1. There are teachers who understand that technology is a tool to do things in more powerful ways; that the technology really can be used to collaborate, connect, challenge, and engage.
2. There are other teachers who have a fixed mindset and are not yet open to possibilities.
3. Leadership of schools has an important role to play in developing a growth mindset amongst staff. Principals and other leaders must continually focus on a co-created vision for the future and relentlessly pursue it. See principal Carolyn Stuart’s guest blogpost providing an example of how this is done – on purpose.
4. Unless we do something to improve the quality of teacher training things will change slowly. Old models exist of patch protection, overblown bureaucracy slowing pace of change and lecturers modelling what not to do. In some cases training institutions have limited technological resources and staff are still using overhead projectors to deliver courses.  How will this prepare teachers for the future? Yes, I know there are places that are doing some good things, but I see limited future-focused teacher training here in New Zealand, or further afield. If it happens it is through good luck rather than good planning and vision across the whole organisation.
5. If you have any models of teacher training that are really pushing forward I want to know!! Am I missing something? Join the conversation at ALPinE Leadership if you have ideas and visit our Answergarden on Teacher Training.

So watch the video. It is worth thinking about what you are doing to lead future focused change in education.

And here is my final comment:

We need to get over the talk about 21st century…

We are over a decade into it. Aren’t we there yet?

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.

Margaret Wheatley says that hope propels us to action and that when hope enters the room fear is always by its side. That is because while hope looks to the future, fear is based on the past and the ‘what ifs’.

I have really become aware of the many people who are seeking to make a difference to others, throughout the world and for many different causes. They are driven by passion and commitment. They have high hopes that their work will make a difference and at times, fear that the difference is not great enough. They are not paralysed by this fear, but rather more determined than ever because it is worth the risk. One example is the Adonis Musati Project, based in Cape Town, yet another ripple of hope to help humanity:

I fear for a world where we cannot reach out and help others, instead focussing on greed and self interest. Is that not what got us to this place we are today? These are times for courageous leadership, for each of us to have a strong moral compass that compels us to lead ethically, driven by clear beliefs for what could be. Again, Margaret Wheately describes this profoundly:

We may not succeed in changing things, but we choose to act from the clarity that this is right action for us. People who endure and persevere for their cause describe clarity as a force arising within them that compels them to act.

They express this by saying, “I couldn’t not do it.”