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

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

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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…

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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

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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

Be more you!

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Advice is easy to give. It’s usually given with the greatest of intentions. Sometimes it can be questionable…but this isn’t that kinda post! 🙂

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Our superintendent, Dr. Vinson, gave a closing speech at a banquet a couple of weeks ago where he reflected on the things people told him when he came to this district. Things like “We’re almost as big as such & such district, our scores are as good as so & so’s district.”, and how that gave him pause. He decided that he didn’t want to be more like those places…he just wanted us to be more Wylie. 5 years later we’re an anomaly in the state when it comes to testing data and you have people lined up to get hired. We’re proud of who we are are, and the Wylie Way defines our priorities. The good test scores are a byproduct of the phenomenal educators we have here.

That comment of his reminded me of a conversation we had at the beginning of the year. He mentioned in passing that he wanted to learn more about Twitter, that he’d heard I was a “pro”, and I shrugged him off (as gracefully as one can shrug off your big new boss!!) and said oh, I’m trying to get away from being “that” technology girl, but sure. His response was “Why? Be who you are,Teamann, you gotta own that…”

That stuck in my mind and after completing my 13th year in education, being named principal next year, and finding out I was named a 2015 ASCD Emergent Leader…I can say that advice was heart affirming. 

I’m in a place that wants me to be more ME.

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Not who they think I should be, but more of the me I am.

Our students are encouraged to embrace their individual gifts and we highlight their strengths…don’t forget as an adult you should do the same thing.

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I hope that you are in a place where you can embrace who you are, and and are appreciated for the strengths you bring. Every team member plays a role, but the strongest teams balance each others gifts. Never deny your strengths. Find a place where they can SHINE!!

 

celebrating YOU,

Amber

Use your summer to RE-ENERGIZE! #txeduchat

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reenergizeI was able to host the Sunday evening #txeduchat, which is just what it sounds like…a chat designed for Texas educators. It takes place on Sunday evenings from 8-9pm, cst.

 

This Sunday we talked about what summer looks like to educators, regardless of their role in education. The amount of time we all get off varies, and what down time actually looks like varied even more! Time without students can be seen as “free” time, and a chance for teachers, principals, for everyone…to relax, refresh, and hopefully, re-energize!

 

 

To some, it meant a complete unplugging. A set amount of time that is spent completely edu-free. To some, being “off” meant time to educationally “play”…explore resources without feeling pressured, to tackle projects that we just don’t have time for in the hustle bustle of the school year.

 

To me, it’s an opportunity to clear the palette of the previous year and get my head right moving forward. I obviously take some legit time OFF as well, 🙂 but I like being able to plan when I have plenty of time and energy. 

Try to get things done that allow you to focus more on being in the moment during the school year.

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I’ve mentioned that I keep a desk calendar where I scribble (literally) the things that we have go on, any appointments I’ve had and school events that we hosted. I keep all the months throughout the year and then during the summer, grab a fresh new pretty calendar for the upcoming year and make notes on each month as a reminder of “things” to not forget. I go back through and make notes of when we had what, as a launching place for what we’d done the previous year. 1

My other gem is a notebook, preferably an Apple one, (creature of habit) and I write down all of the things that could have gone better throughout the year. If there was a picture day snafu, or a scheduling conflict, I make a note about what happened. If there is an easy solution, I write that down as well. It’s mostly meant to help me reflect, privately, about situations that could have gone better. It can be as easy as “Inform grade levels how they will be leaving the assembly BEFORE the speaker starts next year.” to “Remember to print positive emails to include in personnel files for summative purposes.”2

 

Here is the archive from the chat, lots of really great things were shared. I also highly recommend Angela Watson‘s Truth for Teachers podcast titled, “How to use summer to re-energize your teaching and yourself” as another resource.

Next week’s chat will be hosted by Angela Maier’s developer of the “You matter” movement and manifesto!  Sunday may 31st, 8pm, CST! You don’t want to miss it!!

 

chattingly,

Amber