Which do you prioritize? Getting the task completed OR getting others flourishing?

/ mkessenburg

Photo by TJ Arnold on Unsplash

Prioritize getting the task completed AND getting others flourishing! Why?

(1) Because Christian education is all about excellence (task completion) AND flourishing.

(2) Because you can can get the job done by helping others flourish (think how repairing/building trust can help you get the curriculum mapped), AND because you can get others flourishing by getting the job done (think how getting the curriculum mapped helps students learn).

(3) Because only prioritizing getting the task completed can leave others frustrated and languishing, AND because only prioritizing flourishing can result in the task not getting completed.

(4) Because prioritizing task completion AND flourishing is a best practice supported by the authors of Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems:

“The most effective leaders solve problems at an accelerated pace [think task completion], while also taking responsibility for the success and well-being of their customers, employees, and shareholders [think flourishing]. They move fast and fix things. How do they do it? In short, they invest as much time and energy into building trust—and, yes, sometimes rebuilding it—as they do into building speed. Speed unleashes your organization’s energy and reveals where you’re going. Trust convinces your stakeholders to come along for the ride” (loc 111).

What might prioritizing task completion AND flourishing look like? Here’s what it might look like when applied to an ACSI Inspire self-study and visit:

Get the task completedANDGet others flourishing
(1) Complete your existing schoolwide action plans.AND(1) Use your existing schoolwide action plans to get others flourishing.
(2) Complete the ACSI Inspire self-study process.AND(2) Use the ACSI Inspire self-study process to get others actually flourishing.
(3) To help everyone understand the domains, discuss Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and/or Flourishing Schools.AND(3) To help everyone experience the domains, create and implement personalized flourishing plans.
(4) Have domain committees meet.AND(4) Use domain committee meetings to get others flourishing.
(5) Write effective domain reports.AND(5) Use domain reports to get others flourishing.
(6) Use your self-study to create new action plans.AND(6) Use your new action plans to get others flourishing and create a separate action plan on getting others flourishing.
(7) Conclude your self-study and visit with an after-action review that helps you reflect on the self-study, the visit, and the future; and helps you pull together what you learned.AND(7) Conclude your self-study and visit with an after-action review that encourages transparency, collaboration, and flourishing; and that inspires you toward a flourishing future.
(8) Stay deeply focused on completing your new action plans—in order to help others flourish.AND(8) Stay deeply focused on getting others flourishing—in order to complete the action plans.

What can you do to prioritize task completion AND flourishing? What comes to mind for me includes:

  • Implementing 1 or more of the action steps listed above in the “get others flourishing” column.
  • Asking different questions. Stop asking, Should I prioritize task completion OR flourishing?  Start asking, How can I prioritize task completion AND flourishing? How can completing this task help us get flourishing? How can getting others flourishing help us complete this task?
  • Using a both/and mindset (instead of an either/or mindset).

Here are some accreditation-related blog posts:

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

What about you? Which do you prioritize? Getting the task completed OR getting others flourishing? What happens when you prioritize only task completion or only flourishing? How do you feel about prioritizing task completion AND flourishing? What might it look like to prioritize task completion AND flourishing? What can you do to prioritize task completion AND flourishing? 

Get flourishing!

Michael