Summary: <br> Years ago, when I was transitioning from assistant principal to high school principal, my superintendent gave me an assignment to map out goals for the next three years of my school.<br> <br> <br> <br> Photo by shixart1985 – Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/156445661@N02<br> <br> <br> <br> What was helpful about this assignment was the long-term planning required. Determining where I wanted my school to grow in the next three years meant taking a hard look at student data as well as understanding my school’s culture, community and resources.<br> <br> <br> <br> In essence, my superintendent was asking me to think strategically. It is the strategic vision that helps us define the overall purpose and mission of our schools. But strategy is ineffective unless it is followed by action. I also needed organizational and tactical applications. Enter my staff, teachers, students and school community members. Leaders cannot implement strategic vision without the input and relationships of the people whom you are directly serving.<br> <br> <br> <br> You may be asking: “How do I work tactically, operationally, and strategically during a time of pandemic?” “How do I respond to the pressures you are facing with current social and political unrest?“<br> <br> <br> <br> Before I answer those questions, I want to first unpack the terms tactical, operational, and strategic in two separate applications.<br> <br> <br> <br> #1 A Military Application<br> <br> <br> <br> A few months ago, <a href="https://williamdparker.com/2020/12/02/pmp222-a-fighter-pilots-lessons-for-leaders/">I interviewed Colonel Brad Ruttman</a>, an Airforce officer and fighter pilot, on my podcast. Colonel Ruttman talked about tactical, operational and strategic leadership from a military perspective. In the military, tactical leadership involves the ‘boots on the ground’ activities and personnel – those who are involved in like maintaining equipment or the delivering of weapons, for instance. The operational side includes the day-to-day management and coordination of systems, protocols and policies that govern implementing the work at hand. Strategic leadership involves understanding the purpose of the overall mission and communicating what’s ultimately at stake as the entire organization is involved in successfully accomplishing its mission. <br> <br> <br> <br> Colonel Ruttman told a story of when his commanding officer came to visit a division of maintenance operators at the end of their work day. He wanted to see them increase the speed of maintenance on aircraft so that pilots could accomplish more flights. He began to talk to them about strategic concerns happening with rival countries. Colonel Ruttman noticed the maintenance personnel members were only politely listening. Frankly, they didn’t care about the strategic mission at that point. They were at the end of a work day and wanted to head home and pick up their kids from football practice. <br> <br> <br> <br> #2 A School Application<br> <br> <br> <br> When you apply this to school leadership, your staff and teachers are often the ‘boots on the ground’ or tactical personnel in working with students in learning and well-being. Principals and building administrators often function as operational managers in organizational leadership, hiring personnel, overseeing site budgets, and guiding instructional outcomes. District leaders are tasked with strategic leadership: understanding the moving parts of the entire organization, including policies, school finance, oversight and compliance, and developing and relaying the mission of the collective community.<br> <br> <br> <br> But for the people you serve, all they often care about is right in front of them. For parents, they want to know if their students are making good grades. For students,
