Quality in Education

Stories can be a powerful way to teach a lesson… In this memorable story- Our Iceberg Is Melting : Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions by Spenser Johnson. M.D., John Kotter, Holger Rathgeber, and Peter Mueller, Antarctic penguins are forced to deal with the issue of change.  They address the need to assess it, initiative it and work collaboratively with other penguins to accomplish and succeed. 

As the story goes… one astute penguin discovers that the iceberg the group has been living on is slowly melting.  Over time, he has to convince the “experts” on the iceberg that it is really happening.  He manages to convince others of the pending disaster and the penguin leadership council begins to look at the issue.  As they study the situation they find themselves in, they decide to send out Scouts to find a new place to live (they got this idea from talking with a seagull!)  The group begins to understand that who they are is not tied to where they live.  They gain a new sense of freedom and begin to pro-actively address the crisis. 

There are 8 key steps in dealing with change according to Kotter and Rathgeber that come to life as told in this fable.
Step 1:  CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY-  Leaders must help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately
STEP 2: PULL TOGETHER THE GUIDING TEAM-  Leaders must organize a powerful group to guide the change process.
STEP 3:  DEVELOP THE CHANGE AND VISION STRATEGY-  Leaders must show how the future will be accomplished!
STEP 4:  COMMUNICATE FOR UNDERSTANDING AND BUY-IN- Leaders must effectively share the message and help others accept the vision and strategy.
STEP 5:  EMPOWER OTHERS TO ACT-  Leaders must remove barriers to allow others to follow-through on their part of the change process.
STEP 6:  PRODUCE SHORT-TERM WINS- Leaders must ensure immediate success so others are encouraged by progress.
STEP 7:  DON’T LET UP-  Leaders must keep the pressure on and insist that the change process continues until the vision is accomplished.
STEP 8:  CREATE A NEW CULTURE-  Leaders must ensure that the new way of behaving becomes permanent and is now part of the culture.

This book is a quick read and works well as a book study with school staff dealing with the complexity of change.  The journey of the penguins parallels the typical responses to change by individuals that we might see in education and demonstrates how through effective leadership and teamwork, obstacles can be overcome. 

Is your iceberg melting?  Are you prepared to abandon the sinking iceberg and seek the future?  How does your school react to the changing times of the 21st century?  Is your school focusing on continuous improvement?

Jay

 

Posted by Jay Marino at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After getting up this morning at 4:00am to feed my newborn son, Matthew, I wondered "how many people are up at this hour thinking about continuous improvement?"   For those that have a passion for continuous improvement, thinking about quality is always present.

As I wiped the sleep from my eyes and proceeded to feed him his bottle, I noticed that the bottle was a little cooler than the last time I fed him.  I wondered if he knew this fact or even cared that every time he gets his bottle, the temperature is slightly different.  (I knew I was tired at this point because I started asking more questions in my mind... What if he really did care about the temperature of his bottle?  What if the amount and consistency was important to him?  What about the timing of when he received his bottle- did it matter to him?)  At this point, I was thankful that he was too young to be charting these variables in his data folder :-)   As I turned my attention back to the reality of being up early with my son, it occurred to me-  MATTHEW IS MY CUSTOMER! 

Even at 3 weeks old, a newborn child has:  1). requirements, 2.) needs, 3.) expectations, 4.) preferences and 5.) a voice to share his satisfaction and dissatisfaction with customer service!  In our classrooms, our students have these same 5 customer elements.  As educators, quality and continuous improvement must include the acknowledgment and fulfillment of what is important to the customer- our students.  Quality and continous improvement needs to always be on our mind if we are serious about effectively reaching our customers.

Do you know what is important to your students (customers)?  What are there needs, requirements, expectations and preferences?  Do you have a way to monitor their satisfaction?  Lastly, IS CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ON YOUR MIND AT 4:00AM???

Sleeplessly yours,

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 04:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

In my last blog entry, I talked about typical reactions to the change process.  In this entry, I'll discuss how educators can approach the change process in a more supportive way.  Fullan (1993) lists eight "basic lessons" that can be learned about the process of change and improvement:

Lesson One: You Can't Mandate What Matters (The more complex the change, the less you can force it.)
Lesson Two: Change is a Journey, not a Blueprint (Change is non-linear, loaded with uncertainty and excitement and sometimes perverse.)
Lesson Three: Problems are Our Friends (Problems are inevitable and you can't learn without them.)
Lesson Four: Vision and Strategic Planning Come Later (Premature visions and planning blind)
Lesson Five: Individualism and Collectivism Must Have Equal Power (There are no one-sided solutions to isolation and group think.)
Lesson Six: Neither Centralization Nor Decentralization Works (Both top-down and bottom-up strategies are necessary.)
Lesson Seven: Connection with the Wider Environment is Critical for Success (The best organizations learn externally as well as internally.)
Lesson Eight: Every Person is a Change Agent (Change is too important to leave to the experts, personal mind set and mastery is the ultimate protection.)

How do these eight lessons fit together? As Fullan (1993) notes later: "There is a pattern underlying the eight lessons of dynamic change and it concerns one's ability to work with polar opposites: simultaneously pushing for change while allowing self-learning to unfold; being prepared for a journey of uncertainty; seeing problems as sources of creative resolution; having a vision, but not being blinded by it; valuing the individual and the group; incorporating centralizing and decentralizing forces; being internally cohesive, but externally oriented; and valuing, personal change agentry as the route to system change."

What have been your experiences with the change process?  What are some examples of changes in the educational setting over the past 5-10 years?  How does your school or district approach the change process?

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a previous blog titled "Managing the Change Process", I discussed the fact that organizations and schools exist in an environment of constant change.  What I didn't talk about was the typical reaction to change from an organization's stakeholders perspective- PAIN & FEAR!  (see photo below for typical reaction :-)

Here are typical reactions to the change process...  “This is a waste of time.” “Why change if it was working just fine before?” “If it ain't broke, don't fix it.” “They never tell us what’s going on!”  I must be careful to not paint everyone with the same broad brush, however, these reactions to change are quite common in our line of work.

So, why is the change process so scary?  Often, as educational leaders we forget to address the basics of the change process.  In a sense, we fail to strategically "roll out" and communicate the vision for change.  We can reduce resistance to change and fear of the change process in employees by providing the following:

Awareness of the need to change
Desire to participate and support the change
Knowledge of how to change (and what the change looks like)
Ability to implement the change on a day-to-day basis
Reinforcement to keep the change in place

How can educators approach the change process in a more supportive way?  Tune in next time to learn Michael Fullan's eight "basic lessons" that can be learned about the process of change and improvement.

What have been your experiences with the change process?  What are some examples of changes in the educational setting over the past 5-10 years?  How does your school or district approach the change process?

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Over the past several months I've been contemplating what to include in my presentation that I will deliver at the Educational Leadership Summit sponsored by ASQ June 25-27th in St. Petersburg, Florida.  The presentation is titled "Providing Support for Change at the District, School and Classroom Level: Effective Professional Development Practices" and will focus on how central-office administrators can systematically align effective professional development practices to impact change and continuous improvement. The conference includes many outstanding presenters and topics and intends to bring together educational leaders who have the desire to make things right, and provide them with the answers they need to make necessary change.

This will be a great opportunity to network with other educational leaders regarding Baldrige and systems management. Don't miss out!  Learn more about this conference on line and encourage your superintendent to register today!

Finding time to prepare for this presentation has been a challenge lately since the arrival of my son last week.  Matthew John Marino entered this world on Saturday, April 30th weighing 6lbs 5 oz.  Being the proud father I am, I've posted pictures at my website.  Well... back to preparing for the presentation!

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ISO, Lean, 6 Sigma and Baldrige are popular approaches to quality and continuous improvement in health care, manufacturing and service industries.  As increased accountability and external demands for results become more prevalent, educational organizations are also beginning to pay attention to these frameworks. 

Each of these structures are different, yet have some common elements.  For example, these approaches to continuous improvement have similar and deep-rooted core values such as:  management by fact, customer focus, systems perspective, focus on efficiency, use of measures, quality tools and a focus on process improvement.  Out of the 4 mentioned frameworks, it seems that the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence is most popular in the education market. 

Many school districts are begining to "customize" their own version of these continuous improvement frameworks.  In essence, educational organizations are benefiting from implementing parts and pieces of Lean, 6 Sigma, ISO and Baldrige that make sense within their organization.  There really isn't a "one size fits all" solution... it is up to educators to determine what framework will work most effectively to accomplish results.

How do you see these models fitgin in education?  Can "business" approaches like these work in schools?  What are your experiences with these models?

Jay

Learn more about these on line:

• Baldrige & Baldrige in Education
• 6 Sigma & 6 Sigma in Education
• Lean
• ISO

Posted by Jay Marino at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)