Schools Need Leaders,
Not Accountants
By Rosabeth Moss Kanter
© Copyright 2005 by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, rkanter@hbs.edu.

Numbers, numbers, numbers. Is that what preoccupies public schools systems today – test scores, promotion percentages, dropout rates, and other performance statistics?

Don't get me wrong. I'm all in favor of measures, metrics, and feedback. I consider them among the essential tools for guiding organizations to ever higher levels of achievement. But as school systems work to comply with standards-based reforms, they are in danger of being taken over by accountants, not leaders.

That would miss an important part of what drives high performance: the people. Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics, became famous for his reliance on software programs and statistical analysis to manage performance on the baseball field. But he told me that he also devotes time to learning about his players' personal lives – talking to one about music, another about his college – and then mentions these interests to restore motivation when they struggle with the game. "Their self-esteem is part of the equation," he said.
read the full article

Celebrating Accomplishments
- New Perspectives on the 'Gold Star'
By Hunter Moorman, Director, Education Policy Fellowship Program, Institute for Education Leadership

A former colleague of mine, who had moved to another organization, recently reflected on our practice at the Institute for Education Leadership of giving a simple star-shaped cardboard cut-out wrapped in gold foil to reward top performers. "You know," she said, "I used to think the 'Gold Star' was hokey. But in this place, they don't celebrate our accomplishments, and now I know how important that star was."

Our organization awards the Gold Star each month to an employee or group who have accomplished something to be proud of. Some accomplishments are large, and sometimes beyond the call of duty, others are small and to be expected. But each one deserves some celebration.
read the full article

The Change Toolkit and High School Renewal in Vermont
By Doug Harris, Executive Director, The Vermont Institutes

As a former teacher, principal and superintendent I know that change in public schools is complex and requires orchestrating multiple interventions, juggling priorities, and engaging the entire learning community in the change process. I also know that this type of leadership must develop within the school or district and that an organization such as ours – which primarily focuses upon increased performance in mathematics through professional development, technical assistance, research, evaluation, and technology applications – works best when supporting local leadership through clearly defined protocols and focused interventions.

I first encountered the Change Toolkit in August 2002 in a Vermont-based seminar hosted by IBM, and I was immediately drawn to the Change Toolkit as a practical tool that could serve as an organizing framework to support interventions. The following year, I joined a Vermont team for a three-day seminar at Harvard Business School, led by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, which focused on leading innovation and transformation in public school systems. Our Vermont team was comprised of an Associate Superintendent, a Technology Director, a Program Director in Mathematics, a Program Specialist, the President of our Board, and me. Our team determined to focus on high school reform in Vermont as our state had just released High Schools on the Move, a blueprint for high school reform in our state.
read the full article

Change Toolkit Tool of the Month
By Sasha Dichter, Change Toolkit Project Manager and Sr. Program Manager IBM Corporate Community Relations

Celebrating Accomplishments: Making Everyone a Hero (Change Masters)
Would you like to learn more about celebrating accomplishments, so that you can create a positive environment that motivates people to contribute? The "Celebrating Accomplishments: Making Everyone a Hero" topic is one of the seven skills of "change masters," and you can learn all about it in the Change Masters section of the Change Toolkit website . You might want to start with the Action Tool, "32 Ways to Make Everyone a Hero" to brainstorm creative ideas. Then read the Background tool to learn more techniques for recognizing people and to gain a deeper understanding of the role celebrating accomplishments plays in organizational transformation. Finally, you might want to take the "Do I Make Everyone a Hero?" diagnostic tool for a self-assessment on your practices in this area.

How do I find this tool?
1. Log in to the Change Toolkit website .
2. Move your mouse to 'Get Tools' and click on Change Masters.'
3. Click on 'Celebrating Accomplishments: Making Everyone a Hero.'

Leadership pulse check
A monthly poll of the readership of the Education Leadership Newsletter

Last Month's Poll:
What are the most pressing leadership issues facing you today?

	3%	Strengthening the Instructional Program for all Children
	12%	Motivating and recruiting the best staff and teachers
	9%	Effective management with limited finances
	12%	Leading large-scale change / transformation
	58%	Advocating for change within our school or district
	6%	Other issues

This Month's Poll:

Which of the following levers for change could have the biggest positive impact within your organization?*

• Create better management structure / process for change initiatives
  
• Remove policies and procedures that are barriers to change
  
• Facilitate communication of useful approaches
  
• Ensure buy-in to a shared vision of the future
  
• Better education and training on needed skills
  
• Create a culture that better rewards and recognizes contributions
  
• Other ______________________________