Things That Need To Be Reciprocated in Schools

Things That Need To Be Reciprocated in Schools

January 30, 2013

By George Couros

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Aunt Owwee
A positive school culture is the only way that organizations will move forward, yet there is often a lot of little subtle messages on things that aren’t working that can slowly erode the climate. I believe that I have said it before, but schools will not be “innovative” if they can’t work together. You will only get pockets of teachers/classrooms that will have this in spite of the culture.
As teachers and administrators should be working together to do what is best for kids, in many conversations with schools there seems to be an expectation with some that some traits are the responsibility of either the teacher or the principal, not necessarily both. As I am no longer a school principal or classroom teacher, these are things that I have thought about a long time and wish I saw more in schools, and to be honest, wish I would have done more myself in those positions. Hindsight is 20/20, right?
Here are some things that need to be reciprocal as opposed to coming from one direction:
1. Trust - As a principal, I trusted my staff without them earning it. I expected and trusted they would do great things, and they would only lose that trust if they did something to prove me wrong. It is so much easier to work in that situation, then having the feeling that you have to always prove yourself. Yes you can get burned easier but people tend to live up to your expectations, whether they are good or bad. Principals need to give trust if they are expecting to have it themselves.

“The first job of a leader—at work or at home—is to inspire trust. It’s to bring out the best in people by entrusting them with meaningful stewardships, and to create an environment in which high-trust interaction inspires creativity and possibility.”
― Stephen M.R. Covey

On the other hand, I have seen teachers question whether they could trust their principal or not and it seemed like they had to continuously earn it from staff and community. I always believe that if you are unsure of someone’s intentions, ask them. Ultimately, we might not always agree with the way we do things, but we should always trust that everyone is in a school to do what is best for kids until they show something different.
2. Loyalty – I have heard the discussion by many administrators that teachers need to not “bad mouth” the school when they are away, or throw their principal “under the bus”. As I really believe in that, principals have to make sure that they are loyal to their teachers as well. Parents can come in and say what a teacher is doing wrong, and a principal may agree with them to calm the parent down, which is NOT a good way to build community. If principals expect loyalty from their staff, they better show loyalty in those tough situations as well.
In my first years as a teacher, I remember doing something really stupid and the parent complaining to the principal. The principal at the time did everything to kind of calm down the parent but never said anything bad about me during the conversation. He did tell the parent that we would have a conversation about it later though. As soon as she left, he said to me, “What the heck were you thinking!?!?!!?” Although it was tough to hear, I was so grateful that he didn’t say what he really thought to the parent but knew that it was something that was totally fixable and did not have any detriment to her child. After that, I would do anything for him as I knew that he would always have the tough conversations with me, not behind my back.
3. Praise - This might seem a little sappy, but I think that we do not give each other enough praise in schools as peers. As a principal, the quote, “That is why you get paid the big bucks!”, is one of my biggest pet peeves. Do you think that if your salary doubled (no matter your position), you wouldn’t want to hear that you have done a good job? Praise should go up and down, not one way. If you see someone do something good, tell them. It should always be sincere and heartfelt, but we should still give it out. Don’t just assume people know they have done something well. Your position doesn’t matter. Hearing nice things is welcome from all
I am not saying that these don’t exist in any school. Actually, from what I have seen, this is done in the best schools. That is why I am sharing them!
The easy thing to do after reading these things is to think, “yeah, so-and-so DOESN’T do that enough in my school!” The harder thing is to look at what we (myself included) could do more ourselves to make our school and organizational culture stronger. As I go back to work on Monday, I am going to be thinking of these three things and focus on how I can improve on them in my own work.

Great Leadership v. Good Leadership: Loyalty

Goal:  Nurture this at Esperanza. 


From Inc.com

What Great Leaders Have That Good Leaders Don't

The difference between good and great leadership can be expressed in a single word: loyalty.

Rennett Stowe/Flickr

Navy SEAL candidate training. Coronado Island, San Diego.

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“My loyalty to Country and Team is beyond reproach.” --Navy SEAL Creed
When you think of strong leaders, you probably think of people who are decisive, bold, confident, and fearless. You’re not wrong. Good leaders have all of these qualities. But how many good leaders are also loyal? I don’t know, but I know that every great leader is.
Loyalty is one of the core values taught in the Navy SEAL training program. Instructors teach you from the first day that your team is everything to you. You succeed with them, and you fail without them. And you never leave anyone behind.
During the chaos of SEAL training, which includes the most grueling physical and mental punishment imaginable, the officers in charge of each boat crew are expected to keep an accurate headcount while their world is literally exploding around them. If they fail to report an accurate number to the instructors, the entire team is punished brutally. It teaches you quickly what it means to live or die as a team. You succeed together or not at all.
My SEAL training is part of me for life. It resides deep within me. Obviously, the business world is different from the world of combat, but there are similarities, too. I try to apply my SEAL training every day to my role as a business leader, and team loyalty is at the top of that list.
A commitment to loyalty is becoming uncommon in business leaders. I think that’s a shame. As leaders, we have the duty to hire responsibly and then support the people we hire. These are some of the lessons in loyalty that I learned as a SEAL and apply daily to my job as a business owner:
Never throw anyone under the bus. As a leader, redirect praise to your team members and protect them from criticism. If you need to talk to a team member about a misstep, do it behind closed doors.
Never leave anyone behind. Instill in your team the belief that every person on the team is as important as the next. Include everyone in the celebration of success. And don’t blame any one person for a failure. The next time you have a business success, publicly thank people in lower-level support roles for their contributions to the team.
Try to be as candid as possible with your employees, and never lie to them. Loyalty is built on trust. If your people don’t believe you’re being forthcoming with them, they won’t trust you to have their backs. Schedule a meeting to discuss the big picture of the business. Let any member of your team ask any question, and answer honestly.
Give employees your unconditional support. Don’t turn your back on them if they mess up. Help them figure it out, and be as loyal during the bad times as during the good. Pull aside someone who has had a bad day and give that person ten minutes of your time. Make it clear that he or she still fits into the future of your company.
I would never be disloyal to a SEAL brother. And I know my brothers will always have my back. It’s a feeling of trust and security that you get only in special places. I try to make my organization one of them. Leadership is a privilege we must earn every day.

Pictures Can Speak A Thousand Words

It is true that a picture can speak a thousand words. In the last few days I have seen two pictures that have tugged at my heart.

The first picture: Navy SEAL U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson was among the 30 American troops killed August 6 when Taliban insurgents downed their Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade. At his funeral in Iowa Tumilson lay in a coffin, draped in an American flag, in front of a tearful audience mourning his death in Afghanistan. Soon an old friend appeared, and like a fellow soldier on a battlefield, his loyal dog refused to leave him behind. Tumilson’s cousin took a picture of Tumilson's Labrador retriever, Hawkeye, dropping down by the casket with a heaving sigh at the beginning of the service

The second picture: A picture that was posted with a caption that said, "A lone Tomb Sentinel, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), walks his tour in humble reverence during Hurricane Irene in Arlington National Cemetery, Va., Aug 27. Members of The Old Guard have guarded the Tomb every second, of every day regardless of weather or holidays since April 6, 1948."

According to the Society of The Old Guard's website, Tomb Sentinels "are completely dedicated to their duty of guarding the Tomb. Because of that dedication, the weather does not bother them. In fact, they consider it an honor to stand their watch (we call it "walking the mat"), regardless of the weather. It gets cold, it gets hot - but the Sentinels never budge. And they never allow any feeling of cold or heat to be seen by anyone."

These two pictures can teach us so much about loyalty and commitment. The pictures will stay in our hearts for a long time—if not forever.

Because pictures are so powerful it behooves all of us who are Esperanza educators to use pictures whenever we can.