The Cardinal Way
Sharing the Stories of Southport High School
Leading and Learning: PEOPLE FIRST
People first, everything else second. It is a powerful idea and the first step in loving those you serve. But, what does it really mean to put people first? It is a statement we hear a great deal in leadership, but often find putting into practice or into action on a daily basis much more challenging. The same to-do-list sits on our desk, the same problems are still there to be solved, and the same school accountability requirements are yet to be met. How do you put people first when all of these items are staring at us each day, drawing our attention from what really matters? The people- people matter, when it comes down to the core of what we do, people matter the most. Here are a few ways to measure where people fall as a level of importance in your daily work. If you invest your time here, people are (and will always be) your priority.
Listen to support, not to respond
How many times have you found yourself in a conversation, knowing exactly what you are going to say before the other person even stops sharing their thoughts? If we want to be approachable, we must make sure conversations focus on the other person and what they bring to the table, not on ourselves. Listen fully, stop, think, paraphrase, and then respond. As leaders, the conversation is not about us, it is about being supportive of the person who approached you. Most of the time, the advice you are quick to give is not as good as you think it is anyway. If you take time to be reflective before you answer, the advice you give will usually be more sound and taken with more merit. People have two ears and one mouth for a reason, use them in that proportion.
Ask questions that make it about the people you are talking with and their needs, not about you or your own personal needs. If we want to support others, we need to know where they need supported the most, or what support they even need. If we do not dig a little deeper into conversations, we will only help in superficial ways. Asking questions allows us to figure out where a person is starting, and then support them as they take those critical first steps.
It is always much better to take time while communicating with others. Impulsivity in responding immediately is the enemy of great leadership. While your knee jerk response may be good, it is rarely a well thought out insight into the situation. There are very few situations that need an immediate answer. In all honesty, in the complex world we live in and the complex problems that exist in our schools, rarely is there one answer that will address the heart of the matter. People need our ear and support much more than they need our advice.
When you do respond, do so with empathy and honesty
In the midst of difficult, emotional situations where honest, hard conversations must be had, our honesty can be delivered with empathy or with apathy. We cannot just be warm and fuzzy, we must be real and constructive or no growth can take place. It is this place in our heart and mind where the honesty comes from truly that matters as a leader. Too often we worry about how people will feel if given constructive criticism, so we avoid the conversation all together. While on the surface, this may seem like it comes from a place of concern and love, I want you to think about what that really shows the person. If we know a person is acting in a way that is hindering their growth, and we say nothing, who are we really concerned about in this situation? If we truly cared about that person, wouldn’t we want to help them improve? If we say nothing, we are only concerned with ourselves. We do not want the feedback to upset the individual and have them be angry with us. By avoiding the conversation we feel we are protecting ourselves, which is the opposite of outward, people first, thinking.
The challenge comes in how you respond in these situations. Honesty can be presented in vastly different ways, and can come from very different places as a leader. We must start with empathy and honesty first, then we can worry about results. We must start with individual relationships, and then we can focus on outcomes. If you put results and outcomes before caring, honesty, and individual relationships, your leadership is filtered down to a simple transactional interaction. When outcomes come first, people become objects used to get us the results we want, or need, for our own personal gain.
I want you to think back to a time when you were scolded. Maybe as a child, or maybe by a boss. Do you remember how you felt? Was the feedback given to you during that scolding accurate and needed at the time? Maybe the feedback was good, maybe not, but I am sure what you remember about the situation is the emotion that came along with it, not the feedback that was given at the time. I have messed up situations like this more often than I care to admit; it is not easy to come from a place of caring, and honesty in emotionally-charged situations. It takes investing in people over a long period of time, and concern for the individuals you are working with to get it right.
I also want to reiterate the fact that true love comes from a place of deep care and concern for an individual. We can love someone without always liking their behavior. Anyone who lives with, or works with, teenagers understands this. We love our kids even though we may not always like the decisions they make. You can be exhaustively frustrated with someone, and still want to help them that comes from a place of deep love and concern for them as people. Love means we treat people as they are, which is more than a sum of their actions or mistakes. They are human beings, and every human being deserves our love in action.
There a couple more parts that I believe are important as we put people first, but this is enough for this week...until next time...keep learning; keep growing; keep sharing! I will have more to share about this next week.
This will also be posted when finished my Principal's Blog
What it takes to #BeACardinal:
- our cafeteria staff for their efforts everyday to provide meals for our students!!
- Katherine Doty and Cody Wakefield for a great Jazz Cabaret event on Thursday night!
- Amy Boone for all the efforts she has already put into scheduling the chaos of ISTEP testing for this year.
- Nicole Gates and Jeremy Hoopingarner for their efforts in hosting the Mayor Neighborhood Council meeting last Wednesday. They both received high praise from our the Mayor office on their work that evening.
Grateful Friday Challenge
Hey! Yippie! We did it! Another great week in Perry-dise Township is almost finished and we have almost made it through the long, grueling, month of February, and if you are a calendar counter, you know that this is the last Friday of the month. And I don’t think I’m telling you something you don’t already know- but this one has been especially long for such a short month.
Everyday we get to interact with kids and teach something we are passionate about it is truly a reason to celebrate. I looked up reasons to celebrate in February and happened upon this website: National Day Calendar. I honestly had no idea that today was National Margarita Day… but you know what? Now that I know, I might just go out and get one tonight to celebrate this “holiday” in style.
This got me to thinking… if today is a day for skipping straws, being humble, and walking the dog… what else makes today worth celebrating? So this is your #SHSGFC challenge: Make today a day worth celebrating in your classroom. Post a sign outside your door with what you are celebrating inside in your classroom based on today’s lesson.
Here are some possibilities to get you thinking:
In Math: Celebrating 3.14, because honestly... Who doesn’t like pi?
In English: Celebrating the verb, because you can’t do anything without it!
In History: Celebrating history where stories are told and never get old… just kidding they get older everyday.
In Science: Celebrating books about anti-gravity. (They are hard to put down.)
In PE: Celebrating the only subject that makes you heart race.
In Special Ed: Celebrating our differences while finding our strengths.
In Art: Celebrating pottery! Let’s get fired up!
In Music: Celebrating where it’s okay to get into a little bit of treble.
In World Languages: Celebrating the smile... a language we can all speak fluently.
In FACS: Celebrating the skills that pay the bills.
In Business: Celebrating investments, they always get my interest.
Here’s to celebrating you,
With banners flying as we go! #FlyAsONE
BE A CARDINAL; CHANGE LIVES; PUT A MISSION INTO MOTION!
180 Days of Learning -- #CardsLearn
Act Six Scholarship
Darrah Franks
ISSMA
Jody Egan, Leah Enterline, and Rachel Ancelet
Aaron Strader
Educational Humor
Southport High School
Email: bknight@perryschools.org
Website: http://perryschools.org/sh/
Location: 971 E Banta Rd, Indianapolis, IN, United States
Phone: 317-789-4800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SHSCardinals/
Twitter: @SHS_Cardinals