Leading to Make a Difference

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Leading to Make a Difference

• Linda Gojak
• President, NCSM
• ncsmonline.org
• lgojak_at_jcu.edu

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• If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any
  wind is the right wind Seneca

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Sailing

• the skillful art of controlling the motion of a
  sailing ship or sailboat, across a body of water.

Leadership
the skill of influencing people to work
enthusiastically toward goals identified as being
for the common good.
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Lesson One Set your Course

• Have a purpose or mission
• How will you benefit the students?
• Have identified values
• What do you believe about effective mathematics
  education?
• What do you believe about the way students learn
  mathematics?
• Have measurable goals
• What specific steps will you take to reach your
  mission?
• How will you know when you are there?

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Finding Your Compass

• Think of someone who has greatly influenced your
  life.
• What qualities of character does this person
  have?

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• Honest, trustworthy
• Good role model
• Caring
• Committed
• Good listener
• Respectful
• Positive, enthusiastic
• Passionate

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• Are we born with these
• qualities or are they learned
• behaviors?
• To some degree we have all
• of them -- some more so
• than others. We must
• practice these qualities in
• ourselves if we are to be
• effective leaders.

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Lesson Two There are two dynamics to effective
leadership

• TASKS
• RELATIONSHIPS
• You cannot focus on one at the expense of the
  other

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Power vs. Authority

• Power - ability to force or coerce someone to do
  your will because of your position of might
• Authority -- getting people to willingly do your
  will because of your personal influence

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Lesson Three There are differentroles in
leadership

• Providing knowledge
• Providing information
• Assessing and Changing Attitudes
• How people feel about that knowledge
• Affecting Behavior
• How people act about making the change
• Affecting Organizational Change
• Attempting to influence the knowledge, attitude
  and behavior of multiple people

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Lesson Four Change Is Difficult

• People feel awkward when confronted by change
• Tell them what to expect
• People feel alone -- even if everyone else is
  going through the same change
• Structure activities and create involvement
• Encourage individuals to share ideas

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Why Change Is So Difficult

• People will think first about what they have to
• give up.
• Dont try to sell the benefits of the change
  effort initially
• Let people mourn their perceived losses
• Listen
• People will think they can only handle so much
• change at once.
• Set priorities on which changes to make
• 10 per year is realistic for most people

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Why Change Is So Difficult

• People will be concerned they dont have
• enough resources (time, money, skills) to
• implement the change
• Encourage creative problem solving
• Work with those who control the resources
• People are at different levels of readiness
• Recognize that some people are risk takers and
  others will take longer to feel secure
• Acknowledge the feelings and find ways to support
  those who are more reluctant to change

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Why Change Is So Difficult

• If pressure is taken off, people will
• revert to old behaviors
• Keep people focused on maintaining the
• change and managing the journey
• Work with other leaders to keep the
• mission in front of people
• Focus on goals
• Recognize and celebrate successes

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• Lesson Five The key to leadership is to
  accomplish the task while building relationships.
  In order to develop relationships you must know
  where the people you are working with are.

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• Enthusiastic Beginners
• High level of commitment, low level of confidence
• Inexperience
• Disillusioned Learners
• Some experience and competence
• Reduced level of commitment and enthusiasm due to
  some failure during the learning process or
  realization that the task is more difficult they
  they thought

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• Capable but Cautious
• Moderate to high level of competence
• May have lost some enthusiasm or confidence
• Cautious in applying the change on their own
• Peak Performers
• Self reliant achievers
• Highly competent and highly committed to change

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• Lesson Six Practice Flexibility in Your
  Leadership Style

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Flexibility

• Directive Leadership
• Telling people
• what to do,
• when to do it
• where to do it
• how to do it

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Flexibility

• Supportive Leadership
• Listen
• Encourage
• Praise progress,
• Facilitate interactions
• Involve people in decision making

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Four Leadership Styles

• Directing
• provide specific directions about roles
• track performance in order to provide frequent
  feedback on results
• Best used with enthusiastic beginners
• High direction, high support -- leader decides

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Four Leadership Styles

• Coaching
• explain why
• solicit suggestions
• praise progress that is approximately correct
• continue to direct task accomplishment
• Best used with disillusioned learners
• High direction, high support (lets talk and
  decide or leader decides)

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Four Leadership Styles

• Supporting
• facilitate interaction with others,
• listen to people, draw them out,
• encourage and support
• provide little direction
• Best used with capable
• but cautious performers
• High support/low direction
• (lets talk and you decide)

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Four Leadership Styles

• Delegating
• facilitate interaction with others
• listen to people and draw them out
• encourage and support
• provide little direction
• Best used with peak performers and self
  reliant achievers
• Low direction/low support
• (you decide)

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• Lesson Seven You cant do it all by yourself.

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Partnering for Performance

• Determine with people how to work together in a
  way that they can accomplish their goals
• Follow through on any agreements
• Determine the right leadership for the right
  developmental level.

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Building Relationships

• Trust -- letting go
• Respect -- feelings must align with actions
• Focus on the needs of others

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Lesson Eight Murphys Law Lives on.
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Lesson 9 Develop a thick skin

• And be gracious

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Lesson 10 from the Geese

• Dr Robert McNeish

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The geese in formation honk from behind to
encourage those in front to keep up their speed.
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LESSON We need to make sure that our honking
from behind is encouraging.
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The Journey

• If you do not change
• your direction, you will
• end up exactly where
• you are headed.

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• As we continue on the journey of leadership in
  order to become an effective leader, we may have
  to adjust our course by even a few degrees.
• A few degrees may not make a big difference on a
  short journey, but for the long journey of life,
  it may put you in a completely different place.

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"A leader takes people where they want to go. A
great leader takes people where they don't
necessarily want to go, but ought to
be. Rosalynn Carter
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The person who says it cannot be done should not
interrupt the person doing it.... Chinese Proverb
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To lead people, walk beside them ... As for the
best leaders, the people do not notice their
existence. The next best, the people honor and
praise. The next, the people fear and the next,
the people hate ... When the best leader's work
is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!
Lao-Tsu
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RememberThe definition of insanity is
continuing to do what you have always done and
hoping for different results.
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• NCSM Leadership in Mathematics Education
• ncsmonline.org
• Powerpoint slides
• lgojak _at_ jcu.edu
• www.jcu.edu/CMSETT