This blog post is part of a series on your improvement engine—make sure you have a great improvement engine (purpose, perspective, process, plan, and practices) before you start working on your improvement goal!
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Use what helps you improve! Why?
(1) Because using what helps you improve gets you flourishing.
(2) Because using what helps you improve keeps you focused and persisting when the going gets tough, keeps you open to new opportunities, and keeps you working both effectively and efficiently.
(3) Because using what doesn’t help you improve can cause you to give up when things get tough, to avoid growth opportunities, and to work ineffectively and inefficiently. Not good.
(4) Because using what helps you improve is a best practice.
So, what helps and doesn’t help you to improve? When thinking about what helps and doesn’t help you as a staff member or leader of international Christian school to improve, what comes to mind for me include the following:
| What helps… | What doesn’t help… |
| Keeping your galvanizing purpose for improvement in the forefront of your mind. | Having no clear purpose for improvement or having one that doesn’t galvanize you. |
| Having a perspective on improvement that flows from a growth mindset. | Having a perspective on improvement that flows from a fixed mindset. |
| Using a process that includes reviewing your purpose for improvement, assessing your current situation, taking action steps, assessing and celebrating progress, and determining next steps. | Having no documented process, or having a process that doesn’t include key components. |
| Using a personalized flourishing plan that gets you experiencing the 5 elements of flourishing. | Not having a documented plan that you can easily access. |
| Using the practice of scheduling your improvement tasks before scheduling other tasks. | Using the practice of letting other tasks crowd out your improvement tasks—so you don’t get around to doing them. |
My first point: What can really help you improve is your 5P improvement engine:
I say your improvement engine “can help” because how much it helps depends on its quality. If your engine is great, your engine will really help you improve. If your engine isn’t great (like if you’re missing components or if your components aren’t of good quality), it might not help all that much.
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My second point: Your 5P improvement engine is what actually drives your improvement. So check your engine before taking action on your goal.
Let me put it another way: Imagine your goal is to drive from Los Angeles to Seattle to New York City to Miami and back to Los Angeles, a long trip. Before driving, you’d want to make sure your engine (not to mention the rest of your car) is in good working order.
Before taking action on your goal, make sure you have a great 5P improvement engine!
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What can you do to enhance your 5P improvement engine? Here are some suggestions:
(1) Purpose: When talking about 1 or more of your improvement goals, recite your purpose for improvement.
(2) Perspective: Assess your own growth/fixed mindset. Next, apply the results of your assessment in 3 ways. Share with a colleague.
(3) Process: Use daily, weekly, quarterly, and annual reviews to assess progress and determine next steps.
(4) Plan: Explore various plan templates, using what you learn to enhance your engine. Here are 3 sample plans: Quick Win, Personalized Flourishing Plan, and Stop Self-Neglect/Start Self-Care. And explore the root causes of each of your goals.
(5) Practice: Ask open-ended questions, instead of giving advice.
Note: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems” (James Clear).
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Bottom line: Use what helps you improve! Enhance your 5P improvement engine: purpose, perspective, process, plan, and practices.
Get flourishing!
Michael
Get Flourishing 