Working on the Right Work: Ensuring Focus on the Right Thing

Hi, Educational Leaders! It’s mid-September, and by now, schools and staff are fully back in rhythm: classrooms buzzing, offices running, and responsibilities in full swing. But here’s our question for the day: with all the activities, are you truly working on the RIGHT work?

Think about all the time you spend at work each week and what you’re doing during those hours. Out of everything that happens, few things actually “matter.” The rest is just busy work.

The hard truth is that effort plus the wrong tool equals no results. In education, this equation plays out on a daily basis. Leaders attend meeting after meeting, teachers pour hours into tasks, and districts roll out initiatives, all with good intentions. Yet, not everything contributes to what matters most.

Stephen Covey draws the distinction between the Circle of Concern and the Circle of Influence. Many of the things that consume our time, such as state mandates, shifting policies, or community politics, fall within our Circle of Concern. They may matter, but they are largely beyond our control. The true breakthrough happens when schools channel their energy into the Circle of Influence: the daily instructional practices, the quality of teacher support, and the strength of student engagement. These are the levers that actually move outcomes forward.

So how do you know what matters? This is why we want to boil it down to the North Star Metric Framework. The NSM provides schools with a single overarching goal that reflects their deepest purpose—the measure that captures whether all their efforts are translating into meaningful student success. When you establish your North Star, it becomes the filter for every decision: Does this initiative, task, or strategy move us closer to our North Star? If yes, it’s worth the energy. If not, it may be busy work dressed up as important.

Three Ways to Identify the Right Work

1. Start with your North Star Metric.

The right work is always the work that moves you closer to your NSM. Begin by asking: What is our ultimate measure of student success? Then examine every initiative, task, or strategy against that filter. If it doesn’t advance your North Star, it may not deserve your time.

2. Look at impact, not activity.

Busy work feels productive but rarely changes outcomes. The right work produces visible, measurable results in student learning and school culture. For leaders, this might mean shifting from attending every meeting to prioritizing time in classrooms. For teachers, it’s focusing on high-leverage practices, such as formative assessment and feedback, that accelerate growth.

3. Listen to evidence and feedback.

The right work leaves a trail. Use student data, teacher input, and classroom observations to identify what truly makes a difference. Ask yourself: Where do we see gains? What practices are moving the needle? The answers point you toward the work worth amplifying—and away from what needs to be cut.

Now that you have identified the “right” work that pushes you forward and brings you closer to your NSM, the challenge becomes maintaining that focus. It’s one thing to name the priorities, but it’s another to protect them from the constant pull of distractions. The reality of schools is that urgent tasks will always compete with important ones. For example, emails to respond to, reports to submit, and last-minute requests. Discipline is key here, as the “right work” can get crowded out by the immediate.

Three Ways to Focus on the Right Thing

The right work is the right thing. Focus requires intentional choices, discipline, and a willingness to say no. Here are three ways to protect your focus and ensure your efforts stay aligned with your North Star Metric:

1. Build structures that safeguard priorities.

The right work needs protected time and space. Leaders can schedule non-negotiable blocks for classroom visits or coaching, while teachers can reserve focused planning time for high-impact instruction. Structures should always be in place.

2. Say no to what doesn’t align.

This takes courage, but it’s essential. Not every initiative or request deserves your time. If it doesn’t move your school closer to the NSM, it’s likely not as important. Saying no is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of clarity and commitment to the mission.

3. Anchor conversations and decisions to the NSM.

Distractions will always be there. Whether in a leadership meeting, PLC, or staff discussion, continually bring the focus back to the North Star. Ask: How does this move us closer to our goal?

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At the end of the day, working on the right work requires not just effort but also the proper tools. Schools don’t succeed because they do more; they succeed because they focus on what matters most, consistently and with clarity. The North Star Metric serves as the compass, ensuring that every decision, every initiative, and every ounce of energy points toward your goal.

As you step deeper into this school year, keep asking yourself and your team:

• Are we working on the right work, or just busy work?

• Does this action bring us closer to our North Star?

• Are we protecting what matters most from the distractions of the urgent?

If you can answer those questions with clarity and conviction, your school will not only stay focused but also build the kind of momentum that leads to lasting transformation.

Educentric could be the tool you’re looking for. We’ve developed a proprietary model that helps schools identify what they want to be known for and design the strategies and tactics that bring them closer to that vision. With the right focus and the right support, your school can achieve a breakthrough!

If you need help identifying what the “right work” looks like for your school, don’t hesitate to contact us.

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