1. Leading by Convening: The Power of Authentic Engagement
Joanne Cashman, Ed. D

2. Stakeholders: Who Are They?
* If they are a stakeholder... are they really external to the work?

3. Persistent Challenges
Technical Challenge
Requires information, knowledge, or tools
Adaptive (Relationship) Challenges
Requires understanding and a willingness to make behavior changes
Source: Heifetz and Linsky, Leadership on the Line, 2002
We are really very good at technical challenges…but how well do we address adaptive challenges? To meet its promise, the SSIP must address technical and adaptive challenges.
This is where the Blueprint supports the change.
The Blueprint is based on the social learning work of Etienne Wenger on CoP …and Heifetz and Linksy on Technical and Adaptive change.

4. The Leadership Challenge
Learning that technical solutions are necessary but often not sufficient
Knowing when a persistent problem needs an adaptive (relationship) solution
Building adaptive (relationship) skills as a part of strategy
Authentically engaging stakeholders as learning partners
This should be informed by a deep conversation with a wide group of stakeholders who understand the diverse implementation environments and provide insights that cannot be conceptualized within the organization or by ‘experts’ that do not have direct experience with the forces that drive and restrain change within and across the districts.

5. Convening: A New Leadership Skill
Convening is
More than a meeting
More than facilitation
The beginning of a relationship focused on practice change
Bringing people together in face to face and virtual ways is just the start…we have to find ways for people to contribute…and help them do it!
This is the new role as a convener……we are talking about convening across school and community efforts ..and sometimes across agencies…a ‘system convener’ role
So…why convene?
We need to become allies in making the changes to practice stick…we have evidence based practices…but face continual challenges to implementation and fidelity...no group, agency or organization can do it alone.
Predictable changes in leadership make it critically important to have deep understanding in the field that will help the work go on across leadership changes.
In the connected world we live in now…stakeholders expect to be engaged…to have a role. If we do not engage them authentically and as allies in accomplishing goals…..we risk having opposing groups undermine efforts with misinformation

6. Leading by Convening: Framework for Authentic Engagement
Why do we need a Leading by Convening framework?

7. Leading by Convening Let’s look at tools for Coalescing
Four Simple Questions
Meet the Stakeholders
How might these tools be useful during the stages of implementation described in the SSIP?

8. Four Simple Questions Who cares about this issue and why?
What work is already under way separately?
What shared work could unite us?
How can we deepen our connections?
This tool works for almost every situation ..it can help state teams, local teams, stakeholder groups and individuals think through the nuances of collaboration. This tool is a classic and can and should be used as the ‘go to’ tool whenever boundaries must be crosses to begin a collaboration....or

9. Meet the Stakeholders
Often state agency lead with the authority that is vested in them...but stakeholders groups have legitimacy with the practitioners and beneficiaries that affiliate with them. Stakeholder groups can have an important influence on what practitioners know, believe and do. This tool helps teams to understand who can have an impact...and why.

10. Relevant Participation Has Several Faces: Range, Frequency, and Role
Power differential
Supporters and critics
Players at different levels of scale
Frequency
Episodic or ongoing
Predictable interaction, sufficient to build relationships
Often enough for stakeholders to take roles
Role
Fixed or shared leadership roles
Everybody comes as a learner

11. Leading by Convening
Let’s look at a popular tool for Relevant Participation
Engaging Everybody
How might this tool be useful in thinking about an implementation science approach to teaming in the SSIP

12. Engaging Everybody
Engagement means finding ways that many people can contribute to the common work. Although they may all be involved, they all do not contribute in the same ways. This tool helps teams to understand how stakeholders may want to be engaged and define the work that they will do in support of the goals.

13. Leading by Convening Let’s look at the tools for Doing Work Together
Problems Come Bundled
One-Way and Two-Way Learning
Measuring Progress
How might these tools be useful in Phase lll of the SSIP?

14. Problems Come Bundled
Every problem of practice has a technical and an adaptive ( human ) side. This tool helps a team to look ahead and identify the adjustments they need to anticipate.

15. Leading by Convening Let’s look at the tools for Doing Work Together
One-Way and Two-Way Learning
Measuring Progress

16. One-Way and Two-Way Learning
Plotting Learning Activities in Four Quadrants
This tool helps a team identify and track the kinds of interaction that they are having with their stakeholders.
If a core team plots its activities routinely, they will be able to identify patterns and change them if needed. There is no ‘right mix’ of activities or quadrants...but is all the interaction is in the bottom left quadrant...they know that are not engaging their stakeholders...they are managing them.

17. Measuring Progress Qualitative Rubrics to Quantitative Comparisons
Leading by Convening: Bringing It All Together

18. Leading by Convening means we…
Meet people “where they are” on the issue.
Convene the stakeholders to discover why this issue is important to them.
Translate complex work into ways that individuals can contribute.
Help people “lead in place” regardless of role, position, or title.
Create new knowledge together.
Cultivate the habit of collaboration.
Work together often enough so that the group, and the individuals in the group, build their identity as collaborators.

19. When People Change... Systems Change
Be the change! Shape your brand!
This tool focuses on the leader and their vision for the agency or division they lead. What they want and what they are willing to do to achieve it. What they know about themselves and what they are wiling to learn about their leadership style.
It is adapted from business...but permits good insights by educators.

20. THANK YOU! http://ncsi.wested.org | @TheNCSI