Articles and Blogs
Find links to all of my articles, blog posts and publications.
Micromanagement or Effective Multiplier Strategy?
Several years ago, I found myself in a spirited discussion about Multiplier leadership with Nevin, a manufacturing leader. We discussed the fundamentals: Why do some leaders amplify intelligence (Multipliers), while other leaders drain it (Diminishers)? We explored the behaviors we’d experienced in our work and how they’d impacted us. As a twenty-plus year veteran in the heavy industrial manufacturing industry, Nevin’s stories were endless. Of particular interest was Charlie, a C-suite executive who managed to[...]
Firsts & Not Firsts: Steps Toward Non-performative Allyship
This is not the first time an unarmed, non-threatening, Black man was killed at the hands of White police officers, resulting in nationwide protests. It is the first time I learned about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre*, where the bustling predominantly Black neighborhood, known not only for its strong business district, but also the hospitals and schools, was nearly burned to the ground in less than 18 hours. The spark that ignited it all - a false accusation that a Black[...]
Pandemic: Curated Resources
Curated Resources for Leading and Living in a Time of Coronavirus Update: September 2020 Wow, times are certainly strange, at least from my vantage point. Every region of the country is managing this crisis differently, which means more complexity. In our area of the country, we have some schools in full-remote mode (with the possibility of an in-person return sometime), while other schools just down the street are back in person full time. This[...]
Simple Stories: A Leadership Mindset
Finding the space to think, let alone reflect on that thinking, seems in short supply (at least for me). Some people meditate; others journal; I find my most reflective and thoughtful moments come while out running the tree-lined streets of my neighborhood. Whether at dawn, or in the blazing sun of a noon-time run, there is no shortage of sights and sounds, which differ each run, no matter how consistent my route. It might be[...]
Climbing the Ladder: A Leadership Lens
What a colorful lens we each look through, or perhaps it’s not as colorful as we think. It was a privilege to spend a recent Saturday with engineering students at the Virginia Tech Torgersen Leadership Summit and a reminder of how much our experiences shape our thinking, our decision making, our everything. Nostalgia took me back to the duck pond, the NEB (now called Durham Hall), and for a run through the engineering[...]
2 Questions for More Powerful Coaching Conversations
2 Questions for More Powerful Coaching Conversations It’s never a great moment when a coachee comes back after trying something you suggested to find out it didn’t work. Or is it? In a recent conversation with a school leader who was facing a performance challenge, he expressed the following concern: “So, I did it – I tried out that questioning strategy you offered me. It’s not working. I’m running into trouble.” “It seems like it’s frustrating for[...]
3 Questions to Get the Most Out of Your Teachers
Whether you’re working with high-performing teachers or struggling teachers—or those in between—a performance conversation can bring with it much anxiety. That was definitely the case when a concerned school-level leader approached me about an upcoming meeting with a struggling teacher. He had been working with this teacher for weeks – student focus and classroom management were deteriorating and nothing seemed to be on the upswing. The leader, let’s call him Todd, shared his well-considered approach.[...]
Closing the Idea-Implementation Gap: Q&A w/ Larry Ferlazzo
Closing the Idea-Implementation Gap Before we can suggest how to close the idea gap, it's important to wonder: Why might there be a gap that needs to be closed? An idea-implementation gap often is rooted in the decision--making process. Despite educational leaders desire to create an inclusive community with empowered teachers invested in the decision making process, it's not uncommon for principals to act as rapid responders, making critical[...]
The Unintended Consequences of High Expectations
The Unintended Consequences of High Expectations How often do you see administrators who wholeheartedly believe their students and teachers are smart and capable? At the same time, how frequently do you see these same leaders missing out on the full talent and capability of their staff, students and community members? It happens frequently and usually it happens without the leader’s awareness – we call these leaders Accidental Diminishers –[...]
Teachers Have Different Challenges: Cincinnati Enquirer Op-Ed
Op-Ed: Teachers Have Different Challenges On the one hand, it sounds like Gov. John Kasich’s proposal in HB 49, to require “onsite work experiences” as a condition of teacher licensure, seems like an indictment that teachers don’t know how to teach, as suggested by Renee Middleton, dean of Ohio University's Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education and Human Services. And, that might be exactly what Kasich is[...]
The Real Reason It’s So Easy to Be an Accidental Diminisher
The Real Reason It's So Easy to Be an Accidental Diminisher It’s February, the fitness center crowds are nearly back to normal; your carefully crafted meal plan a distant memory; and your best delegation efforts now look more like micromanagement veiled in the guise of “being helpful.” Like the ups and downs of fitness and dieting, leaders face a similar kind of cycle when it comes to shedding unproductive,[...]
Accountability Problems: Who Own’s It?
Accountability Questions: Who's Own's It? With business clients, I often have the privilege of participating in annual strategy sessions where division leaders roll out the annual plan, key objectives and milestones. You know these meetings – lots of fanfare, objectives ready for cascading, clarifying questions – all intended to set the direction for the year. Unfortunately, many times the initial excitement fades, and people go back to doing their[...]
Asking the Right Questions
Asking the Right Questions to Engage Parents and Students It’s been a great start to the year! My daughter came home the first day and said, “Mom, I think school should be longer every day.” Now, that’s either a sign that summer break was a terrible experience; or, that she is excited to kick off the year with her teacher. In either case, I’m just as excited to start the year.[...]
What if the Questions You Ask…?
What if the Questions You Ask Actually Kill Your Productivity and Reach? As educators we all love the moments that we see light bulbs go on in the classroom. It is no different with adult learners. We experience a lot of these “ah-ha moments” during Multiplier leadership workshops while working through the art of the question. Crafting questions that extract the greatest intelligence from others is no easy task. In fact,[...]
The Logic of Multiplication in Management
How does a school system leader tap into the latent talent that sits inside the district? At a time when expectations are rising while funding is plummeting, doing more with less has become standard operating procedure. Administrators from all corners are feeling the burden — if not in navigating a complex funding formula, then addressing teacher quality or ensuring all students graduate college and career ready. The natural responses from education leaders weighed down[...]
Virginia Tech Magazine: Featured Author, Elise Foster
Becoming a Multiplier often starts with becoming less of a Diminisher. And this often means doing less: less talking, less responding, less convincing, and less rescuing of others who need to struggle and learn for themselves. By doing less, we can become more of a Multiplier. Doing less to achieve more is one of many examples where counter-intuition is more instructive than intuition. When no one else is speaking up, the compelling inclination is to[...]
Multiply Teacher Talent
Read: Multiply Teacher Talent, Principal Magazine (Nov/Dec 2014) Multiply Teacher Talent What if your well intended guidance stifles gifted teaching, rather than encourages it? The research is clear: Teacher quality is the single most important school-based factor in student achievement. However, the equation that guarantees that every student experiences a high-quality teacher in every classroom is ambiguous. School leaders conduct teacher observations as a stop-gap measure to improve instruction and maximize student[...]
What’s the big idea? Harvard Ed. Magazine
When it comes to improving schools...what could work? When it comes to "improving" schools, students, and teachers, there's no shortage of opinions out there on what won't work. We wanted to know, what could work? For several months, we asked people to tell us one tangible education idea they had that was worth spreading. Some writers are connected to the Ed School, others aren't. Yes, there's even an idea from a Muppet. As you'll[...]