Colleagues,
MVP: Invest in quadrant 2 – it’s the way to grow things. I went out to work in my garden to plant cucumbers this weekend. Before I put the seeds in the ground, these things happened:
At the end of the day, I had spent all my time on other activities and planted no seeds. It’s been hot and dry, so the water problem was quadrant 1 (urgent and important). The greenhouse mess had zero impact on the outdoor garden, but it felt urgent. Quadrant 3 (urgent, but not important). Think back to last week. Certainly, you were fixing some water systems. But did you plant any seeds, or were you too busy cleaning out your greenhouse? Cheers! Frederick
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Colleagues,
MVP: Presence is the gift! We expect leaders to share their vision, provide feedback, point the way, and solve problems. However, in a world of constant stimulation, vision, feedback, the way, and even solving problems just become more noise (especially if the problems you are trying to solve aren’t on the other person’s priority list). But imagine creating a quiet space - where a person can be still and reflect. What a gift! Intentionally being fully present (time + attention) is the first step to growing more reflective practitioners and to help you feel like you are fulfilling your purpose. Shhhh…. Cheers! Frederick Colleagues, Yesterday I mentioned the SWOT analysis. Another, related, form of reflection is the Stop-Start-Continue-Consider (SSCC) protocol that my good friend Dr. Darrin Peppard (Road to Awesome) shared with me. It’s pretty self-explanatory, but I go into more detail on yesterday’s podcast and you can grab a copy of both the SWOT and SSCC here. One caution: Your stop list should be longer than your start list! I’m happy to acknowledge Kaleidoscope Adventures as a sponsor of yesterday’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast! I appreciate their support and encourage you to connect with them if you are thinking about planning a school trip! Cheers!
Frederick Colleagues, MVP: Sorry, need to read… SWOT stands for strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT analysis helps leaders take stock of personal or organizational strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. In the past I’ve completed the SWOT focused specifically on my leadership, but I’ve also done them for my organization. You can get more details by listening to today’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast. You can also grab a simple version of the SWOT here. It is a valuable exercise that helps us reflect in a structured way. Thanks again to IXL for sponsoring today’s episode! Cheers!
Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: #1 - Lead by example, not just words. This is a very common leadership phrase, but what does it mean? Seriously. Does it mean we should do everyone else’s job? For me, in this moment, the number one key action for leadership is to support and grow your people. Maybe that is leading by example – if you are continually helping the organization be more responsive to their needs and continually helping them grow, maybe that is setting the example for them to do the same for others. So, overall, some good suggestions from ClaudeAI, but maybe a bit shallow in some areas. I’d love to hear what you think about Claude’s list or this message in particular. Just hit reply! Being vulnerable: I’m struggling to come up with fresh ideas for the daily email, so I asked ClaudeAI to generate a list of the 25 key actions for leadership. I will use ClaudeAI’s words for the MVP and everything else will be my take on the idea. I’ll cover the top ten over the next few weeks. Counting down backward of course! Cheers! Frederick |
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