my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

Ask an Admin! Q3: What is something you wished you knew as a first year administrator? #askanadmin

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On Friday at the NAESP conference, I had the privilege of presenting with Ross Cooper on ways to sink or swim as an a new admin, and we basically talked about all of what I am about to share from today’s awesome administrators, Allyson Apsey (from Michigan) and Brad Currie (from Philly).

#askanadmin Q3:What is something you wished you knew as a first year administrator?

Allyson :

When I was a young naive principal, walking around feeling important, I wish I knew a couple very helpful tips. They are so simple conceptually yet so complicated to practice. Here are my top two tips for new principals.

 

Ready? Get a pen or pencil out and take a seat.

Here we go.

Number 1:  You don’t have to be the all-knowing guru of the school.

You don’t have to have all the answers. Now, breathe a sigh of relief. In fact, you shouldn’t have all the answers. You’re number one job is to help your staff do their jobs to the best of their ability and to get better every day. You are not the all-knowing guru of the school. You are the person who makes people feel strong, positive, and that they can do anything. 

So, do not be afraid to say, “I don’t know. I want to think about that one.” Or, “You are the expert here, tell me what you think.”

Don’t be afraid to pause, slow down, and invite others to do the same. Dream of possible solutions together. Feel empowered when the idea you implement is not yours.

Number Two:  Avoid defensiveness. Figure out the why before you act.

Never, never act out of defensiveness. This can be a tough one for school leaders because often the skills that got you into your leadership position, like a high need for power, are coupled with a natural inclination to be defensive when challenged. Don’t. Do. It.

Let’s imagine you give a staff member a directive to do something and the staff members doesn’t do it. Yes, it could be plain old insubordination. However, it also could be a last minute decision the staff member made because of changing circumstances. Take the time to figure out the why behind the action. Relationships and trust can be severely damaged if you act defensively instead of thoughtfully.

Instead, encourage staff to think for themselves to do what is right for students. Walk alongside them as an encourager and guide. Deep breaths and counting to ten are your friend.

Simple, right? You got this! Enjoy every minute of your new challenges. Lean on veteran principals you trust for help along the way.

 

Brad:

 

As a first year administrator I wish I knew about the intensity of the job.

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 Moving from the classroom, where there was a little more control, to the school office , where you basically have no control over what walks through your door is a huge adjustment. At any given moment, an administrator needs to make a decision that could positively or negatively impact the person involved. With intensity comes tough decisions but at the end of the day it needs to be about what’s best for kids. Sometimes that’s a pat on the back, a phone call home, or a consequence. Establishing strong relationships and holding yourself and others accountable in a positive fashion, can help first year administrators appropriately handle the intensity of the job on a daily basis.

 

Do you have advice for a brand new admin?

Missed my other posts in this series?

Q1: What is your go to strategy for team building?

Q2: What is something you do EVERY year, without fail?

 

Seekingly,

Amber

Ask an Admin! Q2: What is something you do EVERY year, without fail? #askandmin

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Today’s question is being answered by two rockstars that I love following on both their personal and school social media accounts, Melissa Kartimas and Amy Fadeji They’ve both made me a better leader, and a more fun one, just by sharing the greatness that they do on a regular basis. If you are hesitant about “putting yourself out there”, I encourage you to A: follow them, you can’t not be inspired, and B: Read this post by George Couros, who challenges the notion that the publish button equals perfection. As someone who absolutely writes the way she talks, this hits home. I even have someone who proofreads what I write and I STILL manage to make mistakes. *sigh*

Good thing none of you are here because you think I’m perfect, eh? 🙂

Now, on to our question…there is no manual when it comes to being a principal, but as you get going through your years you will find that there are some things that you ALWAYS do.

#askanadmin Q2: What is something that you ALWAYS do as an administrator?

Melissa: How can I share just one? Here are several staples that I’m sure to do every year, without fail…..

 

*Sending a card over the summer to each staff member:

-It’s important that I handwrite a note to each staff member, letting them know how I excited I am to hear about their summer adventures and welcome them back in a few weeks. It’s my hope that however they spent their summer break– it was relaxing, leaving them rejuvenated and ready to start a new school year.

*Giving each staff member a personalized 1st day of school hand-written card & treat:

-What a great way to kick off a school year on a positive note. I want my staff to know I am here to support them and wish them well in making the school year successful for each of their students.

 

 

* 5 by Friday:

-Modeling the importance of making positive connections with our families. I want all of our students to feel a sense of pride when something comes in the mail from school….something positive! Phone calls were great, but who doesn’t like mail? I order positive postcards from Vistaprint & always keep them heavily stocked in the office. The expectation is that all staff members would make 5 positive connections with families by the end of each week.

*Making 100 positive phone calls on the 100th Day of school – self-explanatory – one of my favorite days of the year (hands down). Read more about it on my blog here.

 

*Every year, the best way to get to know each and every students’ name in the building (while sharing your love of learning and reading) is getting into classrooms to read a story! Make it a priority to be visible in the classrooms, not only as an observer but as a participant in learning with your students! It also gives me a good reason to grow the collection of awesome books in my office that I get to share with students and teachers alike!

 

 

Amy:

This will be the fourth year I’ve unveiled a school theme at Penngrove Elementary. On the first day back for teachers, our office team helps me decorate and execute an epic reveal for all staff members. In addition to the fun decor, festive lunch, and swag that I try to shower everyone with, I attempt to give a motivational talk about our theme and how we can use it to keep us all connected and centered throughout the year. Some past themes have been “Dive In”, “Saddle Up” and “Power of One”. I absolutely LOVE preparing for our yearly themes and it really builds community in a fun way. When our students return from summer, we share our theme with them and I invite our PTA and parent community to join the fun as well. 

 

 

What is something YOU do every year?

 

note taking,

Amber

New series: Ask an Admin! #Q1: What is your go to strategy for team building? #askanadmin

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I am SO excited about what I am blogging through the month of July! I have connected with some of my favorite administrators on the planet and they’ve all agreed to help me tackle questions we’ve been asked, or hear all the time. These questions will help ya get your mind right, give you differing perspectives, and hopefully, show you how very, very different a “right” answer can be! Ross Cooper wrote a great blog on how you’re not doing it wrong, you’re just doing it “different”, and that’s what this series is all about. I know many aspiring administrators and I want them to see that there are about as many different answers to questions as there are campuses. Your answers depend on you, your experiences, and your people. There is no “right” answer at times, there’s just YOUR answer. If nothing else, hopefully this will connect you again, to some of my favorite people, their blogs, and the chance to make them a part of your PLN world as well.

#askanadmin: Q1. What is your go to strategy for team building?

A1:

Katie: Peter Senge points out that the only vision that people ever commit to is their own. Without conversations about the vision and what it means, it’s impossible to build a shared vision across a community. One of my favorite strategies is called Significant Learning. This strategy not only builds community but helps foster purposeful conversations about past experiences, beliefs, and allows a team to co-create a vision for what is possible in our classrooms.

 

Here’s how it goes:

    1. Reflect on a  significant learning experience where you learned something new that has stuck with you and made an impact. This doesn’t have to be in school.  Think riding a bike, learning to snowboard, driving a car. Anything.Take a minute or two and independently jot down some thoughts about a significant learning experience. Think not only about what you learned but how you learned.
  • What was the context?  
  • Who was involved?  
  • How did you feel?
  2. In small groups of 3-5, each person takes 3 minutes to share their experience.
  3. After each person has shared, the group comes up with some common themes from each of the learning experiences.
  4. Share the themes out as a whole group and capture them on a shared document.  (Note: This can serve as a great tool for conversations about teaching and learning.)
  5. As a group, reflect about the following prompts:
    • How often are these types of experiences the core of our learning in classrooms?  
    • What might be areas of strength that you are seeing? Areas for growth?   
    • How might you collectively close to gap to create the significant learning experiences?

No matter how often I do this activity, or how diverse the crowd, the themes that surface in  significant learning experiences remain pretty consistent.

People discuss learning in ways that are purposeful and for an authentic audience.

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Typically, these experience involve a variety of opportunities to explore models, receive feedback, and reflection. There is often productive struggle and risk that requires guidance and mentorship to grow.

I love watching people engaged in these conversations because they can’t help from smiling as they conjure up memories of these experiences that impacted them. The power in this strategy is that is provides space for the team connect and create a shared understanding of what significant learning means to you as a community.Reflecting on our own learning experiences and how we traditionally learn in schools can help create the conditions that support powerful learning in our classrooms to move forward.

 

A2:

(Of course I chose to follow that fabulousness…sheesh, :))

 

One of my goals at my campus is to consistently & constantly remind everyone that we are all on the same team. Top to bottom, right to left…I want us to all know that what we do MATTER, together, collectively,  and plays a role in our campus success. All of the team building I have done the past two years has been centered around the unifying hashtag of #wearewhitt. The summer before my first year started I crowd-sourced our campus and community to develop the hashtag, one that could be used to share our learning, what is happening in our classrooms, and across all forms of social media. It’s on our bumper stickers and on our yard signs…because it’s together WE make a difference.

 

That being said, as a final activity to our professional development each year, we do a candle pass. When their rooms are ready, and their minds are full of all that we’re going to accomplish the next school year, we gather as a campus family in a big circle. I’ll play a song that ties in to our district theme and we will light each other candles one by one, around the circle. I speak a lot of “that moment” where we are gathered in the room, as one #wearewhitt family, and that we will never all be together in this way again. Every year will bring change, but at that moment, we are all one. We each bring a talent, a gift…the experiences that are going to impact all of our Wolves. There is such power in the beginning of the year, such a fresh, newness…this is a calming way to bring us together. It may be the sorority girl in me, but seeing all my faces, gathered together, with no stress & no problems…just excitement for their beginning, it fills my heart. When I think about starting our year, I can’t imagine not coming together and lighting each other’s candles…knowing that 

…we can start a blaze of learning, especially if we are working together.

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