The Most Common Piece of Feedback We Give

One of the most common pieces of feedback I give to school leaders is, "You need to do your job." Initially, I get puzzled looks, but I follow up by saying, "You are doing lots of jobs -- facility coordinator, supply closet inventory clerk, school counselor, substitute teacher, traffic guard, crisis coordinator, spreadsheet macro programmer -- but you aren't doing your #1 job: developing leaders and teachers."

It's a simple concept, but very few schools are set up for everyone to do their #1 job.

The #1 job of the teacher is to hold high expectations for students and to give consistent, clear feedback (positive and push) and support so that they meet them.

The #1 job of the AP/instructional coach is to hold high expectations for teachers and to give consistent, clear feedback (positive and push) and support so that they meet them.

The #1 job of the principal is to hold high expectations for leaders (and any teacher directly coached) and to give consistent, clear feedback (positive and push) and support so that they meet them.

The #1 job of the principal manager is to hold high expectations for principals and to give consistent, clear feedback (positive and push) and support so that they meet them.

If everyone did their #1 job -- and we structured schools and organizations so that this was possible -- students (and the grown-ups who support them) would soar.