Hiring the Right School Turnaround Leader Lauren Morando Rhim LMR Consulting for Center on Innovation & Improvement June 2010

The Importance of Leadership Teachers have the greatest impact on student learning but…school leaders play a critical role in hiring and supporting high-quality teachers Leadership is central to three SIG intervention models To initiate and sustain dramatic improvement, states and districts need to rethink their approach to recruiting and selecting school leaders who can have the greatest impact on classroom practice Competency-based hiring holds great promise to improve the hiring success rate and in turn, drive successful school improvement efforts Principals charged with leading dramatic change efforts require a unique skill set (i.e., manager and entrepreneur) LMR Consulting 12/4/2018

Turnaround Leader Competencies Recap* A competency is a pattern of thinking, feeling, acting or speaking that causes a person to be successful in a job or role (e.g. achievement drive, impact and influence, monitoring and directiveness). Competencies may be developed, but most powerful when used to select people who are already a good fit for the job. Future performance can be predicted with some accuracy based on past behaviors. * Adapted from Public Impact: Turnaround Leader Competencies. (2008) and Competence at Work, Spencer and Spencer (1993). LMR Consulting 12/4/2018

Competency–Based Hiring in Practice I Texas Education Service Center, Region XIII: Texas Initiatives Objective: Use competencies identified through Behavioral Event Interviews to select principals to participate in the TX Turnaround Leadership Academy and turnaround/transform low-performing school www.turnaroundleadershipacademy.net LMR Consulting 12/4/2018

Competency–Based Hiring in Practice II Process District nominations Written application Pre-screen (time dependent) Behavioral Event Interview 2+ hour long interview Team of 3-trained BEI assessors “Tell me about a time you were successful in your job” “Tell me about a time you were frustrated” Code interviews against turnaround leader competency model LMR Consulting 12/4/2018

Competency Scoring – Achievement The drive and actions to set challenging goals and reach a high standard of performance despite barriers. Works to meet explicit standards required by others. Or sets own standard for work quality, but not a very difficult or clear standard. Or improves own work or work of team, but not in pursuit of a specific goal. 1 Sets challenging work goals for self (and/or team) and acts to meet them. Or sets challenging goals for self (and/or team) and tracks and touts progress. 2 Carefully chooses challenging goals and actions (for self and others) based on cost-benefit analysis, such as time, money and other resources needed versus likely speed and magnitude of results. 3 Takes significant personal or career risk or commits significant resources (time, money, etc.) to launch a new venture or attempt an unlikely change/improvement, and takes multiple actions to minimize risk and ensure success (conduct research, anticipate barriers, plan carefully ahead, etc.). At this level, this typically involves working with and through others. 4 LMR Consulting 12/4/2018

Competency Scoring – Impact and Influence: Acting with the purpose of affecting the perceptions, thinking and actions of others. Thinks ahead about the likely reaction of audience, and adapts communication to obtain desired impact. 1 Takes one, dramatic action chosen to obtain a specific reaction from audience. (Threats do not count) 2 Thinks ahead about the likely reaction of audience, and adapts communication to obtain desired impact, and shows “influence tenacity” by taking two (not necessarily dramatic) steps to influence. 3 Engages in a complex set of maneuvers with many people –personal communications, use of third parties, promotion decisions, sharing of power or information, working through chains of people for a “domino” influence effect– to obtain desired impact. 4 LMR Consulting 12/4/2018

Competency–Based Hiring in Practice III Process Applicant feedback BEI team recommendation to superintendent District selection/assignment of turnaround/transformation leaders Enroll district shepherds and principals in two-year UVA-School Turnround Specialist Program. LMR Consulting 12/4/2018

CONCLUDING CONSIDERATIONS Successful turnaround leaders engage in specific actions in an environment that supports radical change Leader actions are more likely when leaders demonstrate high levels of particular competencies States and districts committed to driving school turnaround efforts should integrate tools that can identify these competencies into their hiring processes Innovative models in Texas, Fairfax County, and Cincinnati hold promise for validating the model and application in education LMR Consulting 12/4/2018

RESOURCES Competence at Work, Spencer and Spencer (1993). School Turnarounds: A Review of the Cross-Sector Evidence on Dramatic Organizational Improvement (2007). www.centerii.org/restructuring/resources/turnarounds .html School Turnarounds: Actions And Results. (2008) www.centerii.org/restructuring/resources/turnarounds .html Turnaround leader competencies: http://www.publicimpact.com/act-strategically-when- schools-fail/competencies-for-turnaround-success LMR Consulting 12/4/2018