Here is a very short story and a challenge to you as a leader.
Coaching
five year old soccer players is quite interesting. I tried to structure
practices so that every child had fun while getting lots of touches on the ball.
We played a lot of tag, chase, and keep
away games in which every child dribbled their own soccer ball throughout most
of the games in order to improve their dribbling ability.
Sharks and Minnows
was one of the players’ favorite games. In Sharks and Minnows, most of the kids
(playing the role of minnows) stood at one end of a rectangle with soccer balls
while a player or two stood at the other end as sharks. The sharks would yell, “Are
you ready to get eaten?” The minnows would yell back “Never!” (Trash talk at an
early age!) Then the minnows would each try to dribble their ball from one end
to the other without getting eaten by the sharks. Being eaten was defined as
having your soccer ball taken or kicked away from you.
The kids
loved it and I was pleased that they developed ball control skills and even
tactical awareness as they dribbled around and avoided other players with sudden
bursts of speed and movements into open space.
Finding the Bright Spots
At first,
only a few players had much ball control. “Finding the bright spots” led to
improved dribbling by all the players.
When one
player did a particularly good job as a minnow, dribbling the ball from one
side of the rectangle to the other, I would stop play very briefly and ask the
other players what that particular minnow had done to be so successful. One
strategy they would identify is that a player – a minnow - was able to keep
control of the soccer ball, without sharks stealing it, because he or she kept
the ball close to their feet. As a coach, I might need to ask leading questions
to get them to “find the bright spot” but they would get it, they would say,
“No one could steal the ball from Johnny because he kept it close to their
feet.”
Chip and Dan
Heath explain how finding the bright spots provides both guidance and
inspiration. In their book regarding leadership, entitled Switch: How to
Change Things When Change is Hard, they explain that finding the bright
spots helps provide both guidance and inspiration, appealing to players hearts
and minds.
As a soccer
coach, I provided guidance by focusing attention on the importance of dribbling
with the ball close to your feet. This guidance showed players what to do
during the next round of Sharks and Minnows.
Focusing on
the bright spots also spoke to the hearts of my 5 year-old soccer players, providing
inspiration. We were celebrating that little Lexi and little Bryce had dribbled
all the way from one end of the rectangle to the other without anyone stealing
their soccer balls. As we cheered the minnows who had made it to the other end
of the field, the message was, “This is amazing and you can do it too if you
dribble with the soccer ball close to your feet.”
The Leadership Challenge
My challenge
to you as a teacher, principal, or superintendent is two part: focus on the
bright spots where you work; and engage others in finding the bright spots. As
you do so, you will provide guidance and inspiration. You will speak to others’
hearts and minds.
“Name it,
claim it, explain it” is one example of finding the bright spots. @BarbBlackburn
shared it with me via Twitter years ago. Barb suggests that when you visit a
teacher’s classroom, take a photo, audio recording, or video recording of a
bright spot. At a faculty meeting, share the photo or an excerpt of the
recording and ask the teacher whose classroom you visited to stand up, name the
activity, claim it (and identify any colleagues who helped create it), and
explain the lesson. “Name it, claim it, explain it” effectively provides both
guidance and inspiration. Details are provided in this article.
What are
your ideas for finding the bright spots?
Finding the Bright Spots throughout a
Division
In my first
weeks as Superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools, I have started to
engage others in identifying bright spots. In a division with a strong
tradition of excellence, this has been relatively easy, but important.
In order to
sustain and build on the excellence of a school or school division, we need to be
explicit regarding what we want to sustain. As my daughter put it, what should
we avoid messing up? A solid understanding of our bright spots provides a
strong foundation for building on excellence by continuing to learn, grow, and
improve.
Many people
have already helped identify bright spots: high school students participating
in Leadership Loudoun youth, new administrators attending orientation, and
leaders at the Administrative Leadership Team institute. Through small group
discussions and twitter conversations, we are identifying bright spots that can
help inform the creation of a strategic plan for our schools.
Finding
bright spots also provides joy. When I recall the five year-olds I coached, I
can think of numerous players who still love the game of soccer. I believe that focusing on the bright spots
contributed to their love of the game. Thus, as we engage others in finding the
bright spots, not only will we provide guidance and inspiration, we will help
others find joy in their work. Here is my wish for you as we start a new school
year:
This post is based on my remarks at Loudoun County's Administrative Leadership Team Institute on August 5, 2014.