CULTURE DOMAIN
BUILDING & MAINTAINING SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIPS
HOPE & RELATIONSHIPS
The ongoing result of highly effective leadership is a school filled with hope. The leader creates and fosters a culture of hope, but that is only possible through sustained relationships with both students and adults. Relationships lead to hope. A culture of hope can weather the ever-changing climate of school and community contexts. Maintaining that culture rests on the ability of the leader to constantly assess, feel, and respond to the relational pulse of the school which truly is the art of leadership. If relationships wane, then culture erodes, and hope is lost.
KNOWING YOURSELF
Hope starts with the leader, but more specifically, deep inside the heart of the leader. If a leader truly believes that each and every student can and will be successful, no exceptions, then that belief permeates throughout an entire school. Every action and attitude must be centered and unwavering on the belief in all kids. Hope-centered consistency and leadership will slowly turn the hearts and minds of everyone else in the system, but it must start by reflectively looking within before trying to lead others. What is it about you that exudes hope? What is it about your personality that draws people to you? What is it about you that inspires people to follow your leadership? (See the “Becoming” side of the School Leader Paradigm.)
KNOWING YOUR TEAM MEMBERS
KNOWING YOUR STAFFULTY
School leadership has only grown exponentially more complex in the last decade requiring proactive, intentional, reflective and adaptive actions by the leader. Trust and relationships are the foundational blocks for those actions. Each adult in the system requires the same individualized attention that we expect teachers to be applying to their students. A leader who attempts a one-size-fits-all approach to creating adult relationships will fail. We are all inherently different; different personalities, strengths, weaknesses, backgrounds, lived-experiences, expectations, etc. These differences are what make a team strong and effective. Understanding and recognizing those differences throughout the “becoming while doing” process of leadership is paramount to success.
KNOWING YOUR CONTEXT
We say leadership matters all the time, but we don’t pay enough attention to how much context matters in establishing and maintaining relationships. What’s going on in your personal life or the lives of those around you that impacts relationships? Individual Context should be considered above all else in examining relationships. After that, there are also a myriad of both positive and negative influences within your School Context, Community Context, and the Political Context that directly impact relationships. As you begin to assess your school’s culture, make sure you simultaneously are considering those contextual influences.
The combined research on effective school leadership and school turnover all point towards relationships as the key ingredient. Leaders must always be cognizant of the interplay of relationships and the level of support that exists (or doesn’t) in the building. We’ve determined that the staffulty in the building will land in one of three categories as a result of leadership actions and attitudes.
“All In”
Those who are “All In” on your leadership have at some point decided they trust, appreciate, and respect your leadership. They will follow your lead because they believe in you. These people will support you throughout the climate changes, provide crucial critical feedback, and will contribute to building on your vision and the school’s culture.
“On the Fence”
Those who are “On the Fence” about your leadership are still assessing how much they trust you vs. the opinions of others. They are easily swayed by the climate changes in the school and the actions of the leader. They quite often have been burned by previous building leaders or the impacts of leadership churn. They tend to avoid conflict and stick to their primary job responsibilities.
“Out and About”
Those who are “Out and About”have not yet embraced you or your vision for the school. They are quite often the vocal minority in a building, but with powerful influence on the school’s culture. These people are not shy in obstructing your leadership, challenging your initiatives, or openly being “out and about” recruiting opposition against you. Whether overtly or covertly, your leadership is questioned and under attack.
ASSESSING YOUR STAFFULTY
REFLECTING ON RELATIONSHIPS
Whether you are in your first year or 15th year in the same building, trust and relationships should constantly be assessed. The ability to categorize your staffulty is a result of knowing yourself while also knowing those whom you serve.
ASSESSING YOUR STAFFULTY
This step of the process requires deep and honest reflection. What is the level of support you believe you have in the building? If you had to place everyone into one of three categories, where would they land? Would your assessment match their assessment?
LEADERSHIP ACTIONS
Each group has different needs which requires different actions.
“All In”
Again, thanks to specific leadership moves over time, you’ve already won over this group. What is it about you that made this possible? What have you been doing repeatedly to foster this level of trust and support? You can learn a lot about your natural leadership attributes by examining your relationships in this category. People chose to put their trust in you for a reason, now find out why. Remember, you can lose this group in a heartbeat, so continue to focus on what created these positive relationships and keep it going.
“On the Fence”
This group must be a top priority for you. Who are they? Why are they on the fence? What haven’t you done to win them over? Who or what might be influencing their hesitation? What is it about you personally that gives them pause? What new strategies do you need to consider to start breaking down walls while simultaneously building trust? If you haven’t prioritized your time or made personal investments into this group, now is the time. If you don’t win them over, someone else will.
What percentage of the staffulty in your building would you consider to be “All In” on your leadership? How do you know?
What percentage of the staffulty in your building would you consider to be “On the Fence” on your leadership? How do you know?
What percentage of the staffulty in your building would you consider to be “Out and About” on your leadership? How do you know?
% All In
% On the Fence
% Out and About
“Out and About”
Hope isn’t lost with this group, it’s just been buried. Your job is to help these people restore their faith and hope in the system OR help them move on. For a myriad of reasons and contexts, there always seems to be a small, but mighty group of people resistant to leadership or change. They are quite often scarred by previous experiences, and so far, they have not embraced you either. The question is why. What have or haven’t you done to win them over? What is it about you that is preventing the growth of a relationship? What is it about them that also blocks a willingness to assimilate with you (and others)? As you’ve figured out by now, this group requires a ton of your time. You can choose to invest it proactively (intentional actions on the front end) or reactively (defensive actions in hearings and grievances), but either way, it will cost you time and emotional commitment.
ACTIONS TO SHAPE ATTITUDES
What do you know about yourself?
What is it about me that contributes to my ability to build trust and relationships?
List the attributes that you (and others) would use to describe your strengths. (See the “Becoming” side of the School Leader Paradigm.)
EMPATHETIC TRUSTWORTHY ORGANIZED
HUMBLE ADAPTIVE ARTICULATE RESPONSIBLE
REFLECTION
What is it about me that potentially impacts my ability to build trust and relationships?
List words that you (and others) would use to describe areas that negatively impact your leadership. (See the “Becoming” side of the School Leader Paradigm.)
How do these strengths and weaknesses directly impact those with whom I work?
What else do you know about these three groups of people? Consider using a variety of free personality inventories with your staff to help everyone see the differences within and across the entire staff. Understanding each other starts with understanding our differences.
REFLECTION INTO ACTION
CATEGORY What have you been doing? What do you need to commit to doing? When will you make this happen?
ALL IN ON THE FENCE OUT AND ABOUT