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

12 days of a STAFF Christmas…

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My love language (much to my husbands dismay) is gift giving. I love giving gifts, I love receiving gifts. Everybody loves a gift. This is conventional wisdom, and to some degree there’s truth in it. Why? Because a gift is a symbol that says someone was thinking of you, and the human condition is such that everyone likes to know that they matter to someone else. That makes this time of year PRETTY AWESOME in my book!! While I have received my fair share of eye rolls through the years, I am SO the girl who gifts all the time. Happy notes make ME happy, surprise gifts delight me, and I HEART it when someone surprises me a with a sweet tea just b/c they know it’s my fave. Of course, I love to reciprocate, and this time of year makes it even easier to get away with it, 😉

 

12 days

 

Thanks to my Voxer family one “new” thing that I like to do fo our staff is the “12 days of Christmas”. People in our #WDTVS do things like cooking a staff dinner, arranging for a Santa to come give out gifts, to a veritable Pinterest board of creative gift giving. Last year, I tracked ours via Smore, which you can see here. Gifting doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t require rediculous amounts of planning or effort. Especially when it’s for your STAFF or team, it just has to be genuine. Heartfelt. Fun. Don’t focus on how much or how little you spend, but rather on how much this will mean to the individuals for whom you’re gifting.

This year I’ve added to my list of potential possibilities…as well as creating a graphic for each day via Canva. (If you aren’t using Canva to create ALL your lil’shareables…you are missing out!!) I haven’t decided yet how I am going to share them…but pretty sure I am going to go the Melinda Miller route and share via Remind. 

Here is a list of all that I am considering for this years 12 days…just in case there are Wolves who come across this post, they can still be surprised!

  • Doughnuts
  • candy canes
  • jeans day
  • flannel/jeans day
  • sweatsuit/sweatpants day
  • chocolate in their boxes
  • hot chocolate bar
  • apple cider bar
  • buffet of baked treatie treats
  • gift card raffle ( I buy $30 of gift cards and raffle them off every hour! The name drawn gets to come down and pick which card they want! This was a hit last year. I use my own $$$ to purchase the gift cards…totally worth it!)
  • bagels
  • team jersey day
  • handwritten cards
  • team picture photo booth
  • popcorn bar
  • post it pads with stamped initials (divide these up to conquer getting it done, super cute and personalized!)
  • arrange a cookie exchange
  • dessert bar in the lounge (Thinking PTA moms for help on this one!)
  • Breakfast taco bar (Again, thinking supportive mommas to help here!)
  • time off to plan, collaborate, meet (I can cover recess like a champ!)
  • Happy hour! (No, Silly. I mean the sonic kind! A fun drink run makes any day brighter!)

 

Any or all of these ideas would be appreciated by your staff. 12 days too many? Pick a couple for Fridays in between now and then. We meet for PLC’s each Wednesday and I am hoping to decorate the PLC room with seasonal goodies. I am thankful for the hard work my teachers put in, for the long hours I know they have been working. Their classroom instruction has tightened up lately, and I know it’s because they are feeling that mid-year crunch. With our mid-year data coming up, they are most  focused on making sure our Wolves make the gains we know are necessary to meet our EOY goals. If I can make these three weeks just a little less stressful, then that’s what I want to do. Balanced leadership demands that you spend time appreciating and supporting your teachers…regardless of YOUR love language! Let me know if I can help!

 

fa la la’ing,

Amber

 

 

Who doesn’t need additional support? #ASCD has you covered!

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Last week, ASCD launched a brand new product for teachers, ASCD myTeachSource. This is a digital subscription product where teachers can access tools and content they need on key topics, such as formative assessment and classroom management. It’s priced at just $29 per year and is designed completely with the needs of teachers in mind. (members ALREADY have access to it!)

Now, I am a self-admitted ASCD junkie, given the amount of their books/authors I depend on to meet my own professional development needs. But this? This is for my people!

My highlights:

  • Articles on a PLETHORA of topics. This week alone I could share 3 different articles on formative assessment. A very timely topic, this provided background, practicality, and easy applications for my teachers. From the articles section, you can also connect with videos, tools, and additional links on the topic!
  • Videos: What better catalyst to a PLC than a short video? The focused in on best practices, no fluff, so I could get right to the good stuff. (LOVED the one on “relationship building exercises”.
  •  Tools: As a principal, again, this are SO valuable for quick and easy support with my team! I can send these out for team leaders to lead a conversation on, or I can use them for coaching with those might need a lil’support. A time saver for me, but a HUGE resource for them!
  • Links: Now, you can google just about anything you want these days, but knowing that ASCD has cultivated these resources, that align with their “whole child” vision, & that have been vetted by their team, just makes me so much comfortable utilizing them!

ascd

 

Check it out!

 

All about that support,

Amber

Honor traditions #thefirstyear #VeteransDay

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There is a tradition at my campus each November. The third grade presents a huge Veteran’s Day program. There are elaborate costumes, gut wrenching songs, and even more special, heartfelt reverence and appreciation.

Frequently we challenge the status quo of always doing the “same ol’thing” and I, in particular, am a fan of making positive student supporting changes. But when looking at the tradition of the Veteran’s Day program that I am in awe of last night…I can’t imagine it not being a part of what we do here.

Now, I have ALSO been a part of cultures where the same thing is done each year, but there was no ceremony…no tradition about it. It was just “the way it was always done”.  It was easier for the teacher, it required minimal thought/effort.  There’s a difference and a good leader can tell between the two.

When making changes, make sure that you aren’t changing for changes sake. Evaluate what you are wanting to do, talk to the people involved…gauge the impact change would have. As a leader (and we are all leaders in one form or another), it is very important to understand the power of we have in our choices and changes we make.  

Don’t waste your power taking away something that BUILDS up and SUPPORTS the culture that you want!

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I was honored to read a list honoring our veterans and the wolves who love them last night. I was prepared with my list, knew how to say each tricky name. What I wasn’t prepared for was each service member and his/her wolf walking up to the front of the stage beside me. Some brought ornately framed pictures, instead of a person.

(Note: These are the things you should warn your new principal that are going to happen!) I know while reading those first four names my voice cracked, and I almost started bawling. (I kept reciting in my head rainbowsunicornsYOUARETHEPRINCIPALunicornsrainbows.)

It was moving. It was powerful. It was humbling.

And it will not be changed, anytime soon.

 

Tradition appreciative,

Amber

Trust #thefirstyear #cpchat

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“Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority.” Francis Bacon

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How do you build trust? How do you get to a point where you trust someone?

Time. Time. Time.

It takes time to develop trust…on both sides of leadership. How do you build that? One of the biggest mistakes a leader can make is to assume that others trust him simply by virtue of his title. Trust is not a benefit that comes packaged with the nameplate on your door. It must be earned, and it takes time.

By being transparent, and sharing your thinking. By being vocal, and asking your questions. By being appreciative, and saying so. By being supportive, and doing so.

You have to do these things. And do them consistently. Not just days…not just weeks…but months. It takes months. Don’t forget that. Remember that no matter how amazing you are (cough cough) you are still new to them, and they are still new to you. There are many facets to learning each other…and that? takes time.

And if you’re lucky…you’ll find people who do all of these things beside you.

Lucky girl,

Amber

The power in not having the answer #thefirstyear

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1I keep a spiral in my desk where I write down little notes to help me remember all of my lil’leadership lessons as the days are flying by. This one is a doozie, and I am going to keep it short and sweet.

 

It’s ok to not have the answer….immediately.

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 I have had several situations where my darn activator character strength kicks in and situations are handled quickly. Which is both a pro and a con!

 (Sidenote: Have you taken the Gallup Strengths Finder? I am a BIG fan…my number one strength is activator. Defined as: “When can we start?” This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. You may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down you know that only action is real. Only action can make things happen. Only action leads to performance. Once a decision is made, you cannot not act.)

Learn from me, people. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking some time to think about a decision before making it. Even if I am 100% confident that in 24 hours I will handle it the exact same way, walking away and allowing myself to reflect, contemplate other points of view, talking to other seasoned peers, calming down…all allows me time to be pensive, thoughtful, and intentional with my decisions.

We had the opportunity to hear Mike Moses speak at a leadership meeting a couple weeks ago, and one of the things that stood out was that he said he wanted to be surrounded by patiently decisive people. Think about what that means. It’s someone who takes their time making a decision, but when they have the information they need to make to answer, they do. And they don’t waver. It is an informed, un-rushed, final decision.

 

(I have GREAT notes from him, I hope to get to write about SOON!)

 

A work in progress,

Amber