Stop “Going To” Professional Development and Start “Doing It”!

So I just got off the phone with a potential client who said this to me in the middle of the call, “What I’d really like you to do is lead a discussion on a chapter of a book that we’re reading.  And then if you could tie it back to the Title I workshop that we attended a few weeks back, that’d be great.”

I have to say, I was a bit perplexed by this because the reason this person called me in the first place was because they were in Year 3 of school improvement and it just didn’t seem like the most important thing to do was to read a chapter and discuss it.  Or even to tie the discussion to a workshop.

Here’s why:

First off, lots of our clients are in school improvement or heading there – that’s why they call us.  So that fact wasn’t as striking.  The most striking part of that request was this: they were going to TALK about doing stuff, but they weren’t interested in DOING stuff. 

Now, I happen to know that this person who contacted me is a very good administrator with lots of great feedback from other colleagues (that’s how we got in touch with each other).  I know that he is very motivated and interested in doing the right thing – and, most importantly, is interested in doing right by the kids.  They just haven’t quite figured out what, of the work they should be doing, is going to have the biggest impact on kids.

Essentially, they are stuck in the “we’ve got to get some more professional development before we can do it” mode.  It’s almost like schools in this position need a “blessing” from a trainer, presenter or author to do exactly what they already know they need to do.  I felt like during the conversation, though, he knew exactly what his school needed to be doing.  I can kinda relate to needing an “expert” to confirm what I already know.

Let me explain…

Awhile ago, we decided to create a new website – one that would be way more interactive, user friendly and one that could be updated multiple times a day without a web designer.  So, we went looking for “the best” in the field.

And we found her.

Supposedly.

We started the long, arduous (but also fun!) process of getting our website together – content, graphics, themes, colors, etc.  About two weeks in, things started to seem kind of “off” – the communication was breaking down, some of our tried-and-true ideas were getting shot down even though our guts told us it was the right thing to do.  Ultimately, we had to bid farewell to this web designer and pinch hit with another to finish the job.  It wasn’t going to work.

It was a mess, but here was the deal: Just because we weren’t web designing experts, didn’t mean we didn’t know what we needed and what was going to be right for our readers and clients.  In fact, we DID know, we just needed input and ideas from the experts to COMPLEMENT what we already knew to be true and necessary.  We needed help (along with solid input) putting our plan into action.

The big idea is this: books, trainers and experts are useful IF YOU KNOW YOURSELF AND WHAT YOU NEED.

AND you don’t have to wait for experts or authors to “bless” your school improvement ideas before you get started…sometimes the experts are there to birth an idea for you or get you unstuck along the way to your final goal.  Most of us can get stuck in the realm of GETTING STARTED.  And sometimes we need a push into action.

So as I meandered through the call with the potential client I basically said this, “Do you REALLY want me to come and lead a book study that you could lead on your own?  Or do you need help translating all of your PD and all of your readings into ACTION?” 

Well, let’s just say, I’m on a plane in a few months to help them get started and put it into action…