You probably have heard of (even in passing) the 80-20 rule, otherwise known as the “Pareto Principle.” Here is the definition as shared on Wikipedia:
The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (the “vital few”). Other names for this principle are the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few or the principle of factor sparsity.
In this article (and image below) from Investopedia, it shares these insights:
- The 80-20 rule maintains that 80% of outcomes comes from 20% of causes.
- The 80-20 rule prioritizes the 20% of factors that will produce the best results.
- A principle of the 80-20 rule is to identify an entity’s best assets and use them efficiently to create maximum value.
- This rule is a precept, not a hard-and-fast mathematical law.
- People sometimes mistakenly conclude that if 20% of factors should get priority, then the other 80% can be ignored.
From “The 80-20 Rule (aka Pareto Principle): What It Is, How It Works”
The last point (bolded above) is the one I want to emphasize specifically because this is something that we often do in education and sometimes in the negative.
I am often asked a variation of this question; “How do you deal with the few people (20%) people on our staff who seem to fight us on everything?”
This could be seen as the 20% of people who seem to demand 80% of our attention.
I will admit that I gave them too much attention far too often in my career. I would do whatever I could to accommodate staff and try to reason with them to move forward.
There was one professional learning day that my thinking changed.
One of the participants came off pretty rude to me with a question (it could have been just one of those days, and I try never to judge the whole of a person based on a singular moment), and we were going back and forth. I would ask questions trying to build some commonalities and places we could move forward together, but even when I agreed with her, she seemed to argue back. I could tell there was no winning.
But I also noticed something else.
I was losing the rest of the group in this conversation. Not that they agreed with her, but they felt ignored while wanting to get the most out of the day.
I was not paying attention to the majority of people who desperately wanted to grow and find solutions moving forward.
At that moment, I said, “I can tell this conversation is not going to move forward, and although I appreciate your feedback, it is time to move on to others.”
Then, legitimately, I heard applause.
It threw me off.
Simply saying I need to pay attention to the others here was so appreciated that I received a very welcoming response.
From that day on, my thinking changed.
The best way to get to the “20%” is by doing your best to serve the “80%” to the best of your abilities. It doesn’t mean ignoring the 20%, but too often, the attention they receive is taken from most people who crave growth and mentorship.
And if you don’t pay attention to the 80%, they quickly become the 70, 60, and 50%.
But if you spend a considerable chunk of your energy on those who want to grow, they will often create a culture where the 20% can become the 10% or maybe even the 1%. (Can you truly ever get to 0%?!?!!?)
The culture will either absorb them or encourage them to move to other opportunities. Either is fine.
I have talked about this often, and I felt that this was an assumption based on my own perspectives of feeling neglected as a staff member and probably being the administrator that needed to hear this advice today.
Then I saw this video, and it reaffirmed my current thinking.
I will end the post with this video (there is the word sh*t in it, as a heads up), and although it is not about education, it is.
Please take the time to watch it and ensure that you are not ignoring the 80%. They need your attention and guidance as well.
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