Heifetz, Grashow and  Linsky (2009) describe adaptive leadership as the practice of mobilising people to tackle tough challenges and thrive. I think this is the way to go. Adaptive leadership is needed for the growth of individuals and organisations. Perhaps, to avoid low expectations, future leadership involves:

• looking for those things that should be preserved and having courage to abandon the expendable;
• accepting that conflict is a necessary part of the organisation and can be productive;
• creating a culture of courageous conversations;
• acknowledging the importance of collaboration, networks and global connections; and
• building the capabilities of others to lead in adaptive ways.

This quote from Egon Zehnder (2000) reminds us that future leaders will need to be flexible, future focused and capable of thinking in new ways. “Stability is a liability, not an asset in today’s world. Each new view of the horizon is a glance through a different turn of the kaleidoscope.”

I’m going to leave the survey open for a few more days so take a few minutes to contribute here. And join the conversation about what the biggest challenge for future leaders will be. Do you agree that it is low expectations and if so what do you interpret this to mean?

The greatest lesson Greg learnt was to “share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects (p.150).” This may have seemed more time consuming to start with but in the long run it produced more sustainable results. Too often leaders are focused on doing things rather than creating connections. They become driven by improving the external environment of their organisations without considering the foundational relationships that underpin the organisation’s success.

In their work based in Chicago schools, researchers Bryk and Schneider came to the conclusion that relational trust was foundational for school improvement. They suggested four vital signs for identifying and assessing trust:

• Respect – genuinely talking and listening to each other in ways that acknowledge and accept the views, ideas and beliefs of others.
• Competence – the ability and willingness to fulfill responsibilities and believe others to be competent.
• Personal regard – caring for each other personally and professionally. Going that extra mile.
• Integrity – keeping ones word. Putting the needs of children first, even when tough decisions need to be made.

These points were all exhibited by Greg Mortenson. He did not try to impose his views on those he was working with and he was prepared to do what was needed, at times with great personal sacrifice. The building of trust allowed him to work in areas that few could access and to provide education to many.

Future leadership is very much about collaboration, building professional learning networks and growing capabilities in others. It builds on trust and integrity and comes from the heart as well as the head. Future leadership requires leaders who listen and who constantly reflect on their own behaviour.

• Haptics -the ability to experience the sense of touch and apply pressure through a simulated environment. Will this help experts share their knowledge and skills (eg surgeons) in all countries without leaving home?
• Surface Computing – smart surfaces with no keyboard mouse. So do we need to learn to handwrite beyond a basic level? Is it relevant in this day and age? How much longer will we need keyboard skills?
• Gesture controlled computing – a swish of the hand to make yourself understood. How could we use this to communicate in new ways? Does this mean that communication will be more in the head and the gesture than in the vocal chords? Implications?

The videos below explore cutting edge technologies. They pose many challenges to the way we think, and open up many new possibilities. I’m not suggesting all these are positive. But we do need to be watching the trends and keeping up to date if we are to develop our preferred futures.

As you watch the videos you might like to consider some of these questions:

• How could these technologies change the ways we learn?
• As a leader, how will I adapt and help others adapt? What will I keep doing? Stop doing? Start doing?
• How will I enable these new technologies to distribute leadership and to collaborate globally in new ways?

These are just some of the tensions that face leadership for the future. Take a look…and ponder…

Visteon Haptic and Touch Screen

An omnidirectional projector being developed by Microsoft

And another example: The g-speak Spatial Operating Environment inspired by Tom Cruise’s The Minority report film

In an online environment our integrity can be compromised if we do not think carefully about what we make public. In Joe McCarthy’s blogpost on The Dark Side of Digital Backchannels in Shared Physical Spaces there are examples of backchannel behaviour that has had dramatic effects on people’s lives.

Our actions are amplified because so many people have access to our thoughts and behaviours. This amplification can help our message reach a wider group of followers. It can also amplify decisions that, in retrospect, we wish we had not made. Online integrity is connected to our moral beliefs yet the day to day living of these beliefs can easily be eroded by quick, irreversible online decisions. The establishment of online behaviours, etiquette and cultural norms can be developed by:

• parents understanding and modelling sound online behaviours so that their children can follow by example;
• schools recognising that social networking is here to stay and that we will get feedback from students through backchannels whether we like it or not. You can bury your head in the sand and ban social media or use it as a way to deepen online integrity and build student awareness and skills;
• constantly checking your own personal behaviours to see if your offline and online behaviours are congruent – and ethically sound; and
• not responding unethically in response to inappropriate online behaviour.

Let’s face it. None of us are perfect. Yet if we have well defined values and beliefs we may be less likely to cause offense or put ourselves in situations where we wish we could turn back time, erase 140 characters, remove a photo before a job interview or get back our privacy.

Some useful sites to visit:

• Safety Tips
• Cartoon on Good Samaritanism

This comment led to me facilitating two World Cafe events at the learning@school conference. The people who came to these sessions were ones who had been listening to the hype of 21st century learning, teaching and leading for some time and who wanted to challenge themselves and others to move forward. The World Cafe format allowed time to slow down, engage in dialogue and leave with some personal and professional ideas for the future.

Some of the overheard discussions during these sessions included:

• Where is the expectation that things will change?
• Just because we can’t do it doesn’t mean we should stop others from doing it.
• I’m looking forward to being made redundant as a teacher.
• If you believe in it you prioritize time.
• I don’t think it’s written anywhere “Thou must do it alone.”
• Schools should be laboratories for life.

Many of the comments focused around the need for changes in teacher practice and increasing the role of students in their own learning. If we really want to transform education we need to start with teacher change, otherwise students will not have a greater say. For teacher practcie to transform across an organisation school leaders must be committed to the transformation and lead by example.

One World Cafe participant jotted his thoughts clearly on a post-it, as shown below. I liked the quirky idea of a post-it on an iphone and also the call to personal action. I don’t think it is suggesting we will get change by riding over top of people. We know we need to build trust and gain commitment. We also know we can’t go at the pace of the slowest.  The time for educational leaders to step up is now. We need to move beyond the rhetoric and start taking action. We could even involve students in the plan…

Balance may be a personal choice.  However great leaders understand that the team doesn’t have to be involved in every decision. If open door policy becomes ingrained in your organisation the open door becomes a revolving door and inertia results. If it is not addressed the door just spins faster and faster and all you get is the breeze.

Block out times when you are not available. Close your door, ensure your secretary guards your precious ‘thinking time’ or have some other way of indicating you are unavailable. Remind staff of the process and why it is important.  Then when you are with staff you can give them your full attention. When you walk around your business or learning organisation you can do it on purpose, regularly booking time to be where the action is.  This time should be sacrosanct if you want to have your finger on the pulse. Establish it as one of the ‘rocks’ that gets timetabled into your diary at the beginning of the week, then build the habit of sticking to your plan. Balance being on the balcony (working on the business) with being on the dance floor (working in the business).

Be clear about when people can see you and how this happens. Don’t make it too hard, just clearly articulated. Leaders need to be empathic, to build relationships and to do what they say they will do. Your way of communicating with others is vital – and part of this is the ability to listen really well and to consider the diverse strengths of your team.

When communicating with staff be clear about what you are asking them to do and how you will be making a decision. Consider the following four quadrants, from the work of Wilf Jarvis:

• Quadrant One – I’ll decide.
• Quadrant Two – We’ll discuss and I’ll decide.
• Quadrant Three – We’ll discuss and we’ll decide.
• Quadrant Four – You decide. Call me if you need assistance.

Develop your staff so they understand which quadrant is being used. This not only builds their leadership capacities and moves them towards interdependence, but also establishes clear expectations.

• You need to stay positive and appreciate the things you can do.
• Friends and family are important – giving and receiving are linked in a virtuous cycle.
• Sometimes you need to find new ways of doing things because the old ways don’t work any more.
• When you get worried or overloaded – write a list then check things off as you achieve them – little goals, big impact.
• Exercise – know your limits but keep moving otherwise you seize up and get stuck on the couch.
• Keep your mind active – read every day, puzzle over knitting patterns, do word finds, talk to people – keep interested.
• Enjoy every moment of every day.

I have come to admire and respect my mother for her determination. She doesn’t give up easily and I think I may have learned this from her.

This year I am launching a series of ebooks to explore these developing technologies. The first of these is a series on Talking the Walk: Walking the Talk. These are for educators who wish to use a learning walk process to develop their pedagogical leadership skills. Aspects of the Kiwi Leadership for Principals that are highlighted in this book include relationships (since these underpin learning walks) and the power of context. Leading change, problem solving, culture, pedagogy, systems and awhinatanga are also key strands throughout this book series. Talking the Walk: Walking the Talk also relates well to the Leads Other for Learning section of the ACEL Leadership Capability framework which you may also want to explore further.

Talking the Walk: Walking the Talk experiments with flip book technology, giving the look and sound of the pages of a book as they turn over. You can read it online or download as a pdf. Adding embedded audio and video will be the next stage in my learning. If you come across new ideas and tools that I could use please let me know. Ebooks are on the rise!

You will find more information about the content of  my first ebook on the News! page and can place orders at the Store.

The interesting question I am pondering at present is – should 360 degree feedback be anonymous or not? There are arguments for both:
Anonymous
Allows people to express their feelings without fear of reprisal
Can help focus on the issues rather than the people
Identified
Allows for follow up if comments are not understood
Encourages people to be accountable for their comments

Should surveys have room for a comment at all?
Do people speak out more if they can do so in focus groups?

If you have thoughts about this please fill in a short googledocs survey. I’ll share the results in a couple of weeks.

These resources are available for your use, and to share with others. Please acknowledge the source in using these articles and resources. Page 1 contains slideshare resources, page 2 – articles, page 3 – videos and page 4 – other links.

Slideshare