heathercphipps Uncategorized

Serve

SERVE

Image Source: Serve by elycefeliz CCBY

Today I had someone share with me that last week was “tough in the trenches”. 

In the trenches?

I understood the expression.  I knew what he meant, but once again it felt like us versus them.  “Us” are in the trenches.  “Them” are safe somewhere else doing things to us.

I am troubled by the analogy.  Trench warfare is about digging in and holding your ground.  Leadership is about getting out of the trench, facing the challenge, and moving forward.  Let’s get out of the metaphorical trench.

As a classroom teacher, I know that I felt like I was on the frontline or whatever other military reference I might have constructed to explain that I was the one in the room with the students.  And I was right.   But as an assistant principal, I was also on the frontline with students and with parents and with teachers in any number of very difficult situations.  Then as a principal, I was the public face for every news story, radio show, and Facebook post when someone disagreed with a decision.  And I was the private voice for every difficult final decision at the building level.

I’ve had an opportunity to reflect this week on what it means to be a servant leader.  What does it mean to serve?

I’m going to suggest something that might be unpopular.  I’m going to suggest that servant leadership is about putting needs of the organization above yourself.  This is not easy because it can sometimes mean making a change or taking on a challenge not of your own choosing.  

This is the time of year when principals are having conversations about teachers moving grade levels or changing teams or courses.  There is something so comforting about starting a new year in a familiar classroom with familiar teammates and a familiar curriculum.  Making a significant change is hard.  But every year in almost every school at least some people are asked to try something new.  While there are some people who love change, most people find it uncomfortable.

It’s hard, but change can be rejuvenating.  Developing new skills, cultivating new relationships, and establishing new routines can breathe new life into your work.  And sometimes, it’s what’s best for the organization.

I’ve learned the power of servant leadership from my colleagues over the years.  As a classroom teacher, I was always inspired by the people who tried new grade levels or new subjects when asked.  I’ve learned from administrators who’ve changed buildings or positions.  And I’ve learned from those who led the sometimes very difficult conversations about organizational change.

Servant leadership is about putting the needs of others and of the organization in front of your own needs.

“When people ask me what they should do to lead, I say lead where you are.  Influence the people around you.  Start there.  Love.  Serve.  Care.”  Jon Gordon

 

heathercphipps Uncategorized

Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

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I stumbled this week.  I was presenting a report to our Board of Education.  It was an important project over two years in the making, and when the moment came, I flubbed it.  Now it could have been much worse, but I certainly provided the comic relief in a pretty serious meeting.

I had prepared for that moment for months.  I had written my comments weeks earlier.  I ran through what I was going to say over and over.  I didn’t sleep much the night before, but I thought I was ready for anything.

And then, when the moment came, I tripped up.  I got too excited and jumped right over protocols (and the Board of Education) and into my speech.  Everyone laughed.

I had a decision to make at that point, and thankfully the other people in the room showed me the right thing to do.

“That was awesome.”

“You rock.”

When I was done, my text messages were supportive and fun.  The lesson from my colleagues was clear.  “Don’t take yourself too seriously.”

Leaders are so often in serious situations.  Real, difficult, serious situations.  The opportunity to lighten the mood is not always evident. It would often times not be appropriate.  But when  the moment does present itself- run with it!  Life is short and too often hard.  If there is an opportunity to see the funny side, take it.  Take it especially if it means poking fun at yourself.  Moments like that can teach you humility.  People need to know…you need to know…that you are human, that you err, and that you recognize your mistakes and can give yourself grace.

I think it is important to note here that laughing at other people is never okay.  In my case, the room was filled with friends.  Everyone was clearly laughing with me and not at me.  Humor is essential to effective leadership.  Humor at your own expense can ease tensions and build relationships.  But humor at someone else’s expense will almost always damage relationships.

I wish that I had been nothing but poised and professional in my meeting.  I wish that it had gone the way I played it out in my head all those times. But it didn’t, so the options were clear: stress and worry about it, beat myself up about it, or laugh and move on.  Humor isn’t always the appropriate response, but whenever it is possible, don’t take yourself too seriously.

heathercphipps Uncategorized

Be Awesome Anyway

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School years have natural ebbs and flows, and the two weeks before Spring Break can sometimes be difficult days.  Anyone who works with children knows the phenomenon of the week before the week before a break.  (Yes, you read that correctly.)  Right before a break, everyone exhales and sees the light at the end of the tunnel.  But that week before, the anticipation and stress peak.  It can be a rough time in schools.  My advice…be awesome anyway!

“If there are two paths, I want to be on the one that leads to awesome.”  Almost 35 million people have watched Kid President’s Pep Talk video on YouTube.  Why?  What message inspires that kind of following, and what can we as educational leaders learn from it?

Leadership is complex, but there is one characteristic that seems to inspire people universally.  Positivity!  People want to be motivated by their leader.  They want to feel like they can be better, achieve more, succeed.  Energy is contagious, and you can choose to spread negativity, or you can choose to spread positivity.

Effective leaders have insight, emotional intelligence, and gravitas.  When they are interacting with others, they show exceptional interpersonal skills.  In times of crisis, they display almost relentless positivity.

Leadership is difficult.  In schools it is about leading instructional change, making difficult and divisive budget decisions, disciplining students.  Many situations have two opposing sides. The pace is frenetic, and the stress is palpable.  Yes, leadership is difficult.

But when the moment is challenging, when people are angry, when the circumstances are frightening, people need a leader who is none of those things.  Leadership is difficult, but the best leaders have a way of maintaining their positivity.  A colleague who works with new administrators in our district describes his style as that of a duck.  Below the water, he is paddling fast and furious, but above the water, where people can see, he is positive, calm, and smooth.

Our Superintendent describes it as “getting back to zero”.  Regardless of the stress of the moment, effective leaders get themselves back to a positive place quickly.

Never would I assert that successful leadership could be broken down simply into any one thing.  We are all different as leaders, and our differences should be celebrated.  But if we could all start by being positive, I believe we could create a culture that allows for growth.

Regardless of the current circumstances, take Kid President’s advice. Be awesome!

heathercphipps Uncategorized

The Great Behavior Divide

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Third hour was long.  The students were particularly rowdy.  ‘Must be a full moon.’  Only half of the students handed in homework, and several forgot their books.  But the tide turned when the lesson got going.  It was engaging and relevant, and the students responded.  Things were going well when Bobby threw his pencil across the room and hit another student.  This was absolutely the last straw.  He had been pulling things like this for days.  Done.  I sent him to the office.  In my thirteen years of teaching, I can count on one hand the number of students I sent to the office.  You can bet I wanted him punished.

Cut to three years later.  Another Bobby was sent to the office.  I honestly can’t remember what he did.  But this time I was the assistant principal in charge of discipline, and I was smack in the middle of the great behavior divide.

Anyone teaching or working in school administration will know the divide to which I refer.  A student makes a bad choice.  The teacher sends her to the office.  The teacher, understandably so, feels frustrated and wants punishment.  The administrator, understandably so, wants to teach and build or maintain a relationship with the student.

So the administrator has the student sit quietly for a bit, maybe reflect on or process what happened in the classroom.  Then there is a conversation.  “What happened?”  “Why?”  Ideally several things happen:

1.  Any unmet needs are resolved.  Is the student hungry?  Tired?  Worried about something happening at home?

2.  Any medical or chemical issues are addressed.  Is the student sick?  Under the influence?  Off prescribed medications?

3.  Does the student have an honest understanding of what happened? Is there more to the story from his perspective?  Do you need to talk to other students?

After an investigation, the administrator assigns a consequence in line with the Code of Conduct.  The hope is that the consequence teaches behavior.  The hope is that the investigation and the conversation about the consequence work to establish a trusting relationship with the student…and the student’s parents.  The hope is that with each interaction, the administrator builds rapport and influence with the student.  When that happens, there is a much greater likelihood that in the future the student might make different choices.

Unfortunately this whole process can sometimes frustrate the teacher who sent the student to the office.  Believe me, I understand.  Like I said, when I sent Bobby to the office, I wanted him punished.  I didn’t want him to have a relationship-building conversation.  I didn’t want him getting a pop-tart because he was hungry.  I wanted him punished.

Discipline in schools should not be about punishment.  As difficult it can be in the moment, discipline in schools should be about teaching.

As school leaders, some of the most important professional development we need to provide is to talk about behavior and discipline.  I do think it is possible to avoid the great behavior divide.  It takes time and transparent conversations.  It takes an understanding of the shared vision for the school and the community.   It is important for teachers and administrators to be on the same page.

Like I’ve said before, we’re all in this together.