Pillars of Urgency - Pillar #1: Attack

Pillar #1: Attack the Issue at Hand Directly

How to Build Urgency and Jumpstart Change

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Are you tired of meetings where change is the topic but afterward all you observe is the status quo? 

Have you tried to lead change after change that fails to motivate your teachers to really do things differently that would benefit students? 

Without a clearly articulated Urgency Message about a desired change, you’re just asking for volunteers to try something new.       

Welcome to the first of this series titled, Four Pillars of Urgency.

1. Attack the issue at hand directly

  • What current practice is unacceptable, inefficient, or ineffective?

  • If you do not clearly articulate the answer to this question, your meeting is over before it has begun.

  • If your process for this ignores big elephants in the room, you won’t get any further.

Let’s look at this pillar in action through two very different approaches by a principal.

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Notice the shift in urgency regarding the content that is going to be covered.  In the first introduction, teachers have no reason to learn something new beyond the recommendation of the principal.  In the second introduction, a need has been overtly addressed.

Give this a try at your next meeting and watch your teachers’ ears perk up and their focus sharpen instantly.  Come back next week as we address the second tip in our series, The Four Pillars of Urgency.