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

Everyone sweeps on our team. #leadership #goals

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There’s a story I heard about a man who was arriving for an interview. He was well dressed and came prepared with a briefcase full of references and work samples. As he arrived, there was a gentleman in the front office sweeping around the receptionist. With an audible sigh of annoyance, he stepped around the gentleman sweeping and announced his interview and employment intentions. Upon hearing his declaration, the man finished sweeping and stepped around behind the desk. He put down the broom and grabbed his jacket. He introduced himself as the CEO and with whom the interview would be taking place. He also added that in his company, everyone sweeps. “No job is too ‘low level’ or unimportant for anyone to help with,” he shared. “The basics still matter, and you’ll always be expected to help regardless of how high up you rise or how fancy you think you are.”

(Thanks to Google, I also know that this is a philosophy that Apple shares with its new employees.)

What a powerful illustration of leadership that presents.

Are you one of the ones holding the holding the broom? Regardless of title, role, or experience, I hope to create an environment where we all act with humility and an understanding of what it looks like to wield the broom. The things that I make a priority are the ones magnified by what our campus reflects. The same is true for a teacher in a classroom. If transparency and academic integrity are what you model, that is the tone you’re going to set for your students.

What does that look like?

  • I’m present. What can I do? What needs to be done? Whether it’s lunchtime or field day…I am out, about, and looking for a way I can contribute. Typically, things are flowing along right nicely but what is lost by handing out waters to volunteers? Running a race with a student? Squirting hot Wolves with a water gun? Nothing. I’m there. If I have teachers and volunteers in my building standing out in the sun, I’m out there too.
  • I prioritize. The power of modeling is well documented for its impact in the classroom, but the same is true in leadership.  I don’t shut my door (unless in a confidential conversation) because  I want my people to know that they are my priority. Tasks and to do’s can be taken care of the bulk of the time when my building isn’t full of teachers and students. Does that mean I have to prioritize and be intentionally focused? Yes. But that is the message I want to send. Do I share crazy cat memes throughout the day? No. I share #wearewhitt shout outs & celebrations. I am out front every morning, especially in the rain. I welcome students and families with a smile and a welcome. At dismissal, I am there to wave bye and encourage to come back tomorrow. If I don’t view these times and interactions as important, what am I modeling for my team??? When it’s raining, I’m wet and out there with them, opening doors and splashing in puddles. I’m the first one out, and the last one in. 
  • I provide.  Feedback. Snacks. Optimism. Knowledge. Experience. Ideas. If I know my people…I should also know the best way to fill their bucket. I provide opportunities for them to grow, to vent, to feel heard. I provide what they need to get from their point A to their point B.
  • I’m positive. Our jobs are hard ya’ll. There is no shortness of reasons to feel overwhelmed. My to-do list is never complete and I can’t quite seem to fit #allthethings in and still sleep 10 hours a night, 🙂 There are plenty of reasons we could all be negative at any given point in the day, but that is definitely not holding the broom. That’s taking the easy way out, kinda like letting someone else sweep…but that is not how I want to lead or be viewed. Whether it’s a thank you note, a hug, or a funny joke shared…making positive encouraging connections are an incredibly important part of our role. Does that mean we can’t acknowledge the hard? Of course not, it just means we don’t stay mired in that “little while” place.

 

There’s a difference between those who lead with you and those who lead ambiguously from above you.

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Grabbing the metaphoric broom is modeling humility and transparency in a leadership role…and I’m thankful to have walked beside some who showed me what that looked like. It’s now my responsibility in my role to do the same for those who may be watching.

I can’t imagine leading from behind a desk or a closed door. It’s not how I want to encourage or grow other leaders…and it’s not how I want my Wolves to remember me, big or small.

 

How do you sweep in your position?

Cleaningly &

 

Win an autographed copy of Shake Up Learning…and EVERYone wins!

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I’ve long been a fan of Kasey Bell and her laid-back approach to #allthethings google. We’ve planned together, we’re brainstormed together, and flat out learned from each other. I call her my #digitalbestie because if there is a question I’ve had in regards to PD, Google training, or regional support from her “real job”, she is always available for me! Her support of empowered learners is a staple of strong and appropriate integration.

When she told me that she was writing a book, I celebrated her wholeheartedly. She is an engaging presenter and easy to follow as a teacher. I couldn’t imagine her book being ANY different. It combines reflection with a call to action. One of my favorite lines in the whole book is “Facilitate the messy!” which can surmise a lot of educators thoughts when it comes to shaking up what they do in their classroom. As a teacher or an administrator, there is great comfort in reading along with not only her journey to be as comfortable as she is in her role now but also how to guide those alongside you, with you.

Chapters range from “a breakdown of the DNA of dynamic learning” and “how to unleash your voice and share your story”, to leadership support with “how to empower your students” and “facilitating with finesse”. It provides examples, reflection questions, next steps and more. It is an easy read and I would love to get a copy in YOUR hands!

 

Empowered educators lead to empowered learners…and that should be the goal for all of us!

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I can’t wait to share her greatness with you!

 

ShakeN up &

Easter Appreciation, an easy way to celebrate your EGGcellent team!

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My principal bestie, Melinda Miller and I have this Facebook group dedicated to Staff Appreciation and Celebration. It’s an entire page for administrators to share and creatively copy all sorts of great ideas, all meat to encourage, motivate and celebrate your teachers/staff. While it can be overwhelming, it does make me feel SO much better to see that everyone’s year has an ebb and flow…and how rarely anyone does #allthethings. There’s such a Pinterest pressure, even as an administrator, to get it all right, all colorful, and all the time…this group has shown that we all have seasons where we need someone else to be a spark in our world!

In light of that, someone shared this seasonally appropriate activity this week, that can be adapted to fit your campus or even your classroom, or office team! You’ll need to purchase some tiny trinkets, think dollar spot erasers, or candy, and some plastic Easter eggs.  (Or jeans passes! or leave early passes!) I’m going to set this up in the lounge next Monday and allow teachers to celebrate each other as they see fit!

 

 

Pages 2 & 3 are generic that you can just print out and use! Thank you, Mandy Ellis, for your version that I used for ours! Spring days can be a trying, “testing” time for most educators. These little treats & tricks can help brighten your staffs days…which in turn, trickles down to our students. 

A happy teacher makes for happy students!

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Seasonally &

Leading Out of Your Comfort Zone

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This weekend I’m at an SDE conference with my kinder team.

Kindergarten is its own beast, ya’ll.

I taught fourth grade. Big tall fourth graders who relatively could control their emotions, tie their shoes, and regular complete multistep tasks.

There were two opportunities I had to cover some kinder classes this year and my’lanta. I’ve never been more thankful to see those teachers show back up in my life! It was such a reminder that our teacher work hard and are EXPERTS at what they do! When this team asked if they could attend this kinder specific conference, I was all about it.

Why did I come?

Because I have never taught kindergarten,

Because their content is important.

Because rarely are you as the admin able to provide grade-level specific content to EVERYone, but especially kindergarten. (Think about your specials teachers, your experts, the odd specialists…how do you move them from point A to their point B?)

Because I had the opportunity to eat, text with, laugh and grow as this team got stronger together.

Because I get to hear what they are hearing. When they ask me to buy those heavy-duty fancy paper plates to build sand individual sand trays, I now know the reason why.

Because dear lord, I don’t know everything and can ALWAYS find a takeaway to make me a stronger leader.

Take advantage of moments to step outside of your comfort zone. Model what it means to genuinely be a lifelong learner. 

Don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk…but most importantly, walk WITH them.

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Kinder caring &

 

(Also, important to note, I’m here today, Sunday, only…will be back with the rest of my Wolves for school tomorrow! #allthethings)

Get the most out of your conference/professional development!

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How do you as an administrator (or teacher!) feel about conferences? Professional learning? Empowering your teachers?Here are the things we did to maximize sending our team of teachers to #TCEA! Make the most out of your next conference!

Often our budgets and #allthethings (subs! testing! schedules! teaching!), make it impossible to send every teacher we have to attend any conference. I am a very big believer in growing and empowering the team I have with me, so I allocate a substantial amount of money in my budget towards teacher development. We did an individualized book study as a campus, my kinder team is attending the SDE Kinder conference this month, and my first-grade literacy leaders went to see the guided reading guru Janet Richardson when she was close. We had the awesome opportunity to send a team of teachers to TCEA last week. In meeting with these risk takers, I wanted to make sure that we maximized their benefit, as well as our staff, to learn all that we could from the conference!

We had a PD today where each TCEA tripper will share something they learned. They’ve staggered their sessions throughout the day. For a couple of teachers, this was REALLY out of their comfort zone, so they are presenting the same tool/session three times. For some, they have three different things to share. As our Wolves attend sessions throughout the day, I’ve asked them to tweet out their gems of greatness with #wearewhitt. (GO check it out!!) We’ll pull that thread up in PLC on Wednesday and explore all that was shared. Ala George Couros, I didn’t go over the “how to’s” of twitter today, I just gave them their expectations and off they went! It was a GREAT day of learning!

Asking for those three tweets will help each teacher not only have “notes” for what was shared but also allow them to experience all of the sessions that were offered today. Many went over the 20 minutes allowed, which will just make your principal heart so happy! This also solidified for the teachers that went that there were expectations on their experience. Preparing and presenting will help keep what they learned in focus…everyone knows that tired head feeling after you’ve returned from a conference, the one where you are so overwhelmed you don’t know where to start? My people have a plan!

As a last attempt to ensure we could get everything possible out of the conference, I’ve asked teachers to implement ONE strategy, tip, trick, or tool that they learned about today into their lesson plans for next week. It didn’t have to be something that all 22 students had to be able to do, but maybe it could be used as an opportunity for those who need enrichment. (I shared the Discovery Education Spotlight on Strategies and was AMAZED that it was all new to them!!)

 

As an admittedly techie administrator, there aren’t a whole lot of “things” that I haven’t heard of or been exposed to in my 15+ years of teaching, techN, etc. BUT until ALL of my teachers are as comfortable and confident as I am…then I am not done learning either! My goal is to never walk away from any session and think I’ve learned nothing…even with a tool my district pays for, I was able to glean useful strategies to help build up my Wolves. 

Be that kinda administrator…the one who always wants their people to be better.

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