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 :)