Houston (Middle School), We Have a Problem with Your Vision Statement…

School vision statements typically suck. 

There, I said it.

You knew it. 

Your gut has told you that Average Middle School needs a refresh, but how does Average Middle become Exemplary Middle?

You have to be willing to take a leap. To do things differently.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing, again and again, expecting different results. 

This is why most school vision statements are terrible. Most schools write them like every other school. So most visions sound like each other.

That makes them insane.

Let’s play a quick game … 

Step One

I want you to imagine what words you’ll find in an average school vision statement. 

Did you do it? 

What did you come up with? 

Here’s my list:

• 21st century, modern, and innovative
• All students or every student
• Something about preparing for the future, maybe global something or other …

Step Two

Go look at three random school vision statements. 

I typed school vision statement into Uncle Google. The second result was from Bob Pearlman. 

Were my predictions right? How about yours?

These screenshots are taken directly from Bob Pearlman’s website. 

Seth Godin wrote a book called Purple Cow. 

The assertion he makes is this: your school needs to be a Purple Cow because a Purple Cow is remarkable (it also happens to be the name of one our mastermind cohorts … coincidence? I think not!).

Think about it. If you are driving down Route Whatever in Rural Town, USA you’re guaranteed to see some cows. Some brown and white. Some black and white. None will be purple. 

That’s the point and Ben Owens would agree. 

Ready to elevate the learning experience on your campus?

The Remarkable Vision Formula: A Guided School Leader Retreat will increase the energy on your campus, align the actions of your team, and elevate the learning experience for all your students.

Get your copy of The Remarkable Vision Formula today!

Ben was on the podcast ages ago. I like him because he brought his background working as an engineer into the classroom. It is his second career. Now Ben is causing a ruckus in education by pushing how we think about teaching. 

In his Edweek article on school vision statements, one line really stuck out:

Of the 200 educators he worked within the USA, only 20 could recall the main idea of their district’s vision.

Ouch ?

Leaders that take a multidisciplinary approach win. 

That’s because they do things differently. They learn from everywhere. That provides a foundation to stand out. 

In one of my “Top Twenty Five Podcast Episodes” Christopher Lochhead shared this same idea in a beautiful way. According to Chris, “You become legendary by being different.”

When most schools zig, I encourage you to zag.

Here’s how …

How to Create a Meaningful School Vision Statement

Since 2016 I’ve coached 100s of school leaders in a variety of topics. One of the most popular sessions I offer is on creating a Remarkable Vision. 

In 2018, I attended the World Business Executive Coaching Summit. One of the presenters, Cameron Herold, spoke about creating a world-class organizational culture. It was one of my favorite sessions and I was introduced to the idea of a Remarkable Vision.

So what is a Remarkable Vision?

Simply put, it’s a three-year roadmap for where your organization is going. 

In How to Help Your School Thrive the authors describe a vision as something easier to recall; the mission is longer and describes the steps of how to accomplish the vision.

I disagree.

A vision is not easy to recall. It doesn’t fit nicely in one or two lines. It can’t be recited during a leadership team meeting. More on that later …

A vision is where your organization is going. It paints the picture of the “promised land.” Strong visions are incredibly detailed and act as a magnet attracting the right people to your organization and pulling them along the journey.

I don’t think a great vision could or should be memorized. 

Developed properly, it is too robust and ambitious to commit to memory. Regular review is required and elite leaders reverse engineer their vision in order to create the path (strategy) of how they will accomplish the vision.

My Remarkable Vision is six pages long. It’s too long to memorize and I review it regularly to make sure that my efforts are on target for where I want to go. 

Ready to elevate the learning experience on your campus?

The Remarkable Vision Formula: A Guided School Leader Retreat will increase the energy on your campus, align the actions of your team, and elevate the learning experience for all your students.

Get your copy of The Remarkable Vision Formula today!

A mission is simple, yet complex. It is your organization’s why and purpose. 

At Better Leaders Better Schools our mission is to help school leaders level up. 

The deeper why driving that is this idea:

Everyone wins when a leader gets better. Everyone wins when YOU get better.

And we do that through human connection and community building (e.g The Ruckus Maker Mastermind™).

What makes a Remarkable Vision different than a Vision Statement (and why it’s more effective)

Part One: Remarkable Visions start with you as an individual. 

I often tell the leaders I coach, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” 

Many leaders are frustrated because they are running in the red. They are totally empty. It’s been weeks, months or years since they’ve hit the gym. Far too often they send an apologetic text to their significant other because they have to miss yet another sports or arts performance. 

That’s a major topic for another post and if you face that problem there is a solution. 

Here’s the secret: prioritize yourself and your needs and you’ll be able to serve your family and your school at a much higher level. 

That’s why they tell air travelers to put their own oxygen mask on first. You can’t help anyone else if you are suffocating. 

Part Two: Remarkable Visions consider family

We’re all going to die one day. 

The next logical step to creating a Remarkable Vision is to concentrate on your family. 

Your organization will take and take and take no matter how much you give. 

It’s wise to put some boundaries here. One frequent regret of the dying is that they didn’t focus enough on family, on relationships, on saying “I love you” to the people that matter most. 

Remember missing your daughter’s soccer game or your son’s choir performance? Remember how you used to go on regular dates with your partner? 

What about all the places you want to travel? 

In this section, a leader thinks deeply about what she wants to experience with her family. Speaking of family, do this section with your significant other and kids. Leaders I coach have shared countless stories of how this brought excitement and intimacy to their family. 

Part Three: Now think about your organization and from a variety of angles

Our bases are covered. We are leading with a “full cup” and we are not just saying we prioritize our family, we’re actually living it. Now we can focus on the business of school.

Most vision statements are unremarkable. 

They are the opposite of a Purple Cow. That’s because their focus is too narrow. They typically want to express two main ideas:

• The school is a great place: innovative and world-class
• The school prepares students for the future, yadda, yadda, yadda

I don’t know about your organization, but mine is much more complex than that and I have less than ten people on my staff. 

If a school is robust, then it deserves a robust vision for its future. 

A Remarkable Vision might explore some of these areas (and more):

• Who is your ideal student?
• Who is your ideal staff member?
• What are your core values?
• How do you develop staff, students, the community
• Etc.

My Remarkable Vision is six pages long. I reflected on over fifteen categories to create a clear idea of where I’m headed as an organization.

Ready to elevate the learning experience on your campus?

The Remarkable Vision Formula: A Guided School Leader Retreat will increase the energy on your campus, align the actions of your team, and elevate the learning experience for all your students.

Get your copy of The Remarkable Vision Formula today!

Why School Vision Statements Matter

School vision statements matter more than you know. It all comes down to leading with intention.

A few of my favorite vision quotes illustrate why:

“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable” -Seneca

You’re going somewhere, but are you traveling with intention?

 

“Vision without action is a daydream” 

-Japanese Proverb

I don’t know about you, but I want to live in reality. If I’m daydreaming, life is happening to me and I’m not living with purpose.

“Write the Vision down so those that read it may RUN!” 

-Habakkuk 2:2

“Where there is no vision people scatter” 

-Proverbs 29:18

These last two statements are two sides of the same coin. On one side you have the vision pulling people to a compelling future. On the other side, people scatter because (at best) they each are making up separate and individual visions (and at worst) they are working with no vision at all. 

Since you are reading this post, I can safely assume that you are a Ruckus Maker … this is the loving name for the tribe of school leaders I serve. 

A Ruckus Maker is defined as follows:

• Breaks free from the status quo
• Makes change happen
• Never, ever gives up

I also know that you want to be different. You want to be legendary.

Ready to elevate the learning experience on your campus?

The Remarkable Vision Formula: A Guided School Leader Retreat will increase the energy on your campus, align the actions of your team, and elevate the learning experience for all your students.

Get your copy of The Remarkable Vision Formula today!

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Action is everything. 

Go Make a Ruckus,

Daniel Bauer

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