Let me confess something. Watching HGTV helps me relax and unwind. Sometimes after school (ok almost everyday) I veg out by taking in some reno shows. At some point though I usually get depressed watching these types of shows. Usually my depression emerges after seeing the inevitable commercial that describes home ownership as the pinnacle of the American Dream. I can’t help but get bummed out. As a teacher approaching middle age, I have come to grips with the notion that I will probably never buy a house. In order to snap out of this funk I created an imaginary house (something similar to having an imaginary friend). As a result, I now own my house of wisdom. Since I own this home I can therefore proceed with all sorts of renovation projects. Now, my pretend home won’t be on HGTV anytime soon, but renovating our practices as teachers and leaders reflects diligence and commitment to our professional well being.
I refer to my classroom and now my teaching thru Do.Think.Learn as J’s House of Wisdom (J-HOW). This allows me to add a little mystique and style all my own to how I do things as an educator. My House of Wisdom usually has a little bit of everything - a good mix of support, tough love, comedy, and high expectations personalized for each community and for different individuals or situations. J-HOW evolves constantly, but has the same basic guidelines. Each school begins with some of the guidelines for living and working in my ‘house.’ These include statements such as: give respect, get respect; focus on the process first; what you know doesn’t matter, what you do does; be your best self today; get comfy being uncomfortable; etc. Really it is a way to focus students’ attention on the way I operate and establishing a consistent framework within which they can operate. For me, the House represents a means to explain the nexus of my teaching and leadership styles. I spend a good amount of time reading in an effort to build on to and frequently update J’s House of Wisdom from various areas (education, coaching, leadership, etc.) . For example, a few summer ago I read The Lone Samurai (Scott Wilson, 2013). This describes the life of Miyamoto Musashi a samurai from the late 16th, early 17th century. Unlike most samurai Musashi did not align himself with a lord preferring to travel Japan on foot developing his own fighting style and school of thought. Musashi summed up his life’s work in his treatise The Book of Five Rings. As a result I became more determined to explicitly outline J’s Way. Now granted this is a tad hokey but after some quality samurai reading and a lot of Frank Sinatra this title made sense to me.
J-HOW needs constant attention so I can make accommodate different students or more clearly explain J’s Way. I’m curious about the work of others. What has worked for leaders in different fields? How can their ideas or styles work for me? What would that look like? How will these ideas help me evolve and adapt to changing landscapes? This article looks at the specific ideas of three individuals that I read or re-read this past summer. I’ve spent some time considering what these ideas could hold for leadership and teaching. As I set forth these ideas, take some time to wrestle not only with these principles but understanding what is your Way. What does your House of Wisdom look like?
While much of how I lead and teach is influenced by progressives, constructivist, and multicultural educators - I shape a good deal of interactions with ideas from persons outside of education. Last summer as I looked to grow my House of Wisdom beyond a specific classroom, I looked to three written works for advice. The first person I looked to was coaching legend John Wooden (1997). The second was Willink and Babin’s Extreme Ownership (2015). For my third reference point I revisited the work of climber/trainer Mark Twight. On this trip through his writing I focused on the article “Evolve, Adapt, Grow.” These disparate sources of experience and knowledge provide some good ideas for renovating my House of Wisdom and J’s Way.
Coach Wooden projected an image of class and professionalism that seemed to mask a fierce determination to succeed the ‘right’ way. The ‘right’ way meant hard working, collaborative, and respectful effort. His team first mantra focused on preparation and execution. And while his pyramid of success gets most of the attention, I want to focus on other aspects of his philosophy.
Respect don’t fear others.
This could go for ideas and subjects as much as people.
Perfect the small things.
It always comes down to the little things.
Hustle overcomes most mistakes.
If you’re going to make a mistake, make it trying to do something. And if you do make a mistake don’t stand there feeling sorry for yourself.
Character > reputation.
Character withstands the test of time and gossip.
Quickness not hurrying.
Plan accordingly so you don’t have to rush. I used to students - walk with a purpose.
Hard work makes good luck.
You can’t sit around hoping. Make it happen for yourself.
Reflection leads to growth and improvement.
There’s a reason I chose Do -Think-Learn as the title for my school.
(Wooden, 1997)
These ideas represent a solid, old school framework for leaders and teachers to impart on their community. Perhaps things look way different in 21st century learning than they did for Coach Wooden but as someone once told me - class never goes out of style.
Willink and Babin (2015) present a leadership philosophy that blends old school common sense with a new school perspective. They’ve taken their experience leading and teaching SEAL teams and have applied those ideas to conduct business in corporate America. Normally I steer away from anything with ‘extreme’ in the title but in this case substance definitely outweighed the marketing style. These ideas might need to be finessed a bit in order to take root in most schools. However, they could really enhance how things get done in classrooms and schools.
Own It: Take responsibility for what happens.
Students and teachers owning what they do. Heads Taking responsibility for how their departments operate or how the people within the school perform.
Lead: No bad teams….When things go sideways, it is on the leader (see Own It).
When things don’t go well, don’t blame your staff or the students. Look at your actions first.
Believe: Embrace the objectives or the ideas at hand.
Find a place each person can anchor to and engage with the goals, the activity, or the philosophy of the class or school.
Lose the Ego: It isn’t about you.
Ego complicates things. Dial back your ego in order to see situations from a different perspective.
Note: This might be tricky especially in schools. While I do teach for me, what I do as a teacher isn’t about me. The best way to describe it might be as a weird zen balancing.
Cover and Move: Look out for one another and anticipate potential hazards.
Build a supportive community. Look out for one another. Focus on what is what is right in front of you as well as anticipate possible consequences from those actions. Everyone and everything is connected.
KISS Method: Simplicity works best.
Things are complicated enough. Don’t exacerbate situations with unnecessary details.
Prioritize: Figure out what is most important and focus on that.
You can’t focus on or do everything so figure out what matters most and operate accordingly. If you try to do everything or be everything you end up with nothing.
Decentralized Leadership: Empower your people to make decisions and get things done without you.
Don’t micromanage. Let people make mistakes and help them learn from them. It might not look like how you’d do it but that’s ok.
Plan: Make a plan (KISS) that everyone is on board with and have faith in the plan. Then make it happen.
Decide, own it, and commit. Things might not always go according to plan but it is always easier to adjust the plan when you have a plan.
Lead Up and Lead Down: There are many leaders on a team. Each small picture is part of a larger vision.
Each person has an expertise to share. Students can teach other. Teachers don’t have to know everything. Sometimes stepping out of the way and letting people do their thing works best. This way, the leader can keep folks focused on the goals.
Be Decisive. Be Disciplined: Plan. Decide. Act (see Plan).
You can’t please everyone. Wishy washy and overly nice doesn’t usually work out well for anyone. It is ok to say no. Sometimes leaders just need to lead.
(Willink & Babin, 2015)
In trying to translate Willink and Babin’s ideas to schools I was struck by the amount of overlap between their guidelines and the principles of Coach Wooden. Their new school common sense might actually be a logical next step from the Wooden Way.
The philosophy and writings of Mark Twight first shaped how I thought about climbing. More recently, I have applied his ideas to teaching (think Dewey and Vygotsky go to Fight Club). Over the summer as I began to reread some of his articles I found own that was new to me. “Evolve, Adapt, Grow” seems to fit in the continuum of ideas set forth so far in this article. In this article Twight lays out his principles necessary to learn. Several of these ideas caught my eye .
Expect More from Yourself:
There is nothing wrong with high expectations. Think big and push yourself. If you ain for the moon and miss you hit some stars. That is still spectacular.
Don’t Settle for Good Enough:
Complacency kills. Not everyday is your best but make do the best you can in each moment.
Bend Sometimes, but Not Always:
Flexibility and adaptability are great qualities. There are times to let go a bit. There are other times you just need to say no.
Cause Change:
Make things happen to dismantle the status quo. Change the narrative.
Don’t Stay Stuck:
You will get stuck from time to time. That is ok. Staying stuck is a problem.
Never Coast:
This gets us back to complacency. Encourage people to challenge themselves each day. You can preach to the choir because the choir can always sing better.
Make No Excuses:
Own it. Take responsibility for what you do and clean up your own messes if need be.
(https://www.marktwight.com/blogs/discourse/117665476-evolve-adapt-grow)
Choosing from his list of guidelines was somewhat difficult as all of them could apply to individuals and communities. While at first glance these principles appear to focus on the actions of the individual, A good leader will encourage their charges to strive to meet these guidelines or use these principles to guide their everyday actions.
In some ways each of these single concepts is a piece of a larger philosophy. When I set out to read each of these texts, I did not expect as much overlap as I found. What I found after digesting the material is that these authors each set forth a similar philosophy from a slightly different perspective. Taken together, the notion of hard work, responsibility, and high expectations all shine brightly. These principles also warn against complacency, stagnation, and ego. After sitting with these ideas and rereading each text I have many ideas but no certainties. Maybe Twight bridges the ideas of Coach Wooden with those of Willink and Babin. Or maybe these texts reflect multiple layers of similar ideas - each set of of principles layers onto the others. Maybe Twight and Wooden layer onto and give details of how to implement the leadership within Extreme Ownership. It seems that like in other aspects of teaching and leadership what these authors as a group reflect is a balance between high expectations for each individual and community (team) excellence.
These concepts will fit well with J’s House of Wisdom. These potential updates are my version of new countertops and appliances in my fancy new open concept floor plan. Instead of new backsplash and paint- HOW is ready for a new adventure. I know, this reno talk and houses of wisdom seems ridiculous. However, think about it - the teachers and other leaders within schools who have the biggest impact on their schools are the ones who push themselves and their communities to adapt and improve.