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

The 30 day HAPPY ADMINISTRATOR challenge! #goals #thefirstyear

by 5 Comments

I am a firm believer in that if it isn’t written down, odds are I won’t remember to get to it with fidelity. I’ve written about my goals for several years now (2015, 2104, 2012) and love being able to reference not only where I was personally but also  professionally. I’m only 8 days late into sharing my goals but have no fear! I am ready!

 

  • Enjoy every moment. Matt Arend, a principal pro from Plano ISD, is blogging daily about a single moment that he took the time to notice and appreciate from that day. His posts are already impressive but thinking about the clarity of appreciating what every single day brings, especially in whatever stage of your life/career is in is alluring. Couple that with what I saw on Pinterest, “The 30 day Happy Teacher challenge“, I called on my pretty awesome administrators to help me create OUR very own admin version.

30daychall

Feel free to download and share! I plan on working through this challenge several times this year. I’ll print and simply mark off each day that I complete.

  • Read 125 books this year! I met last year’s goal of 100 books (!!!) which I tracked through Goodreads. I loved the accountability as well being as able to reference the books I’d completed by using the Goodreads app. It offered me suggestions based on what I had read and allowed me to scan in potential books I wanted to read when I came across a suggestion in a blog or Target aisle. Follow me and let’s share books!
  • Listen more, talk less. If you know me, you may have actually just laughed out loud. I’m not what you would consider a “quiet” girl, and take my Gallup Strength of “activator” very seriously. Through some really great conversations with my leadership team, they don’t necessarily need to me to talk, they just need me. 
    My presence is more comforting at times than my solutions. 

    Click To Tweet

    In order to complete this semester and achieve my goal of being “the very best first year principal in the history of the world”, I need to be able to meet their needs, and be available for what they need, vs what I think they need.

While having fewer goals this year, this all still pretty much hit all that makes me happy and what will move me forward as a mom, as a wife, and as a principal. I challenge you to not think about what you would like to see the year 2016 bring, but actually write it down…take steps to achieve it…make it happen!!

 

Purpose & Positivity, part 2

by Leave a Comment

6d6522a0c5386c2e9a70712016fa40df
I shared these paragraphs with my staff in their weekly “Get Whitt it!” today…(See my other weeks here.)

A blank calendar. A fresh start.

It’s the perfect time to evaluate where you’ve been, where you’re at, and where you’re going. It’s a time for us to bring back that September enthusiasm, relentless joy, and excitement for what we get to do as Whitt Wolves.

This month, I encourage you to look at what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what your heart truly desires in this moment. Maybe you’ve been skimping on self-care and establishing a new routine that encourages you to think of you is what you need. Maybe you’ve been so wrapped up in work that you’ve forgotten how important what you do really is. Call a friend you haven’t checked in on in a while. Evaluate what you’ve accomplished this year so far, and how you want to feel by the time the clock strikes the end of this school year in June.

There will be challenges in the coming months, of course, and the stress of this semester will bring all kinds of highs and lows. But if we shift our perspective to refocus our minds, refresh our hearts, and renew our commitments, there’s no telling what kind of miracles the rest of this year has in store. Pick out your outfit, grab your backpack, and let’s get take this semester’s journey together. That’s what our Wednesday staff meetings are going to focus on…purpose & positivity.

 

I have plans for a staff meeting, just 30 minutes long, each Wednesday in January. Here are the plans thus far, and I will edit this as the month progresses. Keeping that p & p focus this month is my focus. Spring in Texas is pretty much about as stressful as it gets. You have all the normal school stress, no long breaks, and our state testing. While my campus has done well in the past couple of years,

our focus is not on being “successful” but proving “mastery”.

Click To Tweet

We want to maintain the standard we have here, not just reach it every so often.

 

May your January be as purposeful and just as positive!

Amber

 

 

Purpose & Positivity, part 1 #thefirstyear

by 2 Comments

breaks-over-time-to-remember-what-day-it-is-and-wear-real-pants-61f1dI can’t believe my first semester as principal is over. This being the only post I’ve made in December shows just how fast it has flown by. I think I’ve started 5 different blogs this month and got carried away each time. I’ll just delete those and combine here, 🙂

 

I need time to both slow down and hurry up. My superintendent says it best, “The years are fast, but the days are long.” I want time to move quicker so that I can get through all the firsts. Everything on our calendar, through each day, is another “first” for me as principal. Each experience sets the new normal. I am defining how things will look moving forward, advertently and inadvertently. I want to get through all these and feel more secure in what my world looks like. At the same time, I want to savor each opportunity. I want to appreciate that I ‘ll never have this “first” experience in this role again. I can’t believe I am already half-way through this year!

Things I’ll continue:

  • Daily positivity quotes: I started posting a daily reaffirming quote on FB each day several years ago when dealing with a particularly ugly professional situation. I literally post something every day that speaks to MY heart but get so many people that say it speaks to them as well. Though that time thankfully has long past, I still enjoy posting.
  • Owning my calendar: I use an Erin Condren planner and have gotten into the habit of writing it ALL there. From walk-through plans to my beat’s basketball games, it serves as a guide, as a compass, and an easy way to journal what each season of my world looks like. I’ve written about it before here, and you can get $10 off of your very own here, 🙂
  • Keeping up: I take this notebook to every single meeting I go too. I tab the tops with the date and meeting title, and it has been SO MUCH EASIER having all of my notes in one place. I know it is contradictory for me to be so “techie”, and still depend on my planner and notebook, 🙂 but it is what it is! You can get $10 off on for you here. (And yes, I could have bought a regular ol’notebook at the store, but this one is so much more sturdy, and taking it with me everywhere, I needed it to be dependable.

Things I won’t continue:

  • Not owning my calendar. When I hit pause on writing it all down, I inevitably get behind. I even plan in when I am going to plan. I have a poster in my office where my AP and I wrote down ALL the big picture items to focus on this year, and if it isn’t on that poster, then it can’t take up my time. Sometimes saying no is harder than saying yes!
  • Feeling guilty about all the no’s. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by the awesomeness of some pretty great principals. I have got to stop thinking I can keep up with them all. Every day I see something that makes me go “Oh! I want to…” and I have to come back, look at my big picture poster, and self-monitor myself. I have time to do all the things…it doesn’t have to happen this year, or at the same time!
  • Hitting compacity. Angela Watson is a pretty great friend of mine, and she asked me a pretty direct question recently. Am I moving at a pace that I am going to maintain each year? I have spent more of my $$$ than my husband can ever know about (gulp.), spent more late nights at school, created “more” than I ever have…and at some point, I need to realize that I have to set parameters on what I am giving. I wrote about checking your scales here, and in 2016 I am going to be a better balance’r. Another smart friend told me think of it this way, 
    ” No matter how fast or new a computer is, it will always hit compacity

    Click To Tweet

     

That being said, I will be better about posting this semester, 🙂 Thank you to those who have emailed asking where I’ve been. I am back on the bandwagon, and will write more regularly. I also have some fabulous new “Fab Friday’s in February” I’ll share soon!

 

Hope you and yours have had a great holiday and a happy new year!

teamann

 

Amber

 

 

Honor traditions #thefirstyear #VeteransDay

by 1 Comment

12219618_10153710111328088_5287469278051110673_n

 

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!

Click To Tweet

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

by Leave a Comment

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

Click To Tweet

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