Who Do You Believe In, And Who Believes In You?
How many of your teachers are on your side… Why would they be, and even if some are on your side. –Do you honestly deserve it?
The real question is… Do you inspire loyalty?
If you are not sure, honestly… you probably don’t.
Let’s think about this a little bit. You probably have at least 50 to 75 teachers, a couple dozen office staff, custodian etc. All of which have there own ideas, beliefs, strategies, and behaviors.
Your job is to bring them all together, and work as a team to achieve a multitude of common goals. The logistics of getting all these people on the same page is daunting. There are hundreds of instances every day that can cause turmoil and strife.
The first common mistake that principals often make is to treat their group of teachers… like a group of teachers. What I mean is… If you are trying to deal with and control your teaches as a group –well you might as well try to control the weather.
What I am trying to say without saying it is… True influence is only achieved through real personal connections. Your teachers will only invest in you, as much as you invest in them.
There are some magic pills, and if you are willing to take them… You will find your self light years ahead of all of your counterparts. But they are not always easy pills to swallow, so consider your self warned.
This article is the first of a series… and in this first message I want to talk about the first step that will put you on the road to wise leadership.
*Warning – this is not for everyone! This series can only benefit you if you are willing to commit to brutal honesty, and some real self examination.
So if you are up to it… let’s take our medicine!
Pill #1: Ego Examination
First let me state that I am a huge proponent of strong decisive leadership, but there is a time for everything. What I mean is, authority can only take you so far and if you are not careful the natives will slowly turn on you.
So if using your authority is your only move, then you are in some trouble. Soon you will be caught in a vicious cycle of giving orders and dispensing punishment. Inevitably your whole organization will adopt this method and your great little school will hemorrhage fear, intimidation, and retribution.
Sadly… on average a majority of people that are presented with a difficult situation will slowly revert to this punishing method.
It is disappointing to see this happen time after time, it seems to be hiding just under the surface in just about every school that we have worked with.
Without a system in place that insures a conditioned environment of positive discipline, then unfortunately human nature takes over and frustration leads to anger which leads to punishment.
Don’t let yourself be pulled into this cycle. If you are unsure how to avoid this problem, or if you are currently frustrated… then make sure you contact me, I would like to help you.
Aaron Beckstead
Character Always- “The Missing Piece in Positive Discipline and Character Education”
characteralways.wordpress.com
