consulting services & strategic planning

ARBINGER INSTITUTE

www.arbinger.com

801.447.9244

Consulting Services & Strategic Planning

PREPARED FOR THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board Consulting Services Strategic Planning

February 2, 2021 1

Letter to Board and Executive Cabinet February 2, 2021

Dear EBRP School System Board and Executive Team,

The East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRSS) can experience a full-service engagement to design and execute strategic visioning and a comprehensive planning process by partnering with The Arbinger Institute, LLC (Arbinger), an internationally recognized training, coaching, and consulting firm.

Our programs and methodology are based on 45 years of research in the psychology of human behavior and motivation and more than 35 years of experience working with organizations worldwide in the education, government, public safety, nonprofit, corporate, and healthcare sectors.

We can facilitate a strategic visioning and the multi-phased comprehensive planning process by equipping the EBRPSS team members with a collaborative, accountable and creative approach. They will then be able to leverage a clear way of thinking about the impact on all the various stakeholders and the responsibilities each individual has relative to the resources they need.

We are looking forward to bringing people together from the EBRPSS to uncover ways to share challenges related to their specific plans and help them be accountable around those plans.

Our proposal and service agreement provides all the details, but if you need additional information, please let us know.

I am personally committed to helping the EBRPSS fulfill its goals and objectives for this engagement.

Sincerely,

Mark W. Treu, Managing Partner The Arbinger Institute, LLC


February 2, 2021 2

Proposed Scope of Work Outward Mindset Strategic Planning and Execution is Arbinger’s collaborative strategic planning and implementation program. This program powerfully equips organizations to set organizational priorities and focus. It also helps the people in the organization develop and execute their work to the success of the organization’s priorities while ensuring responsibility for their impact on the overall strategy and results of the organization.

The strategic planning and implementation process helps individuals develop and achieve specific objectives and strategies while fostering cross-functional alignment with the goals of their managers, coworkers, direct reports, and customers.

The plan is developed in an intensive series of sessions and a multi-phased process engaging best thinking and key personnel at all levels of the organization—helping to embed a deep level of ownership and accountability into the fabric of the plan.

Arbinger is well-positioned and fully prepared to help EBRPSS uncover and solidify the right kind of impact to have relative to the scope of work’s critical objectives.

Scope of Work to be Performed The first step in this engagement involves vital leaders participating in Arbinger’s foundational two-day Developing and Implementing an Outward Mindset (DIOM) training. Our experience has demonstrated that the planning process and its execution is significantly more effective when built upon the right cultural foundation, a clear view of the impact on one another, and responsibility-taking.

Arbinger’s ability to direct a robust planning process—in a way that reinforces the organization’s critical values—sparks collaborative helping, encourages accountability, and differentiates Arbinger from others who simply facilitate strategic planning processes.

The table below shows our high-level perspective of our multi-phased approach. The details are in the sections following it.

ACTIVITY PROPOSE AMOUNT OF TIME

Initial Pre-Calls 1–3 hours

Phase 1: Outward Mindset Strategic Planning and Execution Process

2 days @ 7–8 hrs. daily

Phase 1A: Pre-Work, Research, and Discovery 2 days @ 6–8+ hrs. daily

Phase 1B: Strategic Planning Process

5 days @ 6–8+ hrs. daily

4 days for Arbinger preparation, review, and feedback on plans

Phase 2: Monthly Executive Meetings Monthly


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PHASE 1: OUTWARD MINDSET STRATEGIC PLANNING AND EXECUTION PROCESS

This process begins with Arbinger’s foundational two-day work session, DIOM. Participants learn two distinct mindsets from which people and organizations operate—a self-focused inward mindset and an others-inclusive outward mindset. During this phase, participants learn the implications of an inward mindset and how to implement a performance platform that enables them to operate with an outward mindset—especially, in this case, in the context of new leadership transition and strategic planning process.

Phase 1A: Pre-Work, Research, and Discovery

Phase 1A aims to gather as much information and input as possible to facilitate a situation analysis. The strategic planning and execution process begins with assessing performance, reporting structures, and significant internal and external factors impacting current results. This pre-work and discovery phase can be completed onsite (following CDC guidelines) or virtual.

In collaboration with the EBRPSS, Arbinger will schedule and conduct meetings and interviews with stakeholders. The purpose of these meetings and interviews will be to understand each key stakeholder group’s objectives and challenges, review previous strategic efforts, evaluate the outcome of goals accomplished, and assess those not achieved since the last plan and implementation cycle. One of these meetings will include a meet-to-learn session with the school board to clarify board priorities.

We will also look to answer questions that will help the EBRPSS define and establish a current state of the district:

• “Where are we today?” • “What did we accomplish and why?” • “What didn’t we accomplish and why?” • “What are the objectives, challenges, and priorities of our stakeholders?” • “What are our current capabilities?”

The information derived from this phase establishes baselines and sets a foundation for the next phase: the strategic planning process.

Phase 1B: Strategic Planning Process

Phase 1B is the start of the strategic planning process and involves Arbinger’s Outward Mindset Strategic Planning and Execution program. This program can be completed in four sessions, with time between each session to complete specific assignments. The time needed for each session will depend upon the group’s size and the organization’s complexity.

• Session 1 – Participants begin by reviewing the board priorities and the data gathered during the pre-work phase. Next, participants will establish one-year objectives (with clear and measurable targets), identify key strategies for achieving the objectives, and organize a strategy team to develop work plans. Focusing on one year helps the EBRPSS completely understand current capabilities and envision the possible results if people within the school system work together responsively and collaboratively.


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• Session 2 – With the outline of an organizational one-year plan in place, participants adjourn to develop individual work plans and budgets that will contribute to the success of EBRPSS. Next, they reconvene to present these plans, offer and receive feedback and help, and finalize a comprehensive one-year plan founded on collaborative cross-functional alignment.

• Session 3 – Participants develop an implementation plan that outlines the reporting patterns, mechanisms, and frequencies required to achieve the identified EBRPSS results.

• Session 4 – The one-year plan is used as a baseline for an envisioning exercise in which participants develop an attainable long-range plan.

As a result of the process, EBRPSS will clarify its strategic school system priorities and objectives, performance indicators, reporting structure, personal work plans, and budgets, including measurable goals, objectives, and tasks to achieve stated priorities, implementation plan, and reporting schedule.

PHASE 2: MONTHLY EXECUTIVE MEETINGS

The second phase of the process includes Arbinger’s participation in the monthly executive meetings. In these meetings, executive team members will:

• Track progress against the strategic plan. • Identify gaps and find collaborative ways to adjust efforts to improve performance. • Update work plans. • Apply outward mindset principles to various challenges and opportunities as needed.

Arbinger’s unique approach is what differentiates us from others who simply facilitate strategic planning processes. The strategic planning and execution process is significantly more effective when built upon the right cultural foundation, a clear view of the impact on one another, and responsibility-taking.

Company Qualifications

ABOUT ARBINGER

Arbinger is a Farmington, Utah-based training, coaching, and consulting firm with a global presence.

For the past four decades, Arbinger has been a leader in public and private sector organizational and cultural transformation, mindset change, leadership training and consulting, and conflict resolution and transformation.

The foundation of Arbinger’s work is based on the robust intellectual underpinnings developed by our founder, Dr. C. Terry Warner, and validated by multiple third-party research studies. Our courses are designed to invite the participants on a journey that will profoundly impact their professional and personal lives.

ARBINGER QUICK FACTS

DBA: The Arbinger Institute

Headquarters: 686 Arbinger Way, Farmington UT, 84025

Organized: 1979

Business Type: Limited Liability Company

State License: Utah #6106302-0160

Corporation: No

SAM Registered: Yes

DUNS: 959032231

CAGE Code: 7GZZ8


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Arbinger has helped thousands of organizations:

• Institutionalize the change from a self-focused “inward mindset” to an impact-focused “outward mindset.”

• Understand the impact of their work to plan and align their work with overall organizational objectives.

• Develop key metrics to track, improve, and report impact in a way that invites and reinforces an outward focus.

• Develop practices that invite transparency, heightened accountability, and collaborative problem-solving.

• Engage people at all levels of the organization in planning and implementation, fostering broad ownership and support of the strategic plan.

• Embed outward mindset into the fabric of the organization.

Arbinger is now recognized as a world leader in improving organizational culture, conflict resolution, and changing mindset. Arbinger is the author of one of the all-time best-selling books about leadership, Leadership and Self-Deception, and the perennially top-ranked book in the world on conflict resolution, The Anatomy of Peace. Arbinger’s most recent book, The Outward Mindset, is a best seller on organizational and individual mindset change. All three books are regularly ranked among the top 10 Amazon best sellers in the Business Conflict Resolution and Mediation category.

With offices in 30 countries, Arbinger has a 40-year record of successfully helping organizations and their people shift their mindset from an inward focus to accomplishing their own objectives to an impact-focused outward mindset that drives collective behaviors towards organizational improvement efficiency. This record is achieved through world-class courses, coaching, consulting, and training.

PROPOSED SENIOR STAFF MEMBERS AND QUALIFICATIONS

Arbinger provides the EBRPSS access to experienced consultants seasoned in course design and delivery, strategic visioning and multi-phase planning, organizational development, and coaching.

Arbinger’s methodologies—combined with the consultants’ deep practical experience and dependable ability to energize and inspire audiences—form the ideal platform from which the EBRPSS can obtain a new long-term strategic plan through a comprehensive, data-driven and participatory process.

What makes our consultants unique and ideal for the EBRPSS scope of work? They:

• Understand the EBRPSS’s needs and pain points based on current, hands-on experience. • Are practiced and certified, flexible and responsive, engaging and compelling. • Often leave customers with a sense of connection and conviction. • Leverage positive relationships to align teams around shared goals. • Have infectious passion, dynamism, and the ability to bring concepts to life. • Are deeply interested in understanding people as they are and the organizational challenges

they face.


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These points provide a glimpse into the qualities, traits, characteristics, and results that set Arbinger and its team apart from the competition—firmly establishing Arbinger as an industry leader in strategic visioning and multi-phased comprehensive planning.

Mike Merchant | Senior Consultant

Mike Merchant will function as the lead facilitator and senior co-consultant for this engagement.

Since 1993, Mike has consulted and facilitated internationally with senior leaders of corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies on leadership development and influence, change management, conflict resolution, strategic alignment and execution, and improving personal and organizational performance.

Mike is the chairman of the board and previous president for Anasazi Foundation, a nonprofit and nationally accredited behavioral healthcare provider for youth, young adults, and their families. He has chaired numerous councils and committees on best practices for adolescents’ treatment in the care of behavioral healthcare providers.

Mike is an expert in strategic communications. In 2004, he developed the communication component at the heart of the Emmy-nominated “Take Time to Talk” substance-abuse awareness and prevention campaign currently used by the Partnership for a Drug-free America. He is the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council’s founder, the past president of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP), and the 2017 NATSAP Leadership Award recipient.

Mike coaches NGO leaders worldwide on measuring, improving, and reporting social impact. He facilitates the Forever Young Foundation Nonprofit Institute and is a past president of the Arizona Management Society.

Mike is a graduate of Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management, named the 2016 Outstanding Professional. He and his wife Gaylene are the parents of seven red-headed and musical children, three of whom form the Country Music trio Firefly.

Dr. Janice A. Barclay | Co-Consultant

Dr. Janice Barclay will function as co-consultant for this engagement.

Dr. Barclay has a proven record of effective leadership and dedicated service to public education. She has served as a classroom teacher, an assistant principal, principal, and a regional superintendent throughout her career. As a principal, Dr. Barclay led her school in making dramatic gains in student achievement and received the noted distinction of becoming a Blue-Ribbon School. During her tenure as a regional superintendent, Dr. Barclay oversaw twenty-six diverse schools throughout the Nation’s Capital and supported school leaders to improve teaching and learning, resulting in system-


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wide recognition of improved student achievement in many of her schools. Additionally, while working with new principals, Dr. Barclay recognized their need for more intensive training and mentoring, which led her to establish the district’s first “New Principals” Mentoring Institute.

In recent years, Dr. Barclay has focused on developing leaders and building districts’ capacity to improve student achievement outcomes through her company, BKL& Associates. Since 2008 she has assisted with the facilitation of monthly leadership development sessions for Central Office and Principals in St. Louis, MO. For three years, she facilitated a leadership institute for aspiring principals in Baltimore City Public Schools; the institute consisted of daylong leadership seminars. 100% of the Cohort 2 and Cohort 3 candidates passed the assessment center. Twenty-four of the thirty candidates were placed in leadership positions in schools. Dr. Barclay is currently responsible for coordinating and leading the New Principals’ Leadership Coaching for first- and second-year principals. In March of 2015, Dr. Barclay began providing executive coaching to the School Chiefs of Rochester City Schools, Rochester, NY. She provided leadership institute sessions for aspiring principals successfully, resulting in the placement of several principal placements.

She has served as an Adjunct Lecturer at Harvard University and a mentor to aspiring school superintendents, a Professor at the University of the District of Columbia and Trinity College, and numerous consultancies with school districts across the nation. Throughout Dr. Barclay’s years in education, she has demonstrated her commitment to providing students, particularly those from urban communities, with high-quality instruction. She has been steadfast in partnering with families and communities in developing these future leaders.

Dr. Barclay holds a Doctor of Education degree from Harvard University in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy with a concentration in Urban Superintendency. She also has an M.Ed. from Roosevelt University and a B.A. from Lesley University.

Mike Rener | Project Manager

Mike Rener will be the project manager and primary point of contact for the engagement.

With his extensive experience helping clients architect and roll out Arbinger’s programs, Mike Rener profoundly connects with people around their real-world challenges. He allows them to see new possibilities for ways forward. His caring, empathetic manner draws in clients, inspiring and motivating them around mindset change.

Mike has been a focused keynote speaker at conferences, delivered hundreds of in-person work sessions, and provided implementation consulting sessions, with feedback from clients including, “[Mike] is a master teacher,” “amazing storyteller and facilitator,” “engaging,” “made things relevant and practical,” and “kept energy levels high.”

As director of client solutions, Mike manages strategic accounts, consulting large organizations to implement cultural change and improve performance. He has worked with corporate executives,


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non-profit organizations, educational institutions, local and federal government leadership, and senior military officers.

Before joining Arbinger, Mike delivered Arbinger’s training programs as a contract facilitator in the for-profit and social sectors. Mike brings a client-oriented and corporate perspective to his work with a background in hospitality and brand management. He has a passion for helping people see and leverage the practical applications of Arbinger’s material.

Mike lives with his family in Salt Lake City and enjoys taking advantage of Utah’s many outdoor activities.

References and Experience For the past two decades, Arbinger has provided strategic visioning and comprehensive planning for a host of clients, including academic organizations, municipalities, and government agencies. Many of these clients have required requirements similar to the EBRPSS:

• Project management • Designing and executing a strategic visioning and multi-phase comprehensive planning

process • Developing an actionable, time-bound, measurable strategic plan • Providing recommendations for implementing the plan • Providing regular status updates to the school board and superintendent

Arbinger has a solid track record for successfully meeting and exceeding such requirements. The following examples of our relevant experience demonstrate and confirm this track record.

EXPERIENCE WITH ACADEMIC SECTORS

Arbinger offers an academic-focused suite of solutions designed to help embed an outward mindset within a school and its broader community, including school boards, parents, administration, faculty, students, and boards. These solutions are offered directly to client organizations.

The following project summaries, including Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), Prince George’s County Schools (PGCS), and Riverside Unified School District (RUSD), demonstrate Arbinger’s experience with successful, comprehensive strategic planning within the academic sector.


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Metro Nashville Public Schools

MNPS board and cabinet members attended DIOM training to facilitate a new superintendent’s transition and prepare to participate in the strategic planning process.

An Arbinger consultant served as a vital member of the 100-day transition team. The Arbinger consultant then used the report to facilitate a board workshop to set district priorities. Next, the Arbinger team facilitated the plan development.

When the board approved the plan, an Arbinger consultant facilitated monthly plan review sessions with the cabinet and strategy team leads for two years.

During the 2018–2019 school year, MNPS saw the following improvements:

• MAP reading data grew faster than the nation in grades 3–8, and TN Ready reading data grew faster than the state for the first time for all student groups.

• Dual enrollment participation increased from 983 students to 1,470 students. • Dual enrollment pass rates increased from 749 students to 900 students. • Industry certifications increased from 415 students to 706 students. • Industry certification exam participation increased from 700 students to 1,172 students. • District-wide average ACT scores increased from 18.7 to 18.9 and grew faster than the state

in all four ACT categories. • Suspensions decreased from 15,246 to 13,464.

The school district began to “focus on focus” by creating a system where departments helped each other achieve the organization’s collective goals through an innovative partnership with the Arbinger Institute.

Prince George’s County Schools

PGCS board and cabinet members attended DIOM training to engage in the strategic planning process. The Arbinger team took part in the planning process to ensure team members planned with an outward mindset “lens.” An Arbinger consultant facilitated monthly strategy sessions with cabinet and plan review and collaborative helping sessions with strategy team leads for one year.

The PGCPS Board of Education and Executive Leadership was committed to a planning approach that would result in a relevant, actionable strategic plan. Most importantly was the plan’s requirement to be informed by the community of students, parents, staff and partners we serve.


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PGCPS used numerous methods to involve the community in the planning efforts directly:

• In early 2014, we administered two online surveys. • We received over 3,200 responses from Board of Education members; executive leadership;

school leaders; central office staff; parents; students; Prince George’s residents without students in our schools; and business, community, university, and civic partners. The responses provided valuable input to assist the Board of Education and Executive leadership in developing our strategic foundation.

• Additionally, the CEO’s Transition Team Report served as a data-driven and research-based strategy development and prioritization source.

• Executive leadership decisions were further informed by a Strategy Development Team comprised of staff representing offices and schools.

• This team’s high-level strategy proposals served as input to over 225 PGCPS Strategy Team members who proposed detailed plans and measurable outcomes for consideration.

Armed with a clear view of what “Greatness” means to PGCPS, leadership charted the course by establishing its strategic direction. In the early stages of the planning process, selected school-based and central and regional office administrative staff performed an extensive and collaborative assessment of the school system’s current state.

Riverside Unified School District

RUSD board and cabinet members attended DIOM training to participate in the strategic planning process. An Arbinger consultant facilitated a board workshop to help the board establish district priorities and the plan development process with cabinet members (and other key leaders). An Arbinger consultant facilitates the board self-evaluation and superintendent evaluation process annually.

The 2019–2020 school board goals and district priorities are published and accessible on the RUSD website.

EXPERIENCE WITH MUNICIPALITIES AND GOVERNMENT SECTORS

Arbinger’s solutions are designed to enable agencies to build a culture that will help them thrive. We have a wide range of experience working with local, state, federal, and international government agencies, providing specialized expertise and focusing on long-lasting results. As an indication of our service quality, our U.S. federal government practice has received maximum performance scores each time we have been rated.

The following project summaries, including the State Department–Office of Inspector General, Fairfax County, Ireland Army Health Clinic, and Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, demonstrate Arbinger’s experience with successful comprehensive strategic planning within the municipality and federal government sectors.


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State Department – Office of Inspector General

Using Arbinger’s Outward Mindset Strategy Planning and Execution Program, the Office of Inspector General Leadership Team established the organization’s strategic objectives and completed the following elements of the strategic planning process in four onsite work sessions:

Onsite Work Session 1 (Executive Team)

Identify Key Objectives and Key Performance Indicators – Leveraging what was learned during Arbinger’s foundational DIOM training program, team members identified key one-year strategic objectives, performance measures (including utility metrics), and key processes and activities required to achieve the objectives.

1. Diagram Service/Product Lines 2. Review and Refine Reporting Structure 3. Identify Objectives of Executive Team Members and Managers 4. Develop Personal Work Plans and Budgets


Build Team Responsibility Plan and Budgets – Leaders presented personal work plans and budgets, offered and received feedback and help, and built a one-year plan. If budgets are already in place, the information gathered during this session would be used to refine the budget. (Time is allotted between Session 1 and 2 to complete a draft of the one-year plan and budget.)


5. Review and Refine One-Year Plan and Budgets 6. Develop Implementation Plan and Reporting Schedule

Onsite Work Session 4 (Executive Team and Stakeholders)

7. Vision and Build Five-Year Plan

Leaders presented the first draft of a one-year plan, raised the bar, asked big purpose questions, scaled objectives, and finalized financial forecasting. Deliverables included a board-approved, five-year strategic plan, organizational implementation plan, and outward mindset culture development plan to accomplish the organizational objectives.

Fairfax County

Fairfax County wanted to provide opportunities for learning, development, and organizational enhancements to improve team performance and effectiveness so that its employees can protect and enrich life for the people, neighborhoods and diverse communities in Fairfax County. This is accomplished via a Framework for Excellence that requires leadership and performance alignment at all organization levels and is executed through stratified leadership tracks.

The effort required an organizational development approach that recognized and took advantage of coachable moments and presented models and techniques straightforwardly and clearly. Arbinger was ideal for accomplishing this Fairfax County’s requirements through its original content,


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proprietary methodologies, unique approach to change management, depth of experience, and capacity to deliver measurable results.

Fairfax County saw increased individual and team effectiveness at every leadership level, reduced interpersonal and team conflict, and increased accountability and ownership. This increase was accomplished through Arbinger’s proven, repeatable, industry-leading, off-the-shelf delivery of the DIOM workshop, the Outward Leadership (OL) workshop, the strategic planning and execution process, and coaching.

Ireland Army Health Clinic (IAHC)

The Commander of IAHC requested that Arbinger assist him and his senior leadership team with navigating a series of very complex problem sets as they descoped from a Community Hospital to a Health Clinic. These problem sets included:

• Workforce optimization: A Reduction in Force (RIF) from 850 civilian employees to approximately 400

• Reduce the beneficiary population from 23,000 to 11,000. • Transform clinic operations to a Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH) model. • Prepare the Ireland legacy facility for demolition. • Transfer health support to another MTF. • Provide support to three of the Army’s nine Mobilization Force Generation Installation (MFGI)

sites.

Arbinger master trainers and consultants conducted several onsite events to first train 75 IAHC leaders in the foundational self-awareness program DIOM and then deliver onsite consultation around Arbinger’s Strategic Planning and Execution process.

Arbinger master trainers tailored a series of onsite sessions that helped IAHC leaders develop a one- and two-year plan specifically targeted at addressing the six problem sets above. Simultaneously with these sessions – Arbinger trained several IAHC internal trainers, who then began delivering the foundational DIOM workshop throughout all organization levels.

The strategic plan developed through this process helped the IAHC Commander and his team successfully navigate these problem sets. One example of this success was how IAHC successfully transitioned 12,000 beneficiaries to the network in less than 18 months by applying one of Arbinger’s tools, specifically The Outward Mindset Pattern.

The IAHC Commander directly attributed Arbinger’s process and tool to form what came to be known as the Beneficiary Transition Cell (BTC). This revolutionary concept allowed each of the 12,000 beneficiaries to meet face-to-face with an IAHC employee to assist them in their transition to the network. This process accelerated all beneficiaries’ smooth transition because it dramatically reduced confusion and complaints while increasing the overall customer experience.

Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center (CRDAMC)

Shortly after taking command of CRDAMC in the summer of 2017, the CRDAMC Commander learned that the hospital had a $20 million deficit. He immediately leveraged a task order to bring in Arbinger master trainers and consultants to train his senior leaders in Arbinger’s foundational self-


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awareness DIOM workshop. With onsite consultants’ help, the CRDAMC Commander’s leadership team was guided through Arbinger’s tailored Strategic Planning and Execution process. The result: a two-year strategic plan that informed their vision and priorities.

In a feature article published in the October and November edition of Tex Appeal Magazine, the Commander, COL Dave Gibson, attributes Arbinger’s foundational frameworks and tools for CRDAMC’s successes, which include:

• Eliminating the $20 million deficit and adding $36 million above their performance plan • Being named the number one hospital in DOD and number seven out of more than 700

hospitals nationally in the Surgical Quality Improvement Program. (Improving from the top 40% just the year before)

• Receiving the Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award from the nation’s leading organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in healthcare

In the above-referenced article, COL Gibson was asked how his CRDAMC team was able to accomplish all of these things in his first 18 months of command, and he responded with the following:

“It all begins with a strategy and a mindset,” Gibson says. “There were challenges across the system.”

The next step was introducing his team to Outward Mindset: Seeing Beyond Ourselves, based on The Arbinger Institute’s book. “With all the assessments done, we came together as an executive body with ‘meet to learn’ and ‘meet to give’ meetings,” he says.

Gibson explains that the departmental assessments allowed leaders to see problems through the eyes of others. “It put a face on the climate and culture. Now we could bring in people to address our challenges.”


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REFERENCES

The following references can speak to Arbinger’s experience and success with the strategic planning process within K-12 education environments.

Dr. David Hansen, District Superintendent Riverside Unified School District 3380 14th Street Riverside, CA 92501 Email: [email protected] Phone: (951) 788-7131

Tamara Fentress, Director of Planning & Project Management Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools 2601 Bransford Avenue Nashville, TN 37204 Email: [email protected] Phone: (615) 259-8653

David Gibson, Commander | CEO (outside of K-12 reference) Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Building 36065 Santa Fe Ave Fort Hood, Texas 76544 Email: [email protected] Phone: (202) 288-5315

Background Research Supporting the Strategic Planning Process Arbinger’s unique approach begins by ensuring everyone who is a part of the strategic planning process has a clear view of their previous and current impact on the various stakeholders at the planning, design, and implementation levels. This process sets the stage for creativity, accountability, helpfulness, and metrics that account for this process’s impact.

Arbinger’s Pivoting in Crisis is a strategic work process for intact leadership teams based on Arbinger’s Strategic Planning and Execution process. During the “Pivoting in Crisis” process, a senior Arbinger consultant works with the organization’s leaders to apply tools and frameworks that will enable them to pivot in the face of the crisis quickly and effectively, allowing them to navigate turbulent conditions successfully.

The world is in uncharted waters due to the global spread of COVID-19, creating tremendous health and economic uncertainty for virtually all organizations. Many organizations have taken an immediate and dramatic hit. Most organizations face an unknown future both:

• Short-term, before the spread of COVID-19, is brought under control • Long-term, during what many expect to be a long and challenging economic recovery


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Focused and decisive leadership—a rare commodity—is essential even in the best of times. In a period of crisis and uncertainty such as we face today, such leadership is critical. Leaders in crisis need to quickly and intelligently make difficult decisions that will allow their organizations to weather the situation and rebound once it has passed successfully. The “Pivoting in Crisis” strategic work process will enable them to do just that.

McKinsey’s research indicates that if companies can initially identify and address pervasive mindsets initially, they are four times more likely to succeed in organizational-change efforts than companies overlooking this stage. (Boaz and Fox, “Change Leader Change Thyself,” McKinsey Quarterly, March 2014)

Arbinger’s work is one of few in the industry that can help individuals, teams, and organizations transform mindsets, end conflicts, foster collaboration, and ensure an accountable and creative process. Research on this process—how collaboration at senior leadership team and board levels is an accelerator and key factor in student achievement—is evidenced below.

The Case for Collaboration is Clear, Brenda Álvarez and John Rosales, neaToday, December 04, 2018

The evidence is in: When unions, district officials, school boards, parents and community members work together, students succeed.

A good relationship takes time to build, and along the way, trust is formed, collaboration grows, and the collective does better. The same holds when district leaders, unions/associations, and school boards work together—decades of research support this claim. The results show gains in student achievement, improved school climate, increases in teacher retention, and both principals and association representatives being seen as stronger resources by educators in their school.

Effective Board and Superintendent Collaboration, Hanover Research, January 2014

In this report, Hanover Research presents a comprehensive account of literature addressing the components of effective superintendent and school board relationships. The report also highlights effective board governance strategies, focusing on school boards’ impact on student achievement, practices specific to urban districts, and techniques for overcoming political barriers.

The School Board Role in Creating the Conditions for Student Achievement: A Review of the Research, California School Boards Association and its Policy and Programs Department, May 2017

This report sheds light on how boards can carry out their essential responsibility of governance to help their school districts and county offices of education improve learning outcomes for the students in their communities. Researchers have paid limited attention to school district boards’ role and virtually none to county boards in district improvement studies. It has focused instead on central offices and schools, including the role and impact of superintendents.


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Therefore, this report uses a broader lens to help board members understand how to support system-wide improvement. We begin by presenting what research has said about how school districts impact student outcomes, and then we look at the role that boards have in supporting that impact.

School District Leadership that Works: The Effect of Superintendent Leadership on Student Achievement, J.T. Waters and R.J. Marzano, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), September 2006

Executive Summary: To determine the influence of district superintendents on student achievement and the characteristics of effective superintendents, McREL, a Denver-based education research organization, conducted a meta-analysis of research — a sophisticated research technique that combines data from separate studies into a single sample of research — on the influence of school district leaders on student performance.

The study is the latest in a series of meta-analyses that McREL has conducted over the past several years to determine the characteristics of effective schools, leaders, and teachers. This most recent meta-analysis examines findings from 27 studies conducted since 1970 that used rigorous, quantitative methods to study school district leaders’ influence on student achievement. Altogether, these studies involved 2,817 districts and the achievement scores of 3.4 million students, resulting in what McREL researchers believe to be the largest-ever quantitative examination of research on superintendents.

Multi-Phase Approach with Timeline This process begins with Arbinger’s foundational two-day work session, DIOM. Participants learn two distinct mindsets from which people and organizations operate—a self-focused inward mindset and an others-inclusive outward mindset. During this step, participants learn the implications of an inward mindset and how to implement a performance platform that enables them to operate with an outward mindset—especially, in this case, in the context of new leadership transition and strategic planning process. They learn and apply four sets of tools: self-awareness tools that help them see when they might be operating with an inward mindset; mindset-change tools that they can apply to turn their mindsets outward; accountability tools that enable them to function in their roles with an outward mindset; and collaboration tools that teams can deploy together to operate with an outward mindset.

PRE-WORK, RESEARCH, AND DISCOVERY PHASE

Our goal in the discovery phase is to gather as much information and input as possible to facilitate a situation analysis. The pre-work, research, and discovery phase can be completed onsite (following CDC guidelines) or virtual.

The strategic planning and execution process involves:

• Conduct meetings and interview with stakeholders • Assess stakeholders’ objectives and challenges • Reviewing previous plans and strategic efforts


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• Set Board priorities • Pre-Work:

o Preparing Situational Analysis o Current State o Stakeholder Analysis

DRAFTING PHASE

The drafting phase involves four sessions to identify, review, and establish the appropriate and essential components to be incorporated into the comprehensive strategic plan.

SESSION 1 Two (2) days onsite

Review and Establish

• Organizational strategic objectives • Key Performance Indicators • One-year organizational objectives • Key workflows and roles • Organizational reporting structure • Individual objectives for executives

ONSITE ASSIGNMENTS

Develop

• Prepare work plans and budgets • 1-day (remote) Arbinger review –

work plans and budgets and provide feedback

SESSION 2 One (1) day onsite

Review and Refine

• Individual work plans • Individual budgets • A consolidated organizational one-

year plan

ONSITE ASSIGNMENTS

Develop

• Prepare one-year plan and budgets • 1-day (remote) Arbinger review one-

year plans and budgets and provide feedback


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Plan Implementation

• Optimize one-year plan • Determine reporting patterns and

frequencies • Establish or refine reporting

mechanisms

ONSITE ASSIGNMENTS

Develop

• Prepare Stakeholder Presentation • 1-day (remote) Arbinger

collaboration on this process/review


Look Ahead

• Ask big purpose questions • Envision the future: Five-year vision • Scale objectives and reporting

structure • Forecast five-year financial picture

ONSITE ASSIGNMENTS

Develop

• Prepare a plan for approval and distribution

• 1-day (remote) Arbinger will help review the plan for approval and communications relative to distribution after approval

ONSITE ASSIGNMENTS

Post Work

• Plan approval • Plan distribution • Plan implementation • Prepare Reporting mechanisms

PUBLICATION AND COMMUNICATION PHASE

The EBRPSS will leverage internal printing and communication department resources. An Arbinger consultant will assist the cabinet and board with the communication plan and distribution strategy.

SUPPORT STAGE

As part of the planning process, the cabinet will establish the reporting structures, mechanisms, and cadences. An Arbinger consultant will help facilitate a monthly strategy session where the cabinet and other key leaders report out actual performance compared to the plan. The Arbinger consultant will facilitate collaborative helping sessions to identify and implement actions to close any performance gaps.

Timeline, Milestones, and Deliverables The table below provides an “at-a-glance” of the SOW timeline for a period of performance from February 2021 through June 2021 with the option of extending (recommended) to July 2022.


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PERFORMANCE PERIOD: FEBRUARY 2021 – JUNE 2021 (possible extend to July 2022)

Feb. 2021 Mar. 2021 Mar. 2021–May 2021

June 2021(–July 2022)

PHASE 1 PHASE 2

Onsite Work Session

1A: Pre-Work, Discovery, Research, and Interviews

1B: Strategic Planning Process

Monthly Sessions

• Two-day DIOM work session with key leaders

• Review previous plan • Pre-interviews with board • Review transition report • Set board priorities

• Four-session Outward Mindset Strategic Planning and Execution program

• Planning process review • Communication and

distribution strategy

• One-day onsite monthly meetings

• Performance reporting compared to plan

• Facilitate collaborative help with performance gaps

Detailed Budget by Stage As provided in the attached service agreement.

consulting services & strategic planning

Documents