School Leadership 2.0
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Tired of not accomplishing your school improvement plan? Try this instead.
CLOSING THE EXECUTION GAP
Tired of not accomplishing your school improvement plan? Try this instead.
By Sean Covey and Lynne Fox
Principal, May/June 2018. Volume 97, Number 5.
Execution, or the ability to accomplish goals and plans, is one of the greatest challenges organizations face. Businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, and schools are generally competent at developing strategies, but they often struggle to execute those strategies and produce concrete results.
Our company, FranklinCovey, has studied the topic of execution within all types of organizational settings for more than 15 years. In 2012, we distilled our collective learning into a book titled The 4 Disciplines of Execution.
Our research has taught us that there are two types of strategies. The first type, which we call “stroke of the pen” strategy, is easy to execute because it involves a one-time decision. Consider, for example, a company acquiring a new business or a district selecting a new curriculum. These strategies are accomplished with a “stroke of the pen.”
The second type of strategy, however, involves a change in human behavior. Consider, for example, a company trying to get frontline employees to provide better customer service, or a school encouraging teachers to build stronger relationships with students. The execution of these strategies is dependent on workers doing something different than they had before. It is in the execution of these strategies that we find a significant “execution gap.”
The 4 Disciplines of Execution® (4DX®) is a methodology that helps organizations close the execution gap. It is based on timeless, universal principles of human effectiveness, and on deep insights into why organizations fail to achieve their objectives. 4DX has been used in tens of thousands of organizations worldwide, including schools, districts, and state-level education departments. In fact, the Leader in Me community of schools uses them on a daily basis. The four disciplines are described in detail on the following pages.
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Mentors.net - a Professional Development Resource
Mentors.net was founded in 1995 as a professional development resource for school administrators leading new teacher induction programs. It soon evolved into a destination where both new and student teachers could reflect on their teaching experiences. Now, nearly thirty years later, Mentors.net has taken on a new direction—serving as a platform for beginning teachers, preservice educators, and
other professionals to share their insights and experiences from the early years of teaching, with a focus on integrating artificial intelligence. We invite you to contribute by sharing your experiences in the form of a journal article, story, reflection, or timely tips, especially on how you incorporate AI into your teaching
practice. Submissions may range from a 500-word personal reflection to a 2,000-word article with formal citations.
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