.

Step 4: Participate in empathy-based modeling. While modeling specific practices for teachers is immensely helpful in supporting new practices, teachers greatly benefit from going through experiential opportunities that mimic those exact practices in which students will be required to engage in the classroom. For example, if students are going to share their writing with each other and give and receive feedback, then teachers write their own pieces of work and give each other feedback.

Through this process they can unpack the emotions they carried in that activity along with the specific writing and feedback strategies they used. When teachers go through the lived experience of the activity, there's a better chance that they will see through the eyes of students when they are working in their own classrooms.

The aforementioned steps are a part of a recalibration of the gradual release of responsibility of learning to a shared responsibility of student learning between teachers and students. This approach not only builds students' ability to be independent but also illustrates a strong value and appreciation for interdependence of learning, the necessity of shared power to engage in rigorous tasks, and the importance of building a community of learners that values and respects one another.

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How School Leaders Can Support Enhanced Rigor in Instruction

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With the right guidance, teachers can promote students' independence in the pursuit of challenging goals.

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We create practical, timely, affordable professional learning to help educators and instructional leaders provide students with a modern, equitable, and quality education.

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A Guide to Decision Making | the Vroom-Yetton-Jago Normative Decision Model

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Idealist connects millions of idealists – people who want to do good – with opportunities for action and collaboration all over the world.

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How you go about making a decision can involve as many choices as the decision itself.

Sometimes you have to take charge, and decide what to do on your own, but you don't want to appear autocratic to your team (particularly in situations where you need their input). At other times it's better to make a decision based on the group consensus, but this can use up precious time and resources. So how do you decide which approach is best?

Every manager needs to be able to make good decisions. A systematic approach to decision making, such as the Vroom-Yetton Decision Model, allows you to bring consistency and order to a process that might otherwise feel idiosyncratic and instinctive. It can also help you to determine the most effective means of reaching a decision.

Understanding the Model

The Vroom-Yetton model is designed to help you to identify the best decision-making approach and leadership style to take, based on your current situation. It was originally developed by Victor Vroom and Philip Yetton in their 1973 book, " Leadership and Decision Making."

No single decision-making process fits every scenario. Instead, Vroom-Yetton offers a number of different processes and directs you toward the best one for your situation. For example, if speed and decisiveness are required then it will likely point you toward an autocratic process. If collaboration is what's needed, then it will nudge you toward a more democratic process.

Researchers have found that managers are more effective, and their teams more productive and satisfied, when they follow the model. The simplicity of Vroom-Yetton also means that anyone - from the boardroom to the factory floor - can use it.

Although a little long-winded at times, it can be particularly helpful in new or unusual situations. Practice using it, and you'll quickly get a feel for the right approach to take, whether you're making a decision about a day-to-day issue or dealing with a more complex problem.

Before you start using the model, you'll need to consider these three factors:

Decision quality - Sometimes, making the "right" decision is critical, and you'll need to use a large number of resources (people, time, information, and so on) to ensure that the action you take has been well thought through and is of high quality.

Team commitment - Some of your decisions will have a major impact on your team, while others will go unnoticed. When a decision will likely impact your team, it's best to use a collaborative process. This will improve the quality of the decision, and you'll likely deliver a successful result faster.

Time constraints - When the issue at hand isn't time sensitive, you have more "space" to research your options and to include others, which will help to boost the quality of your decision. If your time is limited, however, it may not be feasible to include others or to undertake thorough research.

Specific Leadership Processes

Figure 1, below, shows the Vroom-Yetton model. The framework poses seven "yes/no" questions, which you need to answer to find the best decision-making process for your situation.

As you answer each of the questions, you work your way through a decision tree until you arrive at a code (A1, A2, C1, C2, or G2). This code identifies the best decision-making process for you and your team. (Note that, in some scenarios, you won't need to answer all of the questions.)

Figure 1: The Vroom-Yetton Decision Model
Download Diagram
The following codes represent the five decision-making processes that are described by the model:

Autocratic (A1): You use the information that you already have to make the decision, without requiring any further input from your team.

Autocratic (A2): You consult your team to obtain specific information that you need, and then you make the final decision.

Consultative (C1): You inform your team of the situation and ask for members' opinions individually, but you don't bring the group together for a discussion. You make the final decision.

Consultative (C2): You get your team together for a group discussion about the issue and to seek their suggestions, but you still make the final decision by yourself.

Collaborative (G2): You work with your team to reach a group consensus. Your role is mostly facilitative, and you help team members to reach a decision that they all agree on.

In general, a consultative or collaborative style is most appropriate when:

You need information from others to solve a problem.

The problem can't be easily defined.

Team members' buy-in to the decision is important.

You have enough time available to manage a group decision.

An autocratic style is most appropriate when:

You have greater expertise on the subject than others.

You are confident about acting alone.

The team will accept your decision.

There is little time available.

Note:

Vroom-Yetton is a useful model, but it's not necessarily appropriate for all eventualities. It misses out several important considerations, and its rigid structure means that it fails to take into account subtleties, such as the emotions and dynamics of your team, and the task's complexity. The seven questions are imprecise, too - "importance" and "quality," for example, are vague terms - and it can be difficult to give straight "yes" or "no" answers to them.

Vroom and Arthur Jago addressed these weaknesses and amended the original model in their 1988 book, " The New Leadership." The newer model is more complex and includes several additional questions, which allow users to take other constraints, such as geographic location, into account when making their decision. It also uses a mathematical formula to help people to pinpoint the optimum decision-making process for their situation. The newer version of the model is often referred to as either Vroom-Jago or Vroom-Yetton-Jago.

Key Points

The underlying assumption of the Vroom-Yetton Decision Model is that no single leadership style or decision-making process fits all situations.

To find the process best suited to your situation, you need to consider a number of factors. These include time constraints, the level of team participation required, and the quality of the final decision.

The model walks you through these factors logically, to help you to identify the most appropriate process and style. It is particularly useful for managers and leaders who are trying to balance the benefits of participative management with the need to make decisions effectively.

Infographic

You can see our infographic of the Vroom-Yetton Model here:

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The Vroom-Yetton Decision Model: Deciding How to Decide

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How you go about making a decision can involve as many choices as the decision itself. Sometimes you have to take charge, and decide what to do on your own, but you don't want to appear autocratic to your team (particularly in situations where you need their input).

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The more that you, as a leader, manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence. So, let's look at each element in more detail and examine how you can grow as a leader.

Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

1. Self-awareness

If you're self-aware, you always know how you feel, and you know how your emotions and your actions can affect the people around you. Being self-aware when you're in a leadership position also means having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses, and it means behaving with humility.

So, what can you do to improve your self-awareness?

Keep a journal. Journals help you improve your self-awareness. If you spend just a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts, this can move you to a higher degree of self-awareness.

2. Self-regulation

Leaders who regulate themselves effectively rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values. Self-regulation is all about staying in control.

This element of emotional intelligence, according to Goleman, also covers a leader's flexibility and commitment to personal accountability.

So, how can you improve your ability to self-regulate?

Hold yourself accountable. If you tend to blame others when something goes wrong, stop. Make a commitment to admit to your mistakes and to face the consequences, whatever they are. You'll probably sleep better at night, and you'll quickly earn the respect of those around you.

Practice being calm. The next time you're in a challenging situation, be very aware of how you act. Do you relieve your stress by shouting at someone else? Practice deep-breathing exercises to calm yourself. Also, try to write down all of the negative things you want to say, and then rip it up and throw it away. Expressing these emotions on paper (and not showing them to anyone!) is better than speaking them aloud to your team. What's more, this helps you challenge your reactions to ensure that they're fair!

3. Motivation

Self-motivated leaders work consistently toward their goals, and they have extremely high standards for the quality of their work.

How can you improve your motivation?

Re-examine why you're doing your job. It's easy to forget what you really love about your career. So, take some time to remember why you wanted this job. If you're unhappy in your role and you're struggling to remember why you wanted it, try the Five Whys technique to find the root of the problem. Starting at the root often helps you look at your situation in a new way. And make sure that your goal statements are fresh and energizing. For more on this, see our article on Goal Setting.

4. Empathy

For leaders, having empathy is critical to managing a successful team or organization. Leaders with empathy have the ability to put themselves in someone else's situation. They help develop the people on their team, challenge others who are acting unfairly, give constructive feedback, and listen to those who need it.

If you want to earn the respect and loyalty of your team, then show them you care by being empathic.

How can you improve your empathy?

Respond to feelings. You ask your assistant to work late - again. And although he agrees, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. So, respond by addressing his feelings. Tell him you appreciate how willing he is to work extra hours, and that you're just as frustrated about working late. If possible, figure out a way for future late nights to be less of an issue (for example, give him Monday mornings off).

5. Social Skills

Leaders who do well in the social skills element of emotional intelligence are great communicators. They're just as open to hearing bad news as good news, and they're experts at getting their team to support them and be excited about a new mission or project.

Leaders who have good social skills are also good at managing change and resolving conflicts diplomatically. They're rarely satisfied with leaving things as they are, but they don't sit back and make everyone else do the work: they set an example with their own behavior.

So, how can you build social skills?

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Emotional Intelligence in Leadership - Learning How to Be More Aware

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Relating to others is vital in today's workplace. Learn how to build your emotional intelligence (EI) with this article.

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Learn how the CliftonStrengths assessment -- formerly StrengthsFinder -- empowers organizations, managers and millions of people to succeed.

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Child Mind Institute | Transforming Children’s Lives.

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The Child Mind Institute is an independent nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children struggling with mental health and learning disorders.

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Our Vision
Comprehensive behavioral health for every person in Denton County
Our Mission:
The Denton County Behavioral Health Leadership Team will advocate and facilitate a collaborative person-centered behavioral health system to repair and restore lives:

Ensure behavioral health services are available to meet the needs of all

Assess data for continuous outcome measurements

Prioritize data driven recommendations

Provide a continuum of care

Our Method, Collective Impact:

What is Collective Impact?

Collective Impact (n) - A community coming together around a backbone organization as a team of equals to collaborate on solutions that no one organization can implement on their own.

Collective Impact is a structured way to unite a community of diverse people and achieve truly meaningful social change. By bringing everyone to the table and building relationships between them, Collective Impact accomplishes a community's goals through key elements of success:

1. A Common Agenda, collectively putting forth a unified vision of a better community

2. Shared Measurements, providing meaningful feedback to everyone involved

3. Mutually Reinforcing Activities, avoiding duplication in favor of cooperation

4. Continuous Communication, reinforcing trust and relationships between partners

5. A Strong Backbone, orchestrating the hard work done through a unified initiative

Collective Impact Initiatives such as the Denton County Behavioral Health Leadership Team are a key part of United Way of Denton County's strategy for improving lives in Denton County.

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Denton County Behavioral Health Leadership Team | United Way of Denton County

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Comprehensive behavioral health for every person in Denton County The Denton County Behavioral Health Leadership Team will advocate and facilitate a collaborative person-centered behavioral health system to repair and restore lives: Ensure behavioral health services are available to meet the needs of all Assess data for continuous outcome measurements Prioritize data driven recommendations Provide a continuum of care What is Collective Impact?

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Denton Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition

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The Denton Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition came together in June 2014 as a response to the high number of suicides in our area. We are dedicated to reducing suicides in our community through raising awareness, and promoting suicide prevention.

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Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs

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Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs