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Executive Director's Notebook

Are We Getting the Results We Want?

by Dennis Sparks
RESULTS - October 1997

In Corporate Tides: The Inescapable Laws of Organizational Structure, Robert Fritz argues that organizational structures exert a powerful force on behavior and that such structures can be either oscillating or advancing.

Oscillating structures occur when resolving one tension in an organization produces an opposing tension, causing the organization to have a sense of movement but no progress. (The classic example is someone who diets to lose weight, then returns to old eating habits when he or she loses weight or feels hungry, which in turn causes weight gain.)

Staff development and school improvement activities are often part of oscillating structures. These oscillations aren't always obvious because, as Fritz points out, the organization appears to be heading in the right direction some of the time.

Advancing structures, on the other hand, contain three basic elements: (1) a compelling vision, (2) a thorough, fearless assessment of current reality, and (3) powerful strategies to move the organization toward its mission (see next month's column for a discussion of the characteristics of powerful strategies).

Fritz argues that vision can't be simply a reaction against something; it must be an expression of what we want. But many vision statements are too fuzzy and vague, he says.

"Authentic vision lives, breathes, and is tangible. The term implies something that we can see well enough to recognize it if it appeared in reality," he argues.

Not all visions are equal in their ability to move people to positive action, Fritz points out. "When confronted by greatness as a dominant value," he writes, "the organization has something by which to measure and judge every aspect of the enterprise. . . . When people share a common vision, they can perform feats that would otherwise be impossible. . . . There is something in the human spirit that longs for participation with others, that wants to be involved in a collective endeavor."

In that situation, "we not only tolerate change, we actively seek it," he says.

Here is my view of a powerful stretching vision for schools:

  • All students and staff members learn and perform at high levels.
  • Every student has a competent, caring teacher.
  • Every teacher has the preparation, professional development, and other ongoing support to become competent.
  • A new form of results-driven, standards-based staff development is at the core of the reform movement.

Here is my view of the current situation:

  • Many students don't learn at high levels.
  • Whether students have competent, caring teachers is hit or miss; some kids have the good fortune to have such teachers, others do not.
  • Most staff development/school improvement activities don't focus on teachers' content knowledge, pedagogy, or other classroom-related knowledge and skills. Too often the focus is on "safe" topics such as student self esteem or school climate. The small amount of staff development that focuses on teachers' instructional knowledge and skills often isn't sufficiently rigorous or sustained to produce lasting on-the-job changes. While there are exceptions to the above, they're far too infrequent to ensure high levels of learning for all students.

Robert Fritz says it's essential to hold the tension between our vision and reality rather than letting it dissipate by lessening our aspirations, blunting our view of reality, or rapidly moving to action - any action - so that we feel like we're doing something to address the problem (and consequently confusing activity with accomplishment).

High levels of learning for all students requires that we pay attention to structural design as well as the professional learning of individuals.


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