“For every nine people who denounce innovation, only one will encourage it. . . . For every nine people who do things the way they have always been done, only one will ever wonder if there is a better way. For every nine people who stand in line in front of a locked building, only one will ever come around and check the back door.
“Our progress as a species rests squarely on the shoulders of that tenth person. The nine are satisfied with things they are told are valuable. Person 10 determines for himself what has value.” -Za Rinpoche and Ashley Nebelsieck, in The Backdoor to Enlightenment (Three Leaves)
The pessimistic side of me wants to say that in schools, the proportion is probably one out of every twenty, or perhaps even higher. But that’s just me being whiny.
What this book excerpt reminds me of:
- Ian Jukes’s Committed Sardine metaphor
- about 203,094,820 faculty meetings I’ve been to where one person speaks out about doing something differently, and gets verbally crucified
- the feeling I have after I finish a really good yoga session, when I have the most clarity about what I determine as valuable for myself
Questions I have:
- Is it in a person’s nature to be that 10th person? Or can one learn to question and be curious?
- How long before that 10th person becomes tired of always being “the only one” who’s encouraging innovation, asking if there’s a better way, and going around to the back door? How many times before s/he gives up?
- What would happen if the proportions shifted? What if, in a group of 10, there were 4 people who were always asking the questions and finding new ways of doing things? What would that look like?
- Should leaders in our schools be the 10th person?
Photo credit: Mozzer502
Great questions! You’ve got me thinking about balance in hiring practices (though there is much more here, this is just an issue I’ve been thinking about a lot lately). Our school has a tendency (I might even go so far as to call it a “practice”) of hiring type-A, over achievers, which means that we run on double speed, are action oriented, always striving for improvement, and (most likely) are self-critical to the point of perfectionism.
While that is an excellent path for improving a school (getting the right people on the bus is the first task to making change), it also means that our staff can be quite unbalanced. We actually need people who are laid back, who are happy with the status quo for a while, who can provide that more soft-spoken, slower-paced, reflective side of change and learning.
So, thinking about the 1 in 10 problem you describe above, I’m thinking it’s all about balance in hiring practice. If we know it’s 1 in 10, when we hire would we want to hire all those “1’s” and just make sure to interview 100 people to make sure we find them all? Or is it important to have some balance, some reflection, some that appreciate things already done well?
I’m one that’s always looking toward the future, and always ready to take risks, so it’s actually surprising me as I write this comment, that it’s almost turning out sounding like I’m in favor of having some naysayers on board. I don’t think that’s quite accurate, but I definitely think it’s all about balance – having enough of all different kinds of people with all different strengths otherwise you end up too skewed in one direction (all innovoation is not necessarily good innovation, right?)
Hmm…. am I making a mess of this? What do you think?
@mscofino,
I don’t think you’re making a mess of it at all! I think it’s already messy! 😉 I’ve spoken to other teachers about exactly what you are mentioning. A friend of mine works in a school that sounds similar to yours — lots of people who are goal-oriented and trying to make headway. In fact I think she described it as, “Our school has too many leaders. We need more followers.” Of course, this makes it difficult to really get things done at times, as everyone wants to be the innovator, right? Even if everyone is innovating towards the same goal, things can go awry very quickly, amounting in a lot of people doing a lot of work, with little to show in terms of concrete results.
Perhaps the key, then, is for those of us who are natural innovators us to recognize when it’s a good time to lead, and when it’s a good time to follow. And you’re right — no all innovation is good innovation. So where is the “quality control”, I wonder?
Hmm. I’m not sure I have made any of this clearer! But I like that you’ve brought up the need for “the other 9”. When I was originally posting this, I was thinking about how change is often so slow in schools because “the 10th person” is always working alone. Yet it is important to have balance — thanks for the reminder. 🙂
[note: CoComment not working! First time I tried posting this, CoComment posted to my profile, but not to the actual blog. Grrr.]
You tweeted to me that after reading my post, you think I may be the 10th person, and I take that as a compliment of the highest order. Here are my thoughts on your questions:
1) I really do think that part of what makes someone “that” person is just part of their nature, but I think our society in general teaches students to conform – just look at our schools today, structure, rules, etc. I know these are sometimes necessary for order, but questioning is almost never nurtured in this system. The people who rise above are those who have that certain something inside that keeps them coming back.
2) How long before giving up? Well, that’s different for everyone, but I find that people will tend to give up on a particular organization before giving up on instigating change in general. This is the case for me.
3) If the proportions shifted, leadership would have to change. It would have to be more facilitating and less directing.
Essentially a moderator, and hiring would have to be done much more thoughtfully.
4) Leaders in our schools should invariably be that 10th person and the reason our public schools in the U.S. are the way they are is because the leaders AREN’T that 10th person.
I’m going to read this book now, thanks so much for letting me know about this!
Have you seen the youtube about the two people on the escalator? Escalator Temporarily Stairs I use it as a visual metaphor for helplesshandraising. All year long learners review the concept and are reminded, “Thou shalt not helplessly handraise!” Reminds me of that 10th person. My prayer is that every child in our school will learn to never be satisified with the status quo and every one will be the 10th person!
* Is it in a person’s nature to be that 10th person? Or can one learn to question and be curious?
I think it is in the nature of far more than 1 in 10 in childhood. By adulthood, it’s just been beaten out of all but one in 10. I think that the questioning and curious children who are either supported or simply left alone to their own devices for extended periods of time keep those traits. Being introverted as a child probably helps too–worrying less about what others think.
* How long before that 10th person becomes tired of always being “the only one” who’s encouraging innovation, asking if there’s a better way, and going around to the back door? How many times before s/he gives up?
It depends. Helpful, eh? If the person feels like they are making progress, or that they have their own realm of influence, then they can be persistent. If what they are passionate about coincides with the core values of the other 9, then they can really be helpful and supportive. I’m thinking of a committed environmentalist I know who can inspire others who care, but aren’t innovators to take action. Also, if there are a core group that are feeding off of each other’s energy (I know that is the opposite of what I said about being introverted, but introverts can still make meaningful connections to others) they can stick with it. If the 1 in 10 is truly isolated, they are better off moving on than to face relentless rejection of their ideas. The maturity level of the 1 in 10 probably matters too.
Hiatus is part of life too, and probably applies here. I’ve been on innovator hiatus for a couple of years–having babies will do that. But, I’m baaaackk! And, apparently, as annoying as ever to an unnamed AP English teacher who still has her students write essays using fountain pens!
* What would happen if the proportions shifted? What if, in a group of 10, there were 4 people who were always asking the questions and finding new ways of doing things? What would that look like?
I sort of addressed that above–I think collegiality and teaming are important in all endeavors for change.
* Should leaders in our schools be the 10th person?
Yes, but. They need to understand how to lead people who don’t immediately get excited about change (or even resist it actively) but are still valuable members of the faculty. Think of the teacher who manages, just by the way her room is organized and her presence, to calm an anxiety-ridden child. Or, the upper-level teacher who pushes his students to excel in a traditional manner, exhorting them to new levels of achievement they previously considered impossible. Those people should not be pushed aside to make way for new projects. They need to be drawn in and will usually respond well to demonstrations of effectiveness even though they will never be front-liners for innovation.
Durff–thank you so much for that link. I’m going to show it, along with the Nike wheelchair ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myDYE49KPlQ to my sixth grade friends who are driving me nuts with some learned helplessness right now. They’ll all enjoy it, even those who aren’t my targets!
Also wanted to add that I’m adding the book to my reading list–thanks!
@Kate and @Sarah
Thanks for your responses. I agree with you both somewhat about the “questioning” being beat out of kids and that it should be in their nature. However, I’m not 100% certain only because of people I know and have grown up with who are not interested in being the 10th person. Case in point: my brother. We had the same education, have the same parents, blah-dee-blah-dee-blah. But he is really quite content being one of the 9. And, well — that’s okay, isn’t it? Like Kim said above, you have to have *someone* to follow all those leaders, don’t you?
Thanks to both of you also for your thoughts about “how long before that 10th person gives up”. I am starting to feel like I am at the end of my rope right now (part of the reason that excerpt spoke to me when I came across it), and I have been feeling lately that I need to find more creative ways to be that 10th person. You know the adage, “Keep on doing what you’re doing, and you’ll keep on getting what you’re getting.” (Something I say to my students all the time!) Well, it’s time to change what I’m doing to affect change, if that makes sense. 😉 But I refuse to be passive and let something get done just because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” ESPECIALLY when the way we’ve always done it *clearly* is not benefitting our students. I refuse to relent, yet obviously the way I’m making change is not effective on a wide enough scale. That’s why I could so identify with your post, Kate. Right now I need to be more creative, and perhaps more subtle (never my strength!) in the way I embody that 10th person vision.
@Durff and Sarah,
Thanks to both of you for the YouTube clips. I am definitely going to show those to my students.