Some high schools have begun a tradition each spring of posting in a highly visible area of the school’s lawn a straight line of simple signs with the names of colleges and universities where their graduates have been accepted for fall enrollment. So imagine for a moment driving by a school and seeing that row of white cardboard placards spelling out in block lettering: Colgate, Brown, Stanford, Rice, Northwestern, Wellesley, and so forth. It would seem fairly obvious at first glance what this school values as at least one of its results areas. It may also be safe to assume that this results focus –producing college bound graduates – impacts every leadership decision made within the four walls.

If you are the passer-by in question, you perhaps speculate that the school leaders inside emphasize application to and enrollment in prestigious universities or that they concentrate on exceptional achievement scores. However, let’s argue for a moment that we can’t make that assumption. What if college acceptance is a bonus outcome and that building the leadership capacity of every individual within is the actual intended result? In that case, visualize a sudden shift in what the school leader holds as a primary emphasis. One that values committed conversations which are intentional in their aim to move students and staff beyond the status quo to an entirely new level of expectation. These exchanges include principal-to-teacher conversations about highly effective questioning strategies, teacher-to-teacher conversations regarding student-centered classrooms, student-to-teacher conversations outlining modifications of projects and products, and many more. In her book Fierce Leadership (2009) Susan Scott writes: “If you want to become a great leader, gain the capacity to connect with colleagues at a deep level…or lower your aim.”

Great leaders connect by inspiring those whom they lead (colleagues as well as students) to find their own ways of leading within the organization. Instead of holding others accountable, they “hold them able”: able to make decisions, able to execute a plan, able to make an impactful difference. Modeling “holding others able” then becomes the primary focus of highly effective leaders. Leaders who model this brand of accountability substitute coaching and questioning for blaming or pointing fingers. Asking, Given this outcome, what is your next step? or What would you most like to improve in your area of accountability? becomes the stimulus for a rich conversation with a colleague or student regarding higher expectations.

This focus on conversations, which holds others able, shifts our thinking from perceiving effective leadership as a means for getting the results we want to building leadership capacity in others as the desired result. Results-oriented leaders make open, transparent, respectful conversations in feedback-rich, development-rich environments the core of their leadership. Whether our goal is increased college enrollment, exemplary achievement scores, or improved market share, careful attention to how we lead affects outcomes of who we lead.

By Reba Schumacher, PCC
Coaching For Results Global