The Leader Rounding Protocol

When I began as superintendent of a school district of 4,200 students 10 years ago, we were one of the lowest-performing and highest-spending districts in Wisconsin. When I left in 2018, the student suspension rate had plummeted and graduation rate had risen to 98 percent.

A key reason for our turnaround was a practical tool for gathering feedback called leadership rounding where I regularly connected with my direct reports. During our quarterly 10-minute check-in meetings, I listened and conversed.

The feedback helped me understand the leadership team’s perspective and the system barriers that were hindering progress. These meetings were a committed time that allowed me as superintendent to process pressing issues and learn how to problem solve with a broader lens. Systems thinking became a mindset I embraced and a skillset that became hard-wired. Leadership rounding and the AASA learning cohorts are two options that superintendents can use to make improvements. Rounding is a method long embraced by healthcare and other industries.

• Why commit to leader rounding?
  
  There has never been a more important time to work alongside the people you lead. Improving communication is a priority after 18 months of remote or hybrid learning that weakened the ties between team members.
  
  When leaders meet face-to-face with the individuals who report to them in rounding, they ask a set of five questions designed to seek individual perspective from those closest to the work. Scaffolding this process throughout the organization allows for every employee to have scheduled individual time with their immediate supervisor. The goal is to recognize what is working and quickly solve the barriers that lurk in the daily work of the school system.
  
  The outcome is powerful. Gaining individual perspective affords each leader the opportunity to reduce barriers, improve two-way communication, accelerate organizational culture and ensure effective problem solving.


• What is the rounding process?
  
  The 10-minute check-in is not designed to solve major challenges. It helps leaders see the perspective of their team members to better understand team strengths and system barriers.
  
  The protocol opens with two-way conversation to create a warm connection (“Simone, I know your daughter was really excited to start the year. How has that gone for her?”). This helps your team members feel connected. That personal connection demonstrates that you know your team beyond their job titles and work responsibilities. This investment of time demonstrates you are more than your job title.
  
  The five rounding core questions are elegantly simple:
  
  
  • What is working well?
  
  
  • What is a barrier or challenge you are experiencing right now?
  
  
  • How can I be helpful?
  
  
  • Do you have the resources and support you need?
  
  
  • Who has been helpful to you?
  
  
  These questions can be modified to gain insights on areas that may be causing specific challenges.


• How does the process work, how often and what’s next?
  
  Rounding quarterly works great under normal circumstances. When individuals or teams are stressed, accelerating rounding to once or twice a month will keep you connected to the real needs of the team.
  
  I scheduled individual rounds on Wednesday mornings. I would typically schedule 1-3 team members a week. Our leaders would debrief the areas to celebrate as “wins” to share. We would send brief e-mails or send thank you notes to those making a difference.
  
  The rounding process works well with students, school board members and parent groups as well.
  
  Leadership in service of others is core to the Nine Principles of Leadership for Organizational Excellence, created by Studer Education to align to the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.