Welcome

to

Sustainable Leadership
Dean Fink

ACTIVITY
Find someone you dont know very well, or at all.
Tell that person one thing in your school or organization
that you are really proud of, and
some reasons you think it has been sustained over
time. If the thing you are proud of is relatively new,
how you propose to sustain it over time.
What have been some of the barriers, or what do you
anticipate are some of the barriers to sustainability?

Development of the term sustainability

1980

1987

1992

2002

2005

Term first coined by Lester Brown, founder of the World

Watch Institute
Sustainable development defined by Brundtland Report of
the World Commission on Environment and Development
Agenda 21, United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development, Rio De Janeiro systematically
addressed sustainable development
United Nations Johannesburg Summit developed
practical goals for sustainable development
Beginning of UN Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development
3

Sustainable leadership
Sustainable leadership matters, spreads and lasts.
It is a shared responsibility that does not unduly
deplete human or financial resources, and that
cares for and avoids exerting damage on the
surrounding educational and community
environment.
Hargreaves & Fink 2003

Educational Lessons of Environmental

Sustainability

Rich diversity, not soulless standardization

Taking the long view
Act urgently for change, wait patiently for results
Prudence about conserving and renewing human and
financial resources
Examine the impact of our improvement efforts on
others
All of us can be activists and make a difference
Hargreaves & Fink 2006

Unsustainability
Repetitive change syndrome is
Initiative overload
+
Change-related chaos
Abrahamson 2004
6

Initiative Overload
The tendency of organizations to launch
more change initiatives than anyone could
ever reasonably handle
Abrahamson 2004

Change-related Chaos
The continuous state of upheaval that
results when so many waves of initiatives
have worked through at the organization
that hardly anyone knows which change
theyre implementing or why
Abrahamson 2004
8

Seven Principles of Sustainable

Leadership
1

Depth

It matters

Endurance

It lasts

Breadth

It spreads

Justice

It does not harm the

surrounding
environment
Continued

Seven principles of Sustainable

Leadership
5

Diversity

It promotes diversity &

cohesion

Resourcefulness

It conserves
expenditure

Conservation

It honours the past in

creating the future

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Principle 1: Depth
Sustainable
leadership
matters. It
preserves,
protects and
promotes deep
and broad
learning for all in
relationship of
care for others.
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What Matters?

Test scores?
Over subscribed schools?
Customer satisfaction?
Short-term achievement targets?
Adequate yearly progress?

12

13

Educational leadership
is about a passionate, steadfast, obstinate
commitment to the enhancement of deep
learning for all students learning for life,
learning for understanding, learning for an
increasingly fluid, messy and risky world.
Leadership for Mortals Paul Chapman, 2005

14

Standards and Sustainability

Learning Achievement Testing

NOT
Testing Achievement Learning
Hargreaves & Fink, 2006

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1. Depth

The two hungers

In Africa, they say there are two hungers,
the lesser hunger and the greater hunger.
The lesser hunger is for the things that
sustain life, the goods, and services, and the
money to pay for them, which we all need.

16
Commitment

Deep learning
30% produce 50%
The Creative Class
Florida, R. (2002). The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic
Books

17
Commitment

We need

Creativity
Imagination
Diversity
Innovation
Passion

Entrepreneurialism
Failure
Questions
Nonconformity
Trust

18
Commitment

Present education delivers

Predictability
Control
Compliance
Conformity
Stability

Order
Standardization
Answers
Apathy
Distrust

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Commitment

Going deeper
The greater hunger is for the answer to the
question why, for some understanding of
what life is for.

Handy, C. (1997). The Hungry Spirit. London: Hutchison, p.13.

20
Commitment

Guided imagery

Think of a country road

that you know well

Imagine how it looks in

the Springtime

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Deep learning
Our educational system does its best to ignore and
suppress the creative spirit of children.
It teaches them to listen unquestioningly to authority.
It insists that education is just knowledge contained in
subjects and the purpose of education is to get a
job.
Whats left out is sensitivity to others, non-violent
behaviour, respect, intuition, imagination, and a
sense of awe and wonderment.
The Body Shop
22
Commitment

Wide Learning: Queensland

Old basics
Literacy
Numeracy
Obedience
Punctuality

New basics
Multiliteracy
Creativity
Communication
IT
Teamwork
Lifelong Learning
Adaptation & Change
Environmental
Responsibility

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The four pillars of learning

Learning to know
2.
Learning to do
3.
Learning to be
4.
Learning to live together
UNESCO 1996
5.
Learning to live sustainably
Hargreaves & Fink, 2006
1.

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1. Depth

Slow Knowing
The unconscious realms of the human mind will
successfully accomplish a number of important
tasks if they are given the time. They will learn
patterns of a degree of subtlety which normal
consciousness cannot even see; make sense out of
situations that are too complex to analyze; and
get to the bottom of certain difficult issues much
more successfully than the questing intellect.
Claxton 1997

25

What does the doctor reply?

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1. Depth

27

28

Slow forms of knowing

are tolerant of the faint, fleeting, marginal and ambiguous

like to dwell on details that do not fit or immediately make sense
are relaxed, leisurely and playful
are willing to explore without knowing what they are looking for
see ignorance and confusion as the ground from which understanding
may spring
are receptive rather than proactive
are happy to relinquish the sense of control over the directions the
mind spontaneously takes
treat seriously ideas that come out of the blue

Claxton, 1997

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1. Depth

Slow schooling

starts formal learning later

reduces testing
increases curriculum flexibility
emphasizes enjoyment
doesnt hurry the child
rehabilitates play alongside purpose

Honore, 2004
30

1. Depth

REFLECTION
Think of a recent staff development experience
that was successful or unsuccessful (as assigned)
CONSIDER:
1. In what ways did it (or did it not) include the five pillars
of learning?
2. In what ways did it (or did it not) address the lesser
and greater hungers?
3. In what ways did it embody or obstruct elements of
slow learning?
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DEANS CHALLENGE
Does this policy, practice, custom, or
decision contribute to deep, wide,
and slow learning for all students?

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Commitment

Principle 2: Endurance
Sustainable leadership
lasts. It preserves and
advances the most
valuable aspects of
learning and life over
time, year upon year,
from one leader to the
next.

33

34

Trajectories
INBOUND

BOUNDARY

OUTBOUND

PERIPHERAL

INSIDER

35

Page 36

Activity
Carousel topics:
1.
Strategies to identify and recruit prospective
leaders
2.
Strategies to develop their inbound trajectories
3.
Strategies to get from the periphery to the inside
without being marginalized
4.
Strategies as an insider to remain proactive
5.
Strategies to appraise a leaders performance
6.
Strategies to ensure the important parts of your
outbound trajectory are sustained
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Trajectories

Four Issues in Succession

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Succession Planning
Succession Management
Succession Duration & Frequency
Succession and the Self
Successi0n and Politics

37

2. Endurance

Succession Management
identify
transitions

recruit
appraisal
support

celebrate

develop
select

induct
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Succession management
POTENTIAL
NOT
PROFICIENCIES

39
Succession

Good succession plans

Prepare early
Give people proper time to prepare
Incorporate into all school improvement
plans
Should be responsibility of many
Should reflect the schools existing stage of
development
Are linked to clearly defined leadership
standards
40

Principle 3: Breadth
Sustainable leadership
spreads. It sustains as
well as depends on the
leadership of others

41

Raising the temperature of

distributed leadership
Too hot

Anarchy
Assertive distribution
Emergent distribution
Guided distribution
Progressive delegation
Traditional delegation

Too
cold

Autocracy
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3. Breadth

Traditional delegation

Hand over some power

Appoint good deputies and seek and rely on
their counsel
Respect their autonomy
Make sure they report to you regularly
Dont do everything yourself

43

3. Breadth

Progressive delegation

Extend and amend your structures, teams and

communities
Create new roles
Focus peoples roles and responsibilities on
learning and improvement
Use the new structures to restrict the veto of the
old ones
Develop proper planning
Consult with your teams and committees
Audit the results
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3. Breadth

Guided distribution

Rely on more than your structures

Develop better relationships
Bring people together
Show interest in your staff members as people
Improve the quality of professional conversation
Concentrate on core purposes
Always remember food
Model the attentive behaviour you expect of others
Be visible and vigilant, always steering conversation and
relationships in a more productive and attentive direction

45

3. Breadth

Emergent distribution

Remain clear about purposes and values

Ensure that they are genuinely shared
Maintain a premium on relationships
Encourage staff to innovate
Develop a culture of professional entrepreneurship
Demonstrate trust
Step back from watching over all interactions and relationships
Learn to let go
Dont pour cold water on proposals when they are brought forward
Praise initiative
Celebrate good results

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3. Breadth

Assertive distribution

Be even more steadfast and passionate about shared purpose and values
Stimulate wide-ranging debate about important proposals
Involve resisters early
Include and listen to minorities
Use processes that surface thoughtful divergence and disagreement
Demonstrate the value of learning from differences
Be prepared for criticism but insist on respectful dialogue
Keep your sense of humour
Ensure that the vigorous professional culture always moves you forward
Never abrogate responsibility
Always reaffirm your goals

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3. Breadth

ACTIVITY

Position your self according to where you think your

school or organisation is on the distributed leadership
scale.
You will be grouped into one of three larger groups.
Find people from each of the other groups
Discuss with your three colleagues: why you chose
the position on the continuum that you did, where
you would like to be on the continuum, and what has
to be done to get there.
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Principle 4: Justice
Sustainable leadership
does no harm to and
actively improves the
surrounding environment
by finding ways to share
knowledge and resources
with neighboring schools
and the local communities.

49

Sustainability and Social Justice

do not steal your neighbours capacity

use multiple indicators of accountability
emphasize collective accountability
coach a less successful partner school
make a definable contribution to the community
your school is in
pair with a school or district in a different social
environment
collaborate with your competitors
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4. Justice

Principle 5: Diversity
Sustainable leadership
promotes cohesive
diversity and avoids
aligned standardization of
policy, curriculum,
assessment, and staff
development and training
in teaching and learning.
It fosters and learns from
diversity and creates
cohesion and networking
among its richly varying
components.
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Activity

At the top of a blank piece of paper, write

down one important issue that you will deal
with when you return to your job, that your
colleagues can help you with.
It should be phrased - How do I (or we) etc.?

52

Effective organizations are characterized

by:

A framework of common and enduring values, goals and

purposes
Possession and development of variability or diversity in
skills, talents and identities
Processes that promote interaction and cross-pollination of
ideas and influences across this variability
Permeability to outside influences
Emergence of new ideas, structures, and processes as diverse
elements interconnect and new ones intrude from the outside
Flexibility and adaptability in response to environmental
change
Resilience in the face of and in response to threats and
adversity
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5. Diversity

Principle 7: Conservation
Sustainable leadership
respects and builds on
the past in its quest to
create a better future.

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55

CONSERVATION ACTIVITY

Draw a timeline for your group to represent your districts

30 years.
Identify on the timeline when each person in
the group joined the district.

Have each person in the group tell a story about a

critical incident or innovation from their early years that s
resonates with that person today and briefly record the inc
or innovation the timeline.

What does the timeline tell you about your district that h
bearing on its present and the future? What should be co
stopped, restarted, or subverted?

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Stop, Start, Continue

STOP

START

What is less
valuable

What is
more
valuable

CONTINUE

SUBVERT

What
remains
highly
valuable

What is formally
required but
threatens what is
valuable

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7. Conservation

MORAL DILEMMAS
Depth How do we promote and protect deep
and broad learning that lasts in a climate that
insists on immediate, tested results?
Length How do we remain steadfastly
committed to the long-term goals for authentic
improvement while attending properly to the
urgent needs of underachieving children right
now?
Breadth How do we distribute leadership more
widely and more wisely and also retain a sense
of the distinctive leadership gifts that we
contribute ourselves?
Justice How do we help other peoples schools
and children without sacrificing and short-

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MORAL DILEMMAS
Diversity How do we accommodate, include
and connect the rich diversity of our students
learning and teachers teaching, and also
retain focus, direction and cohesion in our
efforts to improve?
Resourcefulness How do we engage peoples
energy and motivation for urgent improvement
without wearing them out?
Conservation How do we innovate for a better
future by building on the firm foundations of
the past without staying stuck in the past or
wallowing in nostalgic memories of it?
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Principle 6: Resourcefulness
Sustainable leadership
develops and does not
deplete material and
human resources. It
renews peoples
energy. Sustainable
leadership is prudent
and resourceful
leadership that wastes
neither its money nor
its people.
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The Ride of your life George

Carlin
HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight

and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay
'them.'
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts,
gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An
idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is
Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

61

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only
person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while
you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family,
pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is
your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,
improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next
county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them , at every
opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the

moments that take our breath away.

Enjoy the ride; There is no return ticket

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION SEE:

Hargreaves A. & Fink, D. (2005)
Sustainable Leadership. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Fink D. (2005).Leadership for Mortals:
Developing and Sustaining Leaders of learning
London: Paul Chapman/Corwin.
Stoll, L, Fink, D. & Earl, L (2003).
Its about Learning and Its about Time.
London: Taylor Francis.
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Thank you

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WORDS THAT WORK

Privatisation
Tax reform
Private health care
Globalisation
Foreign trade
Drilling for oil
School choice
Vouchers
Wiretaps

Personalisation
Tax simplification
Free market health care
Free market economy
International trade
Exploring for energy
Parental choice
Opportunity scholarships
Electronic intercepts

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CRAP DETECTING
Data-driven decision making (evidence-based)
Tri-level reform model
Best practice
Bottom line
Personalisation
Choice
Customer
Targets
66

The Long and Short of Change

Hargreaves and Finks Proposition
The urgency of targets is inversely
related to the degree of power held by
those responsible for implementing
them.

67

DESCRIPTIONS

SHORT

LONG

cynical,

evasive,

opportunistic

unaccountable

urgent,

+ confidence-boosting

enduring,
sustainable

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EXAMPLES
SHORT

LONG

Government-imposed

short-term

UN Millenium Goals

achievement targets

shared targets,

authentic transformations

quick wins

In practices and beliefs

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