I have been at this leadership thing for awhile, but I still have a lot to learn as I live day to day trying to navigate this leadership thing. However, what I am very intentional about, is capturing the residue of learning and aha moments that flood my mind as I make my way to doing the best work of my life. I know it sounds hokey, but I really do think about this every day. We have two choices as leaders – we can waste our days away trying to do it all, going through the motions in a fog, waiting for summer vacation (don’t get me wrong, I dream of summer all the time) or we can commit to doing the best work of our life each day with the intention to make a happier life for ourselves and perhaps inspire others along the way. Either way, we still have two choices. I know which one I try to choose every single day. I talk to my students and teachers about this too and it sets up an expectation and gets them more intentional about their moods and energy.
While trying to do the best work of my life, I have come across some game changers. Some big ideas that have really helped me in my leadership. I found them by accident, tons of mistakes, and through daily tasks or conversations with others. I set a point of being intentional about sharing what I find with others so I thought I would share my big ideas with you here!
- Surround Yourself With Positive People And Fight For Positivity In Your Circle – I know you have heard this before but I am telling you it matters the most. If your hallway, classrooms, or your office area are filled with negative attitudes, do not engage. Even though it feels good at the moment to get stuff off of your chest, the truth is, it manifests. It sucks the energy out of you and does not serve you at all. So….get away from it. Gently nudge the naysayer towards a positive direction and then surround yourself with others who are solution-seeking and lift you up. You deserve that for yourself. Find a community of people who do that for you. I talked to a friend the other day who is a teacher from Manitoba and she said that she always heard the power of positivity but it wasn’t until this year that she realized how much of an impact it made on her life. She had switched schools and with that came new people and new conversations. The new people had a different outlook and looked at each day as a another opportunity to lift each other up. A year into it, she has said it has changed her life. She didn’t realize the power of the types of conversations she had daily, and the people she surrounded herself with had. She didn’t realize how that would affect her overall energy and joy until she was immersed in it. Long story short – fight to stay positive – no-matter-what. It will pay off!
2. Spend Your Most Time On The People Who Want To Do The Work and Be A Part Of The Community – Twenty percent of people will be against anything. As soon as you realize this, you alleviate the worry, stop watering things down, and you avoid compromising what really should be done. As Mike McCarthy says, “If you always try to reach consensus, you are being led by the 20 percent.” Listen, take the feedback, but then move forward the best way you and the community can.
3. Don’t Use Learning As An Excuse To Not Do – Get off the learning treadmill and onto the implementation treadmill. So often, people use professional development and multiple initiatives/strategies to learn about as an excuse to never actually implement an idea. Don’t get stuck here! Choose one idea/pain point to focus on, develop a specific plan of action to tackle it, and just get started. Try to avoid bringing in another thing to research or another strategy to try. You just need to get going and start serving. Instead of making your meetings a place to talk about ‘to do’ lists or learn a bunch of new ideas that jump from place to place, rather, make it a place to make a plan to implement, reflect back on progress, and develop action steps. Create a vision, write the plan down, implement it, and reflect on the results. So often we set goals and then throw the plan in a drawer and never look at it again. I was famous for that. Implementation is the key to getting stuff done. It is so important to hold space for action taking.
4. Co-Construct Expectations With Your Teachers – Build a list of expectations with your teachers so they have ownership and clear expectations on ways to contribute to the school culture and not just inside their classrooms. Within the criteria that you build together, it is important to be sure they know where they are at in their own journey, what they need to focus on, where to find support, and how to get the results they are looking for. Be sure to co-construct very clear expectations. I even give them ‘how to’ support frameworks whenever I can to help with clarity. Another big idea that I want to pair with co-constructing expectations is modelling. Model everything you expect teachers to do. This puts you in a place where people will root for you because you are walking the walk alongside them.
5. Set Deadlines – Setting deadlines create urgency and makes things happen. End of story. Think about how you have been meaning to clean your house and then, all of a sudden someone calls and says they are popping by in 15 minutes – Let the cleaning frenzy begin! It gets done because you have a deadline! The same goes for leadership and expectations for your community. Deadlines matter.
6. Close Loops – If you set a goal or an expectation, make sure to follow it through and close the loop. Teach your teachers how to reflect on the progress and always open and close your loops. Those loops could be conversations, problems, priorities, feedback, etc. Whatever it is, close it.
7. Hire People Who Align With the Culture You and Your Community Are Building – If they seem good in a classroom but are not really resonating with the culture questions that you are presenting, think long and hard about whether they are the right fit. Hire people who are bright, who are excellent teachers, who like children, who want to collaborate and believe in becoming a valuable contributor to a positive, growth minded culture. Hire people who support the vision of the entire school and not just inside their own classroom.
8. Your School Has To Be Kid Centered – Period. We need to be there for the kids. Our content needs to be kid focused. Our professional learning is to grow learning and make sure our kids are ok. We also take care of the adults but it is paramount that we always look through the lens of what is best for kids.
9. Celebrate the Wins and Stories of Teachers – We need to take care of them too. Celebrate the work they do. Acknowledge their passions and stories. Make the learning matter to them and let them know what is in it for them.
10. Shut Your Door To Determine 3 Things ONLY That Have To Get Done That Day – Set these three things up each day and they become non-negotiable. Do not try to tackle fifteen things or you will just be spinning your wheels. Set up three priorities, get them done by a deadline that day, reflect on whether or not you got them done and then go home and enjoy your life at a decent time each night. Actually put the time in your calendar where you are going to get these three things done within the day. This will help to get these 3 things done because you are setting an intentional time to put your A+ effort into these three things.
There you have it. Ten big ideas that have really made a difference in the way I lead and how happy I am in my leadership journey. I stick to these ideas and I really really try not to waver. Let me know what your big ideas in leadership are in our private facebook group called Principals and Leadership or email me at jacealynh@gmail.com. I would love to hear them!
Oh and don’t miss out on my new masterclass happening this weekend! It is all about showing you a power up and power down system to your day so that you can feel more productive and efficient in your leadership. It is happening June 12, at 10 AM MST. Click here to join!
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Even If You Miss..... 