Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
I am in the US. Just arrived in Philadelphia for a stint at Wharton to be precise. But a conversation this evening on Teachable Points of View sent me scurrying back to refresh my knowledge. I found a useful interview with Noel Tichy who invented the phrase, and some memorable quotations.
One that struck me was:
The key elements about which leaders create Teachable Points of View are ideas, values, ways to energize people, and making tough yes-no decisions, which I call edge. In a school, the ideas may relate to the curriculum or instruction. The Teachable Point of View is an intellectual framing of a leader’s key ideas in important areas. Values describe how stakeholders are going to behave in support of those ideas. It’s also critically important that principals have a Teachable Point of View regarding how they will motivate various stakeholders. Because money is in short supply in schools, motivation comes instead from engagement, encouragement, and cheerleading. School principals also have to apply edge around the behavior of individuals, saying what behavior will and won’t be allowed and enforcing those decisions.
What applies to education applies to work in general.