Before You Lead the Work, Build the Team

I currently serve on a Tier 1 Leadership Team at a school entering the year with both urgency and opportunity. State assessment data pointed to a need to strengthen our approach, while a combination of new and returning team members brought varied experiences and perspectives to the work.

During our first all-staff meeting, our principal shared a strong and compelling vision for the school’s future. At our first leadership team meeting, we built on that vision by using a fishbone diagram to explore our school’s problem of practice. The activity was collaborative, and the team left feeling unified and encouraged by the direction of our work.

Following that initial work, I partnered with our administrative and TOSA team to design our second leadership team meeting. Together, we developed activities intended to help the team continue identifying priorities and moving the work forward.

Although we moved through the agenda, the energy in the room felt less connected and engaged than it had during our first meeting, prompting me to pause and consider what our team might need.  It was after that meeting that I found myself reflecting on an important question:

Before a leadership team begins identifying priorities and taking action, what foundation does the team need?

We had a meaningful vision, an important problem of practice, and a team committed to improving outcomes for students. As I reflected, however, I began to recognize the value of creating intentional time for team members to develop a shared understanding of who we are, how we will work together, and what we are collectively responsible for accomplishing.

This reflection prompted me to consider several foundational questions:

• What is our team’s purpose?

• What is our team’s mission and vision?

• What are our roles and responsibilities?

• What communication agreements will shape our collaboration?

• What goals are we collectively responsible for achieving?

These questions do not replace the work of identifying schoolwide challenges or setting priorities. They create the conditions that allow a team to engage in that work with greater clarity and coherence.

A compelling vision provides direction, but clarity helps a team understand what matters most and how each member will contribute. That clarity creates coherence the alignment of people, priorities, and practices. Over time, coherence strengthens the team’s capacity to work together and increases the likelihood that its efforts will lead to meaningful impact.

If I were approaching this work again, I would advocate for creating intentional space to explore these foundational questions early in the team’s development. This is not about looking backward and identifying what went wrong. It is about recognizing what might help a committed team become even more effective moving forward.

This experience reminded me that building an effective leadership team is not separate from the work. It is part of the work.

Before a leadership team can effectively lead change, its members need time and space to understand their shared purpose and one another.