4 conditions for successful school leadership

1) Culture
2) Mindset
3) Skills
4) Strategies

School Culture

In schools, we must create strong cultures with a defined autonomy.  We should know who makes decisions and how those decisions are made.  As often as possible, that should include a lot of people in the decision.  People thrive when they understand their role, their purpose, and how they impact the whole school team.

Teacher Mindset --> Skills

Once teachers are in a culture where they believe that they, and their colleagues, can make an impact on student learning, then the growth mindset flourishes. As that happens, they spend more time learning and improving their craft.

Skills --> Instructional Strategies

As skills grow, so does personal confidence. Teachers look to increase their instructional toolbelt. They dig deeper, learning about new instructional strategies.

Practice Leads to improved Skills and Strategies

Educators put in more time and energy into their work when they know the things they are doing matter. They will begin to work with more passion, work smarter, and grow as a result

Putting it together

When a culture is toxic it really doesn’t matter how skilled the educators are or how good the strategies are. Build culture first and individual mindsets will follow. Mindsets matter, we must believe that what we do makes an impact.  If I believe that no matter how hard I work, our students aren't going to be very good, what reason do I have to put in the extra work? We can’t build our skills if we aren’t putting in the time to improve.  If we haven't invested in building our skills and strategies, instruction suffers and students lose.