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Colleagues,
MVP: There is a difference between the message we want to give and the message people need to get. Last week my publisher sent me four different mockups for my upcoming book, A School Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose. I immediately knew which one I liked the best, but as I reelected, I realized that my emotional reaction to the cover was intimately connected with my knowledge of the book. I realized that someone who didn’t know the book well might not react to the cover in the same way. I sent the four images out to a number of my close contacts and received really important feedback. There was one version that was heavily preferred, and it wasn’t the one I had first chosen. The cover of the book isn’t for me, it is for the person who I want to pick up the book. In the same way, when I have conversations with people, I need to think about what I want them to hear, not what I want to say. There is a subtle difference. Today’s intention: Monitor your speech today. Are you saying what you want to say, or are you speaking in a way that people can hear what they need to hear? Cheers! Frederick
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Colleagues, MVP: Sometimes the simplest solution is the most elegant. I am getting close to launching Strategic Leadership Academy, a place to explore my core leadership ideas in-depth. I will have courses for things like the Six Dimensions of Organization, the Four Patterns of Observation, and other topics. Right now, the focus is on getting the suite of Classroom Culture courses for both teachers and school leaders set. There are many moving pieces to this effort, one of which is course image cover art. On my website and in documents, a 1:1 ratio image looks best, but on my course platform, 2:1 is required. Mara, who is leading most of the nuts and bolts work, created a really nice 1:1 image, but we faced a decision when thinking about converting it to 2:1. We had three options:
The simplest thing to do was add the strip to each side, so that’s what we did.
Although one of the other solutions might have been better looking, it would have taken a lot of valuable time and energy. Deciding to spend that time and energy to enhance the course guide handout, which is more important, was a better way to spend our time and effort. A constant challenge in leadership is figuring out where it makes sense to invest your time. In the big picture, the most important thing is that you make these decisions intentionally. Today’s intention: What is something in which you can spend less time so you can invest that time into something more beneficial? Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Clear procedures are an easy win when there is common language and expectations. Today’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast features a coaching call with Mitchell Hall, certified Gifted and Talented Education Specialist with Garrett County Public Schools in western Maryland. Mitchell completed my free course on Classroom Culture Foundations and was inspired to put in place a couple important classroom procedures for the students he had once a week. Two interesting things happened:
As Mitchell and I discuss, there is still a lot to do, but the preliminary impact is exciting. What if, by developing common language and using common frameworks, we could create environments in which it became easier for everyone to do what they need to do? If there are key operations, procedures, or methods that people need to be able to do, is everyone looking at them the same way? What impact does common understanding have on the ease and quality of the tasks? If you are interested in taking the free version of my Classroom Culture Foundations course, email me and I will send you the link. Today’s intention: Monitor processes and procedures. Are there opportunities for simple improvement through building common understanding? Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Know how to turn your day around. I usually write these messages a week in advance. So it is that I am sitting down at 9:53 am on Feb. 12 and I feel like my morning has already gone off the rails. Our printer cartridge ran out and the printer would not read the off-brand one I replaced the original with. Thirty minutes of watching YouTube videos and some mild mechanical work to swap out chips on the toner cartridges and we are back in business. However, the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth, despite there being a full plate of Pam’s monster cookies on the counter. I realize this is a very minor and inconsequential issue, but the important point is that we all have those days where our attitude tanks. So, as leaders, what do we do when we feel diminished? Eating cookies sounds like a really appealing plan right now, but I am going in a different direction. I am completing the daily emails even though I don’t feel like it. I am powering through. That isn’t always the best choice, and I am doubting the value of this email as I write it. But sometimes we just need to get something done, and the daily email is always on my Monday priority list. I promise the rest of the week’s messages will be more positive. I am making that decision right now. Today’s intention: Check your own attitude. Is it where it needs to be? Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Be inspired today and pass that inspiration on to others. In the mountains of Western North Carolina (WNC) we are into the season that is a prelude to spring. We are having a week of days where it is 60 in the afternoon and 30 at night. The skies are crystal clear, and with the leaves off the trees there are plenty of inspiring mountain views. After this will come the rainy days, slightly warmer but gray and dreary. In April we will have a hard frost. The later it comes, the more flower buds it will kill, but it is also the last gasp of winter and temperatures will rise quickly once it has passed. Where is this going? I cannot choose the weather. I cannot choose how it affects my view. I wish I could control how it affects my mood, but that’s a 50/50 proposition. No matter the weather, or my mood, I do get to choose how I show up. My hope in showing up for YOU this morning is that I can inspire you.
Give grace to yourself and to others, and please use this little dose of inspiration to show up for others today. Today’s intention: #Inspiration – pass it on! Cheers! Frederick |
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