1. BUILDING A TEAM
DESTINED FOR
GREATNESS
Institute for Leadership in Charter School Authorizing
PRESENTED BY
DR. JAMES N. GOENNER | PRESIDENT & CEO
NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS INSTITUTE
AUGUST 9, 2012

2. Goals for Today
1 Share Strategies
2 Challenge Your Thinking
3 Expand Your Vision of Authorizing
4 Answer Your Questions
5 Have Fun!
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3. What Does a Great Team Do?
Delivers Superior Performance
Makes a Distinctive Impact
Achieves Lasting Endurance
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4. The First Person You Lead is You
Are you worth “Know
following? Why? Thyself”
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5. The Most Consistently Admired
Characteristics of a Leader
Honest
Forward-Looking
Competent
Inspiring
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6. The Five
Temptations
of a CEO
Accountability
Ensures Results
Clarity Allows
Accountability
Conflict Leads
to Clarity
Trust lets Healthy
Conflict Occur
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7. What Level of Leader are You?
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8. The Leadership Challenge
5 Practices of Exemplary Leaders
1 Model the Way
2 Inspire a Shared Vision
3 Challenge the Process
4 Enable Others to Act
5 Encourage the Heart
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9. “Doing everything keeps us so
busy, we don’t have time to
think about what is really
important to us.”
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10. Covey: Begin with the End in Mind
What are you really trying to accomplish? Is it
The Vision
compelling? Will it make a significant difference?
What are you and your team going to do to make this
The Mission
vision a reality?
What are the core things you and your team will use
The Values to guide and evaluate all of your actions and
behaviors.
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11. The Power of Values
Integrity
We will always strive to do the right things for the right reasons.
We trust each other to speak our minds.
Honesty
We will tell the truth.
We will be open to feedback.
Respect
We communicate with candor and tact.
We will be tough on the issue not the person.
We value people for who they are and what they bring.
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12. The Power of Values
Teamwork
We recognize that no one of us is as good as all of us.
We will put the team goals before our own.
We will collaborate.
We can be relied upon to fulfill commitments.
We will celebrate our success and have fun.
Accountability
We will own our opportunities.
We are accountable for ourselves and to each other.
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13. The Power of Values
Forward-Looking
We strive to exceed expectations.
We are not limited by others.
We are willing to take risk.
We dare to be different.
We inspire growth in ourselves and others.
Commitment
We are persistent.
We lead with passion.
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14. The Flywheel
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15. The Hedgehog Principle
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17. STAGE 1: DISCIPLINED PEOPLE
Level 5 Leadership. Level 5 leaders are ambitious first
and foremost for the cause, the organization, the work—
not themselves—and they have the fierce resolve to do
whatever it takes to make good on that ambition. A Level
5 leader displays a paradoxical blend of personal humility
and professional will.
First Who … Then What. Those who build great
organizations make sure they have the right people on
the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right
people in the key seats before they figure out where to
drive the bus. They always think first about “who” and
then about what.
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18. STAGE 2: DISCIPLINED THOUGHT
Confront the Brutal Facts—the Stockdale Paradox. Retain
unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the
end, regardless of the difficulties, AND AT THE SAME
TIME have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts
of your current reality, whatever they might be.
The Hedgehog Concept. Greatness comes about by a
series of good decisions consistent with a
simple, coherent concept—a “Hedgehog Concept.” The
Hedgehog Concept is an operating model that reflects
understanding of three intersecting circles: what you can
be the best in the world at, what you are deeply
passionate about, and what best drives your economic or
resource engine.
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19. STAGE 3: DISCIPLINED ACTION
Culture of Discipline. Disciplined people who engage in
disciplined thought and who take disciplined action—
operating with freedom within a framework of
responsibilities—this is the cornerstone of a culture that
creates greatness. In a culture of discipline, people do
not have “jobs;” they have responsibilities.
The Flywheel. In building greatness, there is no single
defining action, no grand program, no one killer
innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment.
Rather, the process resembles relentlessly pushing a
giant heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon
turn, building momentum until a point of
breakthrough, and beyond.
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21. STAGE 4: BUILDING GREATNESS TO LAST
Clock Building, Not Time Telling. Build an organization that
can adapt through multiple generations of leaders; the exact
opposite of being built around a single great leader, great
idea, or specific program. Build catalytic mechanisms to
stimulate progress, rather than acting as a charismatic force
of personality to drive progress.
Preserve the Core and Stimulate Progress. Adherence to
core values combined with a willingness to challenge and
change everything except those core values—keeping clear
the distinction between “what we stand for” (which should
never change) and “how we do things” (which should never
stop changing). Great companies have a purpose—a reason
for being—that goes far beyond just making money, and they
translate this purpose into BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals)
to stimulate progress.
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22. Common Authorizing Functions
1 Gatekeeper
2 Overseer
3 Evaluator
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23. Alpha Authorizing Functions
Change Agent
Market Maker
Force for Quality
Catalyst for Excellence
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24. Change Agent
 Challenge the “givens”
 Foster an environment that attracts talent,
capital and entrepreneurship
 Influence policy and practice
 Provide leadership and ideas for
improving education
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25. Market Maker
 Change the incentives by withdrawing the
exclusive franchise
 Charter new schools so people have a diverse
array of choices
 Foster an environment that attracts can-do
people
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26. Force for Quality
 Thoroughly screen applications and
applicants
 Issue & enforce performance-based charters
 Measure and evaluate performance
 Preserve discretionary judgment
 Protect school autonomy
 Appropriately intervene when people fail
to perform
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27. Catalyst for Excellence
 Recognize and reward performance
 Encourage the replication & expansion of success
 Create new performance-based paths for
authorizing, overseeing, & renewing charters
 Make authorizing a respected profession
 Relentlessly pursue excellence
 Protect, preserve and advance the idea
behind chartering
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28. Alpha Authorizing
3 Keys for Chartering Great Schools
1 Establish a Shared Vision and Commitment
Develop a Relationship of Mutual
2
Trust and Respect
3
Set Clear Performance Expectations –
No Surprises!
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29. Four Disciplines of a
Healthy Organization
Lencioni’s Four Disciplines of a Healthy Organization
Copy Right 2002 Patrick Lencioni
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30. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
The Role of the Leader
Focus on Collective Outcomes
Confront Difficult Issues
Force Clarity and Closure
Mine for Conflict
Go First!
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31. Nine Point Framework
1 Student and School Focused – Our primary reason for being
2 Partnering – View schools as partners
3 Transformational – Major impact; not mistaking activity for achievement
4 Strategic Approach – Proactive; by design, not chance; important, not urgent
5 Results Oriented – Focus on solutions, not symptoms
6 Teamwork – Strengthen relations internally and externally; synergy; fun
7 Aligning Resources – Match resources with needs
8 Individualized – Strategy and approach
9 Share Successes – Win together
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32. “Set the standards higher for
yourself than others would set
them for you.”
- John Maxwell
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33. THANK YOU!
Connect with us online at www.CharterInstitute.org
National Charter Schools Institute | 711 W. Pickard Street | Mount Pleasant, MI 48858