00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Welcome to Your Morning Boost, your daily leadership advice to help you lead your school community.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 Brought to you by AWB Education and sponsored by Grundmeyer Leader Services,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 where together we are transforming education, one leader at a time.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Now here's your host, Adam Bush.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 All right, good morning, school leaders. Welcome back to Your Morning Boost. Happy Tuesday.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 Happy, happy Tuesday. Thanks for rejoining us again today.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:29 Today, we're going to continue this week-long quest on writing goals,
00:00:29 --> 00:00:34 and today we're going to tackle the M in smart goals, also known as measurable.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:40 We're not just counting, we're establishing concrete indicators of success.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 That's the goal of that M.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:48 Music.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 So what gets measured gets managed.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:55 That's what Peter Drucker wisely once said, and without measurable criteria,
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 how can we track progress or determine success?
00:00:58 --> 00:01:03 Measurement provides concrete evidence of achievement. It allows us to see our
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 progress in black and white.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:09 According to a study by the Corporate Executive Board, the CEB,
00:01:09 --> 00:01:13 which is actually now called Gartner, but teams with measurable goals are 20%
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 more likely to achieve them.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:19 Now, this isn't a huge number, but 20% is one out of every five,
00:01:19 --> 00:01:23 and that's going to be able to help me push my team towards achievement,
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 I'm going to take that extra little bump.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:29 This demonstrates the power of quantifiable targets.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:34 It adds a level of accountability as well, and it allows for some adjustments along.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:41 Music.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 So for a few actionable tips, when we're talking about ourselves,
00:01:44 --> 00:01:49 we want to make sure that we use numbers, percentages, or frequencies,
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 or something like that to define our goals.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 But we're going to go beyond just simple metrics.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 Consider using leading and lagging indicators.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:02 Leading indicators, they're going to predict future performance,
00:02:02 --> 00:02:06 while lagging indicators are going to reflect on past performance.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:10 By incorporating both of those, it's going to really give us a good measuring
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 stick to see how our goals are, how we're achieving.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:18 So an example of this would be something like I want to reduce chronic absenteeism.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:23 So in my case, I'm going to call that by missing 10% or more of school days.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:28 I want to reduce chronic absenteeism by 15% within the next semester.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:35 Leading indicator of that would be increasing positive parent contact by 25%.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:41 The lagging indicator would then be the 15% reduction in chronic absenteeism.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:45 So my goal, really, what I'm looking for is to increase that positive parent
00:02:45 --> 00:02:52 contact, which is then going to lead to the 15% reduction in chronic absenteeism.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:57 Now, using visuals like data visualization tools to track your progress,
00:02:57 --> 00:02:58 that's going to help a ton.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 It's going to help provide a powerful sense of accomplishment,
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 and it's also going to help us highlight some areas that need attention.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:11 Music.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 Now, when we're talking about our staff and helping lead our teachers this way,
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 really help our staff identify those key performance indicators,
00:03:18 --> 00:03:19 or some people call those KPIs.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:23 Make sure that we're helping them identify the ones that are relevant to their goal.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:28 We want to ensure that these KPIs are aligned with the school's overall objectives
00:03:28 --> 00:03:32 as well to make sure that those teacher goals have some more meaning to our
00:03:32 --> 00:03:33 overall school mission.
00:03:33 --> 00:03:37 Try to encourage them to use tools. You encourage them to use spreadsheets or
00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 dashboards that will help track their, to help track that progress visually.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 Unfortunately, sometimes, again, if we don't have that direction to where our
00:03:45 --> 00:03:49 goals are headed, we're just not going to be, we're not going to be as keen
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 or as interested in keeping track of those.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:58 Music.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 Now, our staff will also benefit from some regular check-ins.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 Try to review some metrics. This is pretty crucial, actually.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 Make sure that these check-ins are collaborative and they're also supportive
00:04:07 --> 00:04:12 and they're focused on problem-solving and growth, not just a gotcha,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:13 have you achieved your goal yet.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:18 So an example could be if we're talking about increasing student test scores.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:23 Maybe we measure some increase in these average student scores on the district-wide
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 assessment where we're shooting for a certain percentage point.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 So when we come back for these check-ins, we're looking for some growth.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:34 We might not be at that full ending piece yet. If we are, we probably didn't
00:04:34 --> 00:04:38 write our goal perfectly anyway, but that's what we're looking for,
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 those little checks to see how we are doing.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:45 But if we facilitate this as an administrative team, our staff's going to be
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 more likely to actually do these checks as the year goes on.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 As we know, we're all super busy.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:54 They're going to get busy too. Have to have that focus on our goals.
00:04:54 --> 00:05:00 Music.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 Make sure to remember that a goal that is measurable provides
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 a way to track progress it really shows when the desired
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 outcome has been achieved it also allows for
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 data-driven decisions on what's next
00:05:12 --> 00:05:18 after the goal that's the m and smart goals folks make sure your goal is measurable
00:05:18 --> 00:05:22 otherwise you don't have a goal you just have a dream tune in again tomorrow
00:05:22 --> 00:05:26 for some more goal writing and another quick reminder about our next Booster
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 Shot episode that's going to come out this Wednesday. That's going to go live tomorrow.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 So you will not want to miss that one. I promise you that is going to be worth your time.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:37 Outside of that, have a great Tuesday leading your school district or your building.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 Thanks for doing the work that you do.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 Thanks for listening today. We will talk with you again tomorrow.
00:05:42 --> 00:05:46 You've been listening to Your Morning Boost by AWB Education in partnership
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 with Grundmeyer Leader Services.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:53 You can find out more about our services by clicking on the links in the description.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:58 Remember, you are doing this vital job that only a few can do.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:02 So until next time, thank you for your service to your community.