we are facing. So it is okay to accept that others can’t see the side of the moon you are facing. And it’s helpful to remember that they have areas you can’t see either.
Try to See the Other Side
When was the last time you reflected on the influence your communication may be having on others? How is your messaging helping or hurting others in their attempt to have a better perspective?
You may be managing personnel decisions or implementing policies for student discipline, or you may be guiding choices on curriculum or instruction. Whatever the tasks ahead, don’t forget that at the end of the day, the moments that matter most will often be the small moments. It may even be a twenty-second conversation—a word of encouragement you offer a teacher or student. Or maybe it’s a reminder you give someone that he or she is talented and has something to offer the world. It may be a program you’ve helped develop.
No matter what pressures you face throughout your school, keep in mind that there are others whose lives are simply or sometimes radically influenced when they know you believe in them, want the best for them, and provide opportunities for them to learn.
We all want others to understand our point of view; however, you cannot allow your motivation to always achieve perfect understanding drive your messaging. Sometimes you can build stronger trust when you accept that you are limited in your perspective, when you must listen openly to learn from others, and when you give others the benefit of the doubt even when you can’t always see the other side of every issue. When you acknowledge this perspective and begin communicating from it, it helps you see how you can still direct, coach, announce, guide, and celebrate common goals without being caught off guard by limited understanding.
Now It’s Your Turn
• Do you make time to listen?
• What positive steps can you take to be a better listener?
• How comfortable are you with the knowledge that no matter how great your intentions or comprehensive your communication tools, others may sometimes misunderstand you?
• What steps are you willing to take to see the other side of the moon with your students, teachers, parents, and community?
Wrap Up
Successful leadership is not simply about focusing on evaluations, test scores, or wins and losses. Data are important, but leaders must see data as contributing factors to the overall positive culture and learning experiences. The implications of the Gallup (2013) research for school success are clear: engagement begins when we first create an environment in which students and staff members feel valued and heard, are engaged, understand what their roles are, and know what they can do to develop their strengths. They must also feel that their leader understands the foundation of effective communication. Once they are engaged, watch out! Your messaging within an engaged culture is much more than a set of words; it is a call to action.
| 2 | Cultivating a Positive Message With Teachers |
Communication is the key, and it’s the one thing I had to learn…. I was so involved with the visual and technical aspects that I would forget about the actors.
—Steve Buscemi
As an actor, Steve Buscemi had the advantage of spending years in front of the camera before he began working behind the camera as a director. But like anyone who steps into a leadership position, he had to learn that management of others is not just about outcomes; it is ultimately about people. The same lesson applies in school leadership.
For several summers, I had the privilege of traveling to Washington, DC, as a coordinator for our state principal’s association. One of my responsibilities was to set up educational advocacy meetings with members of Congress on Capitol Hill. One summer I traveled there with my superintendent of schools, Rick Thomas. On our last day in Washington, we had some downtime before heading to the airport. We decided to rent a kayak and paddle along the Potomac River to Theodore Roosevelt Island.
As we settled into our boat and started paddling, we quickly discovered we weren’t making much progress. I was paddling in one direction while Rick was paddling in another. After realizing what we were doing, we laughed and then agreed that paddling together would be a lot more effective than each of us trying to separately navigate the course. As I paddled in front, and he provided steering in the rear, we finally began gliding across the water near the Key Bridge.
As this story shows us, when we paddle together—when we form a cooperative culture, collaborate, and communicate effectively—we achieve more than we could alone. Begin with a focus on these three Cs to help promote positive messaging with teachers in a school community.
Emphasize the Three Cs
There are some mindsets you can cultivate with the teachers and other staff members at your school so that you are paddling together throughout the school year. Each one plays a significant role in how well everyone steers in the same direction—not just on the first day of school but all year long.
Encourage a Cooperative Culture
Your messaging should encourage team members to embrace norms and shared practices that create a supportive learning culture in which teachers feel safe to teach and continue to learn. You model culture by the way you behave. When you greet teachers with phrases like, “Hi. How can I help you today?” or when you stop and give someone a moment of undivided attention, you create an environment where he or she feels safe to learn and teach. Nothing damages a school culture more than a climate in which teachers feel unsure, unsafe, or unproductive.
Your messaging must help teachers feel confident, safe, and productive. The first place this happens for many teachers is during the interview process. Interviewing is the perfect time to communicate the values, outcomes, and priorities you expect and provide. Another ripe moment for messaging is in your very first faculty meeting of the year. Just like a classroom teacher needs to immediately engage students, school leaders need to engage teachers in the expectations, procedures, and processes everyone shares to encourage a positive school environment. Then throughout the year, re-emphasize this expectation of cooperation in conversations, emails, professional development, or faculty meetings. Make sure faculty handbooks include common expectations. Each faculty meeting, highlight best practices you are seeing among teachers. Acknowledge and talk about successes happening in classrooms. And then support teachers by expecting and maintaining a schoolwide environment that is safe and conducive to learning.
I remember working with one talented young teacher who was feeling overwhelmed with his responsibilities and requested a meeting. He brought with him a list of almost a dozen items he wanted to discuss. I responded to each item by reassuring him that the solution would be one that had his best interest and the best interest of his students in mind. I reminded him that teaching is hard but it is also rewarding. We navigated through his concerns, talking for almost an hour. When the meeting ended, he crumpled up his notes and threw them in my trash can.
“Thanks,” he said. “I can’t believe how much better I feel just having time to talk.”
Talking for an hour was a big commitment for both of us after a busy day of school, but that one hour of conversation provided weeks of relief from the stress and anxiety he had been facing.
Promote Collaboration
Professionals cannot grow their skills in strategy or procedure without collaborating. Your school might invest time in becoming a professional learning community (PLC; DuFour, DuFour,
