Context Switching, How it Impacts Your School!

You do it and great leaders do it. Context switching.

Not every scenario, team, or individual should be approached exactly the same. There are unique forms, functions, and frames of mind required of school leadership throughout the day.

Great leaders understand this. Good leaders do it. And...well, we've all worked for someone who made mistakes with this...or was unable to execute the context switch.

And yes, it's easier to see in your boss than in the mirror (oh, the power of reflective practice).

In this post, I will show:

1. How three different school leaders do or don't context switch.
2. The positive and negative effects of each leader.
3. Steps to effectively context switch and lead your school to greater learning outcomes!

The Promoted Manager

The context for this school leader is managing up. They intuitively know relationships above in the chain of command are vital.

This leader places an imbalanced effort in managing up. The efforts in this context often result in promotions and better positions.

However, this educational leader is not able to manage down into the relationships that impact the nuts and bolts. Unfortunately, these are the relationships that matter in student learning!

Effects:

• A better salary for the leader. 
• Better resume for the leader.
• Possible poor school climate. 
• Lack of effective attention to school culture.
• Poor learning results & student outcomes.

The School Expert

Often under the misnomer, instructional leader. This manager manages down...and does it too much. 

The school expert is truly an expert in the technical side of instruction, curriculum, and classroom affairs but not the expert in leading.

And there is a major difference here.

Too much attention is given to programs and not enough to people. This leader deeply understands that instructional programs have a major impact. However, the people have a greater impact.

Effects: 

• Perceived as a micro-manager and possibly damages valuable human relationships.
• Has a tendency to dictate what should happen vs. promoting a culture of collaborative decision-making.
• Threatened by (fearful of) others' ideas. This is a result of overvaluing their own expertise.
• Possible short-term increases in test scores.
• May or may not create learning results that last.

The Context-Switcher

This school leader is able to switch from high-level planning and strategy to relationships with uppers and colleagues to work with school staff on student learning. 

This instructional leader is knowledgeable with the nuts and bolts of what makes learning happen. Likewise, this leader is skillful in leadership.

The context-switcher uses leadership prowess to build a culture and climate. These efforts result in trust, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Effects: 

• Collaborative and action-oriented culture.
• Trusting and open school climate.
• The potential for lasting learning results.

Steps to Greater Learning Outcomes

The effective school leader knows the context in which she works and can seamlessly switch between them. This is not my opinion, it's grounded in research.

Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005) laid out a research-based plan for effective school leadership. One small aspect of that plan relates to context switching and can help school leaders move to great learning outcomes. The following steps are adapted from their work.

Step 1: Create a Results-Oriented Leadership Team

The leadership team can cast a vision around a set of goals that matter. Not just goals and improvement planning -but goals that matter. Desires and goals that matter to students, to teachers, and to the community.

The leadership team uses the vision and goals in real ways. They create the systems necessary to reach those goals. 

Step 2: Share Leadership Responsibilities

I did not say delegate. Delegation is how tasks get done. Sharing leadership is how people are empowered to make an impact.

Read here for more on Empowering Educators through Dynamic Team Creation where Tom Waters details the types of leadership teams and their responsibilities.

Step 3: Communicate the Right Work

It's not always about being busy or being busy with the right work. Leadership is about communicating that work.

• What work will give the school the biggest impact on student learning?
• What work will give the school the largest positive shift in school culture and climate?
• What work am I talk to my colleagues about?
• What work am I reporting to my superiors?
• What work am I communicating with my community?

You're working on so many things. Which of those are you communicating? That's the narrative that an effective context switcher tells.

Read here for more on why an Effective Leader Turns the Hustle into a Simple Story (and 4 Other Strategies).

So, how do you context switch? Has this article helped raise awareness about the concept? Which of these three school leaders do you find most familiar? Which one do you work toward becoming?

Read more on strategies for effective school leadership or here for how to impact your school culture.

Share your ideas or questions in the comments below.