Let's Get Hyper-focused: One Small Change for Improved Outcomes

I spent the last few weeks reviewing School Improvement Plans for multiple districts across the state. This sort of work actually excites me! I love seeing how schools think about planning, use strategy, garner student voice, and really hone in on the few critical needs of their specific student population.

To my surprise though, I’m often left wishing for more. Don’t get me wrong, I can tell school teams reviewed and analyzed data to get a sense of how students are performing academically so they can provide the most appropriate intervention. However, I often wonder if the chosen focus is the right focus. Is it the focus that’s going to yield the most return on their time, energy, and resource investments?

After reading over 10 different plans today, I noticed that nearly all of them regurgitated the same broad areas for improvement: reading and math, of course. And while we know those are two critical areas for improvement for all schools, I couldn’t help but wonder what, in particular, schools hoped to see improved.

What’s the hyper-focus?

I started thinking across sectors.

Steve Jobs started Apple with one vision: to change the way people viewed computers. His goal was to make computers small enough to be accessible in a home office. He was laser-focused on making computers user-friendly.

Amanda Ealla, founder and CEO of ISH Dolls launched her company making plush Hindu dolls because as a Hindu growing up in Brooklyn, New York, she didn’t feel like she belonged. She became laser-focused on bringing vibrant and significant Hindu figures alive through plush dolls so that families could become more culturally aware and less afraid of the unknown. Creating dolls that honor the Hindu culture became her laser focus.

(Photo: Shoutoutmiami.com)

Michael Jordan, arguably one of the greatest (if not THE GREATEST) basketball players of all time began practicing his skills for 5 hours each day five days per week during the offseason when he realized he wasn’t getting the results he desired on the court. He became hyper-focused on tactical skill development. That’s how the magic of Michael Jordan happened. It actually wasn’t magic at all but strategy, action, and repetition.

What’s your school’s hyper focus? Can you pinpoint the one (or two) things you’re going to spend your time over the next year or so investing you and your staff’s time, energy, and resources? Where can you hyper-focus for results for students?

“Directing your attention toward the most important object of your choosing—and then sustaining that attention—is the most consequential decision we will make throughout the day. We are what we pay attention to.”

- Chris Bailey, Hyperfocus: The New Science of Attention, Productivity, and Creativity

Make a 30-day behavior change commitment. Decide where you will give your attention over the next 30 days in alignment with your goals. Design for the behavior that leads to the outcomes you want to see.

Behavior change examples:

• Every day, for 30 days, conduct a school walkthrough stepping into every single classroom to see the quality of instruction. Note: **This is not an observation. This is a behavior change priming you to center classroom instruction as your laser focus.

• Tell every teacher, “Thank you” every day for 30 days.

• Call one parent to say, “thank you for choosing our school. We love having your child here and we hope we are serving you well.”

• Pick up one item of trash and throw it away (either inside or outside the school building)

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