4 Disciplines of Execution

The book The 4 Disciplines of Execution (McChesney, Covey, and Huling, 2016) is all about helping us to produce great results.

Working in education, as I'm sure is the same in many other fields, the whirldwind is a real problem that we face daily. There always seems to be something else that is getting in the way and the more we allow the whirlwind to distract us, the further we get from our goals. This 4DX process will hopefully aid in avoiding the whirlwind that teachers face daily.

The Four Disciplines

1. The Wildly Important Goal

Sometimes the hardest part of initiating change can be to decide where to start your focus, at least it is for me. When I look at what our district currently faces when trying to implement technology in the classroom, I can think of many different topics that need addressing. However, McChesney, et. al. (2016) tell us that if you work on many different goals then you are actually not working on any of them. Focusing on one or two Wildly Important Goals will help you to avoid the whirlwind effect and be more productive in your implementation.

My Wildly Important Goal (WIG) for my Innovation Plan:

Guide and support at least 75% of our teachers to successfully find and implement at least one technology resource to aid them in their selected instructional goal during the school year while keeping instruction as the priority and technology as a supporting factor.

2. Lead Measures

Next, it is time to determine how I will assist these teachers in achieving this WIG. Lead measures are how I will work towards helping achieve the WIG.

Lag Measure: By the end of the school year, 75% of teachers will be successfully implementing at least one new technology resource that enhances their instructional goal for the school year.

Lead Measure: Provide teachers with resources that they could choose from so that they don't feel as though they are starting from scratch.

Lead Measure: Provide ongoing support for teachers as they try out new technology resources through monthly check-ins, Google Classroom collaboration, and guidance on their technology implementation.

Lead Measure: Utilize peer teachers on each campus to help other teachers with implementation.

3. A Compelling Scoreboard

In order for teachers to look at this as beneficial and productive and not just "one more thing" it is important to give them ownership. McChesney, et. al (2016) tells us that if people are keeping score for themselves that they will play differently. SInce the players will have their own scoreboard to motivate them, each one will vary and the coach cannot set that scoreboard without their involvement. These scoreboards will be simple and focus on the lead and lag measures, the individual variables for that teacher, and will be updated weekly. I will provide examples of scoreboards for teachers to choose from, but I will also allow them to create their own if they decide to. These scoreboards will be updated weekly on the Google Classroom that is utilized for the WIG and they will comment/reflect on each others scores.

4. Accountability

A plan without accountability will fail every time. If we don't keep checking in and evaluating our progress it will quickly become less important as each day goes by. To help the accountability of our WIG and the Innovation Plan, we will do the following:

Each week the teachers will post an updated scoreboard of their progress in Google Classroom. This will keep them accountable to themselves and their peers.
Each month, they will complete a short reflection on how their weekly scoreboards look, what has worked or not worked, and other thoughts on their implementation.
As teachers use different technology resources in their classroom, they will post evidence of it in the Google Classroom to show student work and the teacher plans.

5 Stages of Change

Getting Clear

This stage is where we get started! Each year our teachers are tasked with many different intiatives and programs. Sometimes part of the struggle is not really knowing what is expected of them and how the process will happen. I do not want my teachers to feel like this for my Innovation Plan so we'll start with setting the clear roadmap. This will include the WIG, the lead and lag measures, the scoreboard, and how we will be held accountable. This step will take place as a group in a face-to-face setting.

Launch

Any new initiative for teachers can cause a mix of emotions that can vary from resentment to excitement and those emotions will change many times for each person. To help us launch this new plan I will show the teachers the abundance of resources that I have created to provide for their use during this plan. I want them to realize that they are not doing this alone and they are not having to start from scratch. I will be there, along with their peers, through the entire process.

Adoption

At this stage, my teachers will start using their own instructional goal that they chose for themselves for the school year and finding technology resources to aid in that goal. They will have choice in their goal and their resources. In addition, they can use the resources I provide or they can venture out to find their own. During this stage, they will have as much, or as little, assistance and guidance that they feel they need from me.

Optimization

By this stage, the teachers will be more comfortable with trying out new resources and the trial and error that comes with it. We will be having our regular check-ins and reflections so the lead measures and other approaches may change as the teachers become more invested and involved in the plan.

Habits

In this final stage, the teachers no longer look at technology as a burden or just "one more thing" but realize that it can be benefical when used correctly. They will also be naturally looking at the instructional goals first and the technology tools second.

How my Influencer Strategy and 4DX Execution models work together.

As I was developing my 4DX process I realized how similar it was to my Influencer Strategy. In the influencer strategy, it focused a lot on the personal motivations and the motivations from external factors. Motivation is critical in implementing something new especially if you need buy-in from the participants. The 4DX process focused more on how it would get done and the mechanics of it. However, they both played hand-in-hand with each other. I obtained my WIG from the results I wanted to achieve from my Influencer Strategy. I also merged other factors of my 4DX process to things from my influencer strategy. I think the more you can have processes mesh when trying something new, the easier it will be to be successful.

References:

McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2016). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. New York: Free Press.