Think of your biggest challenge, the albatross around your district’s neck, and write it down in a sentence.
Now, imagine you wake up tomorrow, drive into the office and your biggest challenge has simply resolved itself.
The only catch? No one has told you it's been solved. It’s a miracle.
What would you notice first?
What would be the signs that something has changed?
“What would your ideal future look like?” is sometimes referred to as the miracle question because it asks you to imagine a world in which your biggest problem has been miraculously resolved. The miracle question can be a straightforward way to get at a long-standing problem or goal that feels unattainable. And while your answer may seem out of touch and unrealistic, asking the question can have a powerful impact in the real world.
You may even find that answering the miracle question is impossible—except in very general terms. That could be because we tend to get stuck in negative feedback loops, ruminating on the past and lamenting the present—instead of creating space to see future possibilities.
As you go into summer (or for those of you in the Northeast, finish out the remaining weeks) ask yourself and your team: "What does our ideal future look like? If we woke up tomorrow (or in August) and [insert challenge here] was resolved, what specific things would we observe?" Watch for different definitions of the same goal. These discoveries show you exactly how a broad, big goal can show up and materialize in small, meaningful ways.
Ask this question of your cabinet and leaders. Ask administrators, classified staff, rookie teachers and veteran educators. In their answer (and your own) note what the challenge/problem is, the observable signs that something is different and then—assuming that the miracle has happened and the challenge has been resolved—ask:
What could I do differently now that I wasn’t doing before?
How would I act differently?
How would my focus, strategy and time be different?
If this has resonated with you, and you want to take it back to your team, consider these tips:
Get clear first. Choose one specific challenge. Not "better communication," but something concrete like "the PTA doesn’t understand our goals as a district/school." You’ll always be chasing after “better,” but can you get specific about what winning would look like?
Map the evidence. Identify what your ideal future would look like and the observable signs of progress. What would your Tuesday morning inbox contain? How would the next school board meeting sound different? Which phone calls would you stop receiving? What phone calls would you gladly be making?
Bright Spot Analysis. Find what's already working. When has this challenge felt manageable? What conditions created those moments? Which activities move you toward your vision versus away from it?
One question for you
The Miracle Question:
Suppose a problem or challenge you're facing is miraculously solved overnight while you sleep. When you wake up, what are the signs you'll notice that the miracle has happened? How will you know something is different?
Email us at editor@schoolceo.com or book a time on our calendar and let us know.
Two resources to help
1. Your teachers and staff do incredible work in your schools, but one of their greatest talents may be going underutilized. In our latest podcast episode Brand Ambassadors, we'll discuss how to empower your teachers and staff members to be ambassadors for your brand.
2. “Stories have the power to suspend disbelief, making it easier for us to consider and reconsider our thoughts about others—which, in turn, positions us to consider and reconsider social issues. All of this combined makes stories especially effective in motivating action. But what about stories that just aren’t true?” Check out The Stories that Just Aren’t True for Dr. Sweetland’s take on countering false narratives in education.
Three ideas to get you thinking
1. “What truly changes organizations are small choices made by everyone.” — Listen to The Big Impact of Small Changes, when author and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan speaks with SchoolCEO about building strong organizations and cultures through relationships, continuous improvement, managing uncertainty, and more.
2. “Whether it be communication, ability to manage, how you manage your own stress—there are a lot of things that, as you reflect upon a crisis, actually growth happens.” — from the podcast episode Crisis, Growth & Leadership with Superintendent Dr. Robert Hunt.
3. “Simplicity is crucial. You want to keep the message simple and relevant, to think through what’s in it for your staff members. What do you want people to think? What do you want them to feel? And what do you want them to do?” — From Internal Communication Matters for Your Strategic Plan (with discussion guide available here)