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

A word for 2014…or how not to be like “Baby”…

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pause: pôz/

noun
1.a temporary stop in action or speech.
“she dropped me outside during a brief pause in the rain”
synonyms: stop, cessation, break, halt, interruption, check, lull, respite, breathing space, discontinuation, hiatus, gap, interlude; More

Have you ever noticed that conversations can seem like more of a contest to see who can get the most words in, the most laughs, or their point across the quickest? Half the time, we are so focused on forming our next brilliant comment that we seem to to have tuned out the person actually having the conversation with us.

If we think about what how we feel or what happens when WE are trying to get across an important message, or convey an idea…and someone keeps interrupting us, or adding snarky, insensitive comments…or trying to constantly one up us, it becomes almost embarassing to know that sometimes we’re that person. If you care about people you should care about who they are and what they have to say. 

Lately I have found myself in several situations where I feel like Baby from “Dirty Dancing”. 

I just say the most inane things! I don’t know if I like to hear myself talk or what…but I walk away thinking the most horrible things about what just transpired and wishing for a rewind button. Please let me completely take that comment back and inset this highly intelligent, thought provoking statement instead.

So, in order to avoid these “watermeloning” moments, my word for 2014 is pause. 

Pause…before you speak. Sometimes? You may not even have too. It’s ok to nod and smile. I don’t always to be witty or funny…..or awkward.

Pause…before bandwagoning in on a conversation. What are your motives in agreeing? in responding? in reacting?

Pause…before thinking something negative. Positive self talk, missy!

Pause…before committing…or not committing. Give yourself time to think about it, to talk it over with people whose opinions you value.

Pause…enjoy your moments. Be grateful for where you are in life. Be thankful for your health, your family, your friends. Circumstances can change in a heartbeat.

Pause…slow down. Just…slow…down.

 

I’m going to actively work on pausing in my life. Did you make a resolution for 2014? or set a goal? I would love to support you, and covet your support for my internal pause button as well.

 

Watermelon throwing,

Amber

Leadership lessons from “Let it go”: not just a Disney song!

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If you haven’t seen the movie “Frozen” yet, I highly recommend it. While I did see it with my girls originally, I absolutely saw it again with a grown up friend…it’s that good! One of the main characters is Elsa, who is voiced by Idina Menzel. She has an icy curse and at a climatic point in the movie, comes to terms with her powers and sings “Let it Go”. Several of the lyrics jumped out at me as “leadership lessons”…what do you think?

“A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I’m the Queen”

Being in a leadership position can feel lonely, like you’re on an “Admin Island” sometimes. This is why a PLN is so important to have. There should be people that you can share, grow, and learn from. Networking in any form is important, whether it be within your building or across the world. The smartest person in the room, IS the room, remember? That and any good leadership course will remind you that many voices can make good choices, that’s where the whole site based decision-making committee comes in.

“Don’t let them in, don’t let them see, Be the good girl you always have to be, Conceal don’t feel, don’t let them know, Well now they know”

I am firm believer in transparent leadership.

frozen_elsa-wideBeing open and available, and most importantly, being real with your staff is an important trait. Being transparent is a powerful thing, if you can trust yourself and be trusted by others. I think the reason some leaders are not transparent is because they believe they will be viewed as less authoritative; that the “title” they worked so hard to attain will lose its power, leverage and authority. People want to relate to their leaders. People want to know that their leaders have experienced the same problems and/or how they have overcome personal hardships. If relationships are at the core of success in education, it starts with transparency.

 

“I don’t care, What they’re going to say, Let the storm rage on, The cold never bothered me anyway”

As a leader, you will often have to make tough decisions. This is one of the biggest challenges of leadership. Some can handle it; others can’t. Regardless, it will define your leadership. You will be judged by others largely on the basis of how well you do under pressure. You will make mistakes, it is inevitable. That being said, what you do after those mistakes is what will define your leadership ability. George Bush’s approval rating was above 90% following 9/11. It had plummeted to 30% by the time he left office. He is noted for “not caring”.  Chasing popularity, he stated, is like chasing a vapor. It is here today and gone tomorrow. Instead, you have to make decisions based on principle and let the chips fall where they may. If you are doing what’s right for KIDS then you can feel good about the decisions you make, even if they are tough. I had a friend who texted me recently that he was writing his first “non-renewal” letter as an administrator, and that it wasn’t as easy as he thought it was going to be. Tough decisions, even when right, don’t always feel good.

“It’s funny how some distance, Makes everything seem small, And the fears that once controlled me, Can’t get to me at all”

Effective leaders initiate and innovate. They have the courage to make decisions, and their actions lead people toward the pursued objective. As former first lady Rosalynn Carter once said, “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” Just like the lessons you learned your first year teaching, with each year of administration under your belt, you’ll learn a bit more. With luck, with each minor obstacle you face, you will grow and stretch. I’m a big fan of journaling and take copious notes with each situation I’ve encountered. Bluntly identifying what went right, what went wrong, and in hindsight, how it should have been handled is both therapeutic and eye-opening. I’ve done this since I was in elementary school…but back then it was about what I wanted to see in my classroom. Since then, it has evolved into leadership lessons but it’s something I reference often. Particularly at the beginning of the year, I reread the trials and triumphs of the previous years to help make sure things flow more smoothly than before.

I genuinely think I could apply almost every line of this song to an administrative principle. It’s an empowering song, I challenge you to listen to it with a leadership lens and see if you can see it too.

Icily,

Amber

 

 

A search engine that provides a digital conversation, happy grokking!

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I had the opportunity, the privilege really, of presenting with Eric Sheniger and Carrie Jackson at this years Learning Forward conference. The topic was “Being Connected: It’s No Longer an Option”.

This conversation is a blog post in itself. Eric shared a tool I hadn’t seen before. InstaGrok. InstaGrok is a way to conduct informal online research as a starting point for more in-depth learning. What a thought provoking way to introduce a concept for students. It create a concept map with connected websites, videos, and images, all related to the topic you are searching for.

instagrok1

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Starting a search is easy. Type in a topic or concept that you want to research. If you are researching a person, type their first and last name. A concept map will appear.  You can click on any bubble to go deeper into that area of the map.
To add a research fact to your map click on the pin next to the fact on the key fact section on the right hand side. To view the web sites that populate the facts, click on more next to websites on the right hand side. You can narrow down websites by concepts by clicking on the concepts on the right hand side. Once you find the website you want to use, click on the pin to add it to your map, and/or click on the link to go to the website. To view the web sites that relate to the facts, click on more next to videos on the right hand side. You can select the difficult level with the bar at the top of the page or by looking at the icons (chalk board means easy, cap means middle to high, and the Einstein means high). This works for web sites and facts too!

There are options to journal within the program and also to create a quiz. I think this would be a great starting place to jumpstart conversations within your classroom on a n concept you’re introducing to your students. It would also be an excellent opportunity to discuss the need to verify and ascertain informations’ credibility that can be found online.

Modeling finding and verifying accurate and credible resources is a skill that students of all ages need, and by using a fun, engaging tool, you can have that conversation without sounding “anti- internet”.

 

 

serachingly,

Amber

Data Discussion

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(This blog post is an assignment completed for the “Future Principal’s Institute within my district.)

How can teachers capitalize on data about student learning that are generated in their classrooms every day? How can this information best be collected and used to increase student learning? Making data part of instructional planning can be challenging, especially if teachers are not used to thinking about assessment and data as a regular part of the process.

Effective feedback  is a great way for teachers to use collected data in order to improve student learning.

Results from almost any assessment can be of great benefit to students, provided they are used to make instructional adjustments. And — the shorter the amount of time between assessment and adjustment — the more powerful its effect on learning. Just like a diet plan that sits on your desk…until you actually pick it up and DO something with it, it isn’t going to affect much!

Here are Tina Garrett’s, Elementary Science Coordinator’s thoughts on how best to utilize data from a benchmark or CBA.

I asked her three questions, including one on how to handle a teacher who looks at her report and thinks that she did just fine. Drawing in Carol Dweck‘s research, she gave several suggestions for teachers on how to move forward, intentionally, with data (both formative & summative)  as their guide.

In the Dec./Jan. issue of ASCD’s Educational Leadership, Jennifer Morrison shares one reason why data is so important to the classroom teacher, which ties in to Ms. Garrett’s thoughts.

Prodding teachers to collect meaningful data on their own ensures that they will begin to ask questions, as I found out when I put together a sample data notebook. In the process of collecting, analyzing, and reflecting on information about my classes, I stepped outside my assumptions and understood students more clearly. I discovered a new way of thinking about my practice, but better still, the process caused me to ask such questions as, Are my students demonstrating growth in learning? or What do I need to change to accelerate growth? To satisfy these wonderings, I had to design assessments that would gather the information I needed and analyze the results, sometimes rethinking my methods as a consequence.

At a previous campus we made looking at and restructuring instruction a priority by having monthly “Monday meetings”. The grade level met with the principal, the counselor, and myself. We briefly touched on EVERY student, from those that were performing at standard to those who struggled on different assessments. The teachers were responsible for pulling data from classroom assessments and the computer lab manager pulled from all of our computer based assessments. By collectively looking and discussing, we were able to brain storm about each learner as well as come up with an action plan on any who we felt needed additional assistance. If this meeting only happened twice a year, the data would have been useless.

Here is a flyer, Making Numbers Meaningful,  that we provided early on to introduce the concept of having these monthly data PLC’s or “Monday meetings”. Some grade levels even brought snacks! They all, however, brought a positive attitude and a motivated mentality, which made all the difference.

 

Data discussing,

Amber

 

 

 

A unified vision marches on…

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A lot is written and shared about how important it is for a campus to have a shared, unified vision. What you are doing when creating a vision statement is articulating your dreams and hopes for your campus as well as establishing a strong foundation for your strategic planning guideline. It reminds you of what you are trying to build, and keeps everyone moving in the same direction.

During this break, I’ve read 3 (yes, 3) biographies of John F. Kennedy. Maybe the boldest vision ever articulated by any leader was John F. Kennedy’s dream of putting a man on the moon. On May 25, 1961, in a special address to Congress, he said, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” Although, at the time, very few people believed it could be done, the vision was achieved on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped on to the moon.

There’s local high school has done an amazing job for creating and aligning a unified vision, thanks to the administrative leadership of their lead learner, Virdie Montgomery. (disclaimer: Virdie is the father of one of my best friends and will be the high school of my girs.) He lives, eats, and breathes his campus mantra, AHMO. From Letterman shout outs, to class point competitions that invite global participation, to hundreds of ipad photos taken daily, he has created an environment that supports students in a way that supports them as a family. Even when times are tough, they rally together in a way that defies their high school maturity. You can’t go anywhere without seeing a student, a bumper sticker, or a yard sign, that proclaims that AHMO pride.

This video was shared with me by my beast’s math teacher. It is a great example of people working together to create something really incredible.  And…every member has to work hard to memorize all the music and all the steps.  If even one person forgets, the whole show will not be as spectacular. It takes a unified vision to make this happen.

May your vision be as spectacular!

 

Vision focused,

Amber