In education, even the way we change has changed. To survive and thrive, we must perform at a higher level—continuously. Our professional field has always dealt with change. But the environment we’re navigating now requires change at a new level. We’ve moved from experiencing episodic change to continuous change—and as John Kotter has famously noted, that requires a whole different set of skills and a whole different level of urgency.
What’s great about the quote below from Dr. Tony Evers, the State Superintendent in Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction, is that it recognizes his colleagues’ commitment to continuous improvement to meet the challenges of our disruptive external environment.
Building better educational systems is all about leadership and about every person in a system having opportunities to lead every day. Leaders make a difference in the lives of the people in an organization, and a systems improvement framework embeds processes and practices that urge leaders to connect with the hearts and minds of those they lead. Therefore, as we as educational leaders seek to hardwire excellence and maximize performance through continuous improvement, we must connect with the hearts and minds of those we lead. When we do this, we champion great places to work, learn, and achieve.
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Dr. Evers quote from address to leaders at the 2015 WASDA Fall Superintendents Conference.
Kotter, John. 2008. A Sense of Urgency. Harvard University Press. Available from Amazon here.
Our mission at Studer Education is to help education systems achieve measurable results that produce positive outcomes in student achievement, employee engagement, support services, and financial efficiencies and productivity. We partner with school districts to champion places to work, learn, and achieve. Follow us on Twitter at @StuderEducation and visit us online at http://studereducation.com. Studer Education is a division of Studer Group, ranked for the seventh straight year on the Best Small and Medium Workplaces by Great Place to Work® and a recipient of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Filed under: How to Lead… Tagged: Hearts and Minds, Leadership, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction 
