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Improving the Relational Health of Your School through Creative & Innovative Leadership
Dr. Brad E. OliverAssociate Professor
Indiana Wesleyan University
Indiana Association of School PrincipalsFall Professional Conference
November 21, 2014
The challenges facing K-12 education today are not purely pedagogical in
nature.Our challenges are highly relational.
Understanding Relational Health
Artificial
Superficial
Beneficial
Sacrificial
Transactional
Transformational
Oliver, 2014
Assessing Your School’s Relational Health…
TRANSACTIONAL
Task Oriented Events and
circumstances of life inform their behavior
Rely on available information
They have capacity to make a difference, but influence is not a given
TRANSFORMATIONAL
Mission Oriented Their understanding of
the mission helps them translate events and circumstances in a productive manner
Rely on understanding, not just information (e.g., experience & context)
Influence is a given, as nothing constrains them
Leadership Focus…
Industrial
Thinking
Innovative
Thinking
Leadership Focus…
Logical Intuitive
Leadership Focus…
Deductive/Inductive Reasoning
AbductiveReasoning
Leadership Focus…
Requires Proof to Proceed
Asks what if?
Leadership Focus…
Looks for precedents
Unconstrained by past
Leadership Focus…
Quick to decide
Holds multiple
possibilities
Leadership Focus…
There is right and
wrong
There is always a
better way
Leadership Focus…
Uncomfortable with
ambiguity
Relishes ambiguity
Leadership Focus…
Wants results
Wants meani
ng
School Culture
Artifacts
Espoused Beliefs
Core Assumptions
Schein, 2010
Core Assumptions that Build Relationship…
Organizational Encouragement Lack of Organizational Impediments Leadership Encouragement Sufficient Resources Realistic Workload Freedom Challenging Work Teamwork & Collaboration
Leadership Behaviors that Improve Relational Health…
Paying attention – perceive more deeply, beyond first impressions
Personalizing – tap into personal experiences to gain fresh perspectives
Imaging – Bring information to life through use of metaphors
Serious Play – generate insights through exploration and experimentation
Collaborative Inquiry – foster productive dialogue by embracing diverse viewpoints
Crafting – synthesis, rather than analysis- Horth & Buchner, 2014
Questions (Assessing Innovation)
How would you assess your school’s approach to encouraging innovation & creativity?
What needs to change to create effective innovation?
What is encouraging and helping promote creativity?
What is impeding, creating barriers, or discouraging creativity?
What would you recommend changing to cultivate creativity and innovation?
What do we do when someone comes to us with a creative idea? What could we do differently?
“Leadership is about analyzing what you've done, being honest about what you could have done, and having the courage to try again.”
- Oliver, 2014
An action plan for becoming more innovative in your leadership…
Choose creativity. Stop squashing that little kid inside of you. Make a commitment to decide you want to revive your innovative voice.
Think like a traveller. Stop being oblivious to your surroundings and instead try to see things as if you’ve just landed in that spot and are seeing things for the first time.
Expose yourself to new situations or information. Listen to a TED talk, read information from other industries and try to experience new things that may spark an idea. - Bruzzese, 2014
An action plan for becoming more innovative in your leadership…
Daydream. Stop feeling like you’re a slacker if you aren’t actively engaged in three things at one time. New findings in neuropsychology find that flashes of insight often come when your mind is relaxed on completing a specific task.
Be empathetic. Remove your own ego from the equation when it comes to generating new ideas by taking the time to observe the people who need the solutions. What are their needs?
Be an anthropologist. Observing people in their “natural habitat” can help generate new ideas, even if you do think you’re the expert who knows best. Ask “why”?
- Bruzzese, 2014
An action plan for becoming more innovative in your leadership…
Reframe challenges. Before you start searching for solutions to a problem, step back to make sure you’re asking the right questions.
Build a creative network. Creative whizzes
often are seen as lone wolves, but some of the best ideas come from collaboration. Begin by acknowledging to yourself that you don’t have all the answers, and working with others can help relieve the pressure. Meet people after hours to sit around and talk about innovative ideas, or use creative digital communities.- Bruzzese, 2014
References
Bruzzese, A. (2014). 8 ways to unleash your creativity and find innovative ideas. Available online at: http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2014/01/27/8-ways-to-unleash-your-creativity-and-find-innovative-ideas/
Horth, D. & Buchner, D. (2014). Innovation leadership: How to use innovation to lead effectively, work collaboratively, and drive results. Center for Creative Leadership.
Horth, D. & Vehar, J. (2014). Becoming a leader who fosters innovation. Center for Creative Leadership.
Kubicek, J. (2011). Leadership is dead: How influence is reviving it. New York, NY: Howard Books.
Maxwell, J. (2013). The 5 levels of leadership: Proven steps to maximize your potential. New York,
NY: Hatchett Book Company.
Nelson, J. (2013). The art of focused conversations in schools. [3rd Edition]. Toronto, Ontario: ICA
Associates, Inc.
Oliver, B. (2014). Pawns: Education is Not a Nice Game of Chess. Muncie, IN: Self-Published.
