Summer is here, and if you're like most school leaders you're probably looking forward to well-deserved rest. Being away from your desk gives you time to recharge—and imagine. After all, the work never really ends for district administrators.
The time between the end of one school year and hands-on preparation for the next is perfect for looking ahead to your school’s strategic goals. Whether you’ve already got a running list of long-term projects or you’re just getting started on laying out new goals, it helps to know what problems you’re trying to solve. That’s where mental models come in.
The time between the end of one school year and hands-on preparation for the next is perfect for looking ahead to your school’s strategic goals. Whether you’ve already got a running list of long-term projects or you’re just getting started on laying out new goals, it helps to know what problems you’re trying to solve. That’s where mental models come in.
Mental models are ways of thinking. These are frameworks for re-examining familiar problems in order to come up with new approaches or strategies.
You may already have an approach to planning that works for you, but it never hurts to try to see the world through a slightly different lens. A few of our favorites:
First Principles Thinking — How can you get to the very root of a problem?
The Map is Not the Territory — What do you need to see the whole picture directly instead of taking data/trendlines at face value?
Antifragility — How can you make the most of the unexpected?
Inversion — How can doing the opposite of what would work actually teach you about what would work better?
This summer, take some time to give one of these mental models a spin—you may find that by adjusting the way you think about your current challenges you can arrive at an entirely different path forward for your strategic plan.
One question for you
What mental models do you use for approaching district challenges?
Email us at editor@schoolceo.com or book a time on our calendar and let us know.
Two resources to help
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1. When superintendents, communications directors, and technology directors get on the same page, the sky is the limit for your schools. Next week’s webinar dives into tips on how to make the most of everyone's strengths and unique viewpoints.
Learn about what great teamwork looks like in practice from Elaine Kong, Director of Communications at California's Claremont Unified School District, and Apptegy’s Greg Turchetta. —Watch our Finding Common Ground webinar
2. If you’re not the world’s biggest fan of public speaking, you’re not alone. Taking the stage comes with the territory for school leaders—that’s why we put together a few tips to make presenting not just easier but more impactful for your audience. —Read Presentation Preparation
Three ideas to get you thinking
1. There’s always a reason for conventional wisdom, but that doesn’t always mean the best practice is the best way to do something. Even seemingly small ideas can be transformative if you’re willing to try a different approach. —Read The Counterintuitive Approach to School Marketing
2. “Strategy says it doesn’t matter how fast you’re going if you’re going in the wrong direction.” —Marketer Seth Godin on Why Strategy Always Beats Talent
3. “You can fight confirmation bias, burst filter bubbles, and escape echo chambers by actively engaging with ideas that challenge your assumptions.” —author Adam M. Grant in Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know