schools
Moments of Truth. Difficult, but worth it.
I am currently reading “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni. In the story, the new CEO of a tech company is put in a position to have to confront one of her team members. While she was put in the position she resisted the temptation to confront the team member via email and knew that it was a moment of truth for her as a leader and that it needed to be done face-to-face. I won’t ruin the book for you but I felt her she handled this situation above reproach.
Recently, I received an email from a staff member outlining a long list of issues that needed to be addressed by our administrative team that impacted their department. There were many of these issues that we could not address. We simply did not have the resources to tackle all of this issues. At the end of the day, we had to make a decision that was best for kids and preparing them for graduation and life. One of these concerns we easily dealt with and took care of the concern.
Now when I addressed these concerns, I did so in an email. After reading this part of the book and how the new CEO handled her particular situation, I reflected back about if I should have sent that in an email or went to them in a face-to-face conversation. Doing so in an email did make it easier, but was it better? I struggle with this day in and day out. I believe the most important quality in any leader is the outgoing need to develop relationships with the people that you lead. Did sending this email help that or hurt that?
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please post comments below.
How are you making students feel?
As an attempt to change up how I am blogging and am starting to record videos on my thoughts. I usually have plenty of time to record a 4-5 minute video while I am driving to and from the school. I figured this would give me a more authentic posting and more frequent posting as well. I rarely have time to sit down and write a long post about what I am learning or struggles that I am going through to share with other educators. So for 2018, it is my hope that this will inspire you and help you along your way to being a successful educator. You can find a link to my YouTube Channel on the sidebar.
Remember, what will you do with the time that you have been given? (#WWYDWTTTYHBG)
You will run out of tomorrows….. What will you do today, for those that need you?
I recently read a tweet (pic below) from Danny Steele (@SteeleThoughts) that had me thinking more about the power of relationships. While every leader in the world would stress the importance of relationships, some do not practice this life skill or have the passion to do so. I have been so blessed to have many good examples of relationship builders in my life.
With the recent passing of my father-in-law, I have spent more time in reflection than I normally have in the past. Most of my reflection has been centered on the importance of relationships and how they are so crucial in all aspects of life.
My father-in-law Dave was a teacher at a small school middle in Oregon for 21 years. During his 21-year tenure, he had many impacts on students, parents, and community members like many teachers do.
This morning I overheard my mother-in-law reading a message to my wife that she received from a lady that was connected to the school. In her message, she said that she did not get to know Dave well other than the few interactions that she had with him during his time at the school. She said that all of the kids that left that school to head on to high school have been hit very hard by the loss.
This is just one story of the students and parents that have been hit with this loss. There have been hundreds of others. Phone calls, cards, trains, planes, and cars have come from all areas of the country to be with him in his final days, and after, just because he put them first before himself. A prime example of servant leadership.
But, did he realize the impact that relationship had on them? Did he know that the relationship that he had with them would impact their lives forever? Do any of us know this? Whether we know or not, the relationships that we have with others will set their path along with ours on a different course forever. What course do you want the relationship to go?
Today, you have a choice in each relationship that you have. Whether at work, home, church, or the community. How do you want that relationship to move forward?
- Listen twice as much as we talk. This is why we have two ears and only one mouth. Use them in that proportion.
- Let your yes be yes and your no is no.
- Do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
- Never let the sun set on our anger. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. We only have today to make a difference.
We were designed to be a people that crave and need relationships within our daily lives. Without these relationships, we are nothing but an empty shell riding this rock until the end of our days.
We are all in this together. You will run out of tomorrows, so what will you do today, for those that need you? Dave would say “We cannot change who we are, but we can change who we are going to be.”
I am in your corner…
This weekend, as I was reflecting on my week, I ran across an article by Daniel Steele entitled “Letter to a Discouraged Student“. This was a very profound letter. Beautifully written from a principal to student perspective. While I have no idea if this was actually written for a specific student or for the general masses. One thing is for sure, it applies to every student who struggles with school and every student who did struggle with school. I can relate to this letter.
We as educators always put ourselves in the place to make things better for kids. I am not the type of person that likes to be at the front of attention, especially in large crowds. Being in a leadership position at times does put you at the forefront. Remembering my first year as an Athletic Director being put in the position of heading one of the largest departments in the district was a real growing moment in my professional/personal life. At the end of each year, we held an athletic awards banquet. Of course, the MC? Me. This was a nerve-racking situation for me all year. I started working out what I was going to say months before it was time. In the end, it was fine. I was nervous, to say the least. The next year I repeated the event and pushed through.
While I know that this was a weakness of mine, it didn’t stop me from doing what was important, being there for kids. Most recently I was in a similar position where our student-body was looking for people to be part of a fundraiser that in the end, the winner would get a pie in the face in front of the whole school. There were some pretty popular teachers as well as the Principal that all signed up. I figured I would be way down the list before getting picked. Nope! I was in the top three. So that meant pie in the face! Now, this is something that put me in front of everybody again. I did it because it was important to kids.
Kids, I know my weaknesses and I know my strengths. Being part of the attention is not one of them. But know that even if it means being front and center with the spotlight on me, if that is what you need, I will do it. Know that I am in your corner.