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By: Ryan Steuer, CEO
Magnify Learning
Dallas, TX
What separates a dream from a goal is the presence of a good plan. Goals take discipline. Discipline can be hard. But…discipline gives us freedom. Freedom and greatness. Your destiny is there. Will you grab the reins?
Keep Showing Up
Ryan Halladay’s book Discipline is Destiny is full of great stories and tips for developing good discipline. He talks a lot about the superpower known as consistency. He says, “Don't worry about setting any records, just report for duty.” No excuses. You don't have to be amazing but you do always have to show up. Day-to-day willpower is incredibly rare. The famous baseball player Lou Gehrig was a solid position player and a good hitter, but his success was rooted in the fact that he didn't miss many days of work. He played with broken fingers and many other issues. He was just a tough guy, and he saw the importance of showing up. His results speak for themselves.
Be Consistent With Your Words
How does that relate to those of us in education? Consistency, especially in words, is essential as a leader. One of the main tools we draw upon to lead people is our words. You need to use them consistently. What words will you say again and again and again? Pick a phrase. Personally, my work is rooted in developing “employability skills” because I think the connection between school and industry partners is really important. Employability for our students is really what we're looking for in building these skills through Project Based Learning. I also think there's a difference between students and learners. With PBL, we want to move kids from being compliant to being empowered. Learners are empowered, while students are sometimes merely compliant. The words we tell ourselves, our teams and our community are important, and we need to communicate a consistent message and philosophy. That in and of itself is a demonstration of discipline.
Master the Fundamentals
Almost all great leaders, great athletes, great philosophers have been mentally tough. They've been able to endure. That's what it takes: sacrifice, pushing through frustrations, criticism, pain, and loneliness. Leadership is lonely, right? There's criticism. When you are really stepping out is when the discipline starts to take over. Discipline equals destiny. John Wooden, the famous basketball coach, would talk about putting your socks on correctly. Master this, because if you don’t, how you lace up your shoes over those socks could result in a blister. This, in turn, affects how you're dribbling and then how you run, which could then lead to a bigger injury later that affects the whole team. Dominating the fundamentals produces better results down the road.
What does that mean for you as an educational leader? It might mean that you set aside time to read the right books to make sure that you're hitting your goals to up your leadership game (subtle hint: listen to the PBL Simplified podcast for recommendations). Maybe you decide to visit three classrooms each day. Discipline says that no matter how busy you are, no matter how urgent things are, you have a consistency and a discipline rooted in the fundamentals.
Bounce Back
The setbacks will come. Even the strongest will suffer. That's what being a pro is about: treating winning or losing as a chance to get right back at it. To come back to your groove and stay in it. That's where you're happiest, most in control, and most connected. You will have dips in your work. High flyers don't always have perfect days. They have bad days but when they do, the trough is not as low. The lows don’t last as long. Strong leaders know how to get back on the horse. The trough isn't as deep and it's not as long. Use the next day as an opportunity to bounce back.
Leaders refuse to give up or to stop trying. They have conquered themselves in body and mind. Queen Elizabeth II had tea with over a million people during her time, because that was part of her job. That's what she did. She endured several attacks on her life but these harrowing experiences didn’t deflect from her basic, fundamental job responsibilities.
Develop Daily Habits
Daily habits should lead towards your goals. The discipline to do them is really what gets you there in the end. It's putting those goals before you saying, “What I'm doing today, does that lead towards my goals?” When they are, you are pursuing your destiny. And destiny equals freedom from the distracting tasks that will not help you reach goals.
Naturally, not all goals are created equal. So how do you prioritize your goals?
Let me give you three ideas. Some tasks need to be eliminated; some need to be automated; some must be delegated.
Look at everything you do in a day and start to ask, “What lines up with my goals and what does not?” If it does not align to your goals or it's not something you should be doing, eliminate it. If it went away forever, would anyone (most importantly, you) consider you any less proficient as a leader?
Some tasks must be delegated. You're likely doing some things on your to-do list that you are proficient at or maybe you're passionate about, but you're not really good at it. You need to be both. Let's say you produce the weekly newsletter for your school. You say, “Well, I need to do the weekly newsletter. I'm the leader. I can't stand it but I know I'm supposed to do it. I'm not even really good at it. It takes me three hours.” What if you had somebody that provided the content so that you are just plugging things in? Is that okay? Yes. Delegate those portions that you're not as good at. To get your goals accomplished, you first set them, then prioritize them, build habits around them, and filter them.
Close Your Door
Here’s one more that might be hard for you: The Open Door Policy. It’s overrated. It doesn't help you get deep work done. Block out a section of your time on your calendar to do deep work. Make sure people know when it is, and as long as they do, they’re not going to mind. This could be a recurring time slot in your week or a one-time work session to meet a goal (a grant application, etc.) that you would schedule just like an appointment with yourself. If you’ve just said to yourself that your time is valuable, that deep work time is worth defending. And when you defend your time to achieve your goals, you actually achieve your goals once it becomes part of the process.
Continually Prioritize Your Work
When work comes across your desk, you've got to decide whether it is actually important. Sometimes you just need to give it 20 minutes. Maybe it’s a grant proposal. In that time you might find that you don't even want to go after it because it’s way more work than you want or it takes you in a different direction. Give it 20 minutes. See what happens.
I use the Ivy Lee Method. On my iPad, I list six things that are top priority. These are the biggest things that I need to do. I'm not allowed to work on the second item on my list until I get the first one completed. If I have a free moment or can carve one out, I know exactly what I'm supposed to do. I'm not wasting time wondering what I should be doing with this time. It’s listed there precisely. I will still have the noise that happens each day, but I also have the important stuff front and center that I see every single day. I'm using this method for 2023 and I’ll let you know how it’s going as the year progresses.
Achieving your destiny isn’t about being supremely talented or brilliant. It’s more about showing up, being resilient, developing good habits, and mastering the fundamentals. These habits will rub off on those around you, especially if you teach them your tricks.
When you set and achieve your goals, you will engage your learners, tackle boredom, and transform your classrooms. Go lead inspired!
I’m Ryan Steuer – author and thought leader who specializes in Project Based Learning training, coaching, community, and content to help educational leaders fulfill their vision of deeper learning in their schools. I’ve worked with leaders in school districts of all sizes, from 400 students to 100,000 students. These visionary leaders care about their students, but they are often stressed, overworked, and overwhelmed with the work ahead of them. That’s where I come in! I help leaders achieve their PBL vision, lead their staff, AND stop working weekends.
When I’m not guiding school leaders through Project Based Learning mindset shifts, I am outdoors with my wife and 5 kids - canoeing, hiking, biking, and traveling the US in our RV.
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