"Whatever it takes ..."

The “retreat” I wrote about last week must be tactical. Military strategists know that retreat or an exit strategy from any mission, operation, or engagement must be included as an important, essential component of planning. The failure to plan intentionally for retreat or an exit has proven to be devastating or fatal throughout history in all manner of conflict.

In our case, retreat from the engaging work of educating each child, each learner to standard is not practical or ethical. Yet, a retreat – a tactical retreat from practices and programs that to date have not yielded the expected or desired results is exactly what we must do.

Let be paint the picture clearly. We have labored to build capacity in awareness and understanding that each learner and their success are ethical, moral, and legal. We have collaboratively defined as well as given voice to the “all means all” vision and mission. Yet, “All means all” is only half the equation necessary for us to be successful.

The learning for all, by all, and of all are merely pithy or trite words and only serve as a politically correct sound byte unless accompanied by the “whatever it takes” mindset and action.

What does “whatever it takes” require?

First, an uncompromising, unwavering commitment to decision making that is centered on each learner – learner centeredness.

Second, it requires reflecting and reviewing on effective strategies to meet the needs of each learner including:

· What they already know and can do?

· How well they demonstrate what they know and can do?

· What they need to know and be able to do?

· What are the steps necessary for them to learn what they need to know and do?

· What are the instructional steps necessary for each learner to learn what he or she must know and be able to do?

· What evidence is essential for each learner to demonstrate his or her learning?

· What strategies will be used if the learner does not learn in the way, the time, and to the level expected and desired?

· What strategies will be used to maintain or stretch each learner once they have met or exceeded learning expectations? and

· How will the learner know, parent know that each learner is progressing toward meeting or exceeding standard?

Third, it requires using time and resources differently to ensure each learner masters the essential skills and knowledge necessary to meet or exceed standards.

Fourth, it refuses to accept that each learner cannot be successful.

Fifth, it refuses to accept “good enough” and abandons ineffective and unproductive practices.

Sixth, it constantly and consistently affirms daily that each student can and will be successful in their learning.

Seventh, it is relentless in the pursuit of collaboration and communication with each learner’s parent to ensure success.

Eighth, it never gives up on a leaner, never gives in to the temptation to blame the learner for the failure to learn, and never looses sight of what each learner can become.

Ninth, “whatever it takes” requires deliberate, purposeful, specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely planning, implementation, monitoring, and adjustments to teaching and learning.

Tenth, “whatever it takes” is not episodic or situational it must be ubiquitous – ever present, ever practiced by all.

Retreating from failed practices and programs to reengage in effective practice is easy to say but not so simple do. It requires suspending our beliefs and current practices. It requires humility!

This is exactly what we are doing at Anson High School this upcoming week. I have directed our Chief Learning Officer to embed on the campus to work specifically, directly with eight staff currently assigned to students in the three tested areas to provide unprecedented support for improved teaching and learning.

In doing so, staff will be provided time, guidance, and support through constant and consistent feedback, modeling, and corrective action to ensure each learner does in fact demonstrate proficiency of expected and desired learning.

This is but one example of the “whatever it takes” mindset. We cannot continue with what hasn’t worked. This tactical retreat will result in reengagement of effective teaching and learning.

“Planned Retreat – necessary and timely”

I recall shortly after my father died one of his closest friends, a childhood friend in fact, telling my brother and me, “I will do everything I can to help you. I will get you to the door, but you will have to walk through it.”

Obviously, I have never forgotten those words. Getting to the door of opportunity, the door of possibilities remains only part of the equation of life however. Walking through the door, taking a risk knowing full well that not everything that presents itself as an opportunity or possibility is for you is the second part of the equation.

Additionally, both my brother and I have learned that taking risk – acting on the opportunity and possibility is challenging and results sometimes in set backs or even failure – not the end of the world.

We also learned to minimize or at least reduce the likelihood of failure with opportunity and possibility by planning for it.

Presently if feels like we have surrendered – surrendered to status quo – of what used to be or what is familiar or convenient. Surrender is first giving in before giving up – quitting!

Last week I emphasized the obvious; the need for a plan. Making, implementing, monitoring, and assessing a plan is essential. Most planning processes however miss a critical component, strategy if you will – an exit strategy. Every plan must include strategies for contingencies including an exit or retreat.

We have heard countless stories from business, faith, civic life, and etc. about failure, persevering, and succeeding. Most often the common experience in these stories of each individual that encounters set backs, failure if you will is that they don’t give up – they retreat, rest, recreate, reassess, repurpose, reorganize and reengage. They may lose sight, lose vision, or lose conviction momentarily but they never fully surrender to failure.

Retreat however is something entirely different. In fact, retreat is an opportunity with possibilities.

The purpose of retreat is often mistaken as a sign of weakness. This isn’t necessarily accurate.

We need to retreat not surrender!

Just this last week in a conversation with Department of Public Instruction Transformation supervisors I shared one of the most fascinating facts of military history. It is recorded that five times in the history of warfare that an army fully engaged in battle disengaged, withdrew, and retreated, from conflict to rest, recreate, reassess, repurpose, reorganize and reengage to become victorious. Imagine if you can this sequence – fully engaged, retreat, and fully reengage.

Retreat takes intentionality. It takes planning.

There are times that retreat is unplanned, haphazard and desperate. Generally speaking, retreat in this manner is due more or less to poor planning, poor preparation, and poor execution. I don’t want to minimize that there are factors and circumstances in battle as in life that cannot be controlled or planned for that may require retreat. Yet, planning, preparation, implementation or execution or the lack of is more often or not the major contributing factor to an objective, goal, strategy, opportunity or possibility not being met.

Though I have offered previously that retreat is not a sign of weakness and an extremely important, essential tactic, there is nonetheless a psychology that can work against the very objectives you desire to achieve through retreat - rest, recreate, reassess, repurpose, and reorganize to reengage.

Retreat can be demoralizing and defeating not to mention devastating.

Retreat or more importantly how you retreat is critical to the emotions, perceptions, and motivators of each individual as well as the organization collective.

The impact or influence of emotion, perception and motivation will either deter, delay, obstruct, undermine, or sabotage opportunities and possibilities or will ensure that opportunities and possibilities are seized, embraced, championed, or accomplished.

As mentioned, planning was key to a successful, effective retreat. What I haven’t mentioned is that underpinning the effective and successful planning of each of the aforementioned retreats were engagement, involvement and participation of all those impacted and affected.

In many respects where programs, initiatives, and strategies have not yielded the results we expect or desire, we need to retreat. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that through rest, recreation, reassessment, repurposing, and reorganizing that we have a plan to reengage in this present work.

It is hard, difficult to retreat in the middle of full engagement but we must.

Remember, retreat must be planned to be effective. Next week I will layout our planned retreat so we can reengage in the work to seize the opportunities and possibilities.

“A goal without a plan is dream” Anonymous

The beginning of a new year brings shades of optimism for a different, better future. Around the world calls for personal change in the form of New Year Resolutions will be heard.

More often or not most, if not all of us, desire improvement, dream of change, and set goals without fully appreciating what it takes. Seldom do we consider planning as part of our thinking when it comes to change let alone New Year resolutions.

Did you know that about 40 percent to 45 percent of Americans make resolutions each New Year, says John Norcross, distinguished professor of clinical psychology at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania? But, according to Norcross’s research, less than half of the pledges pan out.

If you are of the practice of making resolutions, what is your record of success? Further, what factor or factors do you attribute to your success limited or otherwise?

More often or not, the number one reason a resolution fails is due to the lack of a plan. Winston Churchill said, "He who fails to plan is planning to fail.” I actual like author Harvey Mackay’s statement, "Failures don't plan to fail; they fail to plan." In either case, you get the point.

What have you planned or resolved to change, improve, or accomplish in the New Year?

For me, the top of the list includes enjoying this present calling, this present work, and those that I co-labor with. I am not sure that the past six to seven months have been rewarding, fun if you will.

Part of what makes work fun are the emotions, perceptions, and motivations that inherently come from "doing" the work along with those "in" the work.

Our work environment, culture is so heavily dependent upon people. Each of us brings emotion, perception, and motivation to our work that collectively creates the workplace environment.

Too often we allow circumstances, events to dictate our emotions, perceptions, and motivations. Similarly we too often react, respond to those factors that are outside our control creating at worse or adding at best to stress and a sense of panic.

What intrigues me is that we have a plan – a plan for this work – a good plan. In fact, a plan that has been recognized as comprehensive, well-conceived, and well beyond what others are doing. We even have the means to measure the progress and effect of our plan.

Therefore, we shouldn’t succumb to the tyranny of the urgent.

This New Year we must resolve to think different. This different thinking must lead to proactive, preventive, and provisionary behavior.

It should be evident that we do not have the capacity to stay in a mindset that causes us to react, response, and receive whatever "cards are dealt" for much longer – the tyranny of the urgent.

Back to our work and work culture - we must intentionally choose to use our emotions, perceptions, and motivations to move others and ourselves forward.

These deliberate choices involve seeking to understand before being understood.

These choices require putting others before self as well as work before self.

These choices require asking more questions than giving answers.

These choices require recognizing, celebrating, and delighting in the accomplishments and achievements of others.

These choices require a sense of self-sacrifice, a sense of servant hood, and a sense of unselfishness in all we do. We cannot in the least be interested in who gets the credit.

If we are successful in transforming our work and our work culture by these deliberate choices we will have created an environment that truly is positioned to use our emotions, perceptions, and motivations to produce the results we desire and expect.

I ask in these first days of the New Year that each of us examine authentically our thinking and behavior through the lenses of choices we must make to ensure that our resolutions do in fact become a reality.

The failure to implement our plan with fidelity will ultimately result in failure.

The only way we will be successful is to choose to implement, choose to monitor, choose to adjust, choose to correct, choose to reflect, and yes, choose to plan intentionally.

The first step is to actually and authentically implement the plan.

By the by, where we have realized improvement and breakthrough results, we find the plan implemented with fidelity.

We just have to increase consistency, constancy to be ubiquitous in our implementation. We can and we will – it is really a matter of choice!