Leadership Connector - Safety

I really like this book - it is easy reading and I find myself making connections the whole time I am reading it.  This topic of safety was interesting to me, it started out talking about the physical, emotional and psychological safety of our lives.  These are all important and I'm sure most of us can see how it all translates from personal safety to our work and the roles we "play" at work. 

The bullying behavior is an issues we have see not only at our school sites and district but our communities as well.  This is not a new topic, yet it seemed to take on a lethal seriousness lately.  I don't recall hearing of bullying at schools in the 60's & 70's - yet in the 90's we were all shocked with the Columbine shootings. 

I know as an administrator I have had situations when I had to acknowledge that a person's actions were threatening and unacceptable and had to act accordingly.  That is not always an easy or comfortable situation to deal with, yet the bigger pictures and the safety of everyone on the school site is very important- that is my top priority.  The book did make be broaden my perspective of adult bullies and specifically with staff members.  One situation that came to mind was the interactions in a PLC I was a part of a few years ago...there was a teacher (in hindsight) I can honestly say was a bully.  This person created a climate that made everyone anxious and uncomfortable and nobody ever wanted to be the "one" who had to address issues with this person..because she was pushy and opinionated and would be rude in her interactions.  This experience makes me realize the level of responsibility I have as an administrator to my staff  not just to the students on our campus.

I really liked the section on decompressing.  I find myself waking up at 3:00am and "thinking" about everything I need to do the next day, week or month.  Sometimes, I get up and work on those items. I liked the 5 tips discussed to reduce anxieties.  Some of them I think are easier said than done, but others were great ideas that I can see working for me.  Personally, one thing I have been doing lately is making a list of things I am going to work on the next day right before I go to bed. I prioritize the list and having is on my briefcase ready to go the next day....I haven't been up working at 3:00am since I started doing it :)

Leadership Connector - Support

The topic of support from leadership is so important to the success of a school.  Most of us have probably worked at a position (not just in education) where there was incredible support and great leadership and then in other places where those incredible experiences where not in place.  I agree that is it important to have high levels of transparency - it allows everyone to "see" the whole picture and it promotes the open communication which reinforces the connectedness Hennsley referred to it in the chapter. The chapter discusses the importance of support in terms of new teachers and getting them connected and supported, but I believe it is equally important to those veteran teachers we rely on as well.  Everyone wants to be connected and valued and that occurs when we feel we are supported, in the communication loop, and valued for our contributions. 

With NCLB the stakes are getting higher and the required scores are getting harder to reach.  As a result, it is even more important that teachers and staff feel their administrator values and supports them and stands behind them.  I agree with Hennsley's comment that when teachers feel supported they reciprocate. This reciprocal support creates a positive climate and supports the overall school culture and student achievement.

I think some of the areas the chapter discusses to support teachers, such as providing materials, can be a tough challenge in this current budget situation.  While we may not be able to provide all the "wants" we must strive to provide all the "needs".  Sometimes even the "needs" are difficult to provide - this is were the communication piece is even more important.  If we communicate the financial standing of the site budget and openly discuss options to meet the needs in other ways the teams feels included and is more apt to understand the reasons if those things take a little longer to obtain. 

Leadership Connectors: Communication post

I find it interesting that people have been communicating with each for centuries and yet, we still have problems mis-communicating or being "misunderstood".  In reading chapter one, I was stuck be how so much of the information seemed to be "common sense" or widely accepted in practice and yet each scenario had the potential to go awry. 

One of the things that stood out to me in the chapter, was that it was geared towards adminstrator and advised on some of the "pitfalls".  Being a new principal last year, I can really relate so some of the stories... about establishing that new relationship with staff members and parents/students.  I spent a lot of time thinking over how I wanted to establish me relationship with them and how to communicate that I am approachable, working for a common goal with them and will work hard for the school/team/students. On one side I wanted to demonstrate my competency yet incorporate my personality (bring in some humor), be approachable and establish the "right" relationship from the start....not as easy as it seems :)

I also liked how the chapter talked about communicating in emails, newsletters, and formal/informal communication.    I know I am cautious when communicating with parents by email, because you are not always sure how they are "interpreting" what you are trying to say.  That doesn't even include the grammatical manner in which we communicate.  I much prefer meeting with parents especially if there is a problem, yet this is not always possible, so some of the info. for consideration is very helpful.

My favorite information was the "Frame It" and re-framing - its about the perspective and how we choose to view a situation and how we choose to move forward.  That is not to say we are going to "sugar coat" everything, but rather acknowledge the situation and determine how to move forward.  I love how it pointed out that framing must be used with integrity!!

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