From the dentist office to fantasy football and in the walls of your organization, how often have you heard these words, “Well, that’s best practice.”
What really is best practice? Is it when my wife Katy played one year of fantasy football and chose her team by the color of their uniforms and took 3rd place out of 12 teams? Sounds like a best practice for her and our bank account.
At CESO we are charged with reimagining the world of education. How does best practice work for us? Renowned workplace design consultant (and former Netflix Chief Talent Officer) Patty McCord said it beautifully: “What if it [best practice] really doesn’t exist; however, whatever we are doing well in the moment is our best practice. And, that best practice may change with our next client.”
Is it also possible that we need to be aware of the best practice “sword.”
A best practice “sword?”
Yes, a sword that may protect a ton of private privilege and/or traditional ways of doing things so we only kind-of reimagine. Don’t get me wrong, we will always find set ways to do things that make sense for us and humankind. For example, listening to multiple perspectives most often only advances the work and relationship, usually changing best practice for the moment.
Education is famous for chasing best practice. Our goal at CESO — and specifically in our CESO HR division — is to focus very little on best practice and continue to instead chase excellence in the ways we create, design, and implement solutions to fit the district communities we serve.
Stay Curious.