Session 1: Turnaround Mindset
for Teacher Leaders
Summer Institute
Copyright © 2014 Texas Education Agency
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Introductions
Table Discussion
1. Name
2. Role
3. As an educator, which of
your professional
accomplishments are you
most proud of?
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Session Objectives
Distinguish the challenges of
Turnaround Leadership as
compared to School
Improvement Leadership
Understand the researchbased leader actions and
competencies that are
critical for turnaround
success
Investigate how actions and
competencies for success
shift in the move from
teacher to teacher leader
Apply understanding of
competencies to the teacher
leader actions in a case
study
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Texas Accountability Intervention System
(TAIS) Framework
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www.tcdss.net
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Never more critical than for
TURNAROUND
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What is turnaround?
Quick
Dramatic
Sustained
change in the performance of an organization
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INCREMENTAL
SCHOOL
IMPROVEMENT
Different
Conditions
Continuum of School Change
Different
Needs
SCHOOL
TURNAROUND
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INCREMENTAL
SCHOOL
IMPROVEMENT
SCHOOL
TURNAROUND
Continuum of School Change
First-Order Change
Second-Order Change
Refining processes
Inventing processes
Revising
Recreating
Adjusting and adapting
Shifting philosophy
Enhancing culture
Rebuilding culture
Small steps to change
Wholesale change
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Specific
Leader Actions
Lead To
Dramatic Change
“Leadership is the key to 99 percent of all successful efforts.”
— Erskine Bowles
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Characteristics of
Teacher Leaders
Teacher leaders are like _____ because ____.
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Research-based
Turnaround Leader Actions
Focus on a few early wins
Drive decisions with
open-air data
Push rapid-fire
experimentation
Get the right staff, enlist
commitment to improve
Break organization norms
Lead a turnaround
campaign
Sources: “The Big U-Turn”: Education Next publication; http://educationnext.org/the-big-uturn/, and
“School Turnarounds: Actions and Results”, Public Impact.
TodaysMeet
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Turnaround
Teacher Leaders:
PRICELESS
Commit to new and
bold approaches
Embrace and
accelerate the pace of
change
Move from leading
classrooms to leading
adults
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Role of Teacher Leaders
in School Turnaround
The speed and sustainability of turnaround is
increased by:
• Expanding leadership capacity so that effective
instructional practices can be achieved in all
classrooms
• Providing opportunities for teacher leaders to move
into leadership roles
• Creating a strong community of empowered teacher
leaders to safeguard against backsliding if successful
school leaders move on
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Turnaround actions and
behaviors require specific
qualities, or
competencies.
They are your “go to” tools.
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What is a Competency?
A pattern of thinking, feeling, acting or
speaking that causes a person to be
successful in a job or role.
Examples: Persistence, Self-Confidence
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What is a Competency?
Actions:
•Teacher leader
practices
•Knowledge and skills
Competencies:
• Underlying traits and
patterns of behavior
• Example: Initiative and
Persistence
Adapted from “The Iceberg Model” in Spencer & Spencer, Competence at Work, p. 11.
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Turnaround Competency Research
Turnaround
Teachers
Research-based:
• Interviews with well-known
educational researchers
• Interviews with principals and
teachers working in successful
turnaround schools
Turnaround
Leaders
Research-based:
• Leader actions in successful
organizational turnarounds in
education and in other sectors –
who went from bad to great?
• Research-based competency
“dictionaries” that list which
competencies are important for a
particular role
Source: Public Impact (2008). “School Turnaround Leaders (Teachers): Competencies for Success.” Available:
http://publicimpact.com/teachers-leaders/competencies-of-high-performers/
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Competency Clusters
Driving for
Results
Influencing
for Results
Problem
Solving
Personal
Effectiveness
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Teacher
Competencies
Teacher Leader
Competencies
Driving for
Results
Achievement
Initiative and Persistence
Monitoring and Directiveness
Planning Ahead
Achievement
Initiative and Persistence
Monitoring and Directiveness
Planning Ahead
Influencing for
Results
Impact and Influence
Interpersonal Understanding
Teamwork
Impact and Influence
Developing Others
Team Leadership
Analytical Thinking
Conceptual Thinking
Analytical Thinking
Conceptual Thinking
Belief in Learning Potential
Self‐Control
Self-Confidence
Flexibility
Belief in Learning Potential
Self-Control
Self-Confidence
Flexibility
Problem
Solving
Personal
Effectiveness
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Driving for Results Cluster
Driving for
Results
Influencing
for Results
Problem
Solving
Personal
Effectiveness
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Achievement
The drive and actions to set challenging
goals to reach a high standard of
performance despite barriers.
Takes significant risks
Focuses on goals
Seeks challenge
Commits
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Initiative and
Persistence
The drive and actions to do more than
is expected or required in order to
accomplish a challenging task.
Acts with or without
authority
Bends norms and rules
Remains undaunted by
obstacles
Engages others and self in
extraordinary effort
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Monitoring and
Directiveness
The ability to set clear expectations
and to hold others accountable for
performance.
Sets explicit high
standard
Reports
performance
publicly
Addresses poor
performance directly
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Planning Ahead
A bias toward planning in order to
derive future benefit or to avoid
problems.
Identifies future
needs, problems,
and opportunities
Plans and acts for
the long term
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Influencing for Results Cluster
Driving for
Results
Influencing
for Results
Problem
Solving
Personal
Effectiveness
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Impact and
Influence
Acting with the purpose of
affecting the perceptions, thinking
and actions of others.
Takes multiple steps to
influence
Works through others
Orchestrates the timing
and delivery of
information
Anticipates reactions
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Team
Leadership
Assuming authoritative
leadership of a group for the
benefit of the organization.
Motivates and builds excitement
Communicates compelling vision
Encourages team members to
contribute discretionary effort
Protects the team
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Developing Others
Influence with the specific intent to
increase the short and long‐term
effectiveness of another person.
.
Provides specific feedback
Ensures access to
development
Creates development
programs
Provides “stretch”
experiences
Promotes for development
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Problem Solving Cluster
Driving for
Results
Influencing
for Results
Problem
Solving
Personal
Effectiveness
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Analytical Thinking
The ability to break things down in
a logical way and to recognize
cause and effect.
.
Anticipates multiple next
steps and barriers
Understands several
possible causes or results
Analyzes complex problems
from multiple perspectives
Breaks complex problems
into logical steps
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Conceptual
Thinking
The ability to see patterns and
links among seemingly unrelated
things.
Identifies relationships
Applies past knowledge
to new situations
Distills a complex issue
into key points
Identifies problems
others don’t see
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Personal Effectiveness Cluster
Driving for
Results
Influencing
for Results
Problem
Solving
Personal
Effectiveness
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Belief in Learning
Potential
Maintains high
expectations for their
students
Believes all children can,
will, and want to learn
A belief that all students, regardless of
circumstances, can learn at levels higher
than their current achievement indicates.
INSERT
IMAGE
Supports students’
ongoing interest in
learning
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Self-Control
Acting to keep one’s emotions under
control, especially when provoked.
Reacts to stressful situations
objectively
De-escalates conflict
Moves beyond negative
behaviors
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Self-Confidence
A personal belief in oneʼs ability to
accomplish tasks and the actions
that reflect that belief.
Stands firm in conflicts
Seeks extremely
challenging situations
Maintains resolve
despite disagreement
with those in power
Confronts those in power
bluntly when needed
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Flexibility
The ability to adapt one’s approach
to the requirements of a situation
and change tactics.
Appreciates different and
opposing perspectives
Adapts to the rapid pace
of experimentation
Builds relationships with
people who are different
from themselves
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Competency Shifts
How do competencies shift as you move
from teacher to teacher leader?
Driving for
Results
Influencing
for Results
Problem
Solving
Personal
Effectiveness
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Competency Shift
• Individual reflection
List examples of how you have experienced,
or will experience the shifts described on the
handout.
• Share reflections with a partner at your table
What about the shift from teacher to teacher
leader has been or do you anticipate being most
challenging for you?
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Hammond Middle School
Case Study
Science instructional coach at a
low-performing school working
with five science teachers to set
instructional goals and provide
regular feedback on progress
toward meeting goals
How do the actions and
competencies of the teacher
leader contribute to the success of
school turnaround?
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Hammond Middle School
Case Study
Case Study Context:
• Marie Dexter: Science instructional coach at a
low-performing middle school
• Tanya Smith: 7th grade science teacher being
coached by Marie Dexter
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Case Study Review
and Analysis
Individual Read and Reflection
Read the Hammond Middle School case study
– As you read consider:
• What competencies does the teacher leader
exhibit at this school?
– Underline examples of teacher leader actions in
the case that correlate to the teacher leader
competencies
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Case Study Analysis
Table Discussion
Discuss observations at your tables
What actions did the teacher leader take
that demonstrated high levels of
particular competencies?
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Specific
Competencies and
Actions
Lead To
Dramatic Change
“Leadership is the key to 99 percent of all successful efforts.”
— Erskine Bowles
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“Before you are a leader, success is all about
growing yourself. When you become a leader,
success is all about growing others.”
—Jack Welch
“The most dangerous leadership myth is
that leaders are born - that there is a
genetic factor to leadership. That’s
nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true.
Leader are made rather than born.”
—Warren Bennis
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