free thinkers

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Can design thinking dramatically change our approach to leadership? !"#$ %&$'()"

he magic of Silicon Valley in the 1980s is as powerful as anything Harry Potter conjured up. Apple, Adobe, Intel and Oracle unveiled innovations that dazzled consumers and investors alike. But for all of the attention given to the technological advances, perhaps the most important innovation was by an industrial designer named David Kelley.

In 1983, Kelley’s design *rm was a little known but well-respected group in the Bay Area with a breakout product innovation: the *rst computer mouse made for Apple. Over the next three decades, the *rm

rode waves of success by designing the Crest stand-up toothpaste tube, an easy-to-use heart de*brillator, and even an iPhone app for Sesame Street. Kelley and his *rm showed that they were capable of solving practically any problem, in any sector, regardless of the constraints.

When asked about the secret to his success, Kelley did not discuss his own intellect, his talented IDEO employees, or a patented process of predicable steps to follow. Rather, he credited an approach to creating innovations and solving problems: design thinking.

Understanding Design ThinkingIn a village in rural Africa, the women walked several miles a day to the nearest water source. In an attempt to help the women, a group of Western aid workers dug a well in the center of the village and then le+. When the workers came back a year later, they discovered that the well had been poisoned and that the women were once again walking to the river. ,e aid workers were upset and later set out to discover the culprit, only to learn that it was the women of the village. Why on earth would they poison their own well?

If a design thinker had encountered the village, the *rst question he or she would ask is, “Were the women ever asked if they needed or wanted a well?” In fact, they hadn’t been asked and did not want a well because the time walking to and from the river was a time of fellowship, quiet, and mental rest. It was also a chance to be away from their children, husbands, messy houses, and cultural expectations.

How Design Thinking WorksDesign thinking requires a human-centered approach to a problem. It focuses on users and recipients because without their “buy-in,” no solution will ever be accepted. For example, the women in the village might have wanted to keep their long walk, but they might have welcomed a better container to carry water in. ,e design thinker asks for input instead of trying to cram a one-size-*ts-all solution down users’ throats. He or she would bring multiple options for the women to consider, narrow down the options to one solution using their feedback, and implement a solution that they would use to improve their lives.

Grounded in real-world problems, design thinking challenges young people to think creatively, stick with problems resiliently, and deliver realistic solutions. Rather than endless PowerPoint slides or project-based learning scenarios divorced from reality, learning that is based on design thinking gives students learning opportunities they can personally connect with.

Some leading schools are using design thinking as the basis of their curricula. For example, Nueva School—a K–8 school in Hillsborough, CA—has redesigned its curriculum to create opportunities for students to use design thinking in the science curriculum (designing a LED-lamp for a family member) and the health curriculum (designing a better range of products for Kaiser Permanente).

African Leadership Academy (ALA), a pan-African high school in Honeydew, South Africa, has adapted design thinking to create the BUILD Model, a -exible approach to

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entrepreneurial leadership (www.anzisha.org). Students engage in BUILD Labs, in which they visit a local preschool in a slum and work with the teachers onsite to deliver solutions for the students. ALA students also design their own social innovation projects using the BUILD Model (www.anzisha.org/resources/build). One student used the BUILD Model to identify a need for more pan-African children’s literature, and inspired the creation of Ekari Books, a children’s book series based on a young girl’s travels across the continent (http://ekari.org).

In Savannah, GA, the Alfred E. Beach High School collaborated with Frog Design and the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) to consider the design challenge question, What change do you want to see in your community? A!er six weeks of workshops, fact-"nding missions, and feedback sessions, the students pitched and produced an “antiviolence week,” during which they engaged in discussions and signed antiviolence pledges. #e results were meaningful not because they created the most innovation solution ever, but because the project was a student-generated solution to a problem in their high school community (goo.gl/7cVXaJ).

Using this as a model to tackle an issue—such as school spirit, risky behavior, or truancy—your organization should begin with the people at the center of the issue. Without "rsthand knowledge of why some students have school spirit and others do not, any campaign, no matter how clever or shiny, can miss the mark. Begin by conducting no-pressure interviews with students from all walks of campus life, digging into what makes them feel a sense of belonging (or not) to a community. In my own high school, we improved school spirit by celebrating the vast wealth of talent in our school community. Without asking the “slacker skaters” what would give them more pride in the school, we would have never come up with a schoolwide skating competition that celebrated their talents.

Teaching Design ThinkingDesign thinking is best taught in the context of design challenges, which are framing questions or statements that provide direction for the solutions. Frog Design and SCAD challenged the students of Beach with the design challenge, What change do you want to see in your community? Other challenges include, Create a better system to keep students from being tardy, Design safe a!er-school places for elementary students, and Find a way to build meaningful relationships between senior citizens and young people. Students can tackle the challenge using the following steps:

Clearly identify and understand problem(s) behind the challengeUse research, interview, and observation skills to discover the human elementUse multiple solutions thinking and an iterative approach to generate many possibilitiesNarrow down solutions with the help of those who will bene"t from or use the solutionsObtain what is needed to implement the best solution creativelyConduct an impact analysis to test the e$cacy of solutions and processes.

Design Thinking ResourcesFor most of those without any experience in design thinking, the challenge of knowing where to begin seems daunting. To begin with, there are a bevy of resources online, including IDEO’s Design #inking for Educators Toolkit (www.ideo.com/work/toolkit-for-educators), Frog Design’s Collective Action Toolkit (www.frogdesign.com/work/frog-collective-action-toolkit.html), and Stanford’s d.school Bootcamp Bootleg (http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf). #ere are also professional development courses opportunities o%ered by Coursera (www.coursera.org) and African Leadership Academy’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (www.anzisha.org/work-with-us). While it may seem overwhelming to learn a whole new approach to community service and problem solving, it will come naturally a!er adopting the new paradigm.

Ryan Findley is a senior faculty member of entrepreneurial leadership at the African Leadership Academy in Honeydew, South Africa.

One student used the BUILD Model to identify a need for more pan-African children’s literature, and inspired the creation of Ekari Books, a children’s book series based on a young girl’s travels across the continent.

Introducing the NASSP 2014–16 Strategic Plan

GOAL: Connect school leaders to exchange knowledge with NASSP and with one another.

GOAL: Strengthen school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences.

GOAL: Monitor and enhance organizational vitality.

GOAL: Advocate on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student.

GOAL: Promote NASSP student programs to enhance student leadership and create positive school climate.

GOAL: Ensure a unique member experience with NASSP and student programs.

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SSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONNECTING

ORGANIZATIONAL VITA

LITY

MEMBERSHIP

STUDENT PROGRAMSPROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTMEMBERSHIP

CONNECTING

Objective 1: Optimize online presence to allow school leaders to acquire and share action-oriented knowledge.

Objective 2: Diversify content and delivery to optimize use of digital media and increase interactivity.

Objective 3: Define a distinctive NASSP brand that school leaders identify and value.

Objective 1: Increase participation in professional development programs and services through external partnerships.

Objective 2: Deliver engaging, contextually relevant professional learning experiences through a variety of media platforms.

Objective 3: Provide research on current topics and trends in education.

Objective 4: Create a community of learners utilizing the talents, expertise, and experiences of school leaders.

Objective 1: Increase participation in professional develop-ment programs and services through external partnerships.




Objective 1: Elevate the voice and influence of school leaders in policy and public discourse.

Objective 2: Enhance the Federal Grassroots Network to ensure active representation of network members in all 435 congressional districts.

Objective 3: Expand NASSP's influence on state-level policies affecting school leaders.

Objective 4: Engage student leaders in advocacy to broaden NASSP's impact on federal policy.

ADVOCACY





Objective 1: Promote the value of NASSP student programs.

Objective 2: Identify and address the changing needs of activity advisers in schools.

Objective 3: Expand the role of the NASSP student programs in the international community.

Objective 4: Meet the needs of student members in NASSP student programs.





Objective 1: Assess and strengthen external stakeholder relationships to optimize organizational viability.

Objective 2: Assess and strengthen internal structures to fulfill the NASSP vision and mission.

Objective 3: Benchmark governance to reflect best practices.

ORGANIZATIONAL VITALITY

Objective 1: Assess and strengthen external stakeholder relationships to optimize organizational viability.

Objective 2: Assess and strengthen internal structures to fulfill the NASSP vision and mission.

Objective 3: Benchmark governance to reflect best practices.Objective 1: Conduct comprehensive research to determine

our value for NASSP and each student program.

Objective 2: Evaluate the relationship with state affiliates.

Objective 3: Evaluate and restructure benefits and pricing to appeal to target audience.

Objective 4: Engage members, chapters and councils.

Objective 1: Conduct comprehensive research to determine our value for NASSP and each student program.



Objective 4: Engage members, chapters and councils.

VISIONGreat leaders in every school

committed to the success of each student.

MISSIONNASSP connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs.

2014–2016 Strategic Plan

STUDENT PROGRAMS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTMEMBERSHIP

CONNECTING

Objective 1: Optimize online presence to allow school leaders to acquire and share action-oriented knowledge.

Objective 2: Diversify content and delivery to optimize use of digital media and increase interactivity.

Objective 3: Define a distinctive NASSP brand that school leaders identify and value.

Objective 1: Increase participation in professional development programs and services through external partnerships.




ADVOCACY









ORGANIZATIONAL VITALITY

Objective 1: Assess and strengthen external stake-holder relationships to optimize organizational viability.

Objective 2: Assess and strengthen internal struc-tures to fulfill the NASSP vision and mission.

Objective 3: Benchmark governance to reflect best practices.

Objective 1: Conduct comprehensive research to determine our value for NASSP and each student program.



Objective 4: Engage members, chapters, and councils.

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