Page 12 - Leadership Matters monthly magazine template January 2013

12
Halftime…..How does
your game plan look
for the second half
of the season?
By Dr. Gary Zabilka
IASA Field Services Director
As a practicing school administrator, I
would often compare the school year
to an athletic season — marking the
quarters and the
half of the school
year to a quarter
and half of an
entire athletic
season. As such, January
becomes halftime for all schools
— some as soon as they come
back from Winter Break, others in
just a couple of weeks. Halftime
in a season is typically marked by
the All-Star break when the
season stops for a couple of days
and gives one the opportunity to
analyze and reflect on how the
first half of the season went, and
begin to think ahead to the rest of
the season. Depending on how
things are going, one may even
step up one’s thinking for the
season ahead (the next school
year, to continue the metaphor). Let’s take a look at
a couple of specific areas that we might consider
during “halftime.”
Game Plan: How well is our game plan going?
Are the district goals that we have in place being
implemented, or have we varied from our plan or lost
focus? Halftime is a great time to say “time out”; we
need to get back to our game plan and focus on
those things we know we need to be focused on for
the second half of the season.
Player Update: How is our team holding up at
this point in the season? Have we been available to
them to support them and make sure they are still
healthy and focused on the game plan? Do we need
to have a conversation or dialogue with any of our
players who may be struggling so far this season?
Worst-case scenario, do we need to consider a
change for our team, either for the second half, or for
sure by next season? Regardless, now is the time to
have that conversation and make sure everyone is
on the same page moving forward.
Financial Review: How is our bank book
looking at this point of the season? Have we spent
about half of our anticipated expenditures for the
year, or are we way beyond that?
Is there a reason for being way
beyond that, or do we need to
hold back during the second half
of the season? How are our
revenues doing? Are they
coming in as projected, or are we
possibly having a better “season”
than we anticipated? Either way,
make sure you plan to adjust
accordingly.
Personal Reflection: How is the
Head Coach (Superintendent)
holding up after enduring the first
half of the season? Are you
doing those things you need to do
to keep yourself healthy, while
modeling that for the rest of your
team? Are you taking the time to
reflect on the behaviors,
strategies, and people on your team to be able to
ensure that all are operating to their optimum, and
then be able to respond accordingly? As the Head
Coach, you must continually do those things
necessary to lead your team effectively — that’s why
you are the Head Coach!
We can continue with this metaphor and
question how responsive the fan base (the
community) is to our team, how our fields (facilities)
are holding up, or even how our team’s
“owners” (Board of Education) are doing at mid-
season, but I believe you can see these and other
important correlations we can make. Most
importantly, however, is to remember that January is
the beginning of the second half of the year, and it
will serve you well to realistically review the first half
of the year before giving it all you have for a
successful second half. Good luck, and give it your
best!
Editor’s Note: “Tip from the
Field” will be a standing
monthly column. IASA’s
three Field Services
Directors, Dr. Gary Zabilka
(Northeastern Super
Region), Dr. Nick Osborne
(Southern Super Region)
and Dr. Bill Phillips
(Northcentral Super Region)
will write the column on a
rotating basis.