Putting the “Power of Three” to Work for Your Students, Staff, Schools, or Systems: The Three Hours during Your Holiday Break that You Need to Succeed in 2021
Dear Colleagues,
Introduction
While I am not a “LinkedIn Junkie,” my smart phone does receive automatic alerts to keep me up with the ongoing social media action there.
Over the past few days, it has been heartwarming to see how many people have completed their degrees, defended their dissertations, passed their bar or other licensure exams, and overcome personal roadblocks on the way to professional success.
CONGRATULATIONS to all of you!!!
While these successes would be notable at any time, they are even more impressive given the Pandemic that we continue to live through.
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And while many educators will soon be (or are already) on their winter/holiday breaks, I know that many want a reprieve from their virtual, hybrid, or in-person socially distanced and masked worlds.
And you certainly deserve it!
But during this break, I would like to suggest that you take just three hours. . . one hour now, one after Christmas, and one after New Year’s Day. . . to plan your classroom, grade-level, school, district’s (or other work setting’s) success come January.
And to accomplish this, I recommend using the “Power of Three”. . . three self-reflection, self-analysis, and self-planning areas, actions, or decisions to facilitate this success.
Are you ready? Get set. . . Go!
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The Power of Three: Three Days and Three Hours
The first Power of Three involves what you need to do to plan your classroom, grade-level, school, or district’s (or other work setting’s) success come January.
Depending on your professional position in Education, pick your target.
For example, if you are a:
- Teacher, analyze your classroom.
- Related Service or Staff Support professional, analyze a grade-level in (one of) your school(s).
- School Administrator, analyze an area of instruction or operations.
- District Administrator, analyze a department, division, or school.
[If you are not an Educator or School/District Employee, pick a place in your professional or personal life that you would like to target and analyze.]
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Now. . . here are the goals for your three hours during the break.
[Below is a Chart to help you complete this process.]
- Right Now (for one hour). Identify (and write down) the specific observable and measurable answers to three questions for your targeted setting since the beginning of this school year:
(a) What things have most contributed to your success in your chosen setting?
(b) What things have not been successful in your setting?
(c) What top three areas need to change in your setting to extend your current successes to “the next level”?
[Put your Setting and Areas of Change (c) into Your Chart.]
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[December 2020 Blog Next Year Planning Target Setting.pdf]
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- After Christmas (for one hour). For your top three areas of change (see above), identify (and write down) the specific observable and measurable answers to the next three questions:
(a) What is the current status for each of your three top targeted areas of change?
(b) What outcomes would represent a “successful change” in each of your targeted areas?
(c) What are three predominant barriers or reasons why you have not accomplished these outcomes during the current school year?
[Put your Three Barriers/Reasons (c) into Your Chart for Each Area of Change.]
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- After New Year’s Day (for one hour). For each of the three predominant barriers or reasons under-cutting your success in your three top areas of change, identify (and write down) the specific observable and measurable answers to the next three questions:
(a) What already-existing strengths in your setting could be used to overcome each of the barriers or reasons under-cutting your success for each of your three top targeted areas of change?
(b) What additional colleagues, resources, or interventions could be used to overcome each of the barriers or reasons under-cutting your success for each of your three top targeted areas of change?
(c) Based on (a) and (b) above, what three actions or solutions have the highest probability of helping you overcome each of the stated barriers or reasons under-cutting your success . . . so that you can successfully change each of your three top targeted areas?
[Put your Three Actions/Solutions Barriers/Reasons (c) into Your Chart for Each Barrier/Reason.]
Toward the end of your third, after-New-Year’s-Day one-hour session, analyze the actions or solutions that you have generated (see below), take a yellow highlighter and highlight the three actions or solutions that you will implement during your first week back from the Holiday break.
These three actions or solutions could all be focused on one area of change, or they could be distributed across three different areas of change.
You can choose the three actions or solutions that will provide “the biggest change bang for the buck,” actions or solutions that overlap across a number of change areas, or actions or solutions that will be the easiest to accomplish.
Later in January, once these three actions or solutions have been completed (resulting, I hope, in massive change for you), decide which actions or solutions you want to tackle next.
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The Power of Three: Three Processes to Maximize Your Success
Embedded in the questions and planning above are the second Power of Three processes that are essential to any change initiative:
- Data-Driven Problem-Solving
- Consultation
- Action
During Data-Driven Problem-Solving, you need to objectively (a) Identify the problem at-hand; (b) Complete a root cause analysis to determine why the problem, gap, or lack of success exists; (c) Link the valid assessment results to the actions or solutions that will resolve the situation and result in successful change; and (d) Evaluate the short-term and long-term success of the entire initiative.
Consultation occurs when you use the assistance of a person (e.g., a colleague or expert), publication (e.g., a book or journal), or resource (e.g., a computer’s search engine or software program) to implement one or more of the problem-solving steps above.
Action involves the actual implementation of the steps in a designed plan or initiative that occur in the setting and with the people relevant to the change process. These actions need to be executed with the proper fidelity (e.g., in the sequence proven to result in change) and with intensity (i.e., at the level of frequency, duration, or intensity needed for change).
These three processes are the “glue” to successful change. They provide the three decision-making, support, and implementation components to help educators go from “great to greater.”
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Summary
While I know that all of us would rather “put our professional lives aside” for the next two to three weeks, think about the benefits of investing the recommended three short hours of reflection, analysis, and planning. . . instead of three hours of Netflix or Amazon Prime, YouTube animals or bloopers, random web- or social media-surfing’s, or a bowl game that doesn’t matter.
Clearly, one of the benefits involves the students, staff, schools, or systems that you successfully change and enhance.
But another critical benefit involves the feelings of accomplishment, relief, excitement, or purpose that you will experience from the same successes.
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I hope that you will accept “my challenge,” and will complete this activity. I’d love to hear about its impact within your setting and on your professional life, well-being, and success.
Meanwhile, at this Holiday Season, I hope that you recognize the incredible impact that you have on others—both professionally and personally.
I wish you and your loved ones joy, warmth, enchantment, togetherness, peace, . . . and safety. Please take care of yourselves. . . and we’ll see you in the New Year.
Best,
