Four Disciplines of Execution

4DX

Making an impact on student engagement and achievement by implementing the four disciplines of execution

A Framework for Success in Elementary Schools

The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) is a framework for achieving success. According to the 4DX framework, focusing on lead and lag measures will compensate for the whirlwind. Lead measures directly impact your ability to achieve your goal, while lag measures reflect whether or not you have reached your goal. The 4DX framework recommends creating a "WIG" - a Wildly Important Goal - to focus our attention and efforts. The WIG or Wildly Important Goal can be a valuable component to implementing innovative ideas in an elementary school setting because it provides teachers and administrators with a clear focus for their efforts.

The 4 Disciplines

The 4DX framework recommends investing more time and energy in lead measures than lag measures because lead measures are more predictive of success. To be successful in our implementation, 4DX states that we must follow the four disciplines.

Focus on the Wildly Important

Identify and prioritize the fewest, most important goals impacting our elementary campuses and work to mitigate them.

1

Learn More

Act on Lead Measures

We must keep track of metrics to help achieve our goals. These metrics include the number of views per video, average watch time, and percentage decrease in tardies.

2

Learn More

Create a Compelling Scoreboard

We must clearly and accurately track progress toward our goals and create plans to optimize for streamlined improvements.

3

Learn More

Create a Cadence of Accountability

We must set up regular check-ins with our team to review progress, give feedback, and course correct as needed.

4

Learn More

WIG

Wildly Important Goal

Produce video-based content for morning announcements in a K-12 educational environment that helps promote student achievement and connectedness among peers and educators.

ACT ON LEAD MEASURES

To get to the top of the mountain, you need to take specific, measurable actions that will get you closer to the summit.

Set a goal for how many morning announcements the campus would like to make each week, and then track progress against that goal.

Designate a team to be responsible for creating the morning announcements each day and hold them accountable for doing so.

Provide training for staff members on creating effective morning announcements, and measure whether or not they are following best practices.

Ensure access to quality equipment and materials is needed to produce high-quality morning announcements daily.

LAG MEASURES TO INNOVATE

The ability to identify potential problems early on provides the foresight to prevent them from becoming bigger issues.

Increased student engagement

Improved academic performance

Decreased tardiness rates?

What is the total amount of schools using video-based morning announcements?

How often are video-based morning announcements being used, and by whom?

What do surveys say about students' attitudes toward the announcements?

Compelling Scorecard

It is important to have regular check-ins with our team to review progress, give feedback, and course correct as needed. Holding each other accountable will help ensure that everyone is always moving toward the same goal.

Tardy Percentage Decrease

Percentage of Classrooms Participating

Satisfaction Rating

Total Minutes Watch

Stages of Change

Getting Clear

Produce video-based content for morning announcements in a K-12 educational environment to promote student achievement and connectedness among peers and educators. Lead: Implement into 100% of the elementary schools, purchase the needed equipment for all campuses, release content daily. Lag: Survey all students and staff for feedback.

Launch

Upon the completion of the planning stages and the scoreboard design phase, campus leaders will be ready to execute their plan to increase student engagement and academic success.

Adoption

Each campus will be held accountable for its own achievement of student learning outcomes, in addition to the performance score it is required to submit. Each campus will seek to improve communication and engage students in the learning process, ensure that everyone in the school knows what is happening each day.

Optimization

Every campus review team will optimize their plan with the goal of ensuring that future videos are short, concise, and informative. They will look to ensure there are optimizations that seek to capture the attention of the students while still providing them with valuable information.

Building Habits

Staff and students will develop great building habits by watching morning announcements via video each day. By seeing and hearing the daily news, students will be informed of what is happening in their school community. Additionally, they will learn to appreciate the importance of being reliable and consistent in their attendance and behavior while at school.

The Whirlwind in Education

In public education, the "whirlwind" is the day-to-day work that keeps educators busy with immediate tasks and concerns. This can include everything from responding to student behavior issues to attending department meetings. The whirlwind can significantly limit strategy execution because it leaves little time for reflection or planning. When educators constantly react to the demands of the moment, they may need help seeing the big picture or making long-term plans. This can lead to a lack of focus and direction in their work. Additionally, the whirlwind can create a sense of urgency that makes it difficult to make thoughtful decisions about important issues. To execute strategies effectively, public educators must find ways to slow down the whirlwind and take time for reflection and planning.

Reference

Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2016). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. New York: Free Press.