Leadership+Small-Group+Problem+Solving

//In this portion of the retreat, school and district leaders will have an opportunity to engage in small-group discussions to solve problems of practice involving leadership.//

** Small-Group Leadership Discussions **
Select one of the topics below. Find the table with the topic of your choice. As a table team, share challenges and successes around your topic. Provide support for your colleagues and solicit support from them as you reflect on challenges you face. After twenty minutes, you will select a second topic and change tables to engage in the same type of conversation.

Topics:

 * ====__**Empowerment/Delegation**__====
 * How do you purposefully include other stakeholders in decision making (goal teams, advisory committees, etc)?
 * Who in your school or department are you helping grow as a leader and how?
 * What are successful ways that you have empowered someone to make decisions and trusted them to follow through?
 * Do all major decisions in your department or school have to run through you or are there some that are made by groups/people who report to you what they have done? How has that worked out?
 * How do you learn from those who report to you?
 * As leaders we love being empowered to make decisions that affect us directly and having ownership. Are you modeling that practice with those in your department or school?


 * ====__**Communication**__====
 * If we don’t create our message, others will create one for you. How are you staying ahead of that by communicating what you want others to say and know about your department/school?
 * How do you determine your goals for your department/school and who else influences those goals?
 * Do you have an elevator speech that clearly outlines what direction your department/school is going in and do others know it?
 * How are you purposefully communicating with stakeholders?
 * Are others outside of your immediate circle involved in goal setting, planning and communicating your message? If so, how?
 * Most of us talk about how communication is vital, but do your actions match your words?
 * Do you follow through with your promises? How do you communicate that follow through with everyone?


 * ====__**Celebrations/Accomplishments**__====
 * What are three ways that you express your appreciation to others you serve?
 * Do you celebrate some areas more than others, and if so, how is that impacting morale?
 * People love to be part of a winning team. Would people consider your team (school or department) a winner? Why do you think that?
 * What are ways that our Communication Director can help promote your great work and accomplishments?
 * How well do you know those in your school or department? Do you know who their children are? Their spouse’s name? Their personal interests? Their birthday? If so, how often do you engage them in conversation about these topics?


 * ====__**Organization**__====
 * What productivity tools help you stay organized and efficient?
 * Who are 2-3 people in your department, school or office that help you with organization (scheduling, filing, administrative tasks)?
 * How much time do you spend in a week reshuffling files, looking for emails, etc.?
 * Do you return phone calls and emails within 24 hours?
 * Do you have a structured process and time for meeting with your administrative team at least once every 2 weeks? How do you capture the work and discussions from those meetings? If it’s just another notepad with notes on it, what do you do with that information and how do you find it 3 months later?


 * //Facilitators//**: Click here to access the Google Document to capture the big ideas from each table topic.

Future Me Activity
Take a few minutes to reflect on your discussions and think about your goals as a leader for the 2013-14 school year. This activity will serve as a reminder and help you hold yourself accountable in the future. Compose an email to yourself and set the send date to December 1, 2013. Include goals to improve your leadership in the email with specific ways you plan on meeting those goals.


 * Click here** to send your future self a memo.

// Back to Agenda //