EPISODE #349

Hey, Builders. Before we begin today's episode, I just want to tell you that the next cohort for Buildership University is now open. We're keeping the cohort small because this is a mentorship. This is where you are getting my support. And here's what happens inside of Buildership University. In the first 30 days, you're going to have a vision. You're going to have your entire staff on board with your vision, and you're going to have a clear plan of how you can achieve your vision. That's in the first 30 days.

I know that feels like a lot, but. But that's what happens for you in the first 30 days of build Trip University. After that, we spend the next five months putting systems in place to help you achieve it. Why does it take five months? Because this is serious work. This is not about just a couple of little quick fixes and band aids that are gonna get you there. This is about doing things that you can rely on for the rest of your tenure in your school. And every time you put a system in place, you.

You see results right away. This is not for everybody. This is for people who are tired of trying to hold everything together themselves and are ready to build some things in play and put some things in place that make success automatic in your school. So go to buildershipuniversity.com complete the application, and join us in our next BU cohort. Now on with the show. You're listening to the School Leadership Reimagined podcast, episode 349. How do builders like us make a dramatic difference in the lives of our students in spite of all the obstacles we face? How do you keep your vision for your school from being held hostage by resistant teachers, uncooperative parents, ridiculous district policies, or lack of time, money, or resources?

If you're facing those challenges right now, here is where you'll find the answers, strategies, and actionable tips you need to overcome any obstacle you face. You don't have to wait to make a difference in the lives of the people you serve. You can turn your school into a success story right now with the people and resources you already have. Let's get started. Hey, Builders.

Welcome to another episode of the School Leadership Reimagined Podcast. 

I'm your host, Robin Jackson, and today I just want to talk about. This phrase just keeps going through my head, and that's simply this.

Your school was not built for this. Now, here's what I mean by that. Like, most principals are doing stuff that should be working. They're implementing really Solid ideas. They're research based. Principals are thoughtful, they're experienced, they're committed, and yet they're not making progress or the progress doesn't stick, or alignment is, it's, it's fragile. It's, you know, like one day everybody's all on board and then something happens and two weeks later, you know, you start getting the griping and the complaining and you know, everything feels like it just requires constant effort. Are you feeling that right now?

This is what I'm seeing when I'm in schools and I'm talking to principals that, you know, just, things just feel like no matter what you do, you know, you get excited, you're like, okay, this is going to work. And it does for a little bit and then it doesn't. And I don't know about you, but that just, that kind of stuff makes me sick to my stomach. Right when you start and you're like, okay, we have a problem, you come up with a solution, you start working on a solution, you get really excited about the solution, it should work, and then it doesn't. And so I've been thinking about a lot about this, a lot. And I just keep thinking that when, when good work doesn't hold, we usually assume that there's something wrong with us or with our people, right? So when we do something that should work and it doesn't work, we start blaming ourselves and beating up ourselves or we start blaming our teachers, right? So, you know, we'll do things like, okay, so maybe I should have been clearer about the thing, or maybe I should be doing a better job of holding people accountable or may I, Maybe this isn't the right strategy.

Maybe I chose the wrong strategy, or maybe I just haven't found the thing yet, the right framework, the right tactic yet, right? Or we go even further. We talk about, you know, we'll blame like, okay, well, maybe this is the right thing and these are the right people. But you know, the politics, the political climate, or, you know, but there's a staffing shortage or we blame the district or, and this is dangerous, we start giving our kids a side eye and start saying, well, maybe it's, maybe it's the kids, you know, we're doing everything right here. Maybe it's the kids or the parents or this moment that we're in, whatever that moment happens to be. And the thing that's so dangerous about this is that all of those explanations feel reasonable, but they all miss the, the real issue, right? Because, and you've heard me say this before, every system is perfectly designed to produce the results that the system is getting. And this especially applies to schools.

And this is hard. I'll tell you the truth. This is a hard one for me to swallow. Like when stuff isn't working in the work that I'm doing, and I want to blame whatever I have to come back to this. And it forces me to face myself. So this, this is not an easy pill to swallow, but it is true. Every system is perfectly designed to give you the results that you're getting. So if you have systems in your school that are designed for compliance, you're just going to get compliance.

Let me tell you what I mean by that. If your system for lesson planning is that everybody has to produce a lesson plan using the exact same lesson planning format, they have to submit it on this particular day. That is a system designed not for improved instruction. That's a system design for compliance. You are checking, you're putting it in place because you don't believe that if you don't have that in place, teachers aren't going to plan lessons. So you are not after effective instruction. You are after compliance. And so you're getting compliance.

You can't complain when teachers are phoning it in, right? 

If your curriculum and the way that you implement your curriculum is about, listen, we got to get through this. Are you going through the standards? Are you getting these standards? If you're unpacking the standards and it includes just like underlining verbs and circling nouns, then you have a system designed for coverage, not for mastery. And so when you go into classrooms and teachers are just kind of like reading the curriculum guide, and they're not really, you know, moving kids towards mastery. You can't get mad because that's how you trained them. That's the system you created, right?

You create a system, put a system in place where you are giving teachers feedback. But every time you go in a classroom, it's a new conversation, it's a new piece of feedback. It's not an ongoing conversation where teachers are actually growing and building. You can't get mad when you walk into classrooms and teachers start performing while you're in there. You set up a system that is designed to make them perform while you're in there. Right? The things that frustrate us the most about our schools are usually the result of a system that we have in place that is giving us those results. Right?

And the hard truth is that most schools are not designed for 100% staff alignment. They're not. They're designed to get the quote Unquote, good guys on board and weed out the bad guys. They're not designed to get everybody focused on the same thing, which is why so many principals are beating their heads against the wall, especially this time of year, trying to get rid of teachers and trying to find the unicorn, great teacher who's going to come in and change everything. Most schools are not designed for rigorous instruction in the classroom. They're designed for coverage. So principals can't get mad when they go in a classroom and they're like, we need more rigor. What have you done?

Rigor requires thinking. But if you haven't designed your planning process to make teachers think rigorously about the standards and about how they're going to help students achieve those standards, how can you expect teachers to get kids to think rigorously about the work? Right. Rigor requires rigor. So if you're not designing and setting up a system where teachers are rigorously designing lessons, you can't expect to see rigor in a classroom. Right. Most schools are not designed for teachers to grow continually. They're designed for teachers to perform for an observation instrument.

Most schools are not designed for outcomes to hold without constant supervision. 

So we can't get mad when we're working late at nights and weekends and when nothing gets done unless we're doing it because we didn't design a system for that. You get the results that the system was designed for. And when you try to get results from a system that wasn't built to deliver those results, you work harder and harder and harder. Your effort goes up. The results don't. That's the trap. Right?

So what we do then is that because we are operating in systems that weren't designed to give us the results that we want, we compensate for weak systems. Your system isn't designed for people to be able to move in autonomy. So you have to constantly remind them. Your system isn't designed for people to take true accountability, so you have to be the enforcer. Your system isn't designed for people to grow continuously and to act on your feedback. So you have to constantly be there monitoring them, chasing, checking, and correcting them. Your system wasn't designed for people to take ownership over their work, so you're the quality control. Your system wasn't designed for.

People. Do the right work the right way for the right reasons, even when you're not looking. So that means you have to constantly monitor, you have to constantly enforce, you have to constantly be the one who's pushing. Right? So what happens is, in order for you to get results from your school leadership. Your leadership has to be the glue that's holding everything together. And in often cases, especially if you are good at this, good at leadership, you are the glue. And the glue does.

You do hold everything together. It does work. Until it doesn't. Because at some point you can't do everything. At some point, your grip on holding everything together begins to slip. And we see it as, and take it on ourselves and think it's our leadership failure. It's not a leadership failure, it's a design failure. You are compensating for broken and weak systems.

So instead of asking things like, okay, so how do I get more buy in? How do I get people to care? How do I delegate better? How do I, you know, I need a new system? You know, all the things that we normally do to try to fix what's broken. The real thing that we should be thinking about is we should be interrogating our systems. The results.

If I don't like the results, I always say, don't blame the people, blame the process.

If I don't like the results I'm getting out of my school right now, then the answer is to look at the system that exists. And we don't, we're not good at that. We, you know, we don't interrogate our systems. We don't spend a whole bunch of time thinking about the kinds of systems that really do move a school forward. In fact, I'm thinking about doing a series on the podcast about that where I talk about the systems, because there are 10 systems you need if you're going to move a school forward. You need 10 things, and we don't talk about it. That's what we do in Buildership University, by the way, is like, we install those 10 systems in your school. And what's really cool about that is that once you have these 10 systems in place, every problem you have, every.

Every roadblock you hit, every challenge you face, you don't have to figure it out. You just go to the system. We were in office hours yesterday and someone came in and she was talking about something. And on the surface, it felt like a unique problem, but the more she started talking about it, I was like, oh, that's a such and such problem. Your such and such system will solve it. And we talked it through and it's just like, oh, yeah, that's true. And then she went right to the system inside of bu, pulled the system down, and she doesn't have to think about it. She just takes a system, installs it problem solved, right?

So I'm actually thinking about doing that as a series. But where was I? I got off track. What I was trying to say is that what you should be doing is if you are facing challenges, if you are doing all the right things and not getting the results, if you are frustrated and starting, you know, here's the other thing that happens. We start to resent the people who work for us, right? Because we see ourselves working so hard and we're not getting the results and we begin to resent our teachers, our kids, our parents, our admin team, our leadership team. And all that resentment is really just kind of masking the fact that the system is broken. And so we gotta be really careful here because the goal isn't to work harder.

The goal is to stop being the system. Let the systems do the work. You should not be the whole system. You should not be the person that's holding everything together, right? So this is the difference between being a leader and being a builder. A leader continues to tolerate and compensate for broken systems. A builder doesn't. A builder says, I'm not, the problem is a system, and until I put a better system in place, I'm going to continue this problem.

I'm not willing to do so. What do I need to do to build the system that will give me the results that I want, rather than me trying to muscle through and create those results out of thin air? Hey, builders, real quick, before we get on with the rest of the episode, I want to talk to you about the 100% collective. If you are interested in becoming a builder and developing that 100% mindset, then the 100% collective is. Is for you. Not only do we have monthly masterclasses, live masterclasses, where I show you how to take some work that you are already doing, but do it like a builder. Do it in a way that is more effective, more efficient, in a way that takes the work and stops it from being drudgery and makes it actually something that feels meaningful, that moves you forward.

We also have done for you toolboxes with all the tools you need to be able to implement.

And we have step by step playbooks that lay out the entire process for you. So you don't even think about it. You just take the playbook and you can implement it right away in your schools. And we have a supportive community. So this is a safe place where you can bring your challenges. And there are other people, other builders just like you, who are encouraging you, who are applauding you when you Win and who are giving you their experiences as well so that you can learn from each other. If you are tired of just kind of going through and doing the work the way you've always been doing it, and you're ready to stop being a leader and to start building something amazing, the 100% collective is where you need to be. Join us@brewershipuniversity.com community now.

Back with the program. So if you are in a situation, and this is. I'll be honest, this is something that I've had to confront in my own work. Right. I. There was something I was trying to get done and it was not working. And I got really frustrated. I got frustrated with my team.

I got frustrated. I mean, I was frustrated with everybody. Let's just be honest. I started to feel resentful about the work, about. Anyway, I'm not proud of it, but I was feeling so resentful. And when I realized that I was in trouble is that I was starting to resent the very people that I was serving and I was doing all the quote, unquote, right things that, you know, that everything things I was doing everything that people told me I should be doing. And it still wasn't working. And finally I had to deal with the truth.

My system was jacked up. I was the system. Me. I'm holding everything together. That's why I'm tired and exhausted and frustrated. Those are signs that my system isn't working. Doesn't mean, you know, when you have good systems, it doesn't mean that stuff doesn't happen. You still face challenges.

But the difference is that when you begin to feel resentful, when you begin to feel frustrated, when you begin to feel like, I don't have any, I'm out of options. I don't know what else to do. Those are signs not that you are failing, but that your system is failing you. And like I said, that was a hard thing to confront. I had to confront it recently and it is. It's bitter medicine. But there's something also very liberating about it because the problem is a solution. My problem is I'm the system and I can't continue to be the system.

The solution is get a better system. 

So I would be remiss here if I didn't talk to you. We are Buildership University. We're doing our winter intake for Buildership University, 25 spots, then we're shutting down. If you are tired of being the system and you want some help putting the right systems in place, if you want to have access to these 10 systems done for you, all you have to do is, you know, everything's set up for you to be able to just install it into your school. And I can. I'm just going to tell you now, it's not easy because you are unlearning and relearning. So I'm not going to tell you that it's easy, but it's simple and it's effective.

And every time you, you know, we take you step by step. So we, you know, this is the first system you're going to do, then the next one, then the next one, then the next one. But by the time you are done going through that process and all these systems in place, you look up and you're like, I can't believe how much easier this work is. I was talking to somebody the other day in BU and she was saying that it's just crazy how much easier it is. Like, same work stuff she has to do, same school, but everything feels easier because the system is doing the heavy lifting. She was the system before. Now she has a system she can rely on. And the system, when you do it right, doesn't break even under pressure.

So again, the systems don't take away the challenges. The systems help you deal with the challenges and mitigate them. So they're not. They don't knock you off your square. They don't. They don't. They don't feel devastating. They feel easily solvable.

And one of the things that happens with a lot of people in BU is that once they have these systems in place, they almost feel guilty because they're so used to gutting it out. And when they don't do that anymore, they're like, but then what? Right? But then they can start doing the creative stuff. Then they can start doing the stuff that they've been back burnering for two, three, four, six years. Then they can start making the real difference. So if you are doing everything right, it's not a problem with the idea. Probably it's a great idea.

I mean, there's a lot of good stuff out there. The problem's not your people. I mean, people are people. But those same people that are pains in your neck right now with the right system can be the biggest advocates for kids. The problem isn't even you. So stop blaming yourself. It's not you. It's always the system.

So if you are already in BU and you're frustrated right now, I need to see you at office hours. You need to be coming to office hours. Because if you come to office hours and bring your frustration, I guarantee you there's a system in Bullet that you've probably forgotten about that will solve it. And I'll help you find that. If you are not a member of bu, but you want that kind of support and mentorship, if you want to not only get the systems, but guidance about how to set them up and support in installing them and the feedback on how you're doing to make sure you're installing them right, then the next cohort is open. We close the Cohort on Friday, February 6th. If you're listening to this this in real time and you can go to buildershipuniversity.com and join us. Either way, it's time to stop being the system.

Your school was not built for this. 

That's what I started with this idea that your school is not built for this. Your school is not built for 100% success. That's why people think I'm so crazy when I talk about it. It is possible. But your school's not built for it. Your school's not built for smooth sailing. Your school is giving you the results that it was built to give.

And if you want better results, you have to build better systems. It becomes that simple, right? So stop going out looking all over the place for stuff. The answer is very simple and it's very clear. And it's right in front of you. If you want better school, build better systems. Stop being the system and put things in place that will do the work and make the work feel more and more automatic and more and more rewarding. Because it doesn't rely on you, it relies on a system.

It's time to stop being the system and build the system. The ones that actually give you the results you want. Like a builder. I'll talk to you next time. Hey, if you're ready to get started being a builder right away, then I want to invite invite you to join us at Buildership University. It's our exclusive online community for builders just like you, where you'll be able to get the exact training that you need to turn your school into a success story. Right now, with the people and resources you already have. Inside, you'll find our best online courses, live trainings with me, tons of resources, templates and exemplars, and monthly live office hours with me where you can ask me you, if anything, and get my help on whatever challenge you're facing right now.

If you're tired of hitting obstacle after obstacle and you're sick of tiny little incremental gains each year. If you're ready to make a dramatic difference in your school right now, then you need to join Buildership University. Just go to buildershipuniversity.com and get started writing your school success story today. Hey, real quick, before you go, if you enjoyed today's episode and you know someone who would really benefit from what you heard here today, maybe they're struggling with the thing that we talked about in today's episode, would you take a moment and share this episode with them? You see, not only will it help us get the word about Buildership out to more people, but you're going to look like a rock star because you're going to give people something they can really use to help them get unstuck and be better at building their schools. Plus, it would mean the world to me. Thanks so much and I'll see you next time.