1. FEBRUARY 2014 23
Can design thinking
dramatically change
our approach to
leadership?
ryan findley
he magic of Silicon Valley in the 1980s is as powerful as anything Harry
Potter conjured up. Apple, Adobe, Intel and Oracle unveiled innovations
that dazzled consumers and investors alike. But for all of the attention
given to the technological advances, perhaps the most important
innovation was by an industrial designer named David Kelley.
In 1983, Kelley’s design firm was a little known but well-respected
group in the Bay Area with a breakout product innovation: the first
computer mouse made for Apple. Over the next three decades, the firm
rode waves of success by designing the Crest stand-up toothpaste tube, an easy-to-use heart
defibrillator, and even an iPhone app for Sesame Street. Kelley and his firm showed that they
were capable of solving practically any problem, in any sector, regardless of the constraints.
When asked about the secret to his success, Kelley did not discuss his own intellect, his
talented IDEO employees, or a patented process of predicable steps to follow. Rather, he
credited an approach to creating innovations and solving problems: design thinking.
Understanding Design Thinking
In a village in rural Africa, the women walked several miles a day to the nearest water source.
In an attempt to help the women, a group of Western aid workers dug a well in the center
of the village and then left. When the workers came back a year later, they discovered that
the well had been poisoned and that the women were once again walking to the river. The
aid workers were upset and later set out to discover the culprit, only to learn that it was the
women of the village. Why on earth would they poison their own well?
If a design thinker had encountered the village, the first question he or she would ask is,
“Were the women ever asked if they needed or wanted a well?” In fact, they hadn’t been
asked and did not want a well because the time walking to and from the river was a time
of fellowship, quiet, and mental rest. It was also a chance to be away from their children,
husbands, messy houses, and cultural expectations.
How Design Thinking Works
Design thinking requires a human-centered approach to a problem. It focuses on users and
recipients because without their “buy-in,” no solution will ever be accepted. For example,
the women in the village might have wanted to keep their long walk, but they might have
welcomed a better container to carry water in. The design thinker asks for input instead
of trying to cram a one-size-fits-all solution down users’ throats. He or she would bring
multiple options for the women to consider, narrow down the options to one solution using
their feedback, and implement a solution that they would use to improve their lives.
Grounded in real-world problems, design thinking challenges young people to think
creatively, stick with problems resiliently, and deliver realistic solutions. Rather than
endless PowerPoint slides or project-based learning scenarios divorced from reality,
learning that is based on design thinking gives students learning opportunities they can
personally connect with.
Some leading schools are using design thinking as the basis of their curricula. For example,
Nueva School—a K–8 school in Hillsborough, CA—has redesigned its curriculum to create
opportunities for students to use design thinking in the science curriculum (designing a
LED-lamp for a family member) and the health curriculum (designing a better range of
products for Kaiser Permanente).
African Leadership Academy (ALA), a pan-African high school in Honeydew, South
Africa, has adapted design thinking to create the BUILD Model, a flexible approach to
22 LEADERSHIP FOR STUDENT ACTIVITIES

2. 24 LEADERSHIP FOR STUDENT ACTIVITIES
entrepreneurial leadership (www.anzisha.org). Students engage in BUILD Labs, in which they visit
a local preschool in a slum and work with the teachers onsite to deliver solutions for the students.
ALA students also design their own social innovation projects using the BUILD Model (www.
anzisha.org/resources/build). One student used the BUILD Model to identify a need for more pan-
African children’s literature, and inspired the creation of Ekari Books, a children’s book series based
on a young girl’s travels across the continent (http://ekari.org).
In Savannah, GA, the Alfred E. Beach High School
collaborated with Frog Design and the Savannah College
of Art & Design (SCAD) to consider the design challenge
question, What change do you want to see in your
community? After six weeks of workshops, fact-finding
missions, and feedback sessions, the students pitched
and produced an “antiviolence week,” during which they
engaged in discussions and signed antiviolence pledges.
The results were meaningful not because they created the
most innovation solution ever, but because the project was
a student-generated solution to a problem in their high
school community (goo.gl/7cVXaJ).
Using this as a model to tackle an issue—such as school spirit, risky behavior, or truancy—your
organization should begin with the people at the center of the issue. Without firsthand knowledge
of why some students have school spirit and others do not, any campaign, no matter how clever or
shiny, can miss the mark. Begin by conducting no-pressure interviews with students from all walks
of campus life, digging into what makes them feel a sense of belonging (or not) to a community. In
my own high school, we improved school spirit by celebrating the vast wealth of talent in our school
community. Without asking the “slacker skaters” what would give them more pride in the school,
we would have never come up with a schoolwide skating competition that celebrated their talents.
Teaching Design Thinking
Design thinking is best taught in the context of design challenges, which are framing questions or
statements that provide direction for the solutions. Frog Design and SCAD challenged the students
of Beach with the design challenge, What change do you want to see in your community? Other
challenges include, Create a better system to keep students from being tardy, Design safe after-
school places for elementary students, and Find a way to build meaningful relationships between
senior citizens and young people. Students can tackle the challenge using the following steps:
Clearly identify and understand problem(s) behind the challenge
Use research, interview, and observation skills to discover the human element
Use multiple solutions thinking and an iterative approach to generate many possibilities
Narrow down solutions with the help of those who will benefit from or use the solutions
Obtain what is needed to implement the best solution creatively
Conduct an impact analysis to test the efficacy of solutions and processes.
Design Thinking Resources
For most of those without any experience in design thinking, the challenge of knowing where
to begin seems daunting. To begin with, there are a bevy of resources online, including IDEO’s
Design Thinking for Educators Toolkit (www.ideo.com/work/toolkit-for-educators), Frog Design’s
Collective Action Toolkit (www.frogdesign.com/work/frog-collective-action-toolkit.html), and
Stanford’s d.school Bootcamp Bootleg (http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/
BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf). There are also professional development courses opportunities
offered by Coursera (www.coursera.org) and African Leadership Academy’s Center for
Entrepreneurial Leadership (www.anzisha.org/work-with-us). While it may seem overwhelming to
learn a whole new approach to community service and problem solving, it will come naturally after
adopting the new paradigm.
Ryan Findley is a senior faculty member of entrepreneurial leadership at the African Leadership Academy in
Honeydew, South Africa.
One student used the BUILD
Model to identify a need for
more pan-African children’s
literature, and inspired the
creation of Ekari Books, a
children’s book series based
on a young girl’s travels across
the continent.
Introducing the NASSP
2014–16 Strategic Plan
GOAL: Connect school leaders
to exchange knowledge with
NASSP and with one another.
GOAL: Strengthen school
leadership practices through
the design and delivery of high
quality professional learning
experiences.
GOAL: Monitor and enhance
organizational vitality.
GOAL: Advocate on behalf
of all school leaders to
ensure the success of
each student.
GOAL: Promote NASSP
student programs to
enhance student
leadership and create
positive school climate.
GOAL: Ensure a unique
member experience with
NASSP and student programs.
ADVOCACY
STUDENTPROGRAMS
PROFE
SSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
CONNECTING
ORGANIZATIONAL
VITA
LITY
M
EM
BERSHIP
STUDENT PROGRAMS
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENTMEMBERSHIP
CONNECTING
Objective 1: Optimize online presence to
allow school leaders to acquire and share
action-oriented knowledge.
Objective 2: Diversify content and delivery
to optimize use of digital media and increase
interactivity.
Objective 3: Define a distinctive NASSP
brand that school leaders identify and value.
Objective 1: Increase participation in professional development
programs and services through external partnerships.
Objective 2: Deliver engaging, contextually relevant professional
learning experiences through a variety of media platforms.
Objective 3: Provide research on current topics and trends in
education.
Objective 4: Create a community of learners utilizing the talents,
expertise, and experiences of school leaders.
Objective 1: Increase participation in professional develop-
ment programs and services through external partnerships.
Objective 2: Deliver engaging, contextually relevant
professional learning experiences through a variety of
media platforms.
Objective 3: Provide research on current topics and trends
in education.
Objective 4: Create a community of learners utilizing the
talents, expertise, and experiences of school leaders.
ADVOCACY
Objective 1: Elevate the voice and influence of school
leaders in policy and public discourse.
Objective 2: Enhance the Federal Grassroots Network to
ensure active representation of network members
in all 435 congressional districts.
Objective 3: Expand NASSP's influence on state-level
policies affecting school leaders.
Objective 4: Engage student leaders in advocacy to
broaden NASSP's impact on federal policy.
Objective 1: Promote the value of NASSP
student programs.
Objective 2: Identify and address the changing needs
of activity advisers in schools.
Objective 3: Expand the role of the NASSP
student programs in the international community.
Objective 4: Meet the needs of student members in
NASSP student programs.
Objective 1: Promote the value of NASSP student programs.
Objective 2: Identify and address the changing needs of
activity advisers in schools.
Objective 3: Expand the role of the NASSP student
programs in the international community.
Objective 4: Meet the needs of student members in
NASSP student programs.
ORGANIZATIONAL
VITALITY
Objective 1: Assess and strengthen external stakeholder
relationships to optimize organizational viability.
Objective 2: Assess and strengthen internal
structures to fulfill the NASSP vision and mission.
Objective 3: Benchmark governance to reflect best
practices.Objective 1: Conduct comprehensive research to determine
our value for NASSP and each student program.
Objective 2: Evaluate the relationship with state affiliates.
Objective 3: Evaluate and restructure benefits and pricing
to appeal to target audience.
Objective 4: Engage members, chapters and councils.
Objective 1: Conduct comprehensive research to
determine our value for NASSP and each student program.
Objective 2: Evaluate the relationship with state affiliates.
Objective 3: Evaluate and restructure benefits and pricing
to appeal to target audience.
Objective 4: Engage members, chapters and councils.
VISION
Great leaders in every school
committed to the success of each student.
MISSION
NASSP connects and engages school
leaders through advocacy, research,
education, and student programs.
2014–2016 Strategic Plan
STUDENT PROGRAMS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTMEMBERSHIP
CONNECTING
Objective 1: Optimize online presence to allow
school leaders to acquire and share action-
oriented knowledge.
Objective 2: Diversify content and delivery to
optimize use of digital media and increase
interactivity.
Objective 3: Define a distinctive NASSP brand
that school leaders identify and value.
Objective 1: Increase participation in professional
development programs and services through
external partnerships.
Objective 2: Deliver engaging, contextually
relevant professional learning experiences through a
variety of media platforms.
Objective 3: Provide research on current topics and
trends in education.
Objective 4: Create a community of learners
utilizing the talents, expertise, and experiences of
school leaders.
ADVOCACY
Objective 1: Elevate the voice and influence of school
leaders in policy and public discourse.
Objective 2: Enhance the Federal Grassroots
Network to ensure active representation of network
members in all 435 congressional districts.
Objective 3: Expand NASSP's influence on state-level
policies affecting school leaders.
Objective 4: Engage student leaders in advocacy to
broaden NASSP's impact on federal policy.
Objective 1: Promote the value of NASSP student
programs.
Objective 2: Identify and address the changing
needs of activity advisers in schools.
Objective 3: Expand the role of the NASSP
student programs in the international community.
Objective 4: Meet the needs of student members in
NASSP student programs.
ORGANIZATIONAL VITALITY
Objective 1: Assess and strengthen external stake-
holder relationships to optimize organizational
viability.
Objective 2: Assess and strengthen internal struc-
tures to fulfill the NASSP vision and mission.
Objective 3: Benchmark governance to reflect best
practices.
Objective 1: Conduct comprehensive research
to determine our value for NASSP and each
student program.
Objective 2: Evaluate the relationship with state
affiliates.
Objective 3: Evaluate and restructure benefits
and pricing to appeal to target audience.
Objective 4: Engage members, chapters, and
councils.