The Learning Leader Puzzle

I recently read an interesting piece posted by Will Richardson from the BIG Questions Institute.

Richardson writes,

“As much as the systems and structures of school seem to be intractable, let’s remember one thing: All of what we do is a choice.”

“We don’t have to give grades. Lots of schools don’t. We choose to do that.”

“We don’t have to separate kids out by age. Lots of schools don’t do that either. It’s a choice.”

“So is the daily schedule, the way classrooms are structured, the way we sort subjects out by discipline, the technology we give kids… We choose all of that.”

“Which means we can unchoose it as well.”

“I know a lot of educators feel powerless to unchoose what we do in schools. I know that state and national rules might make unchoosing the traditional structures difficult. Or parent expectations.”

“Or our own.”

“But no physical or mental construct that you currently have of schools hasn’t been blown up and reimagined by someone, somewhere who chose to do that. Someone who had a powerful enough reason rooted in human learning and modern living to do that and acted upon it. Someone who designed something they felt was better for the kids in their classrooms and overcame whatever odds or barriers they needed to implement it.”

“Ultimately, if you’re stuck in systems and implementing practices that you know are no longer serving your students in ways the modern world is demanding they be served, it’s about ‘We won’t.’”

“And acknowledging that may be the first step to actually changing it.”

Richardson’s reference to the “Can’t/Won’t” dilemma made me think of a management model I learned years ago.

The model basically divided all people into one of four categories – the “Can and Will” folks, the “Can’t but Will” groups, the “Can but Won’t” class, and the “Can’t and Won’t” set.

“Can and Will” people are keepers when it comes to leadership and management. They believe any problem is fixable. They are the folks preaching about “growth mindset” in the workplace. In the learning world, they are the ones either trying to improve the traditional system (even though they are struggling), or the ones convinced that a better learning system is out there and just needs invented.

“Can’t but Will” folks are interested in making a difference, but they just don’t have the requisite skills to drive change. But, “Can’t but Will” people are good recruits to come work with the “Can and Will” group. With a bit of training, the “Can’t but Will” set can turn into “Can and Will” people.

The “Can but Won’t” class is a dangerous lot when it comes to making change. They know what to do regarding the change and can do it, but they choose not to. Often times, in a place like school, these are the resistors to change, whether that change is trying to improve the traditional space or creating an entirely new system of learning. A healthy dose of motivational psychology helps with this group, especially if they are adults working with kids who can see positive impact on their children based on the changes made.

The “Can’t and Won’t” group just need to go away. They are usually the saboteurs of any effort to improve the traditional school or in the creation of a new system of learning. When I was working inside school districts, these are people I felt I needed to fire. Now, as I work to get people interest in a new system of learning, I choose not to pay much attention to these folks.

I like to spend most of my time thinking about and working with the first three groups.

Richardson limited his piece on those learning leaders who fell into the “Can’t” and “Won’t” groups. But I think, for those of us trying to lead change, the new learning system puzzle is a bit more complex than just focusing singularly on the “Can’t” and “Won’t” pieces.

Til tomorrow. SVB