GRIP Gold Newsletter Autumn 2014

GRIP GOLD MEMBER NEwsletter

autumN 2014

inside this issue of the newsletter Fostering Creative Leaders Page 4

How to Write a Proposal Page 6

Event Ideas for Winter Page 8

Newsletter GRIP GOLD MEMBER 1

follow us on instagram @gripleadership Below are some of the pictures that our travelling team posted every few hours on Instagram during recent tours for primary and secondary school conferences.

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grip LEADING & TEACHING A conference For Educators

2014 Topic: Good to Great A new way of viewing leadership...

“The GRIP team presented a thought-provoking and inspirational day. I am returning to my school re-charged with a new way of viewing leadership.”

Dianne Cowderoy, Sherwood Ridge PS

The GRIP Leading & Teaching Conference is for you, if you are an educator wanting to:

So many practical applications...

“An excellent program, it’s not very often you come across a PD that has so many practical applications.

Well worth attending. Thank you.”

Louise Judge, St Stephens School

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The ‘GRIP Leading & Teaching Conference’ was launched in 2013 to provide a fresh approach to leadership professional development for educators. After an enormously successful series of events, a brand new program has been developed for 2014 based on the research of Jim Collins and his work ‘Good to Great.’

“We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools... few people attain great lives, in a large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of schools, companies and people never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good – and that is their main problem... The good is the enemy of the great. This is not just a business problem. It is a human problem”. (Jim Collins, 2001)

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Gain valuable new insights to improve your own leadership.

Learn about new strategies and tools to assist in the development of student leadership within your school.

Network with other teachers who have an interest in school leadership.

Being held at 9 locations in 2014 (All events 9am-3.30pm) 16th June – Launceston TAS 17th June – Melbourne VIC 18th June – Canberra ACT 19th June – Sydney NSW 20th June – Newcastle NSW 23rd June – Mackay QLD 24th June – Brisbane QLD 26th June – Adelaide SA 27th June – Perth WA

Cost

Regular Ticket: $250 per person GRIP Gold Member Schools: $100 per person* Cost Includes course fee, catering, materials. *Max 4 people per school at discounted price.

If you are not sure whether your school is a ‘GRIP Gold’ member then ask our team!

Register now online at www.gripleadership.com.au

Newsletter GRIP GOLD MEMBER 3

Fostering

Creative Leaders

By Karl Brown GRIP Team Member

C

reativity, by nature, can be a very mysterious creature. At times it can feel elusive and fleeting, nebulous or vague – sometimes even downright foreign – but the power of creativity is undeniable.

It is something that is prized in the workplace, and it is a key factor in the advancement of society as a whole. It is one of the essential ingredients in the design of beautiful and bold new architectural structures; in environmental conservation and development; advancements in the arts and sciences…in short, creativity is a fundamental and highly desirable human quality.

Those of us who work with student leaders have an amazing opportunity to foster creativity within their specific context. Through being mindful about our preparation, engagement, and the opportunities we provide, we can build an enjoyable and creative leadership experience for our students. In this article, we have provided six suggestions to get you thinking of ways to integrate creativity into your student leadership team.

1. Reinforce that everyone has the capacity to be creative By virtue of being human, we are creative beings. Our ideas, initiatives, and brainstorms are all creative acts.

Creativity should be seen as a skill to be developed, rather than the mindset of ‘I’m not the creative type. You either have it or you don’t.’ Sometimes all that creativity needs is an opportunity to imagine. Creativity often comes about when people feel as though anything is possible; when anything and everything could happen.

Now, there is a time and place for being realistic, and scaling grand projects back to an appropriate size, etc – but during the dreaming and brainstorming part, the sky’s the limit! With this in mind, deliberately encourage your students to be creative, to think big, and remind them that being creative is inside all of us!

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2. View failure as part of the process

5. Utilise external inspiration

Students (and teachers, for that matter) need regular reminders that it’s OK to fail when you try something new. We need to create safe environments for students to try all sorts of undertakings as leaders, confident that any failures along the way won’t be permanent, and won’t be judged too harshly. Encourage your leaders to take appropriate risks, and not to focus on the fear of failure, but rather on the possibility of success.

Following on from the aforementioned indirect approach – find the best student leadership team(s) that you can, and learn from them. Show your students what’s possible, and expand their thinking through success stories, pictures, and video examples. You may even be able to arrange a visit with another school’s leadership team to learn from them directly – or better still, collaborate on a community project!

Seeing what’s possible is a wonderful kick-start for the creative process, and can catapult your students beyond safe, ‘inside-the-box’ thinking.

3. Lead by example Educators are often reminded of the power of modelling behaviours, values, etc. to their students.

When it’s time to dream and brainstorm in your student leadership team, rather than running the meetings at a distance, roll up your sleeves and pitch ideas in as well. Don’t get me wrong, there is great wisdom in leaving space to allow the students to grab hold of the reins and take responsibility in meetings – but modelling creativity is an excellent way to foster it. It sends a message to students that “This is what we do here. We are in this together. Do as I do.” Let them see you leading in a hands-on way at their level.

Through many conversations with students and staff, as well as from my personal experience as a student leader, these types of meetings can be very special environments with a unique and interactive dynamic shared between staff and students.

4. Use direct and indirect approaches Creativity is something that can be explicitly developed directly or facilitated indirectly. You can encourage creativity directly through intentional creative exercises at the beginning of meetings, and though things that the students are aware are designed to get them thinking. Indirect creative development, on the other hand, might be developed through showing them what others have done, fostering creativity through exposure. Having an awareness of these two approaches can help you to be creative and intentional in building the creativity of your leaders.

6. Encourage students to take ownership There is nothing that has made a more significant difference in my personal journey of leadership than the concept of responsibility. Students taking ownership (i.e. This is my school, and participating in our leadership team is a great opportunity for me to make a difference) can foster a highly creative environment. At first blush, these may seem to be unrelated ideas – but those who feel responsible for, for example, the condition of their school grounds, are far more likely to engage creatively to ensure that the problem is solved. Building a sense of ownership and responsibility in your students is an excellent way of indirectly developing creative thinking and problem solving. Once you’re invested, then challenges become your challenges to solve, in the same way that successes and wins become your wins.

These six suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg, but hopefully they have got you thinking. When you’re planning your next student leadership meeting, think creatively, and see if you can include a few of the ideas listed above in order to build an exciting environment that fosters and encourages creativity and possibility.

Creativity Newsletter GRIP GOLD MEMBER 5

Helping Student Leaders Write a Proposal for a New Idea

By Ronan McGinniss GRIP Team Member

H

ow do we get our teachers to say yes to our ideas? This is one of the most common questions that we are asked by students at the GRIP Student Leadership Conference. It seems that there is often a perception that the student leaders are facing a battle against the teachers when it comes to trying to gain permission to proceed with a new idea that they have thought up.

My assumption is that student leaders ask us this question, hoping to gain new ammunition to win this perceived battle. When answering the question I always tell students that this situation should never be thought of as a fight or even an obstacle. If the students have been told that an idea cannot proceed, this is usually always as a result of either an adult identifying something important or student failing to raise their idea in the most sensible way. Often the ‘powers that be’ hear about the new idea totally out of context and after the rumour mill has exaggerated it. The resulting disappointment can often be deflating for student leadership teams, but could easily have been avoided.

As a suggestion, the following 3 step process may be useful for your student leaders to follow when they are seeking permission for a new idea.

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1. Have 2 student leaders make an appointment proposal then it may help for the student leaders to with the principal/teacher who will make the reinforce the end goal that is trying to be achieved, and to ask the decision maker whether they have final decision. ideas as to how this could be accomplished.

As soon as the new idea is raised, make the appointment for a week or two later. This gives the students a short deadline in which to write the proposal (the next step.) It also means that if the final decision maker hears anything concerning about the proposed idea they know that they have an opportunity already arranged to raise it directly with the students, rather than passing on a message through another staff member.

An important thing to remember are that leadership is not about pushing an idea in front of people, but rather about developing ways to serve others. In addition, open and clear communication will always help in reaching the best solutions, and making the whole process a peaceful and enjoyable one for everybody.

2. Write a proposal document to present at the meeting.

The writing of this document will help the student leaders think through the details of the new idea and may even bring their attention to anything that the final decision maker is likely to comment on. The proposal should be well presented but does not need to be difficult. In the box on this page you will see the 7 headings that we suggest the proposal should address. You can also download a free template for this proposal from www.gripsocial.com.au

3. Have the meeting with the decision maker and ask questions.

At the meeting the students representing the leadership team should commence by presenting the written proposal. If the decision maker decides that this idea cannot proceed, it would be wise to ask in a respectful manner whether there is anything from the proposal that could be changed in order for the idea to be adapted for it to be accepted. This may lead to a solution. If there are too many obstacles within the

FREE

7 AREAS TO COVER IN A PROPOSAL: 1. Summary of idea 2. Benefits to the school 3. Students involved 4. Teacher involvement 5. Times 6. Money 7. Risk management

We have a FREE copy of a propsal template for you to download and use with your students. Available in the ‘downloads’ section at www.gripsocial.com.au Newsletter GRIP GOLD MEMBER 7

Event Ideas for winter #DoSomething Photo Contest Date: 14 April - 31 May

Web: dosomethingnearyou.com.au

The #DoSomething Photo Contest aims to influence Australians to explore, engage and empower change through volunteering in their local communities. You can submit a photo that illustrates community volunteering.

NAIDOC week Date: 6-13 July Web: naidoc.org.au NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia in the first full week in July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

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W

e hope you’ve had a great first term at school! If you and your leadership team are interested in continuing to make a difference both in your school and community throughout the middle of the year, then running an event or fundraiser might do just that! There are hundreds of events already happening across Australia every year. You might have even watched TV commercials about various awareness days, and chances are you’re not the only person who saw them.

These types of events are a great place to start when thinking about a fun and exciting event to run at your school. If you are wondering just where to begin, here are six great events we found coming up in Term 2 and Term 3. The next step for you and your leadership team is to get started on them right now. Good luck!

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea Date: 22 May Web: biggestmorningtea.com.au Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea is a fun and easy way to raise money for cancer research, prevention programs, advocacy and support services. Host your morning tea at school, at home or with your local community group and have a cuppa for cancer.

Red Nose Day Date: 27 June Web: rednoseday.com.au Rudolf is in fine company on the last Friday in June each year as Red Nose Day hits our streets.

As the annual major fundraiser for SIDS and Kids, Red Nose Day helps them provide vital services and programs to the Australian community.

National Science Week Date: 16-24 August Web: scienceweek.net.au National Science Week celebrates the contributions Australian Scientists have made to the world.

The theme for this year’s National Science Week is A Century of Australian Science.

R U OK? Day Date: 11 September Web: ruokday.com Are You Ok Day is an annual national day of action that aims to get Australians reaching out to anyone doing it tough and simply asking: “Are you ok?”