Colleagues,
MVP: It’s a short message so just read it 😉 The only “why” that matters is your own “why.” This probably isn’t a true statement. But without knowing your “why”, do the other “whys” matter? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I am going to think about it today. It’s Friday, a good day for reflection. What will you reflect on? Cheers! Frederick
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Colleagues,
MVP: With trust and a clear goal, three heads really are better than one. Yesterday I shared how my friends Wes and Drew helped me replace some sagging beams on my patio. Wes teaches engineering and Drew teaches English at Western Carolina University. And I am a leadership guy. We each approach things differently, which turned out to be a huge benefit replacing the beams. It was a challenge to get rid of old rotten wood, keep the vine upright, and get 14’ logs into place simultaneously. We did a lot of brainstorming and it was so fun to watch how one person’s idea would get adjusted through a brief discussion. There was no ownership, no defensiveness or pushback. We were three people who trusted each other and just wanted to get a job done – safely. In the best teams I have worked with, this is what it has been like. Does a good team begin with trust or with “the mission” or something else? I’m not sure, but I know when a team works it is something joyful and special. Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: When things deteriorate over time, it can be hard to recognize when they are close to failure. Pam and I have a rustic patio in our backyard made of locust trunks and covered with a wisteria vine. It has been up for tenish years and some of the logs supporting the vine over the top of the patio had deteriorated to the point they needed to be replaced. Last weekend, my friends Wes and Drew came over to help me redo the top timbers. It turned out to be a bit more involved than what I thought it would be, but that’s tomorrow’s message. When we were finished, I was amazed at the difference. The patio felt so much more open. The vine sat almost two feet higher than it had been before we replaced the beams. I realized the vine had been sagging badly for several years, but because it happened over time I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten. Things happen that way. They gradually worsen over time. Sometimes we don’t realize it until it is too late. Today’s intention: Take stock – is there a vine ready to cave in? Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Being willing to fail is a prerequisite to doing something special. Without a willingness to fail, what can you achieve? Anything new is risky. Disrupting the status quo is risky. Chasing a vision, turning an individual vision into a collective one, putting yourself out there in any way that differs from what we know is a risk. So, if you aren’t willing to fail, what can you achieve? On today’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast, Dr. Nick Davies shares the story behind the mastermind group he built for his fellow assistant principals in rural Oregon. It is a story of being willing to fail. Today’s intention: Is there something you are so passionate about that you are willing to make it happen, even though you might fail? Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Without asking the right questions, making choices becomes problematic. Why aren’t my blueberry plants blooming? That’s the wrong first question. The correct first question is, is it worth doing anything about it? The second question is, what else could I do with the time and attention it would take to improve my blueberry situation? This has me wondering… what’s the relationship between asking questions and making choices? If we ask the wrong questions we may make poor choices, but it goes further. If we don’t ask questions, we may forget to choose. Today’s intention: Think about the week in front of you. What big things can you make choices about? What assumptions have you made? Cheers! Frederick |
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