Reflection 4

Leadership Connector, Safety

"Schools must become communities where caring, vigilant people create a culture where everyone belongs..."

This chapter discussed many different aspects of safety that are very important for us to think about as new administrators. However I found the section that discussed bullying to be very significant.  We think about kids being bullied all the time. We work diligently (at my campus) to stop bullying amongst the students by implementing 'no bully zones', having kids sign contracts, etc. but I've never really thought about the adults on campus that may bully a peer. I realize now that this is something that I will have to watch for and become more vigilant about, so that I can ensure safety for my entire staff.

Reflection 3

Leadership Connector, Support

"When leaders provide support, they are saying, "You are important to me; you are important to our school. You are needed, wanted, and valued"

Support is a critical aspect to leadership that comes in different forms: financial, material, emotional, etc.  As leaders, we need to realize the importance of supporting our staff to ensure that we are constantly building them up and supporting them.  This can be done in many ways and through many venues. It is  crucial for us to realize that support needs to be differentiated for staff members in order to meet their individual needs.

Being visible was one aspect of the chapter that stuck out to me the most.  This is something that we have heard echoed from SUSD leaders, leaders at my school site, and now in this book.  The visibility is important for students and parents because it shows that the leader is active in the school and with the students.  The leader should be out greeting kids and parents in the morning and showing support for them.  The leader should also be around to classrooms, visiting teachers during prep times, coaching, working with teachers, etc. to help build capacity and support for teachers. 

Reflection 2

Leadership Connectors: Communication

Previously, when discussing communication in classes, we seemed to focus on ‘courageous conversations’ and how they are inevitable.  We also discussed different ways to go about them and even practiced them on classmates.  We have also touched on other forms of communication, but not as in depth as we could have.

In contrast, Hensley and Burmeister discuss the importance of different forms (oral, written, and nonverbal) of communication in a little more depth than we have before.  They also discuss how it can affect us both positively and negatively and give examples of both.  I appreciated that they pointed out that communication is a key connector that, when in place, gives other connectors a chance to flourish (2).

Even though all areas of communication are important, the area that really stuck out for me was written communication.  In the past I have worked with administrators who have been great verbal communicators, but are simply appalling when it comes to written communication. In fact, I was astounded when reading one principal’s message for the monthly newsletter and seeing all of the grammatical and spelling errors.  It was also frightening when I was given a letter of recommendation from a principal that contained spelling errors (Can you still use it?  Do you tell them about the errors?).  

With that being said, I plan to make it a focus of mine to be as articulate as possible in both verbal and written communication.  I will use the ideas from the text of having someone edit my writing before submitting to teachers, parents, etc.  My written communication really is just as important as my verbal communication because it represents me— as a leader and a person.

Reflection 1

I found the first class session to be very beneficial.  I appreciate that we were able to spend some time getting to new our new cohort members and getting to know our new small group that we will be blogging with.  I am very excited about the fact that we are working with other districts.  This will give us a new perspective of what is happening in districts around us and hopefully will instill new ideas and foundations in us that we can employ as we enter into our leadership roles.

Now onto motivation:

Pink’s video on motivation showed that autonomy, mastery, and purpose are three of the leading ways to enhance motivation.  It also discussed how monetary rewards do not guarantee harder or more efficient workers.

Personal Quick note on motivation:

I plan to employ many different techniques in order to motivate my teachers and peers.  One technique that should be successful is using the tight-loose theory and allowing teachers to be self-directed on some of the ‘loose’ items.  If teachers are allowed the freedom to use their own techniques in these areas we will see a flourish of outstanding ideas, that we would not have seen if I was tight about everything.