Mired in mud? 'Unstuck' might be the answer.

Situation: Your school district is confronted with a "woe to us" frame of mind.

This could be due to:

(a) limited financial support,

(b) rapidly changing student demographics,

(c) loss of key staff,

(d) hostile local news media,

(e) all of the above (or name your own ailment).

I'm stuck. My school district is stuck. Our school board is stuck. We are making zero progress.

How many times have we used these or similar expressions to describe our frustration with lack of progress on a project, relationship or school improvement? As leaders, it is difficult to admit we are stuck. However, admitting we are indeed stuck and need to become unstuck is the first step to solving the problem.

Determining why we are stuck is step 2. Finally, step 3, getting unstuck, is when the fun really begins.

A Renewed Focus

Little joy comes from being stuck, but there are solutions to free us and send us on our way with a renewed sense of progress and accomplishment. One source of help can be found in a book appropriately titled Unstuck by Keith Yamashita and Sandra Spataro. This book takes little time to read but can forever serve as a guide for improvement.

When stuck, regardless of the reason, frustration sets in and becomes the norm, and the brakes clamp down on the wheels of progress. How do we free ourselves and refocus? The key to becoming unstuck, Yamashita and Spataro say, is to focus upon the causes and not the symptoms of why we are feeling stuck. Three scenarios I've been part of can illustrate the act of becoming unstuck.

Scenario 1: A "moon shot" headline over the lead story in the local newspaper detailing the school district's success.

Setting a moon shot goal displayed as a banner headline stretches your dreams to a new, unprecedented level. By using a few common words, you remove the mystic of strategic planning and unlock collective energy. The organizational wheels begin to free themselves of the mud and muck as you build momentum.

Two years ago the Minnesota Association of School Administrators wrote a headline of the future: All Minnesota Children Have Access to State-Funded, All-Day, Everyday Kindergarten. It was a dream at the time, yet now as I write this our state legislators are wringing their hands attempting to figure out how to fund this program.

Takeaway lessons:

* Seize control of an issue by framing or reframing the conversation.

* The headline of the future provides a clear focus and unlocks the creativity of the organization.

Scenario 2: The tense situation facing our district when confronting a fiscal crunch.

An appeal to the voters for additional funding was narrowly defeated, leading to a substantial round of budget adjustments, reduced services, elimination of programs and reduction of several teaching and support staff positions. Cutting nearly 15 percent of expenditures over the course of the last few years made this latest round of cuts seem overwhelming.

A team of 13 individuals was assembled to guide the process. Time was ticking to gain school board approval, begin the reassignment of staff and identify and inform those whose contracts were not being renewed by the state-mandated deadline. The environment was fraught with second guessing by community, parents and staff. What school(s) will be closed, which programs will be cut, which fees will be raised? We faced great scrutiny.

The team was feeling intense heat under a tight time constraint. The members quickly recognized that traditional thinking and processes needed to be tossed out in favor of a fresh approach. In particular, they desperately needed to overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Down off the shelf flew my copy of Unstuck and the case study of the Apollo 13 mission. Feeling taxed by the need to cut a school budget by a few million bucks is hardly parallel in intensity to being 200,000 miles away from home with a dwindling supply of oxygen, no chance to load new supplies and a worldwide television audience critiquing every decision. Our pressure seemed to pale by comparison. Soon the team, renaming itself the Apollo 13, was thinking at a creative level that had not been previously tapped in the rounds of budget cuts.

Takeaway lessons:

* Giving the group a name is a powerful tool to create unity.

* Recognition of feeling overwhelmed is a key to becoming unstuck.

Loudest Applause

Scenario 3: The case study of the quiet rock star, a staff member highly acclaimed by others yet quietly performing his or her work without fanfare.

At our opening convocation for the school year, I called up to the stage our grounds supervisor to receive the Quiet Rock Star Award. About 900 people stood to applaud, and the loudest applause came from the grizzled veterans and college-age summer help standing in the back of the room dressed in blue jeans, T-shirts with safety glasses and ear protection hanging from their necks.

Takeaway lessons:

* The names of star performers don't always appear on a marquee.

* Significant contributions are made by all employees regardless of title.

Next time you feel bogged down, search out Unstuck and you soon will get traction and be on your merry way.

Ted Blaesing is superintendent of the White Bear Lake School District, 4855 Bloom Ave., White Bear Lake, bin 55110. E-mag: [e-mail]