Positive Results Culture

“Education must change, or potentially what we call public education may not exist in the near future.” ~ Lyle Kirtman

In his latest book, Shaping the Future; Four Leadership Pivots for Lasting Educational Impact, Lyle Kirtman comments on the fact that educators and educational leaders are exhausted, stressed out and leaving the field in high numbers. With this backdrop, courageous leaders have the opportunity to be proactive and work toward what he calls a ‘positive results culture’. This newest work by Kirtman is based on research, data and experience and has led to the creation of a practical yet powerful guide for educational leaders to create a culture of high expectations that is both collaborative and empowering.

Foundational to the work is understanding what a positive results culture looks like. According to the author there are nine key characteristics of a positive results culture:

• A feeling of ownership for outcomes by staff and faculty

• Staff and faculty practicing a strong voice in setting goals

• High interdependence and communication

• Intrinsic accountability

• Continuous improvement

• Broad-based leadership, not by title

• Sustainable results

• Less impact by a change at the top

• Celebration of success

Take a moment to reflect on these and how you see these characteristics within your culture - and how you as a leader work toward creating these within your organization. What evidences and outcomes can you point to that tell you these are present?

Lyle proposes that the key to creating a positive results culture is found within four pivots:

1. Identify a clear North Star that defines what student success looks like.

   1. Do you know what your North Star is? Identify it and make sure everyone sees it, understands it and knows how they can align their role/work toward it.
      

2. Develop a new approach for hiring, developing, and retaining all staff.

   1. Consider a talent management approach to HR; finding, retaining (and growing) talent is key.

3. Implement a system where employees self-assess their progress toward enabling student success.

   1. Create a coaching culture around intrinsic evaluation and continuous improvement.
      

4. Establish and commit to high expectations for all students and staff - all the time.

   1. Review your practices on setting (and adhering) to high expectations. (The right seat of the bus - Jim Collins - is important; but don’t just keep moving around poor performers indefinitely).

   2. Make sure you are not compromising standards of excellence for students - (remember the tyranny of low expectations is subtle but insidious in its harm)

“We know that student results are critical. We also know that a positive culture and high morale are needed for staff to feel satisfied that they are making a difference in student and family live. Now we must combine the two to create a positive results culture.” ~ Lyle Kirtman