This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article, part six in the series titled “Complementary Contradictions.” Here is the transcript of the podcast.
Sometimes, you get conflicting words of advice, one which is good and the other which is not, and it requires discernment to determine which is the right advice to follow. But often, these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and, when used appropriately and in the right way, can work together to help you make better decisions. In this series of articles and podcast episodes, we are looking at different leadership ideas or principles that seem to contradict, are opposite sides of a coin, or at least differ from each other, and we are pairing them up to see how they actually complement each other to make you a better leader. This week, in part 6, we talk about what happens when a plan comes together, and next week, in part 7, we talk about what happens when a plan falls apart.
In the last two weeks, we talked about zooming out and zooming in, in order to first see the big picture and then to take care of the details piece by piece. You have heard the saying, “You can’t see the forest for the trees,” and that was our primary metaphor for these contradictory, complementary ideas; contradictory in that you cannot do both things at the same time – see the forest AND see the trees – and complimentary in that you have to go back and forth – look at the forest, then at the trees, and back to the forest – repeatedly in order to successfully navigate where you are going and what you are doing. That pair of principles is a great prerequisite to the next pair of principles, which is all about having a plan and managing the detours.
In my experience as a school administrator, I was committed to cultivating an environment that challenged students to think well and to think biblically. That involved constantly seeking out the best ways to do that, including trying to identify the methods that would help me do that most effectively and efficiently. For example, I took typing on a physical typewriter my senior year of high school to prepare for typing papers in college. By the time I became a teacher, I was learning to type on a computer with a word-processing application. By the time I became an administrator, students were learning word processing applications in 9th grade, and it wasn’t long until they became junior high courses instead. And now, it has reached the point where students are learning to type and code algorithms in kindergarten and lower elementary.
With that understanding of the progression of technology as the background, I reached a point in my leadership experience when I came to believe that in order to teach students with excellence, it was important for every student to have a device in their hands in the classroom, either a laptop or a tablet. So, I began to research. I looked up studies and data on the use of devices and their impact on learning. I visited other schools that were already considered “1-to-1,” meaning one electronic device for every student. I researched specific devices and apps, with the pros and cons of each. With the help of the IT director, I explored the hardware (network speed and strength, Wi-Fi devices, charging stations, etc.) and software (Learning Management System, programs, and apps). I prepared a pilot test run with a teacher and a classroom. And finally, I prepared for the rollout of this next step in how we were educating our students to prepare them for college and career.
Essentially, I had created a plan that resulted in every student having a tablet in their hands when they came to school in the morning. It was the result of a lot of things – research, preparation, identification of needs and potential solutions, getting feedback and listening, establishing a process, and eventually implementing it. It was thrilling on that first day of school of a new school year when it was now normal for a student to walk into a class, take out an electronic device, open the app and take a quick pre-assessment to give the teacher immediate feedback before the lesson, or start collaborating on a research project with other students, or begin typing a paper, or watch a supplementary video to the lesson to improve understanding. This was all the result of a plan to do something new, but to do it intentionally and well.
That’s what it looks like for you when you put a plan together first, before jumping into a new change. There are important steps for you to follow and a strategic plan to prepare that are necessary in order to set you up for success. Maybe there is something new you need to do that you haven’t been doing. Maybe there’s something you have been doing that hasn’t been working. Maybe there’s something you have been doing that has been marginally working but needs to be better. Before that happens, and so that you can implement and navigate well, you need to create the plan.
What does that plan look like? It looks like a step-by-step process of analyzing, evaluating, identifying, defining, and implementing a plan for future direction and growth, otherwise known as a strategic plan. I would encourage you to read the article that matches this podcast, where I list eight specific steps in the planning process that I believe are essential. Understand that my steps are not necessarily the only way to do it, but it’s a starting point for you. You may find other strategic planning methods, or you may modify the steps I have given to match you, but regardless, you need a plan.
:
What matters for you is that you have an intentional and methodical process for assessing where you are, determining where you need to be, and drawing the map that shows how you will get there. The map is your plan, and therefore it is crucial for getting from here to there without getting lost. If you do it well, you will experience the joy of arriving at the destination that you have been eagerly anticipating. And it happened because a plan came together.