The Discipline of Vision and Values
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• Part of being a professional learning community is the emphasis on continuous growth, improvement, and change. How does our new vision demonstrate and reveal professional learning community priorities?
Sharing the vision document drafts is an important step in engaging stakeholders in activities that eventually lead to changes in the status quo. Be aware that the language you use in vision casting and revision can influence stakeholders’ perceptions of the process and their willingness to participate. Some school leaders talk about getting “buy-in,” using statements such as “We need buy-in to this vision.” Stakeholders may interpret “buy-in” as manipulation, whereas statements such as “We need to own this vision” may be more acceptable. Ownership signals real engagement and commitment to actions that reflect the vision.
Teaching the Vision The shared vision cast by the stakeholders and communicated by the leader speaks loudly. A simple yet compelling picture of the future, it enables all levels of stakeholders—teacher teams, school-site leadership teams, district and community teams—to say, “We know where we are headed, we know our aspirations, and we will not tolerate adult or student behaviors that act as barriers to the vision.” In a professional learning community, declaring the vision is often an essential step toward creating expectations of certain vital behaviors. Once the vision is declared, you begin teaching for understanding of the vision and those expectations. Teaching the vision ensures coherent implementation by all adults in your leadership sphere of influence. Leadership expert Noel Tichy (2002) states it like this: “Teaching is the most effective means through which a leader can lead . . . True learning takes place only when the leader/teacher invests the time and emotional energy to engage those around him or her in a dialogue that produces mutual understanding” (pp. 57–58). Tichy refers to the leader’s “teachable point of view,” or TPOV, which he defines as “a cohesive set of ideas and concepts that a person is able to clearly articulate to others” (2002, p. 74). You can apply the idea of a TPOV to any vision area of your school leadership life—for example, adult behaviors and practices related to student placement, formative and summative assessment, effective
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• What type of future lessons and stories from our community will we share that reflect action toward our vision?