Fifth Discipline Leadership

Peter Senge's
Fifth Discipline Leadership Systems
Thinking Team
Learning Personal
Mastery Mental
Models Shared
Vision Systems Thinking The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

See ourselves as connected to the world

Aware of how our activities and actions create problems

Disciplines are integrated

School functions as an ecosystem

Newton: "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction Personal Mastery A special level of proficient

Realize that results are important

Continually clarify and deepen our personal vision

Commitment to and capacity for learning

Continuous improvement - LIFELONG LEARNING Mental Models Developing an awareness of attitudes and perceptions - your own and those of others around you

Expose your own thinking, and keep thinking open to the influence of others

Actively inquire into others' visions that differ from yours

Develop the capability to talk safely and productively about uncomfortable topics Shared Vision People excel and learn because they want to, not because they were told to

Fosters genuine commitment and enrollment versus compliance

There is "counter-productiveness" when we try to dictate a vision Team Learning Dialogue and skillful discussion

The ability to suspend assumptions and enter into a genuine, thorough process together

When teams work, they produce extraordinary results, and individual members grow more rapidly than they would have without the team The Laws of the
Fifth Discipline Peter Senge's
The Learning Organization 1. Today's problems come from yesterday's "solutions."
2. The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back.
3. Behavior grows better before it grows worse.
4. The easy way out usually leads back in.
5. The cure can be worse than the disease.
6. Faster is slower.
7. Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space.
8. Small change can produce big results - but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious.
9. You can have your cake and eat it too - but not at once.
10. Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants.
11. There is no blame. Ladder of Inference "involving everyone in the system in:
expressing their aspirations
building their awareness
developing their capabilities - TOGETHER" Classroom School Community The Learning Classroom: 1. Teachers:
must be recognized as important
must act as stewards for all students
are lifelong learners 2. Students:
need to be in a system that nutures ALL their capabilities 3. Parents:
are a very important part of the learning classroom The Learning School: Stakeholders:
students
parents
teachers
support staff
principal
superintendent
school board
community members
local, state, & national government
To change:
1. Change is only sustainable if it involves learning.
2. Change starts small and grows organically.
3. Pilot groups are the incubators for change.
4. Significant change raises two questions:
Where are we going?
What are we here for?
5. Successful change takes place through multiple layers of leadership.
6. Challenges are a natural part of organizational change.
***Always start with "Systems Thinking" The Learning Community: "It takes a village to raise a child." 1. Define your community and assemble a core group.
2. Survey the community.
3. Engage the community. Learn to listen and not speak. As a school leader, where do I begin? A few entry points for change: Creating a learning classroom
A teacher begins in his classroom and then moves to "find a partner" Systems thinking in the classroom
Introduce mapping to your students, leading to shared visions for the school A school's shared vision
This works if there is predisposition for change among
administrators, teachers, and some parents Personal vision
If you feel all alone, you can always develop your personal vision. The ethical dimension
A discussion about the mental models people hold about the
purpose of schools can develop from a dialogue about the
values under which stakeholders operate. From the outside in
Some school systems have begun with the community's interest in change - at the school board and parent levels Current Problems: Too much pressure on students
Schools still function as assembly lines
Children's dignity is being compromised
Homework: The Beast
Teachers need support!
Us vs. Them Management The "Principal Do-Right Model"
is doing wrong. A new model:
engagement
systems thinking
leading learning
self-awareness A few good stories... the "Mobius Project" "Promise Street School" "Janice's
Classroom" a vision of what
school could be...