 | Leadership in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Performance Excellence System is recognized as the gold standard because it is a structured, holistic approach that fosters organizational success, continuous improvement, and long-term sustainability. This blog proposes a design for creating a leadership system that promotes peak performance by eliminating distractions and prioritizing the essential leadership processes and key performance indicators (KPIs) that truly drive results. This is blog post #3 of a 10-part blog series, "Unlock Performance Excellence." |
As an EdTech leader, how would you describe your leadership and governance structure? Can you define it? Is it based on a framework, or is it your experience from the school of hard knocks? Here’s the real question: Is your leadership built to last? Are you continuously improving and actively developing the next generation of leaders?
What if you cut out all the noise and, as the highest priority, focused on these SIX performance excellence leadership processes and key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive results?
Let's give it everything we got! The next generation of Savvy EdTech Leaders deserve a robust leadership blueprint.
What if you cut out all the noise and, as the highest priority, focused on these SIX performance excellence leadership processes and key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive results?
Let's give it everything we got! The next generation of Savvy EdTech Leaders deserve a robust leadership blueprint.
1. Leadership Succession
Leadership succession ensures a smooth transition when you make a career transition or are promoted to a new position.
Overarching Question: How do you identify, develop, and prepare future leaders to take on key organizational roles?
Overarching Question: How do you identify, develop, and prepare future leaders to take on key organizational roles?
- Action: Define the key steps in your succession planning process.
- Example Key Performance Indicators:
- Internal Promotion Rate – Percentage of leadership positions filled by internal candidates
- Participation in Leadership Development Programs – Number/percentage of employees enrolled in leadership training
- Readiness of Successor Pool – Percentage of key roles with identified successors
- Leadership Vacancy Fill Rate – Percentage of leadership roles filled internally vs. externally
- Time to Fill Leadership Positions – Average time to replace a leader
- Leadership Turnover Rate – Percentage of leaders leaving the organization
- Success Rate of New Leaders – Performance ratings of new leaders within the first 6-12 months
- Retention Rate of High-Potential Employees – Percentage of top leadership candidates staying with the organization
- Results: How many aspiring leaders are ready to step into your position? How many effective EdTech Savvy Leaders have you created?
2. Engagement with employees
Engagement with employees fosters engaging, transparent, and goal-directed two-way dialogue by implementing consistent processes that inform, communicate, and align employees with the organization’s vision, ultimately driving high performance, retention, and a thriving workplace culture.
Overarching Question: How do you engage with employees and cultivate a workplace where individuals and the organization can thrive?
Overarching Question: How do you engage with employees and cultivate a workplace where individuals and the organization can thrive?
- Action: Document the consistent key processes you use to inform, collaborate, and communicate that are aligned with the organization's vision, leading to high performance and a positive workplace culture.
- Example Key Performance Indicators:
- Employee Engagement Score – Measures how connected and motivated employees feel
- Employee Satisfaction Surveys – Feedback on communication effectiveness and workplace culture
- Leadership Accessibility Ratings – Employee perceptions of how approachable and responsive senior leaders are
- Employee Participation - Number of employees attending leadership meetings and demonstrating active participation and collaboration
and Q&A sessions - Feedback Loop Completion – Percentage of employee suggestions or concerns addressed by leadership
- Trust in Leadership Score – Measures employee confidence in leadership decisions and transparency
- Recognition and Appreciation Metrics – Frequency of leadership acknowledging employee contributions
- Clarity of Vision and Strategic Organizational Alignment Score – Measures how well employees understand the organization's vision, translate the vision into goals, and drive performance results.
- Turnover and Retention Rates – Track employee turnover, which may indicate poor communication and engagement
- Focus on Action (Execution Rate) – Measures the percentage of strategic initiatives, goals, or key actions successfully implemented within a given timeframe.
- Results: Are you observing an increase in employee engagement on a day-to-day basis, with team members feeling more connected, valued, and aligned with your leadership, vision, and organizational goals?
3. engagement with Customers
Engagement with customers involves interacting with and gathering customer feedback to build relationships, enhance customer satisfaction, and align educational strategies with customer needs, including how you share information and actively listen to customer insights.
Overarching Question: How do you ensure you are truly listening to your customers and using their feedback to build stronger relationships and engage in action-driven customer insights to shape decisions, enhance satisfaction, and align organizational goals?
Overarching Question: How do you ensure you are truly listening to your customers and using their feedback to build stronger relationships and engage in action-driven customer insights to shape decisions, enhance satisfaction, and align organizational goals?
- Action: Outline the key strategies you use to interact, engage, and exchange customer feedback.
- Example Key Performance Indicators:
- Customer Feedback Response Rate – Measures how quickly and effectively leadership responds to customer inquiries, concerns, or feedback
- Customer Interaction Frequency – Tracks how often leaders engage with customers (e.g., organizational, peer, and personal meetings, focus groups, surveys)
- Customer Communication Reach – Measures the percentage of customers engaged through emails, newsletters, social media, or other communication channels
- Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): This score evaluates how satisfied customers are with the organization's services, communication, and responsiveness
- Customer Trust and Transparency Rating – Customer feedback to assess their trust in your communication, strategies, and decision-making
- Customer Feedback Implementation Rate – Tracks the percentage of customer suggestions or concerns that lead to actionable changes.
- Resolution Time for Customer Issues – Measures how long it takes to address and resolve customer-reported concerns
- Improvement in Customer Satisfaction Over Time – Evaluates trends in customer satisfaction following leadership-driven initiatives based on feedback.
- Customer-Centered Strategy Adoption Rate – Measures how often leadership decisions align with direct customer insights.
- Service or Program Enhancements Due to Customer Feedback – Tracks the number of changes or improvements made based on customer input.
- Results: Are you achieving quantifiable and qualitative results in stronger customer relationships, higher satisfaction and loyalty, faster issue resolution, and meaningful action on feedback?
4. Engagement with Stakeholders
Engagement with stakeholders includes collaborating with strategic partners, suppliers, key educational communities, and external groups through transparent dialogue and feedback-driven interactions to build strong relationships, align goals, and drive mutual success.
Overarching Question: How do you facilitate transparent, feedback-driven communication with stakeholders to strengthen relationships, align goals, and create mutual, long-term success?
Overarching Question: How do you facilitate transparent, feedback-driven communication with stakeholders to strengthen relationships, align goals, and create mutual, long-term success?
- Action: Set forth strategies to actively engage with stakeholders to strengthen relationships and drive long-term mutual success.
- Example Key Performance Indicators:
- Stakeholder Satisfaction Score – Measures stakeholders' satisfaction with leadership communication, transparency, and responsiveness.
- Stakeholder Engagement Rate – Tracks participation in meetings, forums, or collaborative initiatives
- Response Time to Stakeholder Inquiries – Measures how quickly and effectively leadership responds to stakeholder concerns and feedback
- Feedback Loop Completion Rate – Percentage of stakeholder suggestions or concerns addressed and acted upon
- Partnership Growth Rate – Measures the number of new strategic partnerships formed over time
- Joint Initiative Success Rate – Tracks the completion and impact of collaborative projects with stakeholders
- Trust and Credibility Rating – Evaluates stakeholder trust in leadership decisions and communication
- Clarity of Communication Score – Measures how effectively key messages and organizational goals are shared with stakeholders
- Stakeholder Retention Rate – Tracks long-term stakeholder relationships and repeat engagement
- Sustainability of Partnerships – Measures the longevity and effectiveness of stakeholder collaborations
- Impact of Stakeholder-Driven Initiatives – Tracks measurable outcomes resulting from stakeholder feedback and engagement
- Reputation and Public Perception Score - Assesses how stakeholders and external groups perceive the organization's leadership and engagement efforts
- Results: Do you believe stakeholder engagement meaningfully shapes your strategic planning and decision-making, fostering trust and strengthening credibility?
5. Responsible Governance and Ethical Behavior
Responsible governance focuses on accountability for the leader's actions, fiscal integrity, and transparency through ethical conduct policies, performance evaluations, independent audits, strict budget controls, open communication, and stakeholder engagement.
Overarching Question: How do you demonstrate responsible governance, uphold ethical behavior, and set clear expectations for integrity and decision-making, enforcing accountability and ensuring fiscal responsibility?
Overarching Question: How do you demonstrate responsible governance, uphold ethical behavior, and set clear expectations for integrity and decision-making, enforcing accountability and ensuring fiscal responsibility?
- Action: Establish and communicate clear ethical policies, reinforce them through training and transparency, implement accountability measures such as audits and performance reviews, and lead by example with integrity, fairness, and sound financial stewardship.
- Example Key Performance Indicators:
- Code of Conduct Compliance Rate – Percentage of employees/leaders who acknowledge and adhere to ethical policies
- Ethics Training Completion Rate – Percentage of employees and leaders who complete ethics and compliance training annually
- Number of Ethical Violations Reported and Addressed – Tracking incidents and resolution effectiveness
- Whistleblower Protection and Reporting Engagement – Number of reports submitted through anonymous ethics hotlines and how they are handled
- Budget Adherence Rate – Percentage of actual spending compared to the approved budget
- Audit Compliance Score – Findings from independent financial audits and internal compliance reviews
- Cost Efficiency Ratio – Cost savings achieved through ethical and responsible financial management
- Stakeholder Satisfaction Trust Index – Surveys measuring trust in leadership and governance
- Public Disclosure Compliance – Timeliness and accuracy of financial and governance disclosures
- Decision-Making Transparency Score – Level of openness in leadership decision-making processes
- Employee and Leadership Governance Feedback – Insights from internal governance assessments
- Engagement in Governance Collaboration – Attendance and active participation in governance-related meetings
- Results: Do you think you are fostering a culture of ethical leadership, financial integrity, and transparency, as reflected in compliance rates, audit results, stakeholder trust, and overall organizational performance?
6.Collective Impact
Collective impact is a strategic and collaborative approach in which leaders work together to drive meaningful change by integrating societal well-being, community support, and shared best practices into the K-12 EdTech Leadership ecosystem.
Overarching Question: How do you integrate societal well-being into your strategy and daily operations, actively support and strengthen key communities, and optimize best practices that contribute to the greater good in K-12 education?
Overarching Question: How do you integrate societal well-being into your strategy and daily operations, actively support and strengthen key communities, and optimize best practices that contribute to the greater good in K-12 education?
- Action: Launch EdTech-sector partnerships and actively engage with key communities to identify needs, implement evidence-based best practices, and foster a culture of high-performing EdTech leadership.
- Example Key Performance Indicators:
- EdTech Equity and Accessibility Rate – Percentage of schools/students with equitable access to technology and digital learning tools
- Sustainability Initiatives Implemented – Number of environmentally friendly tech policies, such as device recycling programs or energy-efficient infrastructure
- Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Adoption Rate – Number of schools implementing SEL tools and strategies through EdTech
- Student and Teacher Tech Adoption Satisfaction – Measured through surveys assessing the ease of integration and usability of technology
- Community Partnership Engagement Rate – Number of active collaborations with community organizations, nonprofits, and local businesses supporting EdTech
- Educator and Student Involvement in Decision-Making – Percentage of EdTech decisions influenced by direct input from teachers, students, and parents
- Tech Training and Digital Literacy Participation – Number of educators, students, and parents who complete digital literacy and tech training programs
- Volunteer and Corporate Engagement Hours – Hours contributed by EdTech companies and professionals to mentor, train, or support students and educators
- School-Community Technology Usage Growth – Increase in community access to educational technology outside the classroom (libraries, community centers, etc.)
- Evidence-Based EdTech Implementation Rate – Percentage of new EdTech solutions implemented based on research-backed best practices
- Cross-Sector Partnership Success Score – Number and impact of successful partnerships with tech companies, nonprofits, and education leaders
- Student Learning Outcomes Improvement – Measurable growth in student performance and engagement with technology-driven instruction
- Leadership Training and Development Participation – Number of school and EdTech leaders trained in ethical governance, strategic decision-making, and digital transformation
- Data-Driven Decision-Making Adoption Rate – Percentage of EdTech strategies driven by analytics, research, and continuous performance monitoring
- EdTech Equity and Accessibility Rate – Percentage of schools/students with equitable access to technology and digital learning tools
- Results: Do you experience increased collaboration between EdTech leaders, EdTech companies, and policymakers, and is the culture of continuous learning and adaptability in our EdTech leadership ecosystem improving?
Effective leadership in K-12 EdTech requires a strategic approach to succession planning, employee and customer engagement, stakeholder collaboration, responsible governance, and collective impact.
- Leadership succession ensures smooth transitions by developing future leaders through structured training programs and internal promotions, measuring success via key indicators such as retention and promotion rates.
- Employee engagement fosters a transparent, goal-driven workplace culture through open communication, leadership accessibility, and trust-building initiatives.
- Simultaneously, customer engagement prioritizes active listening and responsiveness to feedback, strengthening relationships and aligning services with user needs.
- Stakeholder engagement involves transparent collaboration with partners, educational communities, and external groups, ensuring alignment and long-term success through continuous dialogue.
- Responsible governance and ethical behavior establish accountability through compliance policies, fiscal integrity, and transparent decision-making, reinforcing trust among employees, stakeholders, and the public.
- Finally, collective impact integrates societal well-being into EdTech leadership by promoting digital equity, sustainability, and community partnerships, driving continuous innovation and improvement.
REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS:
- Is there another gold standard of leadership that you use that we might also consider?
- How do you continuously improve your leadership?
- Are there other performance excellence leadership processes we might consider?
- What Leadership Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) do you use to drive performance excellence results?
Unlock Performance Excellence Blog Series
- Why Use the NIST Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework as an EdTech Leadership Blueprint?
- Organization Description: Examining EdTech Organizations with Clarity and Transparency
- Leadership and Governance: Navigating an Award-Winning Goal Standard
- Strategy
- Customers
- Integration
- Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
- Workforce
- Operations
- Results
LinkedIn Announcement:
Check out our latest post at https://www.savvyedtechleader.com/blogs/leadership-and-governance-navigating-an-award-winning-goal-standard (Diane Doersch Sheryl R. Abshire, Ph.D. Donna Williamson). This blog proposes a design for creating a leadership system that promotes peak performance by eliminating distractions and prioritizing the essential leadership processes and key performance indicators (KPIs) that truly drive results.
It is the third blog post in a 10-part blog series titled "Unlock Performance Excellence." The proposed design is based on the leadership framework of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Performance Excellence System, which is recognized as the gold standard.
Check out our latest post at https://www.savvyedtechleader.com/blogs/leadership-and-governance-navigating-an-award-winning-goal-standard (Diane Doersch Sheryl R. Abshire, Ph.D. Donna Williamson). This blog proposes a design for creating a leadership system that promotes peak performance by eliminating distractions and prioritizing the essential leadership processes and key performance indicators (KPIs) that truly drive results.
It is the third blog post in a 10-part blog series titled "Unlock Performance Excellence." The proposed design is based on the leadership framework of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Performance Excellence System, which is recognized as the gold standard.