Ep #395: From To-Do to True Purpose: Outcome-Based Planning

Hello, empowered principals. Welcome to episode 395. 

Welcome to The Empowered Principal® Podcast, a not so typical educational resource that will teach you how to gain control of your career and get emotionally fit to lead your school and your life with joy by refining your most powerful tool, your mind. Here’s your host certified life coach Angela Kelly.

Well, hello my empowered principals. Happy Tuesday. Welcome to the podcast. 395 episodes. What is happening? Oh my goodness. I cannot believe we’re five episodes away from 400 weeks. 400 weeks of podcasting, 400 episodes of content of empowerment, of inspiration, of leadership skills. It’s such an amazing feat. I am so proud of this podcast. I’m so proud of each and every one of you. It is such an honor to create this podcast for you and to hear your stories and work with you and to be a part of something so much bigger.

So much bigger in the sense of we are in a moment of opportunity. Our schools, the way they have been constructed, set up, designed, is actually open for inquiry, for questioning, for examining, for reconsideration. I really believe that we are living in a time where empowerment in our schools, taking ownership of that empowerment, focusing on what we can do, who we want to be, what we want to offer for students and teachers and staff members, and bringing empowerment, bringing personal power to our schools, I feel like there’s never been a better time to open the doors of these conversations.

And I will admit, I’m the first to admit this. It is scary to talk about what our schools are offering currently, what’s working, what’s not working, and what we need to do differently. It’s scary to speak up and speak out in reflecting on what our schools are doing that are successful and taking that, and then looking at areas where we aren’t as successful and getting very honest about that, being open to the truth of that, looking at the ways in which the system has marginalized, minimized, oppressed, or tried to create conformity rather than individuality. It is scary to talk about these things.

And if we don’t want to continue feeling discouraged, feeling disappointed, feeling defeated, chasing our tail where we are trying to accomplish a goal that feels as though the finish line is constantly moving, and we’re chasing the end of the rainbow, exhausted from the chase, running a race with no finish line, there are two options. We can keep playing that same game and live a life where we are just chasing the carrot. I think there’s a book out there called Who Moved My Cheese or something like that, where the goal keeps moving and adjusting, the test keeps changing, the scores, the requirements, the standards, the expectations, everything keeps moving and changing. Why? It keeps all of us educators in this loop.

So as you’re entering into the new school year, this is the perfect opportunity to join EPC because in EPC, it is a safe place. It’s a confidential place where we can expand the conversations around education and expand what we are talking about, not just keeping in the box of this is how we’ve always done it, or this is what we’re told we have to do, or this is the test, or these are the curriculums, or these are the standards, pushing the limits, if only in conversation, to simply expand our minds as leaders.

If we are truly to be leaders, there are people waiting to be led. That’s why we’re spinning in the same statistics over and over again with the same kids having to go to intervention year after year after year. The same kids meeting grade level, not meeting grade level, working above grade level. You can predict with a fair amount of accuracy who’s going to perform above, on, and below grade level based on the standards, based on the tests, based on all of the benchmark assessments that your district uses. And year after year, if you look, it tends to be about the same kids in interventions, about the same kids who have similar attendance records year after year.

If you look at the metrics in which we are measuring student success, which is mostly academic success, behavior success based on who’s getting referred and who’s not, who’s in intervention, who’s not, who’s coming to school, who’s not, those numbers that we use to measure our success, we’re spinning in the same cycle. It’s a groundhog day effect. And in EPC, we are expanding those conversations into what else, into calling out our own unawareness where we are also trapped in the cycle and we’re spinning around playing the game.

So this year, I invite you to consider what it might feel like for you to unleash your voice, your thoughts, your belief systems, what you believe is going on but are afraid to say it or don’t want to say it for fear you’re going to rock the boat. You can say it in EPC. It’s safe to say it over here.

So this year is really going to be about expanding our identity as a leader, expanding the conversation about what the purpose of school is, for real. Who are we actually serving? Are we actually serving students? Are we actually here to serve teachers, support staff? What are we actually doing here? Having those conversations. What is the goal? What are we told the goal is? And why is there such dissonance between what we’re expected to do and what we’re able to do and what we feel in our souls, in our hearts that we are supposed to be doing?

There is a disconnect happening. And in EPC, I want us to all come together and start having conversations that help us connect the dots to what are we really here for? Who are we here to serve? I think it’s going to be, I don’t think I know, in my heart, it’s going to be a truly epic school year because I am releasing the shackles of my fear in bringing up conversations around what we are actually doing, why we’re actually here, and expanding and kind of breaking through some of these limitations that have been placed around our schools.

So if you feel that dissonance within you, I invite you to join EPC. It’s the perfect time. We’re starting up in August. In order for us to create different results, better results, we have to think differently. We have to act differently. We have to feel differently. Our identities need to evolve. We need to expand. We need to develop in a different way. And that’s why I created EPC. So I hope you will join us. Bring a friend, the more the merrier. We’re so eager to work with you.

Alright. That was a very long intro to a very short podcast on outcome-based vision and planning. I’ve been thinking about how we tend to plan because this is the time of year everybody is busy, busy, busy in your meetings, in your planning, planning out your visions, planning out your site plans, getting people on board, and we’re in this really hyper energy of the beginning of the school year. It’s a very electric time of the school year.

And the way that we tend to plan is based on deadlines and then the tasks required to meet those deadlines. And what ends up happening in school leadership is that the position becomes a loop of deadlines, what deadlines do I need to meet, and then what to-do lists do I need to create, and what tasks do I need to complete, and what meetings do I need to attend in order to meet the deadline. So we focus on the doing of the position. We are a group of leaders who are in doing mode.

And the good news is, we should be. Half of our job should be doing. We are here to do. So that sounds very obvious, but it becomes a little more complex than just waking up, showing up, what deadlines are coming, what are the to-do lists I need to create, what are the tasks I need to complete, what are the meetings I need to attend in order to complete my job as a school leader.

What we think is success is completing all of the tasks, meeting the deadlines, and getting to the end of the year. But what I’ve noticed is that because doing in this job is never really done. And what we’re searching for is to feel accomplished and satisfied as a leader. We want to believe we’re doing a good job. We’ve done our job. We are accomplished. We created some outcomes, some results. We feel satisfied with those results, and we can feel a completion in our tasks, in our actions, in our deadlines, in our to-do lists.

But as you know, when it comes to the doing part of our job, that doing part is never done. And so we don’t really ever feel fully accomplished or fully satisfied. And I’ve thought a lot about this because I teach balance mastery, planning mastery, and time mastery in EPC. And backwards planning, many of you know this, this is not a brand new concept, but backwards planning is a step in the right direction. It’s what do we want to create and what do we need to do to create that result? I teach a version of this in EPC.

But what is missing from most planning approaches that leaders take is focusing on the being. There’s not just doing. There’s who you are being while you’re doing it. Early on in this podcast, I believe there was a podcast episode titled like A Tale of Two Leaders. And it was my very elementary, beginning way of trying to describe the difference between doing and being and how two leaders can complete the same tasks but achieve different results.

They can get the same to-do list, the same, you know, marching orders, go out and technically complete the deadlines, the tasks, go to the meetings, all of the things, and get different results. And how is that possible? If the doing is what creates the results, then how can two people do the same thing and get different results? There’s the being, who you’re being while you’re doing the things. It’s the energy in which you are leading, in which you are working, in which you are completing tasks, in which you are participating in meetings, in which you are having conversations.

It’s the person that you’re being, the energy that you’re in, the emotional state, the mental state. It’s understanding how you plan with the outcomes you want as the focus, getting very specific on the outcomes you want, not just the deadlines and the tasks and the to-do lists and the meetings. It’s in terms of who you are being, how you are feeling, your identity, your self-concept as a leader. What you believe you’re capable with, the energy you bring each and every day to the table. Are you focused on dread? Are you focused on anxiety?

What is the fuel of your leadership? Is it anxiety? Is it fear? Is it frustration? Is it worry? Is it doubt? Is it confidence? Is it trust? Is it certainty? What is the energy fueling your deadlines and your tasks and your to-do lists and your meetings? How are you showing up? That is where I invite leaders to get more intentional. It’s not something we tend to talk about in leadership circles, but it makes all of the difference.

So this year as you’re planning, first of all, join EPC, so you can come plan with us. We’re going to be working on this stuff in August right off the bat. But design your year based on the vibe that you want to experience, the atmosphere you want to create, the culture, the climate, how it feels on your campus, how it feels to interact with you as the leader. How does it feel for your brand new teachers, for your new students, for your new families? How does it feel for your veterans? How does it feel for everyone in between? How does it feel for a support staff member? Do they feel as seen and valued and heard as the teachers?

Do the kids who are doing a great job get as much attention as the kids who are on the regular visitation list to the principal’s office? Think about these things. And not because you’re not doing enough. We’re not thinking about, “Oh, now one more thing to do and I’m insufficient and she’s telling me that I, you know, no matter how hard I work, it’s not enough.” No, the opposite. You are already 100% worthy, capable, sufficient. There’s nothing wrong with you as a person or you as a leader. These are things we contemplate as part of the experience, the fun. We’re already going to be doing all of the things. It’s not a lack of doing. It’s a lack of awareness around the who I’m being when I’m doing the things.

So observe, witness, explore, invite yourself into contemplation on who am I being as a leader this year? Who do I want to be as a leader this year? Who do I want to be when I’m conducting teacher observations, when I’m holding conversations, when I’m sitting in IEP meetings, when I’m at district leadership meetings? Who am I in those meetings? Am I the quiet one, reserved, sitting back? Am I the one asking questions? Am I the one who’s trying to multitask and not really paying attention and then I’m lost? Am I the one who’s happy to be there, engaged, eager, open? Or am I coming in with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder and prepared for battle or prepared to be upset or prepared to walk out with another to-do list?

And if I do get another to-do list and the priorities change and the tasks get added to my plate, who am I being in that moment? How am I receiving this conversation or these, you know, marching orders from your bosses, your superintendents out there? Things to think about, things to contemplate. These are things you can think about driving to and from work. Who do I want to be today? What’s my intention? What’s my intention for the year? And then am I aligning myself to that version of me that I want to be? Outcome-based results, outcome-based planning.

It’s the outcome of who we’re being as leaders. Teachers want leaders. They want somebody who’s developing themselves as a leader. Leaders go first and leaders are tested. Leaders are tried. There is never a time when our skill set, our mindset, our bandwidth emotionally isn’t being exercised, isn’t being conditioned, isn’t being tested to strengthen and expand and grow.

So we are in for a magnificent, extraordinary year, and we know there will be challenges, obstacles, frustrations, limitations. It’s our job not to worry about them or feel defeated by them. Our job is to invite them in and explore them in this challenge is here for us to overcome to create the outcome we want. Who do we have to be to create this outcome? That’s the kind of conversation that I invite you to have with your staff, with your students, with your families, with your district level administration, with yourself.

So come on into EPC. It’s going to be an extraordinary year. I can’t wait to meet you. Come on in. The link to register is in the show notes. There are two options. You can pay in full, $1997 for the entire year, or you can pay ten installments of $199.70. And either way, whatever works best for you and feels most comfortable for you allows you in the door. I will see you in EPC. Have a beautiful week. Take good care. Bye.

Thanks for listening to this episode of The Empowered Principal® Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, please visit angelakellycoaching.com where you can sign up for weekly updates and learn more about the tools that will help you become an emotionally fit school leader.