Category: Leadership

Please… No More

Please… No More Professional Development if you are going to do it the way it has always been done.

Please…

  1. Do not read to me, I can read.
  2. Do not pull out a Popsicle stick and ask me for the answer you want, I do not perform on command. And, you might not want to hear my analytical assessment of answers beyond your limited question. I am a thinker not a fill in the blanker.
  3. Do not ask me to join a group of other people, that is not my learning style. Adapt your style to me. That’s what most of us have to do for the kids we teach.
  4. Do not assume one size fits all. I am not your size and you have not stopped long enough to know me or figure out my size.
  5. Do not speak so fast that you have to cover all the material you think you have to cover, I have digital tools, send me a link to your material. I will continue to learn well beyond your prefab session. Remember, it is what you say, not how much you say.
  6. Do not hand out paper copies only, I have digital tools, send me a link to your material. My learning goes well beyond your simulated speech.
  7. Do not tell me to put up my digital tools so I can focus on you,  I use digital tools to focus on you.
  8. Do not assume that “seat time” is the same as comprehension. I can sit in your session, but that does not mean that I comprehend what you want me to.
  9. Do not assume you know everything. I can Google faster than you can speak.
  10. Do not assume that the “I am bored out of my mind look on my face” is a statement of actual boredom. It may be and most likely is, but I think. I think about what you say. I think deeply about what others say. My mind delves deep into multiple subjects and is most likely outpacing your ability to keep up with my thinking.
  11. But most of all, Please, Please, Please…Do not treat me like an adolescent, I am an adult learner. And, I have been in the learning process for longer than many of you are old.

Kahoot To You Too

Setting: Third Period

Me. Hello, how is your day going?

Student: Fine.

Me: What have you learned today?

Student: I don’t know.

Me: What did you have First Period?

Student: Science.

Me: What did you do?

Student: We used Kahoot!!!

Me: Great. What did you learn with Kahoot?

Student: I don’t know.

Reminder to self: It’s not about the tools, it is about the learning.

Beyond Chocolate and Jeans

Teacher Appreciation Week is over, now we can all go back to normal.

A great question came across my eyes this week and it had to do with how leaders support faculty and staff. Good question, how would/do you support. The plethora of responses ensued with “chocolate and jeans”. There is absolutely nothing wrong with chocolate and jeans, that is unless it is used in a ‘Sheldon’ like behavioral modification scheme. Take your leadership to the next level and move beyond trinkets and gimmicks by thinking through the question a little deeper. What does the question of support really entail? It goes deeper, much deeper. It has to do with value.

Restate the question as a statement and present it this way, “I know that I am valued when…” It is a question of value. Am I important and how do you demonstrate to those under your care that they are valuable to you?

Four things immediately come to my mind when I think of value. I know that I am valued when I am acknowledged, heard, included, and affirmed.

  1. Acknowledged. I know that I am of value and you support me when you recognize that I am here. You take the initiative to greet me and call me by name. You take the time to recognize my presence and declare that I am more than something and that I am a someone.
  2. Heard. I know that I am of value and you support me when you listen to me. You take the time to focus on what I am saying, comprehend what I mean, and thank me for my input.
  3. Included. I know that I am of value and you support me when you ask for my opinion and you make me a part of your decision making process. I realize that you may not agree with me, but you keep me informed and you demonstrate that my thoughts and insights are a part of your commitment to excellence.
  4. Affirmed. I know that I am of value and you support me when you call on me for my expertise. I am a highly educated professional who knows stuff. I am a continual learner who is not a novice. You realize that I am tenured in the world of experience, mistakes, and successes. You seek me as a source of substance and I am grateful.

Move your leadership beyond symbolism and into substance by acknowledging, hearing, including, and affirming those entrusted to your care.