"If they come to me with a problem, I expect them to have thought of a possible solution." I heard these words voiced by a leader from another state recently. This wasn't the first time I've heard this phrase, and there was a point in time I probably would have agreed with it. I'm afraid I have to disagree with it now. We are currently facing some of the most challenging times in education that anyone has ever experienced. Educators have problems they are facing. They don't always have solutions. That's okay!
One of the benefits, I assume, with the approach voiced above is that your staff will stop coming to you with problems. The biggest problem, however, with this approach is the team will stop coming to you with problems. And, let's be honest. If they already had a practical solution, they probably aren't coming to anyone with that problem as they are too busy implementing their solution! Identifying problems is a precursor to effectively brainstorming solutions. Leaders can promote autonomy in their staff, not by letting them fend for themselves but by listening to their barriers and coaching them through removing those barriers.
Recently a friend and colleague shared an episode of the Hidden Brain podcast with me. In the show notes for the episode "Work 2.0: The Obstacles We Don't See," host Shankar Vadantam writes the following:
"Introducing new ideas is hard. Most of us think the best way to win people over is to push hard. But organizational psychologist Loran Nordgren says a more effective approach is to focus on the invisible obstacles to new ideas."
Educators in all roles are facing new ideas and challenges. In the episode, Nordgren talks about the dichotomy between adding fuel and reducing friction when influencing change in people's behavior. It's common for companies to push more commercials and social media posts to get people to buy their product or service in the business world. Exposure isn't always the issue, though. Many times businesses would be better served to take the "remove obstacles" approach mentioned earlier. I'm not sure there is a better example than Amazon and their 1-click purchasing.
Photo Credit: refreshingmountain.com
This same dilemma of adding fuel or reducing friction applies to education. It's natural when change is not going as quickly or as well as we'd hope to resort to more training, more guidance, more support, and more meetings. This approach very well could be the appropriate path if the barrier is a knowledge or skill gap. Not all obstacles are knowledge or skill gaps, though.
A friend (yes, believe it or not, I have more than one friend) and colleague shared a story with me that illustrates how this may look in a school setting. The building principal discussed with her how they've been attempting for years to instill a habit in their school of making positive contacts home. They agreed most teachers knew the multitude of benefits that these contacts created, but they still weren't getting made as frequently as desired, and they were hard to track. Together they brainstormed possible barriers that were getting in the way. You may have guessed it. Time was a significant barrier and a lack of examples to know how to make a good one in writing or over the phone. You can't create more time, but you can be more intentional with the time you have. The result was to embed this time weekly into PLC meetings and provide some exemplars of what a positive note home may look like. What gets scheduled is what gets done, and shifting the burden of time for staff from their discretionary time to PLC time removed a barrier.
As I think about this example, there are also connections to the metaphor Chip and Dan Heath use in their book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. Their three-part strategy references directing the rider, motivating the elephant, and shaping the path. We can use the Heath brothers' framework to identify and remove barriers. In the example above, staff members didn't need more information on the benefits of these contacts home (motivating the elephant). They needed some clarity on vocabulary they could use (direct the rider) and structured time to complete them (shape the path).
Resistance is often a lack of clarity or identification of barriers. If we presume positive intent and believe all colleagues can grow, the hidden obstacles will become visible, generating change in stagnant areas.
In conclusion, it's ill-advised to make identifying solutions a prerequisite to bringing challenges to the table. Should they choose to move forward with this prerequisite, leaders miss an opportunity to identify invisible obstacles. They are also missing a chance to coach their staff, build capacity in their system, and generate trust by offering support. Brainstorming barriers is especially valuable as we confront a nationwide teacher shortage. We've spent a lot of time generating solutions but far less time identifying obstacles to entering and staying in the field. On a recent episode of The Tom Schimmer Podcast, guest Douglas Reeves said, "To think outside the box, we first need to understand the box." We need to listen to make the invisible obstacles visible.
As leaders, if we can model this approach of reframing problems as barriers and identifying areas to reduce friction, others will see opportunities in their role or classroom. We can create our bright spot to follow (direct the rider), and when replicated in our classrooms, we'll see more equitable practices as we allow all students to learn and grow by removing one barrier at a time.
References:
Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2013). Switch: How to change things when change is hard. Random House US.
Schimmer, T. (Host). (2021, October 25). Risk is Reward l Doug Reeves (Pt.1) l Targeted Feedback [Audio podcast episode]. In The Tom Schimmer Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/risk-is-reward-doug-reeves-pt-1-targeted-feedback/id1529365406?i=1000539611871
Vedantam, S. (Host). (2021, November 1). Work 2.0: The Obstacles You Don't See [Audio podcast episode]. In Hidden Brain. Hidden Brain Media. https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/work-2-0-the-obstacles-you-dont-see/
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