Thinking from the Inside Out

In his TED talk Simon Sinek “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”, he speaks about how great leaders inspire action, and he does so using this simple codification. This diagram demonstrates how he believes innovators like Apple, Martin Luther King Jr and The Wright Brothers think and lead the world. He calls it the “Golden Circle” and he believes it explains how leaders are able to inspire where others are not.

Every person or organisation knows “What” they do, some know “How” they do it but very people or organisations know “Why” they do what they do and it is in this inner “Why” circle where the magic begins. he defines why as the purpose behind what you do. “Its not making a profit (or to make a wage), thats a result” it is your belief and the purpose behind why an organisation exists or why a person gets out of bed in the morning and why people should care. He describes that as people we always default to working from the outside in, working from the clearest aspect (the What) to the fuzziest aspect (the How), but the most inspired leaders and organisation all work from the inside out. In his presentation he uses Apple as an example to support his point.

He describes that Apples way of thinking is different because they use the “Why” to drive their marketing messages. Apple, at its core are a computer company. A company that is operating in a market with numerous other equally capable and reliable companies. Simon believes that the reason behind their success is the way in which they market themselves, specifically the focus on the “Why” first and then working their way out of the Golden Circles. Most companies in this industry work from the outside in displayed by marketing messages like – (The “What”) we create great computers – (The “How”) They are beautifully designed, simple to use and are user friendly, Want to buy one? and they stop before they get to the “How” because there is a focus on selling or shifting product. People act the same way. We say what we do, we say how were going to do it and then we stop because at that point we expect some kind of behaviour from others, and Simon says that this is uninspiring. Apple flip this concept on its head and work from the inside out. “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently” is the message the lies in the centre of the Apple Golden Circles, or the “Why”. From here they build on this belief to explain the how; “The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly” and “we just happen to make great computers” which is the “What”. He argues that this approach is considerably more powerful because its inspiring. He believes that this proves that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it and that is one of the key reasons why people are completely comfortable buying various different products from a company like Apple, because they know the why behind what they are doing, a sentiment that he believes is what makes Apple the global power house it is today. He believes that the goal is not to do business with people who need what you have, the goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe. And it is at this point that we need to transition this thinking into education.

Its now the second half of the year and people are starting to think about decisions about what they are going to do next year. Parents are touring schools to choose which high school they are going to send their Grade 6 students to. High School Students and their families are touring schools to see if there is a “better option out there. Families are planning to move new locations and are looking for the “best possible” education option for their child. It is here and now that schools need to adopt the Golden Circles principle and thinking from the inside out, to demonstrate why they do what they do, how they do it and what they do so that families can make the best and most informed choices for their children.

We all know that schools work hard to attract students. The more students they enrol the more funding they have available. The more funding they have available the more programs and educational opportunities they can offer their students. Without a doubt this is all done with the “student” focus in mind however many schools fail to attract the clientele into their school because they are not effectively selling the “why”. Searching the internet we see countless school websites that show what they do and how they do it. They spend their time selling the programs they have and how they operate, and hope that this is enough to show how they are different from others and to entice parents to send their students there, or as Simon puts it, they stop at the how because society has taught us that at this point schools should expect a reaction or a behaviour from the client. But if schools adopted the approach that Apple and other innovating leaders adopt, they might see a marked increase in the enrolment at their schools. Those website searches often show a schools values and mission statements. You would think that this is the schools “Why” or purpose, and in most cases it is, but many statements read very much the same. Stereotypically they state that the purpose of the school is to “teach students and to help them grow” and while this statement is true, it doesn’t elicit any emotional response from society because more often than not it plays directly into the hands of what society expects from their schools. At this point I wonder how many families who tour schools read and pay attention to these statements? Or do they just focus on the what and how and rely on societies general perception of the purpose or the “why” statement for education?

The more I think about it, and the more I type, the more I believe that the power is in the “Why”. If schools can clearly identify and articulate the why behind what they are doing and how they are doing it, then the more parents and students will fully understand the purpose of that particular school. This theory particularly applies to Public vs Private school education. In Australia we are seeing an increase in parents and students wanting to go to Private schools. Why is this trend occurring? Maybe it is because of the resources they can offer, or the programs that they can run? Maybe it is the status that comes from attending private schools? Or maybe, just maybe, because they are theoretically a business they are able to articulate and sell their “Why” message in a much more effective and powerful way?

I am a secondary school music teacher and i speak to many parents and students who come around the school on tours. I am commonly asked what programs my Music Department offers, specifically ensembles for the students to participate in. My answer to this question is that the programs that I offer change from year to year dependant upon the needs of the students, because my “Why” or purpose is “that I equip the students with the skills and knowledge to be the best possible versions of themselves”. With this as the driving force behind my teaching and the leadership of my department, my programs must evolve and change to meet the needs of each different cohort of students that I teach and it is here where i think schools, particularly Public schools need to adapt their approach to the “What” and “How”. Speaking to different music teachers from other schools I hear about the programs that they run and have run for year and years. Recycling the same ensembles, the same pedagogies and the same assessments because they have worked in the past. While I am not criticising this method of running a Music Department as it has proved to be a successful model for many schools in the past, I am suggesting that by “challenging the status quo” (to borrow a quote from Simon about Apple) schools and in particular Music Departments would be able to enhance the programs that they offer to cater specifically for the kids they have, and in turn attract more and more people to the school and the program. Take this concept and extend it to the school as a whole. If a school was able to clearly articulate the “Why” message, the parents and students touring around the school would see the different elements of that school in a very different light and in turn would increase their perceptions of the school and could influence their decision when making a educational choice for their son/daughter.

Before we go on we do need to unpack the why message a little more. It can be very easy to build a purpose statement or a “why” message that is somewhat cookie cutter or plays to the expectations of society on education but this completely negates the purpose for it. A “Why” statement needs to reflect the core values and driving forces behind what they school and in turn the teachers believe in. Without this strong belief it is just a catch phrase or a series of meaningless words on a page or a website. The why statement needs to be the fire that burns at the core of the school, the driving force behind why teachers teach and behind what the school sees for its students Many of you reading this might start thinking about ways in which you can turn your existing purpose statements into catchy lines that might light that fire, but I would argue that this is misguided. “Why” statements don’t need to be catchy, they need to be 100% true. They need to be statements that the school and its staff believe in, statements that underpin the pedagogical choices that are made and the programs that are offered. Statements that are the basis of the celebration of achievement and the striving for success. Statements that make teachers and students leap out of bed in the morning and that drive them both to actively question what is being done in the classroom and to seek them to find way to do it better. Statements that encourage students to apply their learning as they work towards a bigger goal.

It is now that I think about what could possibly go into a purpose or “why” statement that would hit my message home? Terms like “life long learners” and “global citizens” leap into mind, terms that I know many schools are using as key elements of their purpose statements, but when I think about what Simon said in his TED talk I realise that these are “results” much like making a profit is to a business or a wage is to a worker. A statement needs to reflect your purpose. Previously my educational philosophy was “to teach kids so they don’t need me anymore” which is a philosophy that i held very dearly to my heart. And while this is true, i now realise that this is only an element of the purpose behind what I do as a teacher. As I previously mentioned my purpose statement is now “to equip students with the skills and knowledge to be the best possible versions of themselves” and i feel that this purpose or “Why” statement more accurately reflects the fire that burns inside me with regard to the role that I play in society as a teacher. Is this the final draft of my why statement? Probably not, as you can see it has evolved and grown from the original one, but I think that it is the statement that best reflects my thoughts and desires as a teacher right now, and i believe it is a philosophy that has meant that my department and my students have enjoyed a variety of successes in the past, through both the highs and the lows. If Public schools rethought their “Why” and created a statement that informed the public what lights their fire i believe not only would there be a shift in societal opinions towards government education, but there would be a shift in the expectations of society on schools in general. Schools would be able to stand out from one and other, offer different programs and resources that cater for that purpose and in turn will allow students to flourish and grown inside their classrooms because in their heart, they align their beliefs with the schools.

Simon Sinek’s TED Talk – How Great Leaders Inspire Action:

https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action