Leading Challenge before Change

Everyone talks about change. They say change is coming or change is here. Change agents preach we must change in order to improve. Well if that's the case, then why do so many people avoid it?

Change is not the problem. The fact of the matter is that before we can change, we must first accept the challenge to change. In order to make change, we must challenge the status quo. Literally speaking, change is embedded in the challenge 

So How do We Challenge?

Courage

First, we must have the courage to stand against the tyranny of tepid growth. Being the first person to make a stand is difficult; therefore, courage is the gatekeeper to change. 

Humility

People don't follow a person, but they will join a cause if they believe the change will make their environment a better place. Challenges that fail are often the result of a person's decision to make the challenge more about themselves than the necessity to adapt. Humility is required to make change. 

Arouse Interest

Generating support for change can be difficult. Successful change agents define how the world could be better if we all pulled together. In order for change to be initiated, leaders must peak the interest of others. 

Live with the Pain

Starting to make change hurts. It is uncomfortable and makes those implementing change want to stop. Change agents understand that pain is a challenge in and of itself, and that no change can occur without first enduring the pain.

#NoPainNoGain

Listen to Barriers

There is always something standing in the way. Barriers abound. People are frustrated. Look for them, and listen to what's being said. These obstacles are opportunities to turn risk into reward, and listening is the only way to make it happen. 

Engage Critics

Critics are at every turn. Do not turn them away. At first sight, they can be seen as negative naysayers, but by engaging them, leaders use their feedback to identify what parts of the change are difficult to comprehend. Critics often can't see the vision of the change, and the leader must translate his vision. 

Negate Naysayers

Naysayers and critics are two different creatures. Naysayers don't want to change while critics critique your steps throughout the change. Once you determine that a person complains for the sake of complaining and they offer no real solutions, drop them and move on. They're wasting your time. 

Goal Setting

No change occurs with a wish or a whim. Short term and long term goals are critical to ensure that leaders meet the challenge of making change. Change takes time and without goals sustained change never occurs. 

Evaluate Progress

Once goals are set, they must be monitored. Remember, what gets measured gets done. Checking progress helps leaders gauge the effectiveness of their change and the leader's own leadership in making it happen. 

I leave you with this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that sums up the challenge within change better than anything I've said. I hope you accept the challenge before the change. 

http://mobile.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth121065.html

4 Ways to End the Communication Breakdown

One of my favorite songs is Led Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown".  Now while Robert Plant's thoughts are about a girl, there is a lot that leaders can glean from his simple words.  What he is trying to say is that the absence of communication always leads the organization to the same place.  The simple lyrics in the chorus set the tone for today's post.

Communication Breakdown, It's always the same, 
I'm having a nervous breakdown, Drive me insane!

These lyrics ring true of just about any time that you or your staff have gone crazy about a situation. When frustration has abounded, the root of the problem can always be discovered where someone important was left out of the loop.

So what are the ways we can end the communication breakdown?

Assumptions

"Assumptions are the termites of relationships." ~ Henry Winkler

When we assume without a conversation, we are often left frustrated.  Take the time to verify that communication has taken place and that it was clear.  This small investment of time will pay you back tenfold.

"The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place." ~ George Bernard Shaw

Just because you said it doesn't mean it was communicated.  Communication must received and comprehended in order for it to count.  Ask questions.  Find out if what you said made any sense.

Tools for Communication

"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." ~ Abraham Harold Maslow

I love this quote because it is so true.  Effective leaders use multiple methods to communicate.  They don't create lines of communication.  They create nets of communication or multiple lines of communication that overlap to ensure that the message doesn't slip through the cracks.  Nets of communication involve emails, blogs, one on one conversation, text message, team conferences.  The message is delivered with multiple methods to ensure reception.

Listening

"Constantly talking isn't necessarily communicating." ~ Charlie Kaufman

Leaders are constantly talking but are rarely communicating.  This is because we have been hard wired by decades of models and examples.   We have been trained to believe that in order to demonstrate that we are competent and capable leaders, we must be preaching the gospel of improvement.  Leaders of successful organization listen to their people, y'all.  That's because great leaders know that their people make the ultimate difference and that can't happen unless the leader is listening to them.

Trust

When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant and effective." ~ Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Let's get real.  Trust isn't built in a day and is destroyed in a minute.  The reason for that ultimately lies in communication.  Saying one thing and doing another basically kills trust.  Leaders must know that every day is an opportunity to build stronger levels of trust, and the reason for that is because trust accelerates improvement.

No Trust = No Improvement

Ending the Breakdown

Communication is the hardest skill for leaders to develop because it is so hard to see results instantly.  The best leaders know that when communication is clear, frequent, honest and timely, the entire organization inches one step closer toward success.  They also believe that their communication is never good enough, that what they say is always misunderstood by someone; therefore, their work is never done.  Ending the insanity of communication breakdown is never easy and never will be easy.

My 9/11 History Lesson

It was a normal day. School was just under way. I was 30 minutes into my choir rehearsal and one of my seniors came in and said, " Hey Mr. Wink! A plane just flew into the World Trade Center." I thought nothing of it, but little did I know the most surreal event in my life was about to begin.

When 1st period was over, I went to the music store on my conference to pick up some supplies, and when I walked in, I saw 20 people standing in front of a TV speechless. They watched in utter disbelief as the details slowly emerged. As we watched the tower burn, another plane came into the frame and  pierced the side of the second tower.

"Oh my Gosh!"  "What the in world?" and other exclamatory statements erupted in the room. It was now clear that we were under attack. Feelings of rage, confusion, and sorrow went round and round in my mind. 

My mind went immediately to my wife and daughter at home and my son in 2nd grade. Do they know what's happening?  Are they safe? I needed to know. 

As I left the music store, I went back to school. Learning ceased, and we started a new lesson of coming to grips that we were now living in a brave, new world. There are no words that describe how you feel when your country is falling apart. Students needed consoling, reassurance and prayers that we were going to be ok. It is very difficult to convince students that your country is ok when you don't  know that for yourself. 

Watching panic and fear spread throughout my East Texas town, I knew that we would never be the same. Even though I was 1000 miles away from Ground Zero, a little part of me died that day.   

What I find interesting is that with each year, a little part of my memory of that fateful day dies. My hope is that this post will serve as an important reminder to others that we are historians and we must share our 9-11 story for 2 purposes. First, we must never forget, and second, our children deserve to hear the 9-11 story through the lens of our eyes.  I hope that you will take time to teach your students this very important lesson today. 

Never Forget 9/11/01

God Bless America!

The Epitome of 'Every Day'

'Every Day' is the one of the most overused mantras in schools.  It has been cliche for years. Schools use 'Every Day' as a slogan for what they do for kids.  We serve kids every day.  We educate kids every day.  We work hard every day.  But, let's be honest.  Isn't that what we're expected to do?  What I mean is, I send my kids to school and expect that they learn every day from a school where learning and hard work occurs every day.   Every school pretty much does this for kids every day, so the term, every day, really doesn't have much of a powerful meaning.


One of my favorite songs is "Every Day" by Rascal Flatts.  If you watch this video and listen to the lyrics, you can instantly see why the phrase, 'Every Day' needs to mean so much more.

So I propose a new definition for the mantra, 'Every Day'.

'Every Day' - n.

1. The action of service in such a way that it changes a student's life.
2. A deep rooted commitment to never giving up on a child no matter what the circumstances may be.
3. A stubborn refusal to allow a student to fail.
4. A constant effort to build life-changing relationships with those that you teach and work with.
5. A selfless action of being a rock for others.
6. An unwavering belief that one has tremendous power and a moral obligation each and every day to not only change lives, but save them.

So as we get into the 2nd month of school (3rd for my friends in North Carolina), I challenge you  to transform your work into an 'Every Day' mentality.  Look beyond the tasks, deadlines and obstacles and accept the challenge to save lives, elicit excellence and inspire students and fellow colleagues in a such a way that they are compelled to find their purpose in life.

Think about it.  If we adopted an 'Every Day' mentality, don't you think that learning content, raising test scores and meeting state accountability would take care of itself?  

Final Question

Does your school have the 'Every Day' mentality?  Do you have an 'Every Day' mentality?  If so, please share what y'all do, so we can help others come up with practical strategies to make 'Every Day' truly count.

What's between your Lead & your Er?

I've been studying and reflecting on my own leadership this summer. As I have been writing my weekly blog and presenting to educators, a reoccurring thought continues to surface. What do I lead?

I could respond that I lead a campus, a great staff or some other grandiose tangible answer. But to get to the heart of what kind of leader I am, a better question to ask is what verb is between my Lead and my Er?

A leader facilitates or guides others to emulate actions and behaviors that are a natural part of his subconscious behavior. His leadership is manifested in his values and attitude. Sure, a leader's words are important, but people follow action not title or position.   

The gap between a person's 'Lead' and 'Er' boils down to one common thread, the behaviors and values that he employs to guide others.  To take this thought a bit deeper, one could say that combining the leader's action of affinity with the 'Er' represents his inner psyche better known as the id. 

So how do we find out what our id is? Lets analyze 2 types of leaders. 

Transformational leaders place progressive verbs like learn, motivate, innovate, create, communicate and collaborate in between their 'Lead' & 'Er'.  In essence, the greatest leaders model these actions of aspiration to such a deep degree of inspiration that the culture is compelled to adopt these values.

Transactional leaders also have actions between their 'Lead' & 'Er', but these managerial-style and top-down actions negatively impact the campus. I'm talking about verbs such as the following: critique, evaluate, correct, blame, direct, etc. If these leaders primarily employ these behaviors as the core of their leadership persona, the culture will respond in kind with reactionary behaviors that are defensive in posture and protective in nature. 

To discover what's between your  'Lead' & 'Er', the answer is not what you believe about yourself. It's actually what others perceive you to be. The best way to reveal what's between your 'Lead' and your 'Er' is to ask others what they believe is important to you. 

The answers to these questions may surprise or affirm you. If they affirm, your words are aligned with your transformational actions. If you are surprised, then it is time to identify the gap that truly exists between the leader you desire to be and the leader that you are today.

Click Picture to check out this video.

How Google is Strengthening our Learning Community

School is about to start and even though I haven't seen a whole lot of people over the summer, I really feel connected to my school community.  I have been in contact more with new teachers than ever.  Parents have been able to stay informed more than ever, and I owe this all to Google.  Here are the awesome tools that I am using to strengthen my ties with my entire learning community.

Blogger

Blogger has been the very best service to keep everyone informed with detailed information.  I use my Principal's Page to communicate weekly information to my parents and the community, and I push it out through my Twitter and Facebook accounts.  This year, I am replacing my normal staff email with a staff blog so I can encourage more dialogue through the comment feature.  I also have teachers that will be implementing blogs to improve parent communication

Reasons to Use Blogger

• Comments - Strengthening your community means encouraging dialogue.  This will do that for you.
• Gadgets - Gadgets are the coolest thing ever because they connect parents and the community to their personal social media preference of staying informed.
• Follow by Email - Parents can receive your posts by email each time you publish them.
• Share - Parents can share your posts by Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.
• Translation Feature - This dropdown feature is AWESOME for your non-English speaking parents.
• Embed Hyperlinks & Videos - You can't do that on a paper newsletter.
• Blog Archive - This feature keeps your posts in order for easy reference when looking for a past announcement.
• Popular Post - This feature keeps the top read posts at the top of your feed.
• Multiple Authors - Instead of multiple people sending multiple emails that eventually get lost, overlooked or never read, why not have the same multiple people author one blog so your readers only have to look to one source for all of the information that they will ever need. 

Blogger has been a huge life-saver for me this year, and it has really made parents and the community feel like they are a vital part of our learning community.

YouTube

I use my YouTube channel to flip my communication to parents and staff.  This past year I have flipped many things like: 

• Parent pick-up procedures 
• Our discipline management system
• Promoting our Summer Learning Connection program
• Showing staff how to set up a Blogger and Twitter account

This Google tool has cut down the amount of time I have to spend communicating to the learning community, but it has massively increased the effectiveness of my communication.  I plan to use this tool a whole lot more this year.

#SmarterNotHarder 

Google Docs

Google Docs are an awesome way to collaborate with minimal conversation.  Using Google spreadsheets and word docs in our learning teams and with our administrative team has increased our collective efficacy because more people are in the know about exactly what is happening.  From placing staff in specific teams to creating tools to monitor student performance, multiple people can look at the same document, edit the same document, and comment on the same document in real-time.  This is the smartest thing that teams and campuses can do to focus on learning and maximize collaboration.

Google Forms

What a great way to gather information from people!  If you want to get everyone to sign up for an event, create a google form, send it out through your blog and your social media outlet, and let a Google Doc spreadsheet collect the information for you.  The data entry is done for you by the people that complete your form and then you can export the form into a MS Excel spreadsheet.  From there, you can mail merge for labels, sort by column or do anything else that will help you strengthen your learning community.  I have used Google Forms for the following:

• Staff Favorite Drinks from Sonic (#Homerun)
• Parent Sign-Up for Summer Learning Connection
• Staff Sign-Up for Twitter and Blogger Training

It's so easy, even a caveman can do it. 

Why Google?

Why not?  Google has taken the middle man out of communication, the student.  Let's face it.  When we send a piece of paper home with a child, there are many factors that determine if the paper will reach the parent's hands.  If I believe that it is important enough to copy and send home, I want to guarantee that parents will receive it.  Sure, some parents don't have access to technology, but that's not a good enough reason to not utilize this valuable tool.

For staff communication, Google removes the barriers of miscommunication and misunderstanding that teachers face when they read an email from the principal.  Email cuts out the paper concern, but doesn't remedy the factor of clarity.  Each Google tool has a specific purpose to eliminate ambiguity from communication.  The only question becomes this. Which tool do we use to remove which barrier to clear communication?  You learn that by actually using this tools regularly over time.

So what are you waiting for?  Take a chance. Get started.  The worst that can happen is that your community will know a little more than they knew already.  If you truly believe in your learning community, you should also believe that your moral responsibility is to do whatever it takes to build the strongest learning community possible.  That is why you should strengthen your learning community with Google.

Making Missions Matter

What is your campus mission statement? In conversations that I've had with people, they generally have three different responses:  I don't know, or it's something like..., or they rattle it out verbatim. Even if you have one and can spit it out on command, that doesn't necessarily mean that your mission matters. It means that you know what it is.

On our campus, our mission statement was developed by all. It was written in a way that anyone can easily remember it. It is displayed throughout the building and on our website, but that doesn't mean that our mission matters.

The heart of the matter boils down to one thing. A mission isn't worth the paper it's written on unless you're living it. You can plaster your mission all over town.  You can talk the walk until you're blue in the face, but if you're not walking the talk, your mission is meaningless. 

So how do we make our campus mission matter?

1. Understand what a mission actually is. 

A mission defines why our campus exists. It is the core of why the staff has been brought together. A mission is bigger than we're all here to educate all kids.  Our campus was created to GUARANTEE that every kid becomes successful. No guarantee, no mission!

2. Visions Matter Too

Knowing why we exist is critical, but defining what we hope to become is just as important. Pose this question. If we all actually committed to these mission words and walked our talk, how awesome could this school really be for all students, all staff and all parents?

3. Values and Goals Matter. 

Campuses must define the specific behaviors (values) that everyone must exemplify to live the mission so that they can reach the vision. In addition, short term and long term goals help campuses and teams keep their focus on what really matters, all kids and their learning. 

4. AIM - Align Individual Missions 

Every person has their own personal mission statement. It's not found on a poster.  It is within each and every person on the campus and is manifested in their daily actions and choices. If their personal mission does not align with the campus mission, they have a choice to make. Do they choose the campus mission or their personal mission? In absence of a living mission and the peer pressure of personal accountability, aligning personal missions to the campus mission will never take place.

#GotPeerPressure

Steps to Make the Mission Matter

Here is how principals can make missions matter in a meaningful way. 

Collectively ask every member to quietly do the following: 

1. Read and synthesize the campus mission statement. 

2.  Write down the exceptional actions and ideals that the individual must exhibit in his role to help fulfill the campus mission.

3.  Individually write a personal mission statement that encompasses 2 things: embodies the individual's ideal qualities and supports the campus mission. 

4. Have each member post their personal mission statesment beneath the campus mission statement in a prominent place in their room. 

Make your Mission Viable

Finally, missions do not become viable until we breathe life into them. In other words, collective commitment serves as the mission's life support system, and when individuals refuse to commit, they essentially pull the plug on the campus mission. 

So how do WE make the Mission Viable?

Principals must praise members for living their personal mission, support staff who struggle to live their mission and redirect staff who choose not to live their mission. In actuality, you're not addressing their mission statement. You are addressing their personalized translation of the campus mission statement.

Staff members must keep the mission in front when difficulties arise and decisions must be made. Choices can't be made based on feelings or a hunch. They must make based on this question. Does this choice move us closer to further away from our mission?  They must also hold the principal accountable for keeping the mission in the forefront at all times.  #ReciprocalAccountability

Celebrate you Mission

What gets celebrated gets accelerated. 

#nuffsaid

Final Tweet

Missions matter to people when people see that they matter to the mission.

Does your campus mission matter to you, and more importantly, do you see how you matter to the mission?