Collaborative discussions have tremendous power for what they can communicate between an employee and the instructional leader. There is opportunity to build trust, give and receive feedback, and work towards offering a wonderful educational environment in which students can learn and employees want to work.
Many school systems have a goal setting component. In reality, goal setting is common in many professions. It is an opportunity for the employee to target meaningful ways to grow professionally related to the work the employee does and the population with whom s/he works. When I co-develop an evaluation system, I believe this and so I create avenues to actively involve the employee in the process. A primer on goal setting appears in green at the end.
Sometimes the worst situations provide opportunity for reflection, so in that spirit I offer this tale. The words in red are what an employee shared with me about a recent goal setting process – a description that illustrates how poor execution of a process that is designed to be collaborative can damage the employee-boss relationship. Notice I did not say instructional leader, the boss in this scenario is no instructional leader and will not be referred to by any title typically attributed to an instructional leader in the school.
The boss needed the employee goal setting forms written, reviewed, and signed off by a specific date. On that date, the boss called all the employees together and gave them a goal setting sheet that the boss had completed. The boss instructed the employees to sign the sheet and meet the boss in the copy room where each employee would receive copies of the goal setting sheet. The goals were not SMART. They essentially were the school improvement team (SIT) goals for the school – didn’t matter if the employee was a math, reading, science, history, living skills, technology, etc. teacher. The goals were applied to all, even if they were not appropriate. Certainly, everyone can support a reading-related goal, but how realistic is it to say that a physical education teacher’s success in meeting or exceeding her goals should be based on the state standardized English test?
The teacher was seeing red. The teacher felt that the boss wasn’t interested in the teacher’s goals for growth or ability to contribute to student learning. The boss simply was “checking a box” that a particular step in the process was completed. Further the teacher felt powerless to say anything. A whole group was pulled together and handed goals to sign on the spot – who would speak up and annoy the boss. Worse yet, the teacher believes that going to human resources would be fruitless as HR would just say, “But you signed the goal sheet saying you agreed.” The teacher feels that it is a hostile work environment and that the goal setting issue is just another example of the boss taking care of him/herself at the expense of the staff.
So what did I take away from my listening to the employee? I would hope that goals are reviewed by the boss’ leadership who would see red flags that a whole group has identical goals which are identical to the SIT plan. Clearly leadership needs training in the evaluation process and how to engage in collaborative discussions related to goal setting. Most of the entire employee’s recounting of the awful afternoon reminded me of why good leaders are so vital. Why it is important in my work to give instructional leaders tools, support, and feedback so that they can do the same for their employees demonstrating a valuing for the work each contributes to the success of the people from students to staff in the school. Collaborative discourse should be a matter of course, even though it requires more effort than checking a box. You wouldn’t just check a box on a student, so why do it on an employee?
PRIMER ON GOAL SETTING
The goal setting process is an opportunity for collaborative dialogue and valuing of the employee’s perspective of what s/he has discerned as opportunity for growth or enhancement of skills. In most models, the employee provides articulates the area in which s/he will focus, provides baseline data, articulates a SMART goal (see bullets), and provides strategies and measures to guide the progress on the goal. Once the employee has written the goals, the goals are submitted to the evaluator for review. This is often a time when a meeting may be held. Then there is a mid-year meeting or discussion about progress towards the goal and an end-of-year meeting. Sometimes the mid-year meeting may be done in collegial groups. However the initial goal setting meeting and end-of-year meeting are one-on-one to promote dialogue and discussion about the work the professional does.
Goals need to be SMART:
- Specific – the goal is focused; for example, by content area, by learners’ needs
- Measurable – an appropriate instrument/measure is selected to assess the goal
- Attainable – the goal is within the teacher’s control to effect change
- Realistic – the goal is appropriate for the teacher
- Time limited – the goal is contained to a single school year
Student Achievement Goal Setting written by James Stronge and Leslie Grant was released last month by Eye on Education. It provides more information on the goal setting process and numerous sample goals to support professionals in writing their own goals.
I was talking to a peer this week and we were discussing all of the things on our plate. Observations, Discipline, Data, State Testing, and so on and so on. We were both feeling very pressed and looking to share war stories while at the same time trying to figure out how to get our heads above water again. What kept catching my attention throughout the entire conversation was how many times we kept saying "I don't have time." Really?
Yes, there are times when we do not have time. There are always high priority situations that demand immediate attention. But is our entire life, day in and day out, like this? And if so why? What is it that causes people to feel as though every situation is a high priority situation? How can we overcome it and figure out how to get a grip on what is weighing us down. Whenever we feel this type of pressure upon us the first thing we must do is come to the realization that we will never HAVE time until we step back, analyze what is before us and then work to MAKE time. We do this by prioritizing our "In Basket." What does it mean to prioritze our "In Basket?" What is an "In Basket" anyway?
Our "In Basket" refers to all of the items we have to address within a certain range of time. Most people will do best with this concept by starting with a daily "In Basket" especially this late in the school year. At this point we are all excited just to make it day to day anyway so prioritize as such. Start focusing on what must be done in order to make it through the day, but never forget to move Non-Negotiables that we do not get to to the next day and keep moving. Also during this time of year, take away the things that do not matter or can be put off until after the school year ends. If it is not a must or mandate, then it does not matter as much as the musts or mandates. If we continue to grind our way to the end with distracters slowing us down, we will be burned totally up coming into the last thirty days of the school year. 
