Shots on goal
Wisdom from the Field #25
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear offers several strategies for building and breaking habits toward a self-improvement goal.
One of these strategies, “shots on goal”, lifts a phrase used in hockey. The more shots made on a goal, the more likely some will slip by the goalie and into the net. Clear generalizes this concept to almost any area in which we want to improve.
Repetition has significance beyond what we are trying to improve in, Clear notes.
“It’s not about achieving external measures of success like earning more money, losing weight, or reducing stress. Habits can help you achieve all of these things, but fundamentally they are not about having something. They are about becoming someone.” (p. 41)
Expanding Our Identities
Near the beginning of new book, I stress the importance of visiting classrooms frequently. More than just to be present; the aim is to expand on our current identities, beyond seeing ourselves exclusively as an “evaluator” or “supervisor”.
These terms lack the flexibility needed to influence instruction in today’s schools. If we are always evaluating and supervising, what happens when we are away?
This is why leading like a coach is a preferred identity for leaders today. Through nonjudgmental notes via instructional walks, coupled with conversations with teachers about their practice, we begin to build their capacity for self-improvement.
We achieve this identity by getting into classrooms: frequently, randomly, and without worry about offending someone by saying the wrong thing. Even when we do make mistakes, we can use that experience to improve. Coaching is a reciprocal process. And the more frequently it occurs, the better we understand our collective instruction.
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