February 1998 Newsletter
Volume 10, Number 2
Confident Communication
Communication Skills for School Leaders
Few would disagree that school leaders must be good communicators. But what does good communication look like? A simple definition of effective communication is the ability to convey facts and ideas in a manner that is clear and easily understood. On closer examination, however, one finds that the process of good communication is not so simple. For example, several studies have shown that of the total message communicated when interacting with someone, only about 10% of that message is conveyed through the words uttered. The remainder, about 90% of the message, is the result of nonverbal body language and voice tone. Yet, many people are unaware of this phenomenon and are sometimes very surprised to discover that the message received is very different from what they intended. Even worse, the miscommunication sometimes goes undetected until a crisis arises. Listening is another important, yet often overlooked, skill associated with good communication since interactions rarely are one-way. Most people assume that unless they are hearing impaired, they are good listeners. The reality is that listening is as much an attitude and skill as it is a sensory function.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) identified four oral communication skill areas effective school leaders must possess. They include skill in: 1) making clear and effective presentations of facts or ideas, 2) communicating appropriately in a variety of different settings with a variety of different audiences, 3) being a receptive listener and observer, and 4) using one’s voice effectively. NASSP introduced a professional development module that addresses these important skills and places them in the context of a school setting. The LEAD Center acquired this module from NASSP and is making it available this summer to school leaders who want to sharpen their communication skills. Offered in Bismarck/Mandan on June 22-24, the program integrates communication theory with effective on-the-job behavior. Participants will learn the key behaviors of effective communication in dyadic (one-on-one) as well as small- and large-group settings. After practice episodes using realistic school simulations and case studies, participants receive feedback and coaching from their peers and through videotape. See the registration form inside for more details. Enrollment is limited, so sign up early.
Future Leaders Project Includes Mentoring
Mentoring Redefined to Include Peer Mentoring and Coaching

Through its Future Leaders Project, the LEAD Center is taking steps to address the ever-increasing administrator shortage facing North Dakota schools. Increasingly, schools are reporting that the number of qualified applicants for administrative openings is dwindling, especially for superintendent positions. While addressing the problem of how to recruit and retain strong school leaders, a new problem was uncovered, however. School administrators usually work in isolation. Although they spend considerable time interacting with people, they rarely have opportunities to reflect on and discuss their work or just "unload" with colleagues who share and understand their perspective. Even more rare are opportunities for administrators to receive quality feedback on their work. Yes, they receive lots of feedback, but most of it comes in the form of menacing criticism that offers them little help to understand a problem and even less in the way of solutions for what to do about it. A well planned mentoring and coaching program can weave a network of support that breaks down the walls of isolation and provides school leaders with opportunities to brainstorm ideas, solve problems, and receive quality feedback on their work. For the past two years the LEAD Center has been training practicing school administrators to serve as mentors for beginning school leaders. The aim is to blanket the state with trained mentors so that whenever a new administrator moves into an area, someone will be nearby to offer mentoring support. The goal of this strategy is to accelerate the experience learning curve of new administrators by helping them acquire skills in one or two years that otherwise would take much longer if acquired on their own through trial and error and with little or no feedback. One of the outstanding features of a mentoring and coaching program is that there usually are reciprocal benefits to mentoring and coaching that make the experience a true win-win for all involved. In addition to the benefits for beginning administrators already outlined, mentors almost always experience a revitalization and new sense of professionalism about their work. In helping a beginner, mentors often are challenged to reflect on their own skills as well as to explain the process and rationale for policies and decisions made. Someone characterized this experience as "one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself because I was forced to deactivate my auto-pilot and reexamine my own philosophy." The pool of trained mentors will be expanded when another group of experienced administrators learns mentoring principles and best practices at a training session March 23-24, 1998, in Fargo.

For most people, the image of mentoring is a senior administrator guiding the development of a beginning administrator; however, that paradigm was challenged this past year during a mentor training session. Participants were asked to identify a real problem they were facing, then to role-play beginning administrators so their partners could practice the mentoring skills they had learned. The session went well, but at the end someone commented, "I know that my real-world problem was only a set to make the simulation more realistic, but I really got a lot of help and good advice on how to solve my problem. Why couldn’t we do this kind of thing with our experienced colleagues, too, instead of just with beginning administrators?" Indeed, why couldn’t we? The idea will be tested when the Southwest Region superintendents meet in Dickinson on February 25th, where about 40 superintendents will experience peer mentoring and coaching. Each group member will come to the session prepared to share a problem or situation they are facing for which they would like feedback and coaching. After an introduction to mentoring principles and processes, groups of three or four will form to discuss the respective problems and situations. If all goes as expected, everyone will leave with fresh insights into their problems, ideas about possible solutions, and, if nothing else, having "unloaded" on others who understand. Pending a successful pilot, peer mentoring and coaching opportunities will be offered to other groups of administrators across the state.
LEAD Will Pilot Authentic Performance Assessment
for Aspiring Principals
Over the past two years aspiring principals in the new TCU/UND educational leadership program were introduced to a new kind of graduate school exam. Instead of being asked to write papers outlining administrative theories or describing how they might handle hypothetical situations, they were challenged to actually demonstrate their skills while they performed a series of activities that simulated the tasks of a school administrator. This "performance exam," called the Leadership Early Assessment Program (LEAP), helps identify and develop aspiring school leaders by providing them with a source of information not usually present in traditional educational leadership preparation programs. By establishing a baseline of demonstrated skills, graduate students acquire a more accurate picture of their strengths as well as the areas most in need of development. LEAP also provides a realistic preview of school administration that helps students to decide whether school leadership is right for them and they are right for school leadership.
An experiment is planned that will take the idea of performance demonstration and assessment to a new level. The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) recently unveiled an updated and refined version of the original principal assessment center. The process titled, "Selecting and Developing the 21st Century Principal," will generate data that might be used in one or more of the following ways: 1) to serve as an authentic performance demonstration at the culmination of a graduate program in educational leadership, 2) to provide participants with objective information about strengths and improvement needs to be used in preparing for on-the-job performance and/or planning for future professional development, and 3) to provide decision makers with independent, objective information that may be used in connection with other information in making selection and placement decisions. It still is unknown whether Selecting and Developing the 21st Century Principal has a place in North Dakota’s system of identifying, selecting, and developing future school leaders. However, after several pilot experiences later this spring, answers to questions about the potential and feasibility of the process will become clearer. First, a group of practitioners previously trained in behavioral observation and assessment (assessors) will be retrained in the new principal assessment center process. Next, a small group of current graduate students who are near the end of their preparation programs will be invited to participate in the process that assesses their educational leadership skills in ten categories. Finally, recommendations will be made after results of the pilot are evaluated. The UND/TCU program already is changing the way future educational leaders are prepared. This experiment may change the way future leaders’ preparation is measured. The project will be underwritten with grants from The Bush Foundation, St. Paul, MN, and Title III, Goals 2000: Educate America Act.
Educational Facilities Planning Workshop
Schools contemplating building or remodeling projects will want to take advantage of one of the facilities planning workshops coming up this spring. The one-day workshop features Royce Yeater, an architect and planner who has extensive experience in school construction projects in North Dakota and Minnesota. Participants also will hear from education and finance consultants concerning key issues and strategies for building community support for a building or remodeling project. See the registration form inside for more details.