CEO looks for keys to success

Hardy seeks to better support schools, families

Lorain Schools Chief Executive Officer David Hardy Jr. says the district administration needs to better support schools and families.

But the listening phase of his investigation into the inner workings of the district is far from over, he said.

As results of 892 interviews unfold, many folks in the district are saying similar things, which allows leaders to strategically position their efforts in certain areas, Hardy said.

When a challenge is defined, they can create a strong solution, he said.

“This now will allow us to galvanize around a vision, a strategy,” Hardy said. “I can now go back to the community and say, ‘This is what I heard you say, is this still right?’”

Hardy appreciated the knowledge Superintendent Dr. Jeff Graham gleaned from two years of working in the community and speaking with people.

“He provides an insight,” Hardy said. “Just yesterday he provided insights that I would not have known just having been here for 35 or 40 days. That perspective is always needed when walking into a new situation. His willingness to provide that only makes this transition better.”

A key problem is uncovering the roots of academic underachievement.

“I see brand new buildings. I see people working hard, dedication. I see joy. Usually with underperforming you don’t see joy, but I see that here,” Hardy said. “The question that keeps popping up in my head when you see results that are not growing, there is something about the organizational culture that still needs to be investigated. That’s where my mind is. Do I have an answer to that yet? Absolutely not. I think it’s still too early in the experience here to know organizationally how we operate and what is getting in the way.

“Two, I do think once we get into the performance audit, I’m very curious to see what our return on our investment has been in all of our programs and things we have started,” he continued. “My hunch is that we’re investing dollars in things that are not producing results, so we need to stop them. But I don’t know that yet. But once I’m able to get that information and see how we work and operate, I think we’ll find strategies and directionally change the organization and as an administrative office how we function.

“There’s such a thin line between winning and losing in sports. I think the same thing goes in educating kids,” he added. “When you look at — and this was years ago — when the Rams played the Patriots in the Super Bowl,

literally it was six inches that separated one team from winning the Super Bowl versus another. But both teams worked so hard to get there.

“It’s like when you look at the difference between a school district that is working really hard, and one that is working hard and getting results. I want us to get to the results side of things. That requires examining deeply our organization and the functions that exist here in our office.”

He said players love Lorain High School Football Coach David McFarland probably because he does things in relationships to foster deep trust, understanding and common commitment toward a direction of a common goal that allows for him and the team to push together in the same direction.

“Coach is able to get to his kids whether they’re performing or not, they believe in him,” Hardy said, “so they’re going to push for him and perform better.

“That is the question I’m trying to figure out,” he said. “How do we help each other come together more around a common set of goals, a very clear vision, align our resources around that and push hard together. What I haven’t done because I’m still in listening mode, I haven’t laid out those strategies yet and I haven’t heightened the urgency yet, because I truly want to understand the challenge completely.”

Hardy says he’s a huge fan of Patrick Lencioni, author of “The Advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything in business.”

Lencioni speaks about organizational culture and how teams work, he said.

“He talks about how performance won’t be sustainable until you establish trust, a deep commitment to each other, to vulnerability, to purpose,” Hardy said. “When that doesn’t happen you see the difference between winning teams and losing teams. There is that slim margin.”

After 892 interactions with Lorain community members and more than 635 responses to a most recent community survey, Hardy continues to reach out for more narratives, more data to inform his decision making.

“What are we missing?” Hardy said. “At two or three in the morning when I’m starting my day things are running through my mind on what we need to do to get better and how we need to get there. Intrinsically there is a desire for me and for many people in this district to just get better for kids.”