“No one listens to us, anyway!” - Next Learning Solutions

"No one listens to us, anyway!"

August 1, 2021

“No one listens to us, anyway!!”

Maybe you’ve heard this before? Whether it’s students talking about teachers, or teachers talking about their school leaders, or school leaders talking about district office staff, or district office staff talking about the state department of education (DOE), or the DOE talking about the feds…But is it true? Does “no one listen to us”?

The positive presupposition human being in me says, “Maybe those folks (of which I have been one, to be sure) are doing the best they can with what they have.”

But that doesn’t change our feelings and perceptions: No one seems to be listening to us, anyway! So what’s going on?

Clarity

Google “types of decisions” and you’ll get half a BILLION results. Some say there are two types of decisions. Others three. Still others four. One even says there are seven! And, of course, there is variety within all of these.

The language is pretty lofty, too. Strategic, tactical, programmed, non-programmed, routine, and more.

Maybe part of our problem is that we are not clear about what types of decisions we’re after? I have a simple mind, and therefore like to use the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Silly). As such, I think about four basic types of decisions. As a designated leader, we owe it to ourselves and our colleagues to be clear right up front at the get-go about the type of decision that we’re making.

Those four types are:

1) I decide by myself,
2) I decide but I want your recommendation,
3) I decide but I want your feedback/input,
4) You/We decide together.

I decide

In a democracy, we like to think that we make decisions together. And because of this, sometimes I wonder if we hesitate from just coming out and saying the “I” word. Because, in reality, there ARE decisions where the designated leader will decide. So let’s be clear about that up front, from the get-go. No surprises. I will decide.

Within the “I decide” realm there are three nuanced approaches.

I decide by myself. In effective schools, this doesn’t happen very often. But it does happen. An example: An emergency situation in the building–I’m not going to convene a representative committee of staff members to talk through immediate actions. I decide. We act. We move on.

I decide but I want your recommendation. Many times disciplinary interventions with students or staff fall in this category. The teacher might make a recommendation about actions the principal will take, but the decision resides with the principal. Might we alleviate some heartburn if we were all clear about this?

Another great example of this is typically around curriculum materials adoption and implementation. The board of education many times approves the purchase, and this comes with the recommendation of a team of staff who have become experts and will be doing the implementing. We expect that the board will adopt the recommendation, but they do have the authority to disregard that recommendation and go a different direction.

I decide but I want your feedback/input. Snow days are a great example of this. Typically a superintendent will gather feedback and input from key personnel: maintenance, operations, the city, maybe an athletic director or some principals. But the superintendent makes the call. They want input, but it’s their decision, and their decision alone.

You/We decide

The most important decisions in the school are those that are decided together. You/We decide typically involves lots of learning together, committees, surveys, focus groups, and other informal and formal data-gathering techniques.

You might be wondering why I clump you and we together? Because whether or not you are actually physically present, it is a collective group making the decision together. The designated leader’s job is to make sure that they truly and actually have the authority to decide. If you are physically present, this means recognizing the inherent power of your position and voice, and remaining, for the most part, silent. For you and we to decide to happen, it has to be the voices in the room deciding without being tainted by your voice. Otherwise, see I decide above…

See my last post discussing the use of a leadership team and providing opportunities for feedback that it is expected, encouraged, and implemented.

The fist-to-five process is one process to gather feedback for any of these types of decisions.

Typically, you/we decide framework gets into things like the adoption of an instructional framework, or the implementation of a behavior system like PBIS. This is important work that will endure for the long run. We want ownership in the process and results, and this requires engaging in work that will leverage the expertise of many stakeholders.

Pitfalls

There are two main pitfalls that I see many leaders falling into:

First of all, clarity up front.

What type of decision will this be? Let it be known. Repeat it. Repeat it again. And again.

Second, don’t change your mind mid-course. If it’s a you/we decide decision, you can’t change it to I decide (no matter what level) just because you don’t like where it’s going.

Empower people.

Support them.

Follow-through on implementing their decision.

I’m familiar with several districts that had the typical curriculum committee process to review materials for mathematics implementation district-wide. The committee worked for more than a year, was under the impression that they would make the decision, and made it.

But the district office didn’t like the decision, so they changed it and went to the board with a different recommendation. The board approved.

You can imagine the damage this did to the trust in the district. It took at least five years and changes in district administration personnel to overcome that distrust.

It also affected the implementation of the materials. Five years later those materials still weren’t being implemented well.

And not only did this impact mathematics and relationships, but other content area committees suffered. “No one listens to us, anyway” was an unfortunate, and truthful, mantra.

What type of decision are you after?

Be clear. Up front. And follow through on those decisions.

Questions for Reflection

Which types of decisions do you rely on most frequently?
What steps might you take to be clearer for yourself and others about what type of decision is being made?