Leading a High Reliability School. Richard DuFour

into teams, the reason they are provided with time to work together, the reason they are asked to focus on certain topics and complete specific tasks is so that when they return to their classrooms, they will possess and utilize an expanded repertoire of skills, strategies, materials, assessments, and ideas in order to impact student achievement in a more positive way.

      Therefore, one of the most important elements of reciprocal accountability that district and school leaders must address is establishing clear parameters and priorities that guide teamwork toward the goal of improved student learning. (DuFour et al., 2016, pp. 67–68)

      The guiding coalition can foster this clarity by working with teams to establish a timeline for completing certain tasks in the PLC process. This work should provide the rationale behind these important tasks and examples of what quality work looks like. For example, imagine a guiding coalition created the following timeline of four activities that guides the work of collaborative teams.

      1. Use our professional development days prior to the start of the school year to create and present our team norms and SMART goals before students arrive at school.

      2. By the second week of school, present our list of the essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions students should acquire throughout the school year.

      3. By the third week of school, administer a collaborative team–developed common formative assessment.

      4. By the fourth week of school, complete our first data analysis of the evidence of student learning from our team-developed common formative assessment.

      Note that each activity should result in a product that flows from a collaborative team engaged in the right work. For each product the timeline asks the team to create, the guiding coalition would present both the rationale as to why the product is critical to the team’s work and high-quality examples of that product. My colleagues and I specifically designed Learning by Doing (DuFour et al., 2016) to provide collaborative teams with the rationale behind the different aspects of the PLC process and examples and rubrics to help guide their work. Educators can play an important role in their organization’s success when they not only know how to perform specific tasks but also understand how their work contributes to a larger purpose (DuFour & Fullan, 2013).

       Monitor and Support Teams

      What leaders pay attention to can powerfully communicate their priorities. Leaders who simply urge teams to “go collaborate,” and then have no process for monitoring the teams, send the message that they don’t really find the teams’ work that important. Furthermore, unless they have a process for monitoring teamwork, leaders put themselves in no position to support a struggling team or to learn from a high-performing team.

      However, monitoring and micromanaging are different. Monitoring works best when teachers understand the work that teams need to produce, the expected quality of their work products, and the process for submitting work products to school leaders according to a timeline, as previously described. If a team cannot generate a product or it presents inconsistent work that lacks clearly defined quality expectations, the team needs additional support. Conversely, teams that have no difficulty producing high-quality work according to the agreed-on timeline will benefit from greater autonomy. In high-performing PLCs, collaborative teams are remarkably self-directed.

      Establishing team leaders ensures the lines of communication among teams and school leaders remain open. Not only does this promote more widely dispersed leadership, it provides another avenue for school leaders to monitor the work of teams. Principals should meet with team leaders regularly; clarify and rehearse how these leaders can lead their colleagues through the different elements of the PLC process; and share problems, concerns, and successes (Eaker & Sells, 2016).

      Effective team leaders can play an important role in developing their colleagues’ self-efficacy. When they do, if the principal and other key staff eventually leave the school, it causes no sense of lost purpose or direction because the school has groomed many leaders who can continue to support the work.

       Demonstrate a Willingness to Confront Individuals and Groups Who Are Not Contributing to the Collaborative Team Process

      Perhaps the most common reason that leaders fail to effectively communicate their organization’s purpose and priorities is that a disconnect appears between what they say and what they do. James A. Autry (2004), author of The Servant Leader, advises leaders that others in the organization:

      Can determine who you are only by observing what you do. They can’t see inside your head, they can’t know what you think or how you feel, they can’t subliminally detect your compassion or pain or joy or goodwill. In other words, the only way you can manifest your character, your personhood, and your spirit in the workplace is through your behavior. (p. 1)

      The key to effective communication lies not in the leader’s eloquence but in the congruence between his or her words and deeds. Nothing destroys a leader’s credibility faster than an unwillingness to address an obvious problem that stands in contrast to the organization’s stated purpose and priorities. The very essence of a tight culture is the certainty that we confront any behavior inconsistent with what is tight. I have never found a tight school culture with a principal who lacks a willingness to challenge inappropriate behavior on the part of individuals or groups within the school.

       Celebrate Small Successes Along the Way

      Every organization will face the challenge of sustaining momentum over time while it implements a comprehensive improvement effort. Experts on the organizational change process offer consistent advice regarding that challenge: plan for frequent celebrations of incremental progress (Amabile & Kramer, 2010; Collins, 2001; Elmore & City, 2007; Heath & Heath, 2010; Katzenbach & Smith, 1993; Kotter & Cohen, 2002; Patterson et al., 2008).

      When celebrations continually remind people of the purpose and priorities of their organization, team members will more likely embrace the purpose and work toward the agreed-on priorities. Regular public recognition of specific collaborative efforts, accomplished tasks, achieved goals, team learning, continuous improvement, and support for student learning remind staff of the collective commitment to create a PLC. The word recognize comes from the Latin for “to know again.” Recognition provides opportunities to say, “Let us all be reminded of and know again what is important, what we value, and what we are committed to do. Now, let’s all honor a team or individual in our school who is living that commitment.”

      There is a difference between planning for celebration and hoping for something to celebrate. Leaders of the PLC process identify specific benchmarks along the journey and prepare to publicly celebrate those benchmarks. In doing so, they should keep the following four guidelines for celebration in mind (DuFour et al., 2016).

      1. Explicitly state the purpose of celebration: Continually remind staff members that celebration represents both an important strategy for reinforcing the school or district’s shared mission, vision, collective commitments, and goals and the most powerful tool for sustaining the PLC journey.

      2. Make celebration everyone’s responsibility: Everyone in the organization, not just the administration, has responsibility for recognizing extraordinary commitments. Encourage all staff members to publicly report when they appreciate and admire the work of a colleague.

      3. Establish a clear link between the recognition and the behavior or commitment you are attempting to encourage and reinforce: Recognition must specifically link to the school’s or district’s mission, vision, collective commitments, and goals for it to help shape the school culture. The question, What behavior or commitment have we attempted to encourage with this recognition? should have a readily apparent answer.

      4. Create opportunities to have many people recognized: Celebration can cause disruptions and detriment if people perceive that recognition is reserved for an exclusive few. Developing a PLC requires creating systems specifically designed not only to provide celebrations but also to ensure that the celebrations recognize many winners.

      Can we overdo celebration?