Amber — Page 43

What leadership lessons are you taking away?

July 25, 2015 by Amber 2 Comments

credit: Brian Tracy

I have worked under some amazing principals. In my five years as an AP, I worked under three very different, very lauded administrators, in three completely different environments. Looking back now, I am SO thankful for how different they all were, because I know I am even more prepared than your average bear, er, I mean, principal.

I’m a big note taker…so I have kept a list of the traits I felt made them so successful and hope to emulate this year. My top traits to focus on in year 1?

servant leader- the boss who puts everyone else’s’ needs before their own, who is willing to do what it takes to make others feel successful
big pictureR- one who sees the vision, who knows what they want the educational experience to be for their students
willing- willing to dance, willing to be Batman, willing to let teachers try
teacher friendly- someone who cares how decisions and changes affect teachers, not in the sense that they don’t make changes or tough decisions, but in that they care
tradition minded- recognizes what it looks like to build a legacy and maintains traditions that matter to students, parents, & staff
fun- from funny announcements, to jokes and stories in staff meetings, to running jokes with teachers from years ago
confident- able to step in and handle all different situations, with purpose, with heart, with decisiveness

They were more than just my boss, they were people who inspired me, who taught me, and who modeled what being a leader looks like.

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I hope to be that person too!

starting a new list,

Amber

Leadership lessons from “The Karate Kid”…

July 19, 2015 by Amber Leave a Comment

Did you know that it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience? How does that apply to your upcoming school year? More than you think!

Source: “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner

Our 2015-2016 has already kicked off with a bang!!

We received an email last week inviting all of our administrators and central office staff to celebrate our 2014-2015 school year with an afternoon at the movies. We were going to see “The Karate Kid” in anticipation of it being our theme for convocation, and had free snacks and drinks. It was an incredible welcome back and provided a huge leadership lesson!

Not only did we feel appreciated and celebrated, but there were several moments in the movie that I could directly apply to my new principal-ness…it’s like they picked it just for me! (Confession: I’d never before seen the movie!)

When Daniel-son was hesitant to start cutting on the bonsai tree, he was cognizant of his own lack of experience. He was hesitant to just jump in and start. Mr. Miyagi walked him through a visualization, and again told him to start. Daniel’s question of how Mr. Miyagi know if his visualization of the tree was right? (which has most certainly occurred to me as I take on this new role!)…if it comes from inside you, it is always the right one. As a new principal, I need to have faith in my vision. I do know what to do, I know what our campus goals and mission speak too. Creating our blue print for the year will be much easier if I just have faith in what our system, and that I know what I am doing.

Balance. As I watched Daniel trying to balance on the boat, I knew exactly how he felt. Life, work, marriage, mommying…it is all a balance. I did an interview with the @thenerdyteacher, and that was a question sent in by a listener. How do you balance it all? My answer was honest…I don’t know that I know how to yet! Mr. Miyagi said that balance isn’t just about karate, it’s also about life. Everyone works better when there is balance. Do you have a plan for how to maintain (or achieve) balance for your 2015-2016 school year? For myself, I am building quiet time in. I am blocking out windows of reflection, of appreciation. I am committing to NOT answering email at night on my phone. (gulp.) I am going to come home, take my phone upstairs, and LEAVE it, until my girls are asleep. I challenge you to BE INTENTIONAL in finding your balance.

This movie as a whole just relates to educators. I hope that you have a Mr. Miyagi in your life. Someone to offer you pearls of wisdom that challenge you and keep you grounded.

As an educator, I hope you also recognize that you are someone’s Mr. Miyagi.

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Whether it is a room full of 6 year olds, 16 year olds, or a staff of all ages…you have the opportunity to be the voice of wisdom. Take advantage.

This movie also challenged me to really think about how I began my year with the most awesome Wylie ISD staff. I want them to have a POSITIVE beginning, as I did, so that they are as fired up and excited to get the year going as I am.

Karate chopN,

Amber

Is your school run like a business? Or why mine won’t be…

July 14, 2015 by Amber 1 Comment

My husband and I are celebrating our ten year anniversary this September. Making it ten whole years is a huge accomplishment in my eyes. I’m not easy to get along with, 😉 To celebrate we chose to go St. Thomas for a week. It was amazing. Right up until the final morning when I received an email from our airline (Spirit) letting us know our initial flight out had been delayed by 2 ½ hours. To make it even more fun, that meant that we would miss our connecting flight to Dallas from Ft. Lauderdale.

Very stressful.

What were we to do then? How does that even work? I called 800 number after 800 number trying to find someone who could help me…all I was told was that I needed to speak to the gate agents. You know, the ones AT THE AIRPORT. That didn’t help me! Despite not leaving until late afternoon, our whole last morning was super stressful. We drove to the airport to learn that the solution was to fly us to Chicago from Ft. Lauderdale, spend the night, and then fly back to Dallas the next morning. It took over two hours to be told what our plan was going to be.

Very stressful.

At the ticket counter, I felt sorry for the young ladies checking us in. Everyone was cranky, it was hot (no air conditioning! Huh??) and nobody liked the solutions being offered. I asked when it was my turn if it stressed the workers out when they learned about delays or cancellations. Her response? “No, you just get used to it.” She was very matter of fact, un-moved by everyone’s stress and situations. The couple in front of me had arranged for their animals to be dropped off at their house, now no one was going to be there. The couple behind me weren’t going to be able to get back home until Saturday! Yikes! One lady had very strict, dire almost, instructions that she’d better be at work the following day. There were no allowances made. Luckily, I had grandparents on standby, and thankfully, my fire fighting husband had an extra day before his next shift. None of these situations impacted the gate agent’s willingness to help or be empathetic to the situation. It was what it was. There was no apology given, or even an explanation shared. They very indifferently went about their business.

One of the refrains I’ve heard is that education should “be more like a business”.

I hope that my campus never loses its ability to connect and empathize with our students and parents.

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I hope my staff is always able to maintain eye contact, provide a smile, and do what we can to help who is front of us. I hope I am always seen as someone who is solution focused, and open to listen and help. I hope they walk away feeling heard, supported, and encouraged. May we never become immune to the circumstances and situations our parents and students end up in…never should we “just get used to it”.

We are more than a business. Especially THAT business.

Home sweet home,

Amber

The three foot rule…

July 1, 2015 by Amber 2 Comments

This isn’t post about proximity…unless you mean proximity to things that stress you out!

I read a great book this week from the perspective of a navy SEAL. He detailed several missions (some heavily redacted) and went through what key lessons he learned from each one. There were general suggestions about being a team player, what that meant to a SEAL, and some that were were specific.“No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy Seal” was written by a SEAL, and it makes for easy reading.

Mark Owen (pen name for Matt Bissonette) who is just worth googling himself, had a fear of heights but went to great lengths to overcome it. He was aware that his weakness, any weakness, could compromise a mission at any given moment. One of his early training exercises was to climb a giant rock wall, whose” shadow of this wall seemed to stretch on for miles.”. While climbing, he decided to do it in his own way. They were told to place their cams, the tools jammed into crevices that would catch them if they fell, every ten feet, but Mark placed them every 5 thinking that if he were to fall he would only fall those few feet.

Having used entirely too many camming devices he ran out and was essentially, stuck, not quite half way there. He then made the mistake of looking at something other than the rock face in front of him, and realized how high up he was. Starting to panic, his struggle was obvious. Luckily his guide had noticed what he had been doing and he scampered over all the extra cams he’d collected from below him. He then offered him a brilliant piece of advice.

“Stay in your three feet. Don’t look up, don’t look down. Stay right there in the three feet that you can control.”

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He completed the rest of the climb easily, by only thinking about each three feet in front of him as he finished.

You can’t do anything about what is behind you. You can’t worry about what is ahead of you. The best thing you can do is worry about where you are RIGHT now. It is liberating once you let go of things you can’t control. This advice seems to work for just about every situation.

Transitioning this summer from AP to Principal, I completely feel the panic of the wall ahead of me. Am I going to know what to do every day? What about tricky situations? How do I be the very best first year principal in the history of the world?!?

But that advice…”Stay in your three feet world.” is so powerful. I need to focus on the now, on preparing, on learning all that I can about my new campus, on getting situated…and then when the future gets here…I’ll handle it in the same “three feet world” style.

Wall climbing,

Amber

What I’m doing NOW to prepare for 15-16! #cpchat

June 27, 2015 by Amber 8 Comments

This clip from Armageddon may best describe how I feel as I transition this summer from AP to Principal. Packing was surreal…but sitting in this big’ol office…having my note pads and posit its where they go…it means thisisreallyhappening.
I am walking into a dream position. The campus is beautiful. The scores are phenomenal. The staff has been lauded by all. The parents I’ve met have been beyond friendly and approachable. Most importantly, the systems that are in place are amazing. They are in a good place (nah, a great place) with PLCs, with logistics, with morale.

What am I going to do all summer then??

1. Get to know the office staff. These team of ladies has the potential to be my front line at any given moment. I want them to KNOW me, know my heart and to genuinely know who I am. I want to make sure they know my vision, my big picture plans, to help make it easier for them to see why I do the things I do, or make the decisions I make.

2. Meet with my “groups”. There are a myriad of “groups” within a school, and school district. I have a “Tea with Teamann” for the PTA board already planned. We’re meeting team leaders and PLC leaders for a leadership day. I’m thinking about a “grill & chill” for families. I met with my superintendent and assistant supts to talk about what expectations they had for me for my first year. (Not surprisingly, their answer was relationships!) I want to meet all my SHAREholders, 🙂

3. Dig in. The outgoing principal was a data junkie. I am SO fortunate to be able to see longitudinal data on each student before we ever sit down to talk within our PLCs. I’m going to dive deeper into last years test scores, know my percentages, my areas of focus, and my initial thoughts where we can achieve even higher. I. can’t. wait.

4. Breathe. I am going to enjoy this year. I am not going to be worried and stressed over everything. I am not going to think I need to know everything. I am going to focus on being me, knowing that that was what allowed me to be chosen for this position.

I am going to leverage my PLN, which is chock full of incredible educators, to help make this the very best first year in the history of the world.

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5. *bonus* ( I wrote this post Thursday afternoon and it timed out and LOST the whole things. As I’m rewriting, I’m adding a bonus #5. You’re welcome!;))

That last paragraph? I used the word “I” a ton. One of my goals this year is to excise that word from my vocabulary. I never want to be the kind of leader who is “I” focused…this is a team, a family. WE will accomplish great things, together. It is SO defeating to be with someone who Unless something has gone wrong and I am taking responsibility, then the word I will use is WE.

I want to remember that using the “I” word alienates those around you…

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#dontbethatleader #wontbethatleader

It may be summer, but my wolf wheels won’t stop spinning. Any other pointers/advice you can share? PLEASE do!

Wolf ready,

Amber