On Track 360º

“ Leadership flows from the minds of followers more than from the titles of leaders, more from perception of willing followers than from anointment.”

— Lane Secretan

As leaders rise to higher levels of responsibility in organizations, it grows increasingly critical that they receive honest, multi-directional feedback that collectively provides a panoramic view of their leadership. Research shows that one of the most powerful tools for providing this feedback and for the development of highly successful leaders is 360° assessments. Feedback from a 360° assessment enables and informs leaders as they develop a strong command of core knowledge, a capacity of leading and managing change, and an ability to be collaborative and inclusive in their leadership.

On Track 360° is designed specifically to provide feedback from the perspectives of self, direct reports, peers or colleagues, supervisors, and other important stakeholders to developing leaders for 21st Century Schools. Two versions of On Track 360° are available.

They both use the same research-based framework of six standards and 24 elements.

• Principal Version – This version is designed specifically for use by current and aspiring principals and includes a 15-item Principal Turnaround Scale.

• Executive Version – This version is designed for use by superintendents, assistant superintendents, and other districtlevel leaders. It includes a 15-item District Rapid Improvement Scale.

What is a 360°?

A 360° survey or assessment is a multi-rater assessment that asks multiple feedback or rater groups to answer a series of questions about observed job-related behaviors for an individual leader.

The feedback or rater groups include the leader (self ), direct reports, peers or colleagues, supervisors, and other important stakeholders.

The perspectives of multiple individuals who are in positions to interact frequently with the leader provide accurate and honest feedback about specific behaviors in a variety of competency areas.

These multiple viewpoints give the leader a comprehensive view of how others perceive the observable leadership skills, behaviors, and practices that he/she uses in daily interactions with individuals and with internal and external stakeholder groups.

on track

360º

Developing Successful Leaders for 21st Century Schools

On Track 360° features additional scales made up of items which reflect the relative strength of school leaders on leadership competencies currently thought essential for bringing about learner-focused systemic change in schools and districts.

WHY ON TRACK 360°?

On Track 360° was created specifically for use in developing successful leaders for 21st Century Schools. Content for On Track 360° is based on an extensive review of educational research and literature about change management, organizational management, team building, and communication. The content has been crossreferenced with multiple frameworks which are currently being used to evaluate and design leadership standards throughout the country. These frameworks include ISLLC, NCATE, NAESP, NASSP, and standards statements emerging for the certification of principals from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

This examination of research and cross-referencing with national standards resulted in the identification of six standards which describe and assess the multifaceted and highly demanding roles of principals and district-level leaders. The six standards describe and assess behaviors and skills in each of the following roles: • Strategic Leader – establishes a vision for learning and sets clear goals for ensuring progress toward achieving them.

• Improvement Leader – uses proactive thinking to explore solutions and engage groups in the process of implementing them to bring about change.

• Instructional Leader – implements a high quality instructional system that supports the learning of all students and adults.

• Collaborative Leader – organizes and supports teams that effectively plan and implement improvement strategies.

• Accountability and Systems Leader – organizes and integrates processes that support instruction and monitor progress.

• Advocacy and Political Leader – establishes coalitions among stakeholder groups that support school and district goals, and communicate their needs and successes.

An emerging body of research is developing around what it takes for a principal to “turn around a failing school” and for district-level leaders to bring about “rapid improvement” of all schools. In addition to the leadership competencies identified in the six areas listed above, On Track 360° features additional scales made up of items which reflect the relative strength of school leaders on leadership competencies currently thought essential for bringing about learnerfocused systemic change in schools and districts. These scales are presented in the following reports: • Turnaround Scale Report which is included in the Principal Version.

The 15-item scale assesses the strength of individual leaders with respect to setting direction, developing people, redesigning organizations, and changing the culture in schools.

• District Rapid Improvement Scale Report which is included in the Executive Version. This 15-item scale reflects raters’ perception of the district-level leader’s skill in providing leadership for learning, and in the monitoring and modeling of instructional leadership practices.

WHAT IS THE ASSESSMENT’S RESEARCH BASE? On Track 360° was recently developed through a partnership between Dr. Larry Coble of Clemmons, North Carolina and Dr. Katherine P. Divine of Jacksonville, Florida, both of whom have previous experience in the development of a customized leadership assessment. Dr. Coble served as content expert while Dr. Divine served as resident research and assessment specialist. They utilized their collective strengths in educational leadership, research, and assessment design in the creation of On Track 360°.

Because this is a newly created assessment program, the process of collecting data and documenting validity and reliability evidence continues. Internal consistency reliability indices are computed following each group administration and will be accumulated progressively to create a longitudinal database for further validation and item analysis.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ON TRACK 360°?

On Track 360° provides customized and specific information and feedback for each leader completing the assessment. This feedback on the leader’s skills on the six standards/roles is essential for developing successful leaders for 21st Century Schools and enables the leader to build on current strengths and plan for further development. Other advantages include: • Ease of Use – The web-based interface was designed for simple and foolproof operation. Procedures were field-tested and developed by educators with educators in mind. Telephone and email support is available at every step of the process.

• Confidentiality – All data collection procedures and the data itself are confidential and intended for the primary use of the individual leader.

Feedback providers are assured anonymity. At no point during the process of feedback collection and reporting are the names of raters and their specific feedback revealed..

• Cost Effectiveness – The completion of On Track 360° requires no special materials or software. The cost of administration and feedback is competitively priced. Learners receive: · On Track 360° customized feedback. · Hard copies of a series of seven confidential, high quality, and easy to interpret feedback reports. · Site administration and technical support. · An automated and easy to utilize online process for tracking feedback from individual raters and ensuring assessment completion, including automated invitations and reminders to feedback givers.

• User-friendly and Timely Results – From initiation to completion, the assessment process can be completed in less than 30 days. Learners completing the assessment receive seven feedback reports which are easy to understand and which utilize a variety of strategies to explain feedback results with differing levels of specificity.

Learners completing the assessment receive seven feedback reports which are easy to understand and which utilize a variety of strategies to explain feedback results with differing levels of specificity.

For more information on pricing and services, please contact: Melody H. Clodfelter, Ed.D. MCO Leadership Associates P. O. Box 5904, High Point North Carolina 27262 (336) 870-4994 melody.mco@northstate.net

• Opportunities for Customization – Depending on the needs of the district or state, opportunities exist for the customization of On Track 360°.

HOW CAN MCO LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATES ASSIST YOU? MCO Leadership Associates has been granted the right to market and utilize On Track 360°. Associates of MCO provide site administration support for the process and can also provide post-administration services which include, but are not limited to: • Group and one-to-one feedback.

• Facilitation of the process for moving from feedback to the identification of next steps to the creation of personal professional development plans which are based on feedback.

• Identification and design of program content to address the collective development needs of a group of leaders within a school, school system, or across a state.

• Delivery of program services for school-level and/or district-level leaders.

• Coaching services which utilize feedback from On Track 360° and the learner’s personal professional development plan as drivers.