Isolation Is the Enemy of Innovation #SAVMP 2.6

Isolation Is the Enemy of Innovation -- #SAVMP 2.6

     Change continues to wipe out existing paradigms in education. Teachers of today have a job that looks VERY different from teaching just 5 years ago. With the advent of data-driven instruction, technology integration, and ever-increasing accountability, teachers are living in a “brave new world.”

     With all of these incredible responsibilities added to an already time-intensive career, the need for teachers to collaborate is stronger than ever! So let’s take a trip back in time when I was a beginning teacher. 20 years ago (yes, I am a D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R), I started teaching. I had a mentor on campus who met with me about once a month. I was a fairly strong new teacher, so we just met after school when we could both find the time. After that year, I continued to fly on my own, and there was no more mentoring. It was part of our district’s plan at that time to provide new teachers a mentor during their first year. Then, each year afterwards, I would have a department chair who guided me and all department members in important calendar events, lesson planning protocols, and other school priorities.

     Fast forward to the future. Teachers now have virtual mentors available to them at a mere click of the mouse or a swipe of the touch screen! There are personal learning networks on Twitter, tutorial videos on how to teach anything on YouTube, and ideas on how to teach anything and everything with access to Pinterest, BLOGs, and many other vast resources on the Web.

     What used to be an isolated profession is now a connected profession. For example, in our district, we have moved to Professional Learning Communities as an amazing impetus for collaboration. It has improved our practices at both the school and the district level.

     Collaboration is also increasing via the Internet. The quickest and most dynamic way we have moved to transform the culture of isolation is by using Twitter at our school.  We are seeing the contagion of innovative practices occurring through the unique and dynamic Twitter window.

     Here are just a few benefits of our use of Twitter @MCherryStreet. We have many teachers tweeting just about daily, and all but a handful of members of our instructional faculty are leveraging Twitter power.

BENEFITS:

1.       Personal Learning Networks

My personal learning network has been the source of about 80% of all learning that occurs in my professional development arena. In the past 6 months, several of our district employees have joined Twitter, and now we are using Twitter to provide a World Wide and a Local Personal Learning Network. Here is a recent Tweet that contains one of my TouchCasts that allowed three administrators to collaborate together. This is sooo exciting!

2.      Excitement by Students

One of our #RockStar teachers, that I will refer to in the rest of this BLOG as Nikki, gets her students all excited about Tweets and the Retweets they have earned by national companies. She recently Tweeted about her students winning the grade level First in Math competition at our school. Her class Tweet was then Retweeted by the company, First in Math. Her kids were so excited, and they feel like they have voice!

3.      Transparency of Practices

Teachers are learning from each other and from others across the globe. We recently had a district Technology Exposition where our teachers learned several new apps. and programs that have caught on like “wild fire”. Several of our teachers are now using Go Noodle. Nikki, tweeted about it, and others all over campus can now see how one teacher could use this program--great ideas spread quickly. This is grass roots professional development from one teacher’s voice to another teacher’s view.

Take a look at these few Tweets where Nikki  credits another teacher on her grade level. These two teachers collaborate frequently! Teacher Kim is @CherryCheetah64.

4.      Classroom Walk-Thrus ~ The Window into a Teacher’s Practices

As an administrator, it is always difficult to get into teacher’s classrooms with the mounting paperwork responsibilities that accompany more and more federal and state accountability. Further, the immediate needs of students in crisis will throw my schedule out the window quicker than anything else. With that being said, Twitter has allowed me to see, sometimes on a daily basis, a snapshot of lessons occurring in the classroom. For my teachers who Tweet regularly, I can without a doubt­ vouch for the practices of that teacher because they provide documentary evidence EVERY SINGLE DAY about what occurs in their classroom. I have virtual CWT’s happening at my school. I feel empowered, but imagine how confident a parent will feel about the practices of this teacher! Twitter has been a tool for positive press for the teacher and the school! I, as the Principal, have access to our school’s FaceBook page, and I have begun cross-posting Tweets to our FaceBook page which gives the teacher twice the impact for those families who don’t have access to both—more bang for the buck!

      

5.      Ed Chats  -- Sharing Practices about Specific Strategies

Our school recently participated in 2 different Ed Chats. We modified the format a smidge by having them last all day so that any teacher could post to the Twitter feed during their planning session. This extended the Ed Chat to an 8 hour window, but the information we gleaned was priceless. Our topics were PBIS strategies shared by all faculty and the integration of technology. The PBIS chat was a positive way for teachers to share their successful strategies with each other while not interrupting their school day. This was organic professional development at its best. The technology integration Ed Chat provided my Technology Team with the diagnostic feedback they needed to help them organize and run a faculty meeting/professional development session focused on integrating the latest technologies. I created a Storify of that very first Ed Chat in a previous BLOG entry: Spreading the EdTech Virus.

Here is a Tweet where Nikki uses the #PBS hash tag to identify this Tweet is specifically about our school's #PBS initiatives.

And, here is a Tweet that shows how much Nikki is loving using Twitter to learn from her colleagues:

     And, just to praise the power of #TwitterTeachers, I observed a tweet from #RockStar Nikki while I was typing this BLOG Entry—she is frequently leveraging the power of Twitter to impact not only her classroom community but also the educational community at large (with Twitter that is a.k.a. THE GLOBE)! To emphasize my points here, I was away from the school today, and I could see—with a visual—what this amazing teacher was working on right then--when the learning occurred!

     Nikki is an educator who has shifted the “norm” of her classroom culture by using social media spaces to connect and learn from educators all over the world. To quote Amber Teamann @8Amber8 who provoked this BLOG entry via the #SAVMP project (I believe she was quoting my hero, @GeorgeCouros,) “Isolation is now a choice educators make.”  The shift really has to happen for educators. Using tools like Twitter allows for educators to connect and share learning that is happening with educators in their own school and with any other school abroad. We need to make this happen, weave this magic for our profession, and continue to create transparency in our own classrooms.

     If you want to follow one of these amazing teachers check out my list on Twitter titled: #Cherry Street Rock Stars. And....Tweet on my friends, Tweet on!

Teacher Leaders - The Wind Beneath My Wings #SAVMP 2:5

So today I am going to talk about MY classroom! Yes, the school and its teachers are MY classroom, and just like a classroom teacher, I get jazzed when my students (my awesome team of teachers) take risks and grow and demonstrate mastery of their learning. 

I have one teacher who took the teacher leadership challenge, and she is helping others grow as well. Since it is appraisal season, I was having one of those sit-down conversations with a strong teacher at our school. I was discussing the topic of teacher leadership with her. I shared that I wanted her to take on more leadership roles. Because she is a quality teacher, she was not afraid to raise questions with me. She shared that she felt she had missed the opportunity to lead in formal ways because grade chairs, school improvement team positions, and other formal leadership roles were already distributed. That is when we got down to some "real talk." I shared with her that my vision for the school was of a collaborative work force, and that I wanted to see leadership formally and informally. SHE WANTED TO KNOW MORE. I explained that teacher leadership should be exhibited by all teachers who have something to offer others. I wanted her to take on leadership roles that were beyond the status quo. I wanted her to be a "go-to" girl for new teachers, for her colleagues, and someone who positively impacts our campus for the greater good of our students. I began to see a gleam in her eyes. This was a paradigm shift for her, but it was one she quickly adopted. Sitting in the chair in front of me and my assistant principal,  she paused for a few seconds, and then she said, "Can you give me some examples?" I was amused by her enthusiasm and energy. I shared that there were a group of new teachers on campus who needed some help with their action research plans. I shared that we needed to be able to assist some of the new teachers with getting activated on Twitter since we were coming up on our second school #EdChat (#CherryElem). She said, "Okay, I will do that." Well, she wasn't kidding. She was SERIOUS and she meant BUSINESS! She walked out of my office, and went directly to the new teachers and asked them how she could help. She called me about an hour later, as it was getting dark on campus, and she said, "Hey, I am helping this new teacher and we have a question about the action research plan requirements." I got a huge smile on my face, and I was speechless! We talked through how to support that teacher. Then, the very next day, she got one of the new teachers on Twitter which is the picture you see above. 

Staff empowerment is such an important gift for our teachers. Teachers should not have to wait for a CEO type Principal to hand down decisions from above. Teachers should be empowered to come up with creative and innovative solutions on their own with collaborative input and monitoring by administration.

This teacher, Tiffany, was empowered, and she used her empowerment to empower others. Her excitement for the opportunity to lead others inspires me and my assistant principal. She has recently helped host our second school Twitter chat, and her leadership example stirs the excellence in others. Just since this school year started, we have seen all but 3 of our faculty members join Twitter. It has become a #BragTag fest where the teachers share the awesomeness of their classrooms. It has become a school-level PLN where we share and learn from each other's practices. AND, it has become an encouragement network for supporting each other's efforts to be #RockStarTeachers.  This same teacher, Tiffany, spontaneously got us all involved in a #TweetMob celebrating #EdJoy a couple of weeks ago. 

I have many others like her on my campus. She, and other teachers like her... are the wind beneath my wings.... 

FINDING TIME FOR FUN ~ Time Management for School Leaders #SAVMP 2:4

Time Management for School Leaders - Finding Time for Fun!

The topic of Time Management is a critical one for leaders these days as we are being buried under an ever increasing load of paperwork. The paperwork can include appraisals of faculty and staff, school improvement planning, and federal and district requirements. I have previously written about my efforts to organize and manage my days in a post called: Time Management from the Perspective of an Efficiency Freak. This topic has come up again in my focus during the 2014-2015 school year but in a bit of a different way. With a little twist, I have begun to explore how I manage my time at home and continue to be effective in my other jobs: MOM, WIFE, DAUGHTER, FRIEND. 

As I entered into my third year as a school leader, I have been able to turn my gaze back to a "Search for Balance." That first year as Principal was a type of audit and inventory of my new environment. I used a facilitative leadership style where I just facilitated the life of the school while at the same time taking stock and shaping my vision for the future. That first year was very, very busy. It was the year I had to establish credibility, build relationships, and learn everything possible as quickly as possible about my new responsibilities. I felt like I worked ALL THE TIME--like till 1 and 2 A.M. most nights. The second year was a bit better for the total hours I worked per day, but it was at a more intense level as I used a pacesetter leadership style. I showed the faculty the vision and the pace, and I asked them to keep up or to look for a better fit--nothing personal. And, NOW, as I have moved into the winter of my third year, I feel as if the staff and I are unified and working together collectively to increase student achievement and impact student success in the life of our school. This is my favorite style, the visionary leadership style. Most everyone is rowing the boat in the same direction, and no one is trying to sink it! This has been a refreshing year, and it has helped that I have one of the strongest assistant administrators I have ever met working closely with me on all levels. We share the same vision and have similar kindred spirits. These elements have allowed me to work on the necessary balance between home and work life.

EXERCISE: First, I make certain I know what my focus is at home. Rather than coming home from work exhausted and binge eating in front of the TV, I am working to include exercise every day. On my birthday, my husband bought me a fitbit. I love goal setting, and this wearable technology meets my goal-oriented needs. Here is a picture of my progress today from the app. on my SmartPhone which synchronizes various times throughout the day. My daily goal is 10,000 steps every day. Of course, I would show a day when I met my goal! The Dashboard also tracks my meals and my sleep patterns. It synchronizes with my favorite calorie counter app. myfitnesspal. Both of these tools are at my fingertips and help me maintain my focus. 

     

During Christmas, I converted my garage into a mini-gymnasium. It used to be such a pain to get dressed for the gym, drive to the gym, and then work around everyone else on the nautilus equipment or the free weights. Now I have my very own gymnasium heaven! Here is a picture, and I jokingly call it my nightly date with "Gym."  My mini-gym has everything I need, and I especially love the DVD player where I watch my favorite CSI: Las Vegas episodes while walking on the treadmill. My gym is just feet away. I am grateful for a new focus on exercise that is quick and easy. 

FUN & FAMILY:  The next thing I do to keep my focus is I plot out everything on a weekly calendar (my only tracking item using traditional paper) that sits on my desk in my bedroom. I put all appointments like my daughter's upcoming soccer booster club meeting on my Google Calendar, but I put the little things on this calendar. Things like read my spiritual devotional every morning, play my DuoLinguo app., mail a package to my son in college, visit my father during the weekend, date night with the husband, movie night with my #CoffeeClubGirls, etc. etc. I am adverse to any paper calendars and PREFER the digital version in my apps. Google Calendar, G-Tasks, Google Keep, and Sticky Notes, but I still use this old-fashioned calendar when I am at home because when I walk in the door, I truly try to put the phone down and disconnect from the grid temporarily. This visual calendar gives me just a couple of items to focus on every day so that I DO feel accomplished during the week, and I don't succumb to  the hustle and bustle which can drain me at the end of each day. This daily focus allows me to get the important things done as soon as I get home, and then I am not panicking to finish everything during my two days off on the weekend.

And, after I complete the "first things first" I can download and do the fun things like reading a great book or watching my favorite crime drama on Netflix. Here are a stack of books I am working on now:

PAPERLESS: And, lastly, I am moving many things to paperless in our home. I am using Evernote frequently to journal vs. my old way of writing in bulky journals. Also, the digital version is quicker to write/type. I now have all of my papery type things accumulating in EverNote. I have all of my recipe collections, movie ratings, and a journal committed to my wonderful husband all building in Evernote. What would have taken shelves to house and time to write is now all contained in the Cloud and typed up quickly with all sorts of little bells and whistles that can be added with images, fonts, and it is all done within either my SmartPhone or on my laptop. I prefer paperless. 

     

Here is an example of all of the movie ratings I have been collecting in my Evernote app. I can add images of the movie ticket along with my commentary. I can scroll through these or even share them with a link such as this one to my American Sniper review: 

Movies! Review of American Sniper by C. R.

So, with this different twist I have shared how I have increased my focus at home so that I am as good at my night job as I am at my day job! I work very hard to enjoy my down-time and all those times I am able to unplug from the grid. My husband knows when I am trying to get things accomplished, and he calls this my "checklist mode." Just the other day, he told me that we must have switched roles because nowadays he is always the one in checklist mode, and I am the one trying to relax. LOL. I laughed, because he used to refer to me as his work-a-holic or captain of the NFL (No-fun-league).  I have been working hard to relax. Wow-What an oxymoron that is. I guess the better way to say it is, I have been using my time wisely so that there is time left for F-U-N. 

Just Part of the Family

     This past week I had the privilege to work with an amazing group of administrators as we embarked on a challenging new journey. The family of schools that combine to feed into Bay High School, the Bay High Family of Schools, met to start a partnership that will lead to stronger schools to better serve our students. The catalyst for the partnership was a comment made by one of our school board members during the last Principals' Meeting. The partnership might have occurred over time anyway, but it was this comment by board member, Ginger Littleton, that got all of us thinking! To summarize, she said that the high schools should be looking to strengthen the middle schools, and the middle schools should be looking to strengthen the elementary schools... or we were all missing out on opportunities to build stronger families of schools.

     Shortly after the meeting, it might have been a couple of days at the most, Jinks Middle School's new Principal, Britt Smith, sent an email asking all of our feeder schools to join him in a meeting to begin the unification of our school family.

     I was delighted to join in this process as we would all reap the benefits of stronger connections and communication in our pipeline of schools.

     Some of the great ideas that resulted from the meeting were:

• ·       The collaboration of teachers for curriculum and grade level expectations across the full vertical team.
• ·       The integration of student experiences across schools especially to support programs, special projects, and events.
• ·       The formation of student communities/academies such as athletic and arts academies.
• ·       The increase of press and public relations using social media and other outlets to declare the excellence at our schools.
• ·       The promotion and building of relationships for students and their families among schools.

     I look forward to the future where I will see middle and high school students on our campus providing the excellent role models for our elementary students. I look forward to a future where our teachers are comfortable collaborating together to polish our craft and bravely accept all the challenges coming to each of our schools TOGETHER.

     I know of a team of schools who are partnering in Canada, using a Triad model. Here is an image of their Google+ page.

     The Triad DGM Google + Group was created to assist the staffs of St. Gregory, St. Daniel and St. Monica with their collaborative inquiry. Their Google + Group also challenged the Triad schools to use new technologies to keep connected throughout the year. Here is a BLOG entry posted by one of their primary grade teams (grades 1 & 2) of teachers that met, collaborated, and shared their work: 

Team Grade 1 & 2

     I have watched their model on Google +, and I hope that our group will use technology such as Google Hangouts to capture the great work that I am positive is going to happen as we begin this journey! I am proud to be... just part of the family!

The Al Pacino of Education

     It was last summer when I really became acquainted, actually much closer than I would like, with our state's accountability system. I DO believe in accountability, but after much research, I had concluded that Florida state's school grading system was broken. The state had changed the target and moved the target so many times that it was like playing football with the goal post constantly moving farther and farther away and the referees always changing the number of points that it took to get a touchdown. Talk about frustrating!

     So, in my usual fashion I set out to learn as much as I could and to talk to as many folks as I could about the problems this presented for my faculty and myself in our goals to increase student achievement. I traveled to Tallahassee and met with the education commissioner, and I made an appointment to speak with our local senator (see those posts here: Learning from a State Leader and My Chat with the Senator). AND....I began to follow what was happening at the state level. That is when I became aware of one of my new heroes, and I want to introduce YOU to him.

     During my journey to learn about state grading, my own Super. started hooking me up with links to articles, and his staff shared a video with me from the state task force that was convened to provide some recommendations to then Commissioner of Education, Toni Bennett. The video which was a full hour long in just the first section was very intriguing. I watched it several times, and I became genuinely inspired by one Superintendent in particular. Alberto Carvalho took charge of the room and made the most sense of anyone on the task force because he was there, in the trenches, with his schools trying to survive the bludgeoning being issued by our state. He spoke confidently, eloquently, and passionately. I was hooked, and I believed that he would definitely go far in whatever he chose to do in the future. He is in charge of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the fourth-largest school district in the United States. I was so impressed with his logical and pragmatic points during the Task Force Meeting, that I felt he could make sense of the grading mess much better than I could.....so I scaled down the hour video to 6 minutes and showed it to my faculty during the summer pre-service training. I tried to embed that video here, but Blogger has its quirks, and it would not cooperate. So I have added a link to that video on MY YouTube Channel, and I captured a screen shot of what the video looks like on MY channel. 

             Click here for the video: DOE School Grading Task Force - High Points

     Now, after watching this video, I was also struck by how closely Alberto resembles on of my personal favorite actors of all time, Al Pacino....not only in physical appearance but also in his demeanor and style. The IMDB says Pacino is known for, "...his forceful and dynamic presentation." Well, that is how I see Alberto! As a matter of fact, my favorite movie with Al Pacino is Heat (1995) where he plays the role of LAPD Lt. Vincent Hanna who leads a team of cops in the Robbery/Homicide police division. His nemesis in the movie is none other than Robert DeNiro, and it is a great story line for both actors. Pacino's character is the white hat, and he wins out over evil in the movie. It is his confident and brash style in the movie that is so strong that help him to be so successful at his craft. Here is a picture of Al from the movie...see any resemblances?

 Image used from Movie Retrospect BLOG

    Ironically, during the course of hiring teachers during this past school year, I interviewed an applicant who had read my BLOG, and she noted my comment about him in the post about my visit to meet the Education Commissioner. She had met Mr. Carvalho during a FASA meeting, and she had his business card. She presented it to me as a gift, and ....of course, wouldn't you know it?....the back of his card contained ALL of his social media. He rocks!

     Almost a year after learning about him and zeroing in on his strengths and his potential, I learned that he was named Florida’s 2014 Superintendent of the Year as well as the 2014 National Superintendent of the Year. Further, he was named by Scholastic Administrator as one of "The Fantastic Five" educators making a difference in America. I guess I picked a winner! LOL.

     The biography on his website says: "AC successfully transformed his district’s business operations and financial systems with the implementation of a streamlined Strategic Framework focused on a singular goal of student achievement. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is now widely considered the nation’s highest-performing urban school system, and was named as the 2014 College Board Advanced Placement Equity and Excellence District of the Year as well as the 2012 winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education.  On November 6, 2012, following four years of extraordinary District performance, Miami-Dade County voters confirmed their faith in their public schools and their Superintendent by passing a $1.2 Billion Bond Referendum for school construction."

     He is definitely an educational leader I will continue to watch with wonder. I am following him on Twitter, and who knows, I might end up writing another post about him in the future -- I really don't think he has shown us all that he can do. He has amazing potential.

Every Batman Needs a Robin

Week 20: The Art of Delegation #SAVMP

Delegation, has over the years, been an area of personal growth for me. As I began exploring this week’s topic, I waxed nostalgic and pulled out an early assessment of my leadership capacity. At the start of my leadership journey, our former Superintendent saw some potential in me and selected me to attend what I lovingly refer to as…Administrators Boot Camp. My “pet” name for this program is much simpler than its real name: The Florida Principal Competency Assessment Center.

To go through the program, a group of potential leaders is selected and undergo several exercises to demonstrate their leadership capacity. While they are navigating the exercises, they are watched by a panel of objective viewers who rate their abilities according to various leadership competencies. This “boot camp” happened many years ago for me, but from what I remember, it was actually quite fun. One of the other members of the group I was in is now an Assistant Superintendent, and it was exciting to be around other leaders who I could learn from as well as develop friendships with that would later lead to my personal network of friends.

After we concluded the activity, the raters scored us and debriefed us on our strengths. I dusted off my copy of their findings today and was truly astonished at what they revealed so very long ago when I started this journey toward being a Principal.

My strengths were:

• Proactivity
• Continuous Improvement  (Always striving to get better)
• Communication
• Facilitation (Getting others to work together effectively)
• Critical Thinking (Analysis of data before arriving at a solution)
• Organizational Abilities (Knowing how to design, plan, and organize activities to achieve goals)

Ironically, my one area of Growth that the team referred to as an “Adequacy” was the competency of delegation. All those years ago, following that exercise, I chose to work on that skill as a personal goal. And, since, as the report indicated, I have strength in continuous improvement, I have grown enormously in that area. I now have some delegation swag. LOL.

Over the years as I have set goals to improve in this area, I have learned just how critical a skill that delegation has to be for a successful leader. Here is why I believe this:

1. Leadership Delegation Is Necessary for Personal Survival

My approach to taking on new challenges is usually to learn as much as possible about a new situation. Sometimes this means that I will get down in the trenches and learn something from the bottom all the way to the top. This helps me make wise choices because I have a deeper understanding of the whole picture. However, I try and quickly move on to delegation once I learn the new program or process. If I didn't, I would drown under the weight of trying to juggle all the nuts and bolts of the system. Once my knowledge base is developed, I can look to the qualified specialists around me and I can move into the background and just facilitate. 

I was able to attend a fabulous leadership training this summer by some job coaches. One analogy they used has stuck with me and continued to be an anchor for me as I move toward more efficient delegation. The job coaches compared the system leader to a baseball manager. The team manager should be overseeing and making certain the team has what it needs to win. If the team manager is out on the field playing 1st base and 3rd base, the manager will not only fail to develop his players whose position is 1st and 3rd, but he will be inefficient at managing the whole process because he is busy playing all the roles. I love this analogy, and I have used it to help my faculty and leadership team understand when I refer them to other leaders on campus. I can not be the sole source of knowledge for the campus, or else when I am away from campus, things will collapse. It is my greatest goal to build such a strong team and strong infrastructure that it runs without me. 

2. Leadership Delegation Is Necessary for System Survival

So let's talk about the team. Wow. This takes time because you have to have the players with the capacity to partake in the execution of the vision. It is a delight when I get to bring on new staff members who are malleable and can quickly adopt the campus vision and then can align their skill set in ways to promote and protect that vision. 

I am always looking for folks who are ready to own the campus challenges and lead others in the ways that we can meet the challenges. 

First, the appropriate people must be identified. 

Next, the resources to support them must be provided. 

To encourage their success, they need to be given the matching authority and trust to complete the task. 

They need to understand the expectations clearly. 

Lastly, I need to follow up to make certain they stay on the correct path and ultimately reach the destination.

If the delegation works, then the system gets stronger and stronger because the power base is distributed among all the team members. If EVERYONE wants to win the game, then everyone will play their hardest. This creates a strong team. 

3. Leadership Delegation Is Necessary for Success 

Ownership by all stakeholders is critical for the system to succeed. We are still in the process of building this ownership across multiple leadership groups on our campus. Two great examples are our Safety Committee and our Positive Behavior Support System. We have been working to have members of both of these teams make critical decisions for the whole school so that they understand the process and implications for how those decisions impact everyone at the school .... from the teacher all the way down to the student and their family. After a recent safety assessment by our District Safety Officer, our Safety Committee broke down all of the recommendations from the officer into individual action items. Each team member carried out those action items to completion because they saw how a break in the safety plan could impact the safety of our students and staff. Team members were checking campus evacuation maps and confirming that current maps were posted in every classroom. Our PE Coach worked with the custodian to develop a rotating schedule for determining if fire extinguishers are in working order monthly. AND...this has enhanced everyone's awareness of what it means to be "safe" on our campus. No longer is the safety of the school a prescient thought in the Principal and Assistant Principal's minds only. Now, we have a team of folks who are aware and proactively working on the behalf of our school's safety goals. This makes us so much stronger! We are more successful for the leadership that has been delegated to these team members.

Leadership delegation works, and it creates a strong organization. Now, there are problems to address when you have employees without the willingness to lead or participate. There are great resources out there for those situations such as Todd Whitaker's book Shifting the Monkey. 

Whatever the case, as a leader, FIND WAYS TO DELEGATE. You and your team will be stronger for it.

Communication is All about Listening! #SAVMP 19

     Week 19 of the #SAVMP Project is about “communication essentials”, and I think most people will take the spin to write about how they're using social media to communicate. I decided to use a different twist for this assignment. I would have to say the greatest communication essential is the art of listening, and I have tried to develop better listening skills over the years. It has been a personal goal of mine to increase my listening capacity and, of course, I am still growing.  I take some solace in that I do believe I have shown improvement in this area. I am often trying to listen for longer than I speak.

     I consider myself a student of leadership, and many times over the years I have observed my Principals. When you are seated before them in the Principal’s office, I can recall having worked for different leaders who, when you would go into speak with them, they would turn away from you and begin working on their computer or clicking through emails. I would describe that feeling as feeling devalued as a human. I felt like they didn't care what I had to say or they were too busy to give me the time I sought from them.

     To be fair, though out the day, I have people who want to pop in my office. There have been times when I might be very, very busy, and their brief visit may keep me from leaving at closing time. BUT… no matter how long it delays my workday, I always keep my door open, and I always turn a watchful eye to my visitors. I sit and listen to what people have to say; it is part of leading. I want to develop the relationships with people.  It is sometimes difficult for me to stop and listen because I am so task oriented. It has been tough for me to develop this skill, but each year I get better and better at it.

     The benefits of listening outweigh the costs. I think the most important thing I gain from listening is that I begin to understand the people that make up our workforce, and they are most definitely people with human needs. For example, if someone is late to work two or three times, and this is not typical behavior, you cannot just attack that behavior. If you listen first and try to understand…you may learn that perhaps they have been late because they are having a rough time, or they are going through a divorce, or they are a single mom and they have got a sick child they are tending to… there so many factors that make up the human condition. You have to value the whole person.

     Let’s be honest.  I'm a really strong employee. Bosses have always loved me because I give my job 110%. But, even I have the need for a reprieve from exemplary work. Being full-on every single day can be exhausting. There are some days that my friend calls “needs improvement days.” AND… we all experience a needs improvement day every once in a while.  SO…. when someone misses a deadline or has a rough week or something just seems off about their performance, it really is very valuable to understand the person and that helps you to support them. Further, when your work relationship is grounded on trust and listening, it is easier to help folks grow through feedback….because they are ALSO willing to listen.

     One of the best books I've ever read that has helped me and shaped me as a leader was Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of Covey’s Habits is to “seek to understand first.” He describes communication as the most important skill in life. Typically, people spend years learning how to read and write and even learning how to speak. However, how much training do we have learning to listen? What training have you had that enables you to listen-- to really deeply understand another human being? We don't have a lot of training in listening. The way most people operate is that they seek first to be understood. Many people are only listening to you so that they can provide their response. They are awaiting their moment to get their point across because for the majority of the human race it's Me, Me, Me, I, Me, and Mine. Successful people, however, take the listening tactic. If you ignore the other person, of if you just pretend that you're listening or only hear certain parts of the conversation, you will miss the meaning entirely.

     Here is a powerful quote from Covey in regards to listening: “People listen with the intent to reply not to understand.”

     Many times you're running your own private thoughts through your brain. You are considering what you will say when it’s your turn, and pretty soon you're not even hearing what people are saying to you. The biggest area where I am growing right now is in my response time. I do get excited, and I do want to reply. I'm learning to bite my lip and listen before I reply.

Also, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to increase relationship building at work and get to know the people behind the faces. So listening is a good growth area for me as I continue to improve.

     Over the summer, our administrators had training by the Studer Group on Instructional Rounding. One of the items that was shared was about Employee Engagement Surveys. The information revealed what employees want when they come to work every day:

1. Tools, equipment, and resources to do their job
2.  A leader who cares about them
3.  Help to be successful
4.  A healthy work environment
5.  Recognition when doing good work

     Numbers 2 - 4 and especially Number 2 are really things that Leaders can provide for employees if they take the first and most important step of….. LISTENING.

     If you listen to your employees, you'll know their needs.

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