Technically Yours Teamann — Page 49 — my version of transparent, collaborative leadership…with a Teamann twist

Are you the quarterback of your team?

December 31, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

One of the benefits of having two whole weeks off at the holidays is the opportunity to listen to the Troy Aikman weekly call into our local radio station. (side note: what in the world would I have done if I had grownup somewhere other than Dallas??)

He was, of course, talking about the Dallas Cowboys unexpected success this year. (Spike Cook, in case you missed it, the Cowboys are going to the playoffs!) He was asked about the perception, whether correct or incorrect, that Tony Romo, was getting more than his share of the blame for the previous years lack of success. He said, ” Well sure, he’s the quarterback. Anytime there is a weakness of the team, it is revealed through the quarterback, & he’s expected to overcome those weaknesses.”

As the leader (of your building, or of your team), sometimes it can feel like you are the quarterback. If you win, you get the credit, you share the glory. If you lose, you get all of the blame. As a pretty big fan of a quarterback, I know how frustrating it can to have failure attributed squarely on one persons shoulders or feel as if no matter how great YOU play, your success still depends on those around you.

Last Sunday, with a 25-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, Tony Romo became the Dallas Cowboys‘ all-time leader in passing yards, surpassing Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. Romo is already the franchise leader in touchdown passes. His status among fans is polarizing. You either feel like he is an elite quarterback, tops amongst the NFL’s best. Or you point to the absence of success in big games under Romo as a sign he’s not the answer. At the end of the day it comes back to something bigger. It comes down to the system.

You can be the very best player on your team. You can be the hardest worker. You can be the MVP, but if you aren’t surrounded by a supportive and equally giving team, you still aren’t going to win. You can stay the latest every night, you can give everything you have to the “office”, but without a supportive team, the impact won’t be the same.

Find a team where you are ONE of the really great players. Where everyone gives their all, and each person is responsible for the role that they play. Again, part of the secret is teamwork: no matter how good the individual players are, if they don’t operate as a unit, they won’t win as many games.

What’s true in sports can be true on a campus as well. Successful leaders often have good teams behind them. In fact, in many situations, teams can accomplish what individuals can’t. This is a lesson I’ve learned in the past year. It takes more than one person to make a campus successful, more than one school to make a district successful. It takes a system.

(That being said, I still stand behind Romo.)

Always the QB fan,

Amber

Unexpected Expectations for 2015

December 29, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

Making goals is easy…the challenge comes in actually making them happen.

My goals this year aren’t exciting. They aren’t earth shattering. They are, however, going to be accomplish-able, which to me, is the whole point. Some build on things from the fall semester. Some are in conjunction with accountability from my friends, my peers, my PLN. I like sharing my goals on the blog, it helps hold me accountable and allows me to reflect upon the past years (2104, 2012) to see where I have fallen short, and where I have had success. Both are important pieces to moving forward.

Here are my expectations for 2015:

Complete the Am-centered bucketlist created with Melinda Miller. (She’ll have an MM version!) This bucketlist will be full of activities and challenges that we’ll complete throughout the year that keep our energy and purpose aligned to what will keep us true to who we are. There’ll be just as many leadership tie-ins as there are mommy/wife ones. Balance! No more idle yes’s, or wasted moments. We’re going to be FOCUSED, and have a bucketlist to help keep it all in front of us. (we’ll share that when we are done!)
Read more. I dropped the Goodreads ball late in the year, but am excited to begin afresh with 2015. I expect to read more in 2015…and will document each book in Goodreads. Follow my progress here.
Document. Schedule. Write it down. I expect to STAY on top of things! One of the ways I plan on maintain this semblance of completing expectations is to utilize my Erin Condren planner. I have high aspirations of being a scheduling machine, and bought new colored pens just to make that more fun. Want an Erin Condren of your very own? Here’s a coupon!
Connect with friends, near and far. 2014 was trip and friend filled. I was so lucky to see so many of the PLN people I now consider friends. While I don’t have as many national events on my radar this year, I do expect to cultivate those relationships. Taking a page from one of my Voxer bf’s, surprise happy mail is a great way to make sure those I hold dear know that I am thinking of them.

May your 2015 be filled with your goals, your expectations, and all the things YOU want to accomplish. Anything I can do to help with your expectations?

Mission minded,

Amber

Texas leadership standard: Instructional Leader

December 17, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

While researching standards for my post on leadership, I discovered the tenets of leadership as defined by the state of Texas. Intrigued, I decided to delve a bit deeper into each standard, and see how it truly relates to my role. While these standards could establish what defines a leader on paper, I want to apply them to campuses today. Knowing that refection is also a key component, there may be some twists and turns that jump out at me as I review each strand. The standards are also under review and going to change, so it will be interesting to see how “leadership” looks when it is redefined. This is post one in a series on “Texas Leadership Standards”, the entire series can be read here.

The leader is responsible for ensuring every student receives high-quality instruction.

How can a leader ensure this is happening? You start by building an incredible team. You hire the very best person for the job. You then retain those excellent teachers! If you don’t feel like the very best person is in that spot, you do what you can to make them better. When you see a need, you provide training, support, and the opportunity for each teacher to become the very best that they can be.

You’re visible. You are in those classrooms at every opportunity. If you became a principal to get out of the classroom, you’ve made a serious mistake! This is one of the most important facets of being a campus leader. I remember when I was a teacher, I would get a scheduled admin visit. I made sure I was wearing my best outfit, had my students perform on command, and did the very best, most creative lesson I had in my tool box. It was a dog and pony show! When it was over, I could breathe a sigh of relief and go back to “normal”. Ideally, instead of waiting until you have to have an “official” observation, you are in classrooms as much as possible. My teachers are so used to seeing me in and out of their rooms, it doesn’t phase them. Being in and out means I have a really good idea of their strengths and maybe can help identify areas they can grow.

You provide constructive feedback. Feedback is what helps your team know they are on the right track. Feedback allows teachers to see how they are doing, and where they could be going. It also shows them that you value the time you are spending in their rooms, and have a vested interest in their growth. Helpful feedback is goal-referenced; tangible and clear; actionable; user-friendly (specific and personalized); timely; ongoing; and consistent.

You model growth through being a lead learner. Whether it be through articles, journals, books, blogs…a synchronous or an asynchronous community…hopefully you are dialed into a way to keep learning. Besides an edcamp or conferences, Twitter is my big go to for learning and sharing. I read a number of teacher blogs and love sharing the great ideas I see happen on my campus too. I never want them to think I think I know it all or am unwilling to learn new tricks.

You are the gatekeeper of distractions. I worked for a principal who deflected hoop jumping, extraneous noise, and miscellaneous tasks like a champ. A teacher’s job is to teach. Whatever I can do to help make that the focus of their world, I am willing to do. If this means providing an opportunity for training, materials, etc…I do my very best. If it means filtering their “todo’s”, I do that too.

Many have replaced the word principal with the term “lead learner”, this standard lends itself to that perfectly. It takes leadership for a principal to question a teacher whose methods of teaching don’t result in the students understanding and knowing the subject. The principal has to ask, “Did you think about doing it this way? Maybe that would help.” A culture of learning starts with all of the points above. If that foundation isn’t in place, it will be hard for teachers to respect you as ….and credibility as an instructional leader is crucial for a campus!

More resources on the importance of being an instructional leader:

Pins

Slides

Videos

LeadN-ly,

Amber

Staff gifties…the 12 days of Christmas giving!

December 8, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

cowboy-santa Last year the Voxer group of principals that I talk to daily went back and forth on a “12 days” of Christmas idea as a way to give a lil’something to each staff member. None of the ideas were very big, or cost a lot of money, they were all just little things/ways to show how much we appreciate and celebrate how awesome they are.

This year I’ve added them to a Smore, and have added a lil’rhyme to feel even more holly jolly.

We’re counting down to Christmas break, but in a FUN way…(we all know I am not fan of the countdown!!)

Here is where we are so far…(if you’re a Wrangler, stop reading here! Don’t ruin your surprises!!)

What we have left:

– wear workout gear

– a Christmas card from us ( I designed in PPT and then used the “Santa hat” app to add hates to one of super cute pics!)

– a gift card lottery (5 $10 gift cards for local places)

– a special Wrangler giftie ( Can’t say b/c you know they didn’t stop reading when I asked them too!;))

– bagel breakfast

– another jean day

Hopefully, they understand that while the monetary amount of these days isn’t much, our appreciate and admiration for being in the trenches is EXTREMELY high. We have an amazing staff and worthy of much more! They empower and inspire our students daily, and its easy to forget in the hustle bustle of this holiday season that they too need a smile and a motivational boost!

Humbly appreciative,

Amber

What’s your big three as an admin?

November 20, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

Tony Sinanis recently blogged about his big “three” as an admin and challenged me to write about what I think might be my big three. While I completely agree with his three: “be the ears, be the voice, and be the culture”, it would be redundant to say mine are the same.

Instead I’ll share three gems of greatness that I think compliment his nicely. (Such a team player, aren’t I?)

1. You don’t always to be right.

As an administrator, it is crucial to be able to see the value in losing the battle, but winning the war. It doesn’t do anyone any good to win every argument if you alienate or isolate the people you work with while doing so. When meeting with teachers or parents, there is something to be said for allowing other’s viewpoints to be given weight and be heard. Someone who can communicate You can be the right-est person in the world and yet have no one on your side, which would a rather ineffective leader, wouldn’t it? Employ your inner empathy skills here. What distinguishes average to mediocre leaders from those who excel at leading others is how the latter group understands that their focus shouldn’t be simply directed to whether goals are achieved or not. Nobody wants to be on the same team with someone who has to win every argument, never giving any credence to other’s points of views.

2. You don’t always have to make everyone happy.

In fact, thinking that you CAN make everyone happy would be a mistake. No matter what idea you have or what positive motivation you have fueling your movements…someone will not agree. This has easily been the most challenging part of being an administrator for me. If decisions are made on what is best for kids, how could someone disagree with you? It’s easy to forget that people view decisions or actions through the same lens they view the world in. Never take it personal when someone disagrees with you! Use it as an opportunity to get to understand that other person and find out what lens they are using. Really listen to what they have to say…and at the end of the day, even if they still disagree with you, at least they can respect the fact that you gave them a chance to discuss their point of view. It’s also so important to have relationships with your team, so that they know what your vision is. You can disagree with how I might go about accomplishing something, but if you know my heart is always making decisions based on whats best for kids, then I am ok with you being unhappy.

3. You don’t always have to be in charge.

Delegation is a lost art. I don’t know if some leaders don’t like to delegate because they don’t trust the people they work with, because they are controlling, or if they truly don’t understand what empowered leadership looks like. I had a teacher I worked with who was an incredible event planner. She rallied teachers behind her, had terrific connections in the community, and was a natural at the detail oriented focus required to pull off a big school event. Early on I was intimidated by the fact that she was such a natural, but I learned how much easier it was to let her run with her passion, because at the end of the day, she was going to make it happen, and make it awesome. And wasn’t that what I wanted? It allowed me to step back and focus on other pressing matters…as soon as I relaxed and appreciated her strengths. Know your team and know their strengths. Maximize those strengths to benefit your campus! It really will make a difference when your whole team is invested in your campus vision.

What did we leave out? Can you elaborate or add? I would love to know what your big three would be!

Leadingly,

Amber

The leader is responsible for ensuring every student receives high-quality instruction.