This CEO's 2-Question Leader Audit Changed Everything

TIP OF THE WEEK

The Leader Audit You're Not Doing: Your Key Players Need This Now

I’m walking to a restaurant in Austin, TX — about to meet an incredibly successful CEO. Someone who built a tech product you would know if I told you which one.

He had Lebron James as a partner. That makes this CEO instantly cool in my book, since I LOVE basketball.

We’re meeting at a BBQ place for two reasons.

Reason #1 — The CEO has built an edtech product and needs help understanding the market. Founders of edtech reach out to me all the time because of my deep understanding of the K12 industry. I’m excited.

Reason #2 — He’s going to coach me and help me serve more Ruckus Makers through the programs I built. I’m nervous and wonder if he’ll think I’m a loser.

So we chat about his new project and enjoy a wonderful meal. The focus then turns on me and what I’m building.

He shares two tools with me that instantly have my mind buzzing. Both tools provide immediate value and unlock the way forward for my organization and team.

At the bottom of one of the tools is a process that I want to share with you today.

I guarantee many school leaders don’t leverage this process as often as they should.

Which is why I’m writing this content and challenging you to do something about it now.

It’s simple really.

Think about all your direct reports: APs, Department Chairs, Grade Level Leads, and so on.

List them out. And consider two questions:

• Are they positioned to win?

• Are they currently winning?

What is exactly winning?

I don’t know. That’s for you to decide. 

Yes, it could be improving student achievement. But I would think deeply about the inputs that you believe will produce the results you are looking for.

Example: You want to improve student achievement in a certain subject by a certain percentage. That’s the output. So maybe “winning” looks like an AP leading professional development on professional learning communities and the teachers are actually organizing themselves in that structure.

Once you answer those two “winning” questions, jot down what your next steps are. Because you either have work to do regarding supporting them or you might need to make a move. 

• Play-It-Safe-Principals check in with their direct reports during formal evaluation times. By then, it’s too late.

• Ruckus Makers, on the other hand, Do School Different. Therefore, they find ways to be proactive and create a system of regular ways to provide feedback and coach up their team. Just like what I shared in this article.

Something the CEO told me, also helped me identify a blind spot.

I LOVE freedom and autonomy. I get a lot done each day. I am the captain of my own ship. 

This is all great. But it actually can harm my team. Because I treat them just like me — giving very little oversight and high degrees of trust. This isn’t necessarily bad, but my “aha” was thinking about the support I provide my team.

So I made a choice right there to set up a system meeting with my team regularly. First, I’m going to have them set quarterly goals. After that I’ll just listen to how things are going and identify ways to help them “win.”

You might be thinking, “Yeah Danny … obviously you should be meeting with your team more often.”

But that’s not the point. 

What I want you to consider is how you like to work. Then look at if that’s how you treat your team as well. Because they might be needing something different.

My talk with the CEO inspired me to create a new framework for leaders we support here at Ruckus Maker HQ. I call it The Ruckus Maker Flywheel — a 5-Step process for creating exponential results on your campus. 

The steps are:

1. The Lead Domino Assessment — Align your priorities 

2. The Breakthrough Blueprint — Design your breakthrough

3. The Implementation Engine — Execute with purpose 

4. The High Performance Accelerator — Accelerate your progress 

5. The Impact Reflection System — Reflect & renew

It’s going to be the focus of our summer live event July 9-11 in Sacramento. 

And if you’re curious about the tool and the 5-Steps, I unpack it in this article and give the reader access to the new Lead Domino Assessment here.