Change begins where?

Colleagues,

Happy Cinco de Mayo!
 
Today at 3:00 you’ll have the opportunity to listen to my interview with Leigh Ann Alford-Keith as we look at how to build better partnerships with families. For anyone out there interested in school community relations, this is a GREAT episode! Leigh Ann gives us three very actionable ways to create better family partnerships.
 
If you are not an educator, keep reading, there is something here for you.
 
If you are an educator, you will notice that I said, family “partnerships” not “relationships.”
 
In the traditional approach to family relationships, we try and get parents to support our goals for their children.
 
In a partnership, we work together to achieve mutually agreed upon goals that benefit all of us.
 
This requires a fundamental shift in how we view families, and this is the leadership lesson.
 
Achieving our goals often means changing how we do things. To do something new, we need to reframe how we view or understand the issue. 
 
Before acting externally, we need to act internally.
 
Consider this:

• What challenge are you facing?
• Could looking at it differently pave the way for something better?
• Can you reframe how you define the issue?

 
Cheers!
 
Frederick