Blog #6: Continuous Renewal

One of the most important chapters!  Outstanding leaders share a major characteristic: They love what they do and are inspired by the progress that is made each week.  These same leaders have found the crucial balance between professional leadership and personal enjoyment.  Healthy leaders focus on continuous renewal.  We want to thrive, not just survive.  Some way s to thrive include being visible to your community.  Go out and talk with the teachers, parents and students that you work so closely with.  Write things down in a journal.  Celebrate wins and document tribulations including what you have learned from them.  Another important avenue to nurture is your emotional health.  Find out what brings joy to your heart and a smile to your face.  Do these things more!!!  Know what pushes your buttons and work through these obstacles efficiently.  Reflect on situations with trusted friends, sometimes it simply helps to walk it off.  Understand that others see and feel the repercussions of your attitude, so make it a POSTIVE one.  See the good in everything and everyone.  LEAD by example.  Be patient, organized, compassionate, understanding and focused.  Furthermore, realize the definitive importance in finding a balance in your life.  An individual who focuses solely on work or play misses out on the most important events and accomplishments in life.  This is one chapter that speaks to my heart because of current state of my life.  We all struggle finding a balance, but it CAN be done.  We just have to be ready to carve out time for the important things.  Thinking back on this educational journey, I am hit with the realization that the most effective leaders that we have been privileged enough to learn from or spend time with have found the balance in their lives.  They have set a marvelous example for all of us to follow! J

Blog #5: Competence

Competence speaks for itself.  If you have it, get more. If you don’t have it, get some NOW.  Granted, we all have days where it feels like the cards just won’t fall right.  Learn from these experiences.  Glean from the good choices you made and learn from the mistakes.  It happens to all of us.  The true test thought is how you pick yourself up and dust yourself off.  Recognize that it is IMPOSSIBLE to know everything.  However it is very possible to keep learning.  Bragging about how much you know is never a good idea, especially as a young, new administrator.  When asked a questions you are not prepared to answer, take the time to get the right answer out to your staff members by researching and following up.  As an administrator, we should strive to build up our knowledge in the avenues motioned in the chapter.  Learn from others how to communicate. Observe effective communicators as they handle a variety of situations.  Identify strengths and struggles and work through them calmly.  Show kindness and respect to others, they will return the favor.  Understand how children learn and be able to identify effective teaching practices.  When you organize and prioritize it opens the door for creativity and productivity.  Work with others to create a unified, shared vision.  Cherish intrinsic motivation.  Don’t focus on the recognition; rather take action because it is the best things for kids.  

Blog #4: Safety

I think we may sometimes take this one for granted.  Even though it is the main focus and goal of EVERY school campus, we want to ensure that people feel safe each and every day.  To elaborate, I think that we do everything we can to maintain safe campuses very effectively; however the fear of the unknown is out there.  Bullies pose a significant problem in affecting the positive learning environment.  Anyone can be a bully.  These negative influences can only breed doubt, concern and ineffectiveness.  Once people feel safe they can focus on the important jobs like teaching our young children and making an impact in their lives by letting them experience the wonders of learning.  As leaders we need to set a good example that others can follow, an example where people are caring and everyone belongs.  It is up to the leader to weed out bullies or to avoid hiring them in the first place.  As we know from developing a safe learning environment in classrooms, having consistent and fair routines and procedures leads to peace of mind.  Find multiple ways to reduce stress.  This is a crucial one, especially for us in our current situation.  Everyone is stressed for one reason or another.  We not only want, but need to be healthy and less stressed in order to do our jobs effectively.  Some practices that the book recommends: keep track of your daily ‘wins’, prioritize, practice compartmentalizing, and make a list of things you do to relax.  One of the most important ways to reduce stress… develop and lean on your support network of friends, colleagues, family, etc.  What do you do to relax?  

Blog #3: Support

Support is transparent; you know when it is there and you know when it is not. Support is something that people appreciate.  Support looks different in a variety of situations.  A leader’s role in providing support is imperative.  Walk around and see what the needs of the school include.  Talk to teachers, support staff and students.  Leaders can then make room in the budget to ensure the appropriate support is available to the appropriate people.  Finding out what is classified as appropriate is where the real legwork comes into play.  Start with little things and build from there.  Materials are great, but the true value in support is found in the emotional connections between people.  Fostering positive career building relationships will yield positive effects that will continue to unfold for years.  As a leader, the compassion and support that we show will be passed along and reciprocated. People expect, want and need support.  Remember that support takes on a variety of forms.  My favorite passage in the chapter was at the end where it said, “Effective leaders need people.  Effective leaders can’t do the job alone.”  We need to remember this next time we have a difficult conversation or are having a difficult day.  Be kind and compassionate and the rewards will be apparent in many ways.

Just a side note… I really enjoy the way this book presents information in an easy to read, direct way that captures attention without any boring side effects!  J

Blog #2 Communication

Communication is the cornerstone of our profession.  It determines the success or lack thereof in many situations.  A school thrives when communication is clear, direct and accurate.  Expectations must be clearly conveyed to all parties involved so that everyone can be held accountable for their professional success.  Now in order to be an effective communicator one of our most important jobs is to listen.  It is remarkable what you can find out and in turn achieve by simply listening to the voices of others.  I have found myself in this situation on more than one occasion.  People want and deserve to feel valued and appreciated.  It is simple to achieve this by simply listening.   Their feedback will guide future actions leaders take in a variety of ways.  I found the part about ‘gathering in the parking lot’ interesting.  You really can read a lot about a group discussion by observing the body language of those involved.  I feel like this is something we do without realizing it.  We convey messages without even speaking.  In my opinion future leaders should be exceptionally careful about the messages that non-verbal communication sends.  Maintaining positive, affirming, and welcoming body language would be helpful in developing success.   Other important notables in effective communication include editing written communication, having a good sense of humor to deescalate tense situations, and ‘framing’ communication to breed hope instead of anxiety.  Having staff members aid in big decision making by consensus would be a good way to give everyone opportunities to feel valued and appreciated.  It is OUR school that we strive to make better on a daily basis.  As leaders our communication efforts are put under a microscope and judged by others.  If we can maintain effective communication, then our school family will be happier and in turn more efficient.  The case studies at the end of the chapter were helpful by painting the picture of a good communication model and a struggling one.