Saturday, March 7, 2020

4 Ways to Spring Forward in your Leadership

The time change is here, and since it’s spring, that means we move our clocks ahead one hour. Sadly that also means we will need go get up one hour earlier. While I don’t like getting up one hour earlier, I love the benefits of having extra daylight in the evening. Springing forward gives me a brand new perspective on my day and its new opportunities. More time is always a good thing.

With this ‘extra’ hour, we can get out more. We can attend more events. Ultimately, we experience more of what’s outside our office or buildings because the new season and the new time change entices us to seek the beauty of spring. With all of the personal benefits of the time change, it is important to explore how springing forward can impact our leadership?

4 Ways to Spring Forward in your Leadership
With the time change, there are 4 ways to leverage spring to get even more out of our leadership. 

1. Visibility - Getting out more offers leaders more opportunities to connect with more stakeholders. Use the spring to get out of the office and gather information of where the organization thrives and where it needs improvement. 
2. Spring Cleaning - Now is the perfect time to identify ineffective actions, initiatives, and resources that need to be removed from the organization. Remove the clutter or waste from your daily routine, and springing forward will be a breeze. 
3. Planning - Summer is right around the corner, and that means preparing the school to excel to even higher levels next year. Summer work can’t truly excel without spring planning. Spend time each day mapping out the next steps for organizational and personal growth. 
4. Feedback - Since spring serves as a springboard for next school year, leaders can make time to elicit feedback from students, parents and staff on the effectiveness of their leadership, communication, and support of the school. Feedback is the fertilizer for new growth. 

How will You Spring Forward?
Where does your leadership need to grow?  Where does it need to be pruned both in personal work and organizational inefficiency?  The answers to those questions lie in the leader’s ability to honestly reflect, but the results of the time change are ultimately determined by the leader’s courage to both embrace the new time and to take advantage of opportunities given this spring. 

Happy Time Change.