FLAT Leadership
FLAT Leadership
Quote: “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flow charts. It is about one life influencing another.” John C. Maxwell
Being a leader means that others are willing to commit to your ideas… That is a rather simple concept. One person (or group) leads, decides, acts, prompts, selects. At its most basic element, leading convinces another to agree to act in a certain manner or to complete a specified act. The virtuous leader
This implies a hierarchy of some sort. A positional power relationship is naturally a result. In this writing I am rebuffing the notion of one person leading from a basis of power. I realize that a power component is always present when the buck stops on one person’s desk, however one does not have to rely on this dynamic to lead others. FLAT leadership is a concept that I have used to accomplish two fundamental tasks: One, I was tasked by my first Superintendent to grow more leaders for our school system. Two, establish a culture of shared leadership to enhance a collaborative environment. I did not begin my administrative career with the vision of FLAT leadership, rather it developed as I attempted to accomplish these two facets. Ultimately, I feel that my organizations have benefited greatly from the use of FLAT leadership.
Compare and contrast two endings of a scenario…
Scenario:
Today is a fine Fall Monday morning. There are ten people sitting around a conference room table. The four women and six men are of various positions and ranks. It is a regularly scheduled administrative leadership meeting. They are leading a large suburban high school in a Southeastern state. The table is long, made of cherry wood, and pointed toward a large computer board used for projection. Around this table, laptop computers and tablets are used by each member to take notes and research answers for questions being raised. Davis, the school principal, opens the meeting by reviewing the agenda and setting purpose for the meeting.
What follows are two examples of how this meeting might transpire.
One :
After setting the purpose of the meeting, Davis now introduces topics on the agenda. The agenda has been aligned with members’ strengths of the team and sets the stage for them to guide the discussion. The discussion goes back and forth in a respectful participatory manner among all at the table. Laughing, smiling, raised brows, and nodding are reflecting the hospitable tone of the day. The discussion and chatter are evidence that all are members on topic and participating. Tim, an affable Assistant Principal, begins to discuss his plans for a school pep rally and a follow up spirit project. It will take a couple of weeks to organize and many hands to execute. Nevertheless, he introduces the timeline, certain aspects that affect everyone, and asks questions about the details of the overall schedule to see if it fits the plan. Dru, the pleasant Athletic Director, gives Tim some feedback that resonates as wise. Additionally, Dru gives TIm some good-natured joking about his project. Tim appreciates his words and thanks him for the thoughts. There appears to be an overlap in events that may affect the execution of the pep rally and spirit event. Ross, another Assistant Principal, announces that there are standardized testing events that will prohibit several students from attending as well. Tim now asks if there are alternate dates/times that can be selected. Andy, a well-liked Dean of Students announces that he has anticipated this and has a backup date in mind. “A week later” he announces. “It still honors the teams and kids we want to celebrate.” Nodding of heads and chatter of agreement indicate that Andy saved them all from certain disaster. Tim reinforces that he and his team will make it work. The entire team agrees that the new date is a great option. The meeting continues on to the next topic.
Two:
After setting the purpose of the meeting, Davis now introduces the topics on the agenda. He gives a full and robust explanation of what he is seeking with each and every agenda item. He is thorough and committed to detail. Each member of the team listens attentively for the details that mirror their assigned duties. If there are items that pertain to their assigned duties, then they ask clarifying questions. They look to handle their responsibilities to the standard Davis describes. Autonomy and choice are non-existent for them as the standard is set by Davis and his vision. Each member is cordial and congenial to one another. However each member is assigned tasks that reflect their predetermined duties, their reliability, and their capacity. The discussion is led by Davis and the conversation does not stray from the topic. All members are on task and side conversations are kept at a minimum. Davis asks Tim if the pep rally is planned and ready to go. “Yes, sir” replies Tim as he keeps his head down. There appeared to be something that needed to be stated. All of the members are looking down…no words are spoken…silence. “Any discussion?” asks Davis. Crickets could have been heard around the table. “I guess that we are good then..” With that Davis moves on to the next topic on the agenda.
The examples are quite extreme, yet serve as contrast to the types of leaders that I have encountered. Which are you? Do you see yourself in either example? Davis (in the first example) uses FLAT leadership to manage tasks, develop leadership in others, and prepare for possible incongruent actions that can affect the best laid plans.
FLAT leadership has four fundamental facets. Below are the elements:
F- Foundational
“Do what is right, not what is easy.” Unknown
Foundational- A leader does not need to be the smartest person in the room. Ideally, they would have a level of acumen regarding the field they are leading outside… However, I have found it best to be confident in my abilities yet able to rely on those who are superior in their knowledge of the field. Organizations need leaders that understand and adhere to the simplest, most foundational aspects that constitute success in their field. For example, as a high school principal, the foundational needs we need are: communicating clearly to students and families, organizing resources, remaining current on instructional pedagogy, and maintaining a calm, kind demeanor. Foundationally, the leader of a school is not an expert in any one field, yet an expert in many fields. This simply is not possible for every principal to be an expert in content areas science, mathematics, social science fields, and all languages), instructional pedagogy, safety & security, finances, transportation, athletics, all extra-curricular areas, and everything else. Thus, leaders need to be able to rely on the expertise of others. I task myself with daily work to accomplish two areas: I set the conditions of success for my colleagues and I provide them feedback toward those conditions.
L- Leadership Lessons…
“Leadership develops daily, not in a day.” John Maxwell
FLAT leadership is a tool I have used for many years to grow leaders in strong, capable leaders of their own organizations. One major element has been to share and discuss “leadership lessons'' with each member. Aspiring leaders need experience with difficult, stressful, and arduous situations to develop the instinctual fortitude to be able to handle situations. When a leader embraces the difficulty within a stressful event, members of the team feel confidence in their ability and thus are more effective in their actions. However, to develop this capacity in aspiring leaders, I cannot place them into situations when they are unprepared. The more effective manner I have used to develop capacity is to verbalize my thinking within the midst of a situation and debrief with aspiring leaders at the conclusion of the event. Additionally, I use past experiences that are synonymous to events currently taking place. This base of knowledge provides aspiring leaders with the slight experience (albeit through my experience) to build a framework of confidence. Below is an example of a “Leadership Lesson” I recently used with a colleague.
LL- The situation is that a young administrator encounters an upset student who has a difficult time cooling off after a confrontation with a teacher. The student feels they were blamed for cheating on a test when their cell phone rang. The administrator needed to ascertain the details. What would you do next and what do you do to resolve so that both feel they can move forward? This is a very common type of encounter that school administrators deal with on a daily basis. It is rather rudimentary, yet fundamental for an aspiring school leader. One misstep and a relationship between the student and teacher could be lost. One also runs the risk of a volatile parent confrontation. Once the scenario is shared, I discuss all of the options with the aspiring leader. I hope for them to talk more than me… I can only really determine their capacity as I sense their honesty. As they grow in their leadership abilities, I then place them in actual scenarios that are somewhat similar to ones we enacted in our “Leadership Lessons” discussions.
A- Actionable Feedback
“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
As the leader I “set conditions” and then provide feedback based upon performance. I consider feedback to be the fuel for all performance…good performance or bad performance. If your team experiences poor performance, look directly at the amount, timing, and type of feedback given to members of the team performing poorly. It’s been my experience that limited or non-existant feedback leads directly to lackluster results. I visualize a compass when thinking of feedback. On one end (call it East) is the extreme where no feedback is given. There you have a laissez faire, “let them be” attitude. Many leaders live here thinking that if they guide their members by providing feedback they are “micromanaging”. Let’s call this end of the compass the East end zone. On the West end of the compass you have a very non-laissez faire, type A, hovering with a focus on direct, explicit feedback. This end details every move a member should take each and every moment… As with many things, there is a happy balance that I believe brings the best results. Of course, feedback is critical, but a member being able to utilize feedback to amend or guide their subsequent performance is optimum. Let me illustrate my point. I cannot imagine Coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team allowing a new offensive tackle to perform a block inaccurately in practice without receiving feedback to improve his performance. Additionally, he will not wait until the day of the game to give the feedback necessary to improve his results. Alternatively, Coach Saban will not detail out each and every component for the OT in excruciating detail every time he misses a block. The OT is expected to learn from the feedback to achieve the maximum result. See, feedback is critical in the learning cycle.
T- Treat them Fair…
“Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need.” Rick Riordan
Leaders treat colleagues fairly by serving WITH them and not expecting others to serve them. The image I always hold is the leader serving shoulder to shoulder with the members of their organization. One book I ask members of my leadership teams to read is “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek. Understanding your place in the organization as a leader, sets the dynamic of fairness for all members in the organization. Ideally, if I, as a school principal, attend to daily hallway duty, stand in for a teacher who has an obligation, and kindly set the conditions for the organization to attain success. By “setting conditions'' I mean that leaders define expectations for the movement of the organization. They do not set the expectations, rather the leader assists members of the group to organize toward their efforts. It is the task of the leader to guarantee the equality and fairness of the opportunity for members of the organization. The adherence to the strategic plan and effectiveness of the members guarantee the validity of the outcome.
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
Vince Lombardi
FLAT leadership has, to date, helped me to develop 19 leaders that have gone to lead their own schools and school systems. It is certainly not perfect, but has guided me to develop capacity within a very large high school. I am thankful to the many leaders that have helped me to develop this style.
