Hills

Until I read this bit by Steve Magness, I never realized that while I’m an amateur hill climber as a runner, I’ve become a professional hill climber at work!  There really isn’t anything about this quote that I don’t like; from the runner perspective everything is easier when you’re running with friends – speed work outs, running up mountains, pacing a marathon, or even out on an easy training run.  When you have someone with you, the challenges are always a bit less of a challenge.  I don’t know why this is the case, but Steve is spot on.  Maybe it’s not that the challenge is easier, but, for certain, the task ahead ahead of you seems more manageable.  

Regarding the time we spend here at 7000 S. Third Street, the same ideas hold true.  If you were at the Gala this year, you probably heard me talk a bit (on mic) about what has sustained us this year: our ability to stick together.  We aren’t trying to tackle challenges alone, we are getting up those hills together because that’s the best way to do it, and this year, I’m not sure there is any other way.  A few times this year, we’ve chuckled during a meeting, when I paint the picture a little rosier than the situation actually may appear and Steve’s quote is why.  When I’m being Principal Optimist it’s not because I don’t see the hills in front of us, it’s because I know the people I’m lucky enough to have with me.  

George

I want to be like George. Of the many positive qualities that we all witnessed George embody, the one I admire most was that he didn’t let things get to him. In my 13 years of working with George, I have seen him in some tough spots and up against some big jobs and all he ever did was get to work on it. He never lost his cool, he never complained, and was always a part of the the team. George’s signature phrase of “oh, yes” was more than just a throwaway response, it was his willingness to do what needed to be done. There were always things to clean, or things to move, or interruptions to his routine that he had to deal with, but it never seemed there was any internal struggle around stepping up when we needed him. In my {nearly} 11 years as principal, there have been plenty of things that have changed, but thankfully George isn’t one of them. On March 1st, George’s first official day of retirement, Condit will enter the post-George era; I’m not looking forward to that day, but George’s retirement has been well earned and I wish him nothing but the best. Is Condit lucky to have had George here for the past 27 years? Oh, yes.

Don’t be toxic

Adam Grant was talking about the idea of toxic positivity and I couldn’t agree more. The first two sentences really say it all. When we urge someone to feel a certain way, it ignores what they are going through. Sometimes you just have to embrace the suck as they say. We all go through tough times and knowing that things usually work themselves out in due time has always kept me going. Whether it’s a tough stretch on campus, or I’m going through a dark place in a race, having perspective allows me to get through the worst of it. The last part is 100% #principalgoals, and this year has been a perfect example. I know the asks have been big, at times, and the changes have been disruptive. While I do ask that, as adults, put on a brave face for our kids, I hope that I provide the right support and never dishonored any personal struggles.

Now that I think more about this, maybe Adam isn’t talking about just leadership, maybe he’s talking about how we all support each other. When he talks about avoiding toxic positivity, maybe he’s giving us all the blueprint for how we get through it together.

The drawbacks of lockstep

In my experience, this has not been a consistent value in every school, nor district, in which I’ve worked. While I absolutely value the idea of consistency within a grade level, I’ve never believed that equates to the entire team being in lock-step about everything, especially not when it comes to a teacher letting their personality out. Should every student in a given grade level have access to the same high quality, enriching learning experiences? Absolutely. Will it look the exact same in every classroom, probably not. The most successful teams, and schools, that I have been a part of are the ones where teams want everyone to look good. If you’ve ever been a part of a team when one person wants to be the star, or favorite, then you know what a miserable existence that can be at times. Teachers each have strengths and talents that make them amazing; I hope the decisions I make as a building leader never stifles that.

This, legitimately, has been my mantra each year, when there is an opportunity to bring new people to our team. If I’ve hired you, then you’ve heard me say as much – I tell you that I’m bringing you on because you have something, an expertise, that our campus needs. I don’t want folks to join our team and then just be like everyone else; I’m not looking for full scale rebellion, but I am looking for teachers who have expertise and experience that our campus needs, that will make all of us more effective educators. Similarly, when talking about the leaders on our campus, I’ll often tell folks that these people are much smarter than I am :). I feel that some leaders don’t succeed because they are caught up on feeling like they are the smartest person in the room, maybe it’s an ego thing, I’m not sure. In any case, I’m grateful for the folks we have, I do my best to learn from you each day, and I try my hardest to honor your expertise as we plan for instruction.

Empathize before criticize

I feel like I’ve lived my life by this idea. There have been times, where things doing look right, and I’ve always found myself asking that person if everything is ok before I launch into my concern. I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) that there is more information I need before I sit in judgement on someone or say something without understanding the full picture. I think this is true of the times I worked with teachers, students, and parents. It’s not about allowing people to sidestep expectations, it’s about making sure I have a full understanding so I can put my ‘asks’ in context. It’s difficult to pause, especially when I’m upset about something that is happening, but I’ve learned that is what’s best.

You know, it kind of sounds like seek first to understand, before being understood. 🤔

Blocks or stones

I really like this quote, and I’m trying my best to shift my thinking to embrace it. The nonsense we are often challenged to navigate often seem more like an obstacle than a stumbling block; stumbling blocks seem relatively minor and some of what we need to sort out is significantly bigger. However, I do like the idea of taking a perceived negative and turning it into a positive. I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently; sometimes I’m guilty of pushing back before considering how something might make me a better school leader. I’m not saying everything I’m ever asked to do has a silver lining, but I think I owe it to myself, and our school, to always look for the upside.

Change the ending

Full disclosure on this one – Jim Tressel is the former head football coach at The Ohio State University, so if you were wondering why I follow him, now you know. 😉

All of that aside, this quote that he shares from C.S. Lewis is fantastic, and it makes sense that it would come from a ‘coach’. Part of what coaches, and teachers, do is intervene while things aren’t going well. Kids get a bad grade, are lost during a lesson, or having trouble with a friend. We are the ones there to provide perspective; to share with them that this isn’t the end, it’s part of the journey. Heck, this works for us as adults as well. We all make missteps, or make our way down the rabbit hole, and feel like there’s no coming back from a mistake or a tough situation. The quote holds true for us as well; in a matter of speaking, we’re always in the middle, right?

If you end up sharing this quote with your class, let me know what they think about it? I’m curious how they will respond. I’m betting they will share words of hope that will underscore the growth mindset we foster here at Condit.

Stay Present

I can’t wait to get the 2022-2023 school year started and enjoy the journey we are all going to take together.  In fact, before we left on summer break in June this past year, I shared with our staff that I can’t remember being so excited about the start of school…and we hadn’t even left the building yet!  I’ll be honest, that excitement has only grown over the summer.  I think there are a lot of reasons why I feel that way, and after a conversation I had this past week, I think I know why.

The last two weeks have been filled with preparation and learning.  August is like new years for teachers – we turn the page to the start of a new school year and set big goals.  During one session our counselor, Mrs. Nieto was talking about practicing mindfulness as adults and with our students.  Part of being a leader is being able to self regulate, which starts with having tools to pause and breathe.  When sharing she said something along these lines, I know she will excuse me if it’s not verbatim:

Anxiety lives in the future, regret lives in the past, but being mindful helps us to remain present.

Wow, right?  I’m not sure I can think of a better sentiment to describe how I feel going into this year.  As we begin our first post-pandemic school year, I can see how all of these three pieces, likely, reside in all of us.  It’s easy to look back on the challenges we’ve endured as a community these past few years.  It’s equally easy to be nervous about what’s around the next corner that could throw us for a loop.  But, what a fantastic idea to put both of those thoughts to the side and focus on what we have right now, a brand new year with endless possibilities for adventures, experiences, and growth.  That sounds like something I can get behind 🙂

AMPed

In one of our morning sessions during the first week back for staff on Wednesday, one of our teachers was talking about Dan Pink’s book When, that talks about the secrets of timing. I read it when it came out a few years ago, but I wanted to revisit the ideas so I decided to listen to a podcast this morning on my run that featured an interview with Dan Pink. The interview ended up being more about the chronology of his books, which was nice because it allowed me to think about an idea from one of his previous books, Drive. In his book, Pink talks about the three components of intrinsic motivation. As I thought about these three factors, my mind went to two different places: how do I feel about these three factors as they relate to my current position, and how does our staff feel about them. First things first, I’ll start with me:

Autonomy – I feel like I have a good deal of autonomy, or the ability to direct my work. I recognize that our school is part of a much larger organization, and there are going to be somethings that aren’t in my control. There are policies set in place for the greater good of the district, but within that space I feel I have a significant amount of decision making power to move the work forward. Based on what I learned about my personality type a few days ago, this is probably the most important aspect to me. I like to have some direction, but room to make decisions within that structure.

Mastery – While I absolutely have the desire to improve, I wouldn’t mark my current situation as high in this area. I think that, as a larger organization, I don’t have the opportunities to grow my skillsets unless I go out of my way to find those opportunities, and in most cases, take care of them off the clock. I’m motivated by the desire to get better, but my job/profession doesn’t build that regularly in to my work day.

Purpose – I think it’s safe to say that anyone who has committed their life to education feels a great sense of purpose. The impact we get to make in the lives of hundreds of students each year is almost overwhelming. I believe in what we do, particularly the parts that we have autonomy to decide – example: The Leader in Me.

If I could add one more aspect to this list of motivators it would be community. For those of us who have worked at schools, or in jobs, where that sense of community was absent, it’s clear to see why people choose to leave. I know that at times our sense of community is tested, or strained, but at the end of the day, this sense of belonging is what underpins all of these other areas.

I’ll be honest, I’m intensely curious about how our staff feels about these three areas. I created a super short anonymous survey and sent it in this week’s memo to everyone, and I looking forward to hearing how folks are feeling after one week back. I hope this data will give me information that I can reflect on. After all, what matters most is that our entire team feels like this is the place for them to grow, provide impact, and feel like they belong.

#conditproud

Dan