heathercphipps Collaboration, Uncategorized

Collective Experiences

 

Together We Are Better

 

 

 

 

 

Several times this week I was reminded of the power of the collective.  Alone we can do great things, but together we can do so much more.  The best leaders aren’t those who strive to be the smartest person in room; they are the ones who make connections, build relationships, and leverage the strengths of others to find the best next step.

Connect Personally

On Christmas Eve there was quite a snowstorm here in Omaha.  It was beautiful.  Social media was filled with stunning pictures of our unexpected White Christmas.  After almost 8 inches fell in my neighborhood, we all emerged to shovel the driveways in time to get out for our celebrations.  I bundled up and turned up the playlist on my phone ready to dig in and get the work done.  But I had to turn off the music. There were neighbors everywhere- two doors down, across the street- our block was filled with people chatting and waving and helping each other clear sidewalks.

Every time I got tired, someone new was there to say hello or wave at me from down the block.  It energized me.  I didn’t need my playlist because the neighborhood was making music of its own.  It was such a fun collective experience.  And together we did the work faster.

Connect Professionally

The day before I was in a meeting at work where I was again reminded that together we are better.  Our superintendent was pushing a group of us to think about things in new and different ways.  People were sharing unique perspectives.  People were challenging conventional wisdom.  People were offering creative ideas.  It was one of those conversations about things at the 10,000 foot level that inspires you and makes you love your job.  The issues we face are significant.  The work we do is important.  The answers to how best to move forward are complex.  Individually we will not find the best solution, but together we will be better.

Connect Globally

Technology has connected us in ways we could not have imagined just a few years ago.  In the past, our professional network was limited to those people with whom we were in regular contact.  Now we can connect with not only the other people in our district and our community, we can connect with people from all over the world.

Together we are better.  As this year draws to a close, I encourage you to build new relationships and make new connections.  Reach out to your neighbors.  Stop in and talk to your co-workers.  Follow educators and others on Twitter (find me @hcphipps).

Our collective experiences make the world a better place!

 

heathercphipps Breaking the Rules, Collaboration, Competition, Education, Uncategorized

I’m Ready to Break Some Rules

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I am a rule follower.  I always have been.  I was the kid in class with her hand up.  I was the one on Safety Patrol in elementary school.  I like knowing the rules, and I find comfort in following them.  I was never the “ask forgiveness not permission” person.

As a new principal, I shared my non-negotiables with our staff.  Rule following was on the list. People need to know the core values of their leader.  In education there is safety in having well-defined policies and procedures to follow.  A strong instructional model, a guaranteed viable curriculum, and a quality assessment system guide our work.  A consistent Code of Conduct and procedures for everything from field trips to facility use provide consistency.  Following them ensures equity in opportunities for children.  I know that.  I believe that.

But more and more lately, I’ve been wanting to break the rules.

We take our greatest leaps when we challenge the status quo.  There is power in examining what we are doing…and then changing it when appropriate.

I think I might be ready to rebel.  I think I might be ready to take some risks.

As a profession, we’ve been asking questions about what our most successful teachers, administrators and schools are doing.  How are they meeting the unique needs of their students? In some cases, they are breaking the rules.  In some cases, they are deviating from the standard, prescribed process.  And it’s working.

So if that’s the case, where is the line?  How do we ensure fair and equal opportunities for all students and still create an environment where people can take the risks necessary to meet the needs of each child?

Discuss openly and honestly

I want our leaders to feel safe in talking about what they are doing.  I want to ensure a culture where we can disagree and challenge each other in positive ways.

Listen

I want to get better at listening.  I want to go into these conversations without an agenda and be willing to learn.

Share what’s working

I want educators to be collaborative and not competitive.  I want our profession to be about finding what works for all kids.  I want an educational climate that focuses on sharing, so we all get better.

Trust

I want people to focus less on accountability and more on trust.  I will never stop holding myself and others accountable because our work is too important not too, but I want my default to be trust in others’ good intentions.

Risk

And finally, I want to start taking more risks.  I want to challenge more.  I want to push the boundaries more.  I think it will make me better.

Following the rules has worked out pretty well for me.  I’m not sure I’m ready to cast them all to the wind and run amok.  But with age (and maturity?) comes the recognition that challenging the status quo is a good thing.

I think I might finally be ready to break some rules!

heathercphipps Collaboration, Education, Teachers, Uncategorized

Keeping Connected to the Classroom

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I have the best job in the world!  (Everyone in education says they have the best job in the world, and we all really mean it.)  After 13 years in the classroom and 9 years as a building level administrator, I am currently working in our district office.  My job is staff development and instructional improvement.  I get to spend my time talking about effective instructional practices.  It is an amazing gift!

This week I spent two hours with a colleague doing walk through observations in one of our high schools.  We are implementing a new instructional model, and this was my opportunity to walk my talk.  I have spent the last year facilitating staff development for our administrators about this new model.  Now I need to spend time in classrooms watching the model in action.  I need to spend time with the administrators who are actually using the model with teachers.  It was wonderful.

There is an energy in a school.  I miss it.  Engaging lessons in the classroom, excited students in the hallway during passing period, and people building relationships at every turn.  It was fun to be back talking about good teaching with a great administrator.

And then it happened.

We got back to the office and were debriefing our experience when another administrator in the building popped in to let us know there was a discipline issue being addressed across the hall.  And there it was…the real world.

We ask our administrators to do so much.  There are hundreds of tasks that need their constant attention.  Safety and security, technology, parent concerns, student issues…the list could go on and on.  We need them to manage the building, but we also need them to be instructional leaders.  Finding that balance is not easy.

Walk through observations, reflective conversations, and meaningful feedback are all critical to improving instruction.  We know this!  But finding the time to do those things effectively can be a struggle.

Today was a good reminder for me that the real world sometimes gets in the way.  As someone who is not currently serving in a building level role, there are things I need to remember.

Listen and Seek to Understand

I need to listen openly to the experiences of the people who are implementing things in the building.  They have the practical experiences and a more realistic understanding of what is actually happening.  I may think I know, but I am not the one doing it. We need to have a relationship that allows for honest and direct conversations.  Time is precious; there is never enough of it.  When we can carve out time to talk, everyone needs to be willing to share openly.

Empower Others

No amount of planning on my part can replace effective implementation by the leaders in the building.  My role is to empower leaders to be both visionary and systematic.  I can only make things happen by developing capacity in others.

Offer Grace

While instructional improvement is certainly not all I do, it is the big rock in my world.  But what is a big rock for me may be a pebble in the moment of what they are dealing with in the building.  It is critical for me to remember that my piece is only one piece of what they are being asked to do.  If something gets dropped or a detail gets neglected, my first instinct should be to offer grace.  I have no idea what student issue that administrator has been tackling.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not letting building administrators off the hook here either.  This same real world exists for our classroom teachers too.

We ask our teachers to do so much.  Administrators have to remember that their perceptions will never be as accurate as the teachers’ actual experiences in the classroom.

And finally, I’m not letting classroom teachers off the hook either.  We ask our student to do so much.

This real world exists for us all.  Listening and actually hearing the experience others are having is a powerful first step.

heathercphipps Collaboration, Competition, Uncategorized

Just Because I Beat You Doesn’t Mean I Win

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The weather was perfect this week.  We slept with the windows open, and I could hear the marching band practicing as I ate breakfast.  There is just something about this time of year.  Our cheerleaders are fired up, and our football players are ready. I spent this afternoon at a softball game as our fall sports are kicking off.

I am a football girl…the thrill of a 4th quarter comeback, the hail mary caught in the end zone, the season that starts off slowly and then suddenly catches fire.  In fact my family refuses to let people come over when my team is playing.  To say I get animated is an understatement.

I am competitive.  I want my team to win.  I want to win.

As a middle school teacher, I used friendly competition to motivate my students.  In the fall, I taught the routines and transitions for group work with the Desk Olympics.  I would time classes as they practiced getting into and out of small groups of varying sizes.  Each period competed with the other for “prizes”.  Middle school students will do anything for a piece of candy or a cheap plastic toy.

Competition is engaging.  Competition is motivating.

Competition is also dangerous at times.  There is a balance between a competition that pushes us to grow and a competition that stops us from growing others and our organization.

Athletes know, for example, that training with someone who is just a little better than they are can push them to get faster or stronger. But what happens when that competition becomes toxic?  What happens if those partners stop sharing training tips in the hopes of staying one step ahead?  “The goal in life is not to be better than anyone else.  It’s to be better than you were yesterday.”  (Jon Gordon)

It’s worth repeating that the goal should always be to create a better version of yourself and a better version of your team or organization.  Competition can fuel that drive and push you to be the best version of yourself.  If you do 10, I want to do 12.  It’s how I am wired, and I work with people who are even more competitive than I am.  I think we push each other.

But competition is complex.

Systems that compare can make it harder to create a culture that allows for  growth.  If I want my school to look better than your school, I will be less likely to work collaboratively with you.
In education we are working with and for children.  Competition between students when it comes to learning is not healthy.  Competition between schools when it comes to student achievement is not healthy.  Competition between districts when it comes to funding is not healthy.

A rising tide lifts all boats.  A colleague from another district called me this week to process through some test scores and what his school could do to address the issues.  He just needed to bounce ideas off someone.  I’ve reached out to him (and many others throughout the years) to have this same conversation.  Our collaboration is more effective than a competition could ever be.

I embrace my competitive nature.  I intend to cheer loudly next week at the first football game.  But I also appreciate that I have things to learn from other people and that they may have things to learn from me.

I don’t think competition is a bad thing, but I think we need to recognize that there should be a balance.  We need to reflect on our motives.

When we start to care as much about other people as we do about ourselves, the world will change.