Learning at the Heart

This site began last October and then quickly went “quiet”.  Just after launching the site, I accepted, a new leadership position at my school, moving from a focus on the Lower School to a focus on all levels in our school.  Typically, this kind of role change occurs between school years rather than mid-year. Unique circumstances made it possible and meaningful to act quickly.  The transition and temporary dual responsibilities initially slowed me down a bit, but my learning is proving to be energizing and insightful.

Recently, I feel more pro-active. organized, responsive, and stronger in my own voice as I navigate this transition.  And I’ve been reflecting on why that feeling is true.  Ultimately, many simultaneous factors are at play and impacting my “more settled” feeling.  Growing understandings of my new role, building and strengthening professional relationships with colleagues, developing efficient organizational and time management strategies are all part of the puzzle.  They are “how” I am doing the work; technical and relational techniques that are yielding certain results.  

Amongst these, “how” strategies is delegation, a leadership move that I think about regularly and have worked on over the years.  I like the feelings of checking things off and being close to the work of impacting students.  I often want things done in a certain way and I can take too long to decide what I want in order to delegate in a timely manner.  All of these traits have hindered my ability to effectively delegate at times, making it a growth area for me. 

Here’s what I’ve learned about delegation in this transition:  delegation without empowerment is an individual endeavor. It’s like ping-pong.  You serve the work up to your colleague(s), hoping that when it comes back to you, it is refined, defined, or fully investigated.  Most of us love when we work with strong colleagues who deliver the work back as expected.  Nevertheless, it’s still in your own court, demanding your attention, for a second time.  In the best scenario, you quickly follow through, sending it back with an answer and landing it for good. In a different scenario, you miss the ball and leave students, teachers, or families waiting or without resources.  In the worst case scenario, things go astray.  The work doesn’t come back or it comes back so completely out of bounds that you have no hope of receiving it well.  Again, someone is likely left without the resources and the support that they are needing.

Empowerment, however, is a different game. In fact, empowerment is a team sport.  It takes vision, planning, communication, trust, and execution.  Much like the goalie on a soccer team (I am living in Brazil, after all), there are some things that only the leader can do.  Goalies can use any part of their body to stop the ball and leaders must use every resource possible to achieve an outcome.  But long before the ball is in the box, the goalie plays an important offensive role, kicking or throwing the ball onto the field for her teammates to handle.  Leaders do the same.  They prepare the work and send it out to the team.  The strikers, full backs, forwards, and all players, know their roles: whether to advance the ball, defend the ball, or pass it to another team member.  But it’s more than knowing what they have been delegated to do.  In the heat of the game, the players need to know they can – and must – make decisions and act on them immediately.  They know when to stay true to their assigned role, how long to keep the ball before passing, and to communicate with one another as the landscape they are working on constantly changes.  Players even decide when the flow of the game demands they get out of position, albeit temporarily, to keep the ball in play before returning to their assigned role.  At game time, no player stops to discuss what she is thinking before handling the ball.  She simply decides and executes. Hours of communication, practice, analysis, and improvement cycles have led to this moment:  the one where each player is empowered to make decisions on behalf of the team.  The goalie is always at the ready, prepared for her own role when needed, but never seen running all over the field, unable to maintain stamina or be everywhere at once.

So, here’s what I’m learning and thinking about empowerment:  empowerment is less about “how” and more about “why” for me.  I want the members of teams I am part of to be empowered.  I want us to feel equipped and trusted to make important decisions.  I want us to understand the impact of our decisions on the team.  I want the team to trust me (and each other) back, supporting our decisions, even when there is room for improvement.  I believe that when team members feel empowered, they will pull on their resources and know or learn what to do.  I know that when I am surrounded by colleagues empowered in their roles, our decisions and interactions are positive and effective, even when they are difficult.  When I am part of a team where we all feel empowered, we are joyful, motivated, and productive.  Empowerment isn’t lobbing the ball into someone else’s court and hoping for a good outcome; empowerment is working transparently and being in the game with your colleagues. I will continue to use delegation as a strategy for completing work, but my truer practice is now to know why I do that and to be thoughtful about empowering my colleagues and teammates.

Note: In my daily work, I am a member of many teams.  I appreciate them all for the lessons I am learning.  My thinking about the importance of empowerment has been made visible by cherished Lower School colleagues. You know who you are and I thank you for your ever present offers: “What do you need?  How can I help.”  The answer:  run with the ball and take the shot!