The art and science of teaching is familiar to all school leaders and no one seems to challenge the notion that there are complex subtleties that master teachers possess that less effective teachers do not. We all know that our best teachers apply practical routines and processes (like setting up desks or tables) that any teacher can learn to do with highly nuanced, artistic skills (like how to get all students involved in a discussion) that are nearly impossible to measure and difficult to master. In turn, the art of teaching is the secret ingredient missing in many classrooms and the challenge for researchers and trainers who are charged with creating a framework of best practices that all teachers can employ.
The truth is that transformational school leaders require a similar skillset and that our best school principals are the ones who understand the art (and not just the science) of leadership. We are all familiar with Sun Tzu’s famous military treatise The Art of War and its enduring wisdoms that can be applied across many industries. It is one of my favorite books on leadership. Let’s use a couple of truisms from that text to make our point.
Knowing your school’s data is not the same as being data-savvy
The Art of War: “One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.”
It is certainly true that nearly every school leader has read the same books and been trained in similar methods and manners. Almost every one of us has been a teacher and an assistant principal, has been through some sort of leadership program and taken part in countless book studies with titles that we all recognize. In fact, I am betting that my bookshelf at work looks a lot like yours. So what is it that makes some leaders better at transforming their schools than others? The art of leadership requires that we all know the same instructional best practices but also that we have the skill to get others to carry them out. We can call this the art of persuasion or the art of savvy or the art of doing a few things well while crisis and chaos surround us.
Let’s look at a school example: Being data savvy (or data shrewd) is much more of an art than simply “knowing” your data (data awareness). It means knowing what data point you can impact immediately and knowing how to get the needle to move in a tactical manner. Let’s pick a data point (we’ll say Algebra 1 scores) and think about how many staff members at your school actually contribute to those Algebra 1 scores on your district final exam or state assessment. It might be fewer than 10 people, maybe even 5. Of course, we have the teachers of the course, but just as critical are the counselors who place kids into Algebra 1, the tutors who work with kids at lunch or after school and the instructional coach or administrator who monitors and supports the Algebra 1 team.
Great leaders are not easily distracted. They find ways to create focused, tactical efforts to improve scores by personally investing in the key staff members and students who can move the needle. They monitor every student scheduled into the course and why, they support each and every Algebra 1 PLC, and they create deliberate systems for tutoring and re-teaching that don’t leave kids out. In fact, the best leaders go even further. They actually compute the number of students who need to master Algebra this year to reach the school’s data goals. They know the names of those students, who is teaching them, what their homework habits are, how many tutoring sessions they’ve attended, and so forth. Yes, this all seems overwhelming, but not when you consider that savvy leaders pull this off by narrowing (or differentiating) their focus to support (in this case) only a handful of teachers and a few dozen kids who are likely to make the most impact.
Instructional leadership requires focus, and an artist’s touch
The Art of War: “If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.”
It is also true that all school leaders everywhere complain about being busy and admit that they can’t find enough time to focus much with so many responsibilities heaped upon them. This begs the question about why our best leaders, our true transformational leaders, can seem to juggle their time better than others. It might be assumed that they work harder or longer hours and that they are just lucky. This is certainly not the case. The truth is that these leaders are just more artful and tactical in focusing on a very, very few data points that will move their schools forward. In short, they don’t fall into the trap of trying to fix everything at once. They might tell their bosses that they are focused on improving reading scores and math scores and science scores and attendance and discipline and achievement gaps and school facilities and parent involvement and art and music and sports programs. What they won’t tell you is that they are not overwhelmed because they are not over-reaching. While it is true that they have plans in place to support each of the goal areas listed above, they are masters at placing the right people in charge of each area and monitoring their progress. They are also savvy enough to narrow their own focus in taking sole responsibility for just one or two data points that will make their school shine.
While no one is suggesting that any one subject or student or goal area is more important than the next, the artistry of leadership requires the deft use of the time and talents around us to maximize our impact on the most children while keeping the troops engaged and confident that our battles are not too great and that the war can someday be won.
