#CelebrateMonday
Monday, March 4
This #CelebrateMonday is proof that perseverance and grit pay off! I started this early this morning but it took me all day to get it completed. As a result, some of you may feel like you are going back in time to #CelebrateMonday when you read this!
I hope that when you do read this - you are warm and cozy!
We've celebrated our tribes through #CelebrateMonday in the past - and I think it's a good thing for us to revisit now and then.
When it's cold and dreary, we can find that we want to keep to ourselves more. We get out less, connect less, and thus our tribes may suffer a little - or we may fail to find and connect with the tribes we need.
Likewise, the weather and the toll of these typically more difficult months of school can tend to make us a bit more negative or maybe little more cranky than usual. It's important to be careful about this - because our vibe attracts our tribe.
When people send out negative vibes, they tend to draw more negative people to themselves. Likewise, when we are more positive, we tend to draw more positive people to ourselves.
This is a really good time to reflect on the vibes you are sending out into the world. Are you sending positive vibes? Collaborative vibes? Encouraging vibes? Team-centered vibes? Or are you sending out negative vibes? Self-centered vibes? Discouraging or curmudgeonly vibes? I-centered vibes?
We can turn to them when times are tough AND we can turn to them when things are going awesome! We need to be able to do both!
It's important to recognize the need for and then to go out and find several different tribes. Our tribe in the workplace is definitely different than our familial tribe. They understand us differently, and they support us differently. Some have tribes that are softball or hockey teams, some have tribes who are book clubs, some have tribes within their churches, some have a tribe with whom they paint and drink wine. All of these are important for our health and overall well-being as a human.
What tribes are you part of?
What tribes may be missing from your life? Go out and connect!
When we think about the various tribes we are in or the various tribes we have seen, we can tell that they are not all the same - they are not equal. They act and function differently, and much of that has to do with the tribal culture.
Consider the tribes that exist within your buildings. Your building may have one big tribe, and then it also has many smaller tribes that exist as well. And if you consider those tribes, I'm sure you can identify in which stage each falls as referenced below.
As tribal leaders, we need to help "nudge" tribes forward - to help the tribe reach the next stage, and hopefully its fullest potential (stage 5). And while some of the examples Logan gives illustrate the extreme, I think it's possible for us to see these various stages within our school and our district, as it is a microcosm of society.
Stage 1 - those who systematically cut themselves out of the other tribes in our buildings and find others who have done the same (in the building or district) to form another, much more negative, tribe. Typically these are the educators who fall in quadrant 4 - they typically do not engage in PD, in meetings, and they rarely if ever get on board with school or district initiatives.
Stage 2 - this tribe tends to be those who feel they have seen it all before and if we all just wait we'll see things come back around again. They wait to engage in anything until it's been tried and it's working - and they welcome the opportunity to see something fail so they can say "I told you so."
Stage 3 - This is a dangerous place for us to hang out in education. This is the kind of thinking and attitude that perpetuates things like Teachers Pay Teachers. This notion that "I'm the best" does not celebrate collaboration or collegial conversations and sharing. While it is definitely better for a tribe to be in a place of "I'm great" than "My life sucks," we would all be better served - our students most of all - if we can help nudge these tribes along to Stage 4.
Stage 4 - This is where the magic happens. This is where we find collective efficacy. This is where we find people willing to take risks together to try new things, and to help each other problem solve for their students (or for each other). This is where we want all of our tribes to move to - because here they are no longer so concerned about hoarding the knowledge for themselves! They work for the good of the tribe!
Stage 5 - This is where history happens - a tribe in stage 5 is all about how to continue to improve and achieve to do better for themselves - not out of competition with another tribe in the school or district. This is when tribes within WSD realize that when connected to tribes in other districts they can do more and they can do better for all!
As leaders, we can help our people within these various tribes to grow! We can even self-reflect on our own tribes and nudge those tribes forward as well. I encourage you to take 16 minutes and 40 seconds to listen to/watch David's TED talk to learn more!
Leaders are fluent in all 5 stages!
And spend some time reflecting on your tribal leadership.
- Where and how are your tribes ready for you to give them a nudge?
- Are there tribes (or individuals within tribes) within your building or throughout the district that would benefit from you giving them a nudge?
Imagine how significant the impact of the WSD would be if the tribes within were operating at Stage 5!
Thank you all for being part of my tribe! And don't forget to make this the best Monday of the week!
Cheers!