Colleagues,
MVP: We make processes more complicated than they need to be. I recently received a letter from a bank notifying me that my SC Tax refund debit card from 2023 would be expiring on February 1, 2024. I vaguely remembered using the card and not being able to figure out how much money was on it, so I dug it out of my pile of debit/gift/refund cards. The card expired in October. I took the card to my bank, but since my bank did not issue the card, they couldn’t tell me how much money was on it. I called the hotline number on the back of the card. After several minutes straining to communicate on a bad connection, the bank told me they could not issue a new card. They were no longer handling the funds for South Carolina and the only thing they could do was write me a check. Please! I was transferred to someone else to verify something (I don’t know what), and then sent back to the original person. This took about 15 minutes of my time and the service provider’s time. Now my $36 check is in the email! Or it will be in 10-14 business days. Imagine an alternate universe where South Carolina had directly deposited my tax refund to my bank account. What’s the point of all this? I am willing to bet most of us work in organizations that have some convoluted processes that are counterproductive. Today’s intention: Be mindful of the processes you work with. Does it all make sense? Cheers! Frederick
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Colleagues, MVP: When stuff gets messed up, we need to pause our projects This past week I’ve been finishing up some trim work in our house.
When the rain came, I was able to keep working and finish the project!
Last week we looked at turbulence, and how to lead in an organization that is being hammered by storms. One thing to remember is that making change is hard and dangerous when the canopy has been blown off. Sometimes we need to pause the initiatives and get things covered. Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Common frameworks and language help bring alignment If you said to me “I need to get out of quadrant 3!” I would know exactly what you meant. However, people in your workplace who aren’t familiar with the Eisenhower Matrix might stare at you blankly. When people in an organization share common frameworks and language, it becomes much easier to discuss and make progress on challenges. In schools, we talk about classroom management and discipline, but these terms mean different things to different people, resulting in confusion and frustration in challenging situations. What if we had common frameworks and language to talk about building a positive classroom culture? We do! If you are an educational leader, I invite you to take my free course on the foundations of building a classroom culture. Link and details are below the signature line. You can also learn more on today’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast. If you aren’t an educator, think about some of the challenges you face, how people talk about those challenges, and the perspectives and assumptions they bring. Are you all speaking the same language? Today’s intention: Listen for the meanings behind what people say and think about one area for which common language could be helpful. Cheers! Frederick Colleagues,
MVP: Take a breath and pause. After last week’s treatise, let’s keep today’s thoughts short. The list of things I need to do on the professional and personal front right now is overwhelming. Just like you. Just think for a moment of some of the big ones – really, pause for 10 seconds and think about it. Now, take a deep breath in, breathe out, and pause. Imagine being present:
Today’s intention: Today, just try to be that present one time, with one person. The world is not still, but you can create stillness around you. Cheers! Frederick Colleagues, MVP: Small consistent change makes things better. Use principles of leverage to make change easier. Note: This week’s messages are about leading in highly stressed organizations. I will be breaking my 300-word limit this week. Don’t feel compelled to read this week’s messages if they don’t apply to you. Look at the MVP and decide, and don’t feel guilty for not reading. Priorities, right? One of the change processes I teach is the four principles of leverage. The concept is modeled after the phenomena in physics in which we can decrease the amount of effort (force) needed to move a load using a lever and a fulcrum. Some details:
In any organization, the easier we can make change, the more likely it is for that change to take place. In the organization experiencing extreme turbulence, people’s capacities for giving more effort is so diminished that change must occur in very small increments which require small amounts of effort. To bring change in challenging circumstance, we need to:
Doing each of these decreases the amount of effort required. It also means the change will occur more quickly. A small yet immediate positive change is worth far more than a delayed big change. By creating a series of small changes that gradually improve the situation, we can slowly begin to make progress. An added bonus is that a series of small changes has an outsized effect on culture as it creates a sense of progress and a belief that the situation can improve. In summary, if you are leading an organization experiencing severe or extreme turbulence:
One other thing – just because your organization isn’t experiencing extreme turbulence doesn’t mean there aren’t people within your organization who are experiencing extreme turbulence. This roadmap for helping your organization can also work when helping an individual. Today’s intention: There was a lot here this week. Think about what resonated with you, what felt real, and what didn’t. Identify one idea you can take and apply to your own leadership. Bonus points if you share it with me; I would love to hear from you what you thought the most valuable thing was this week.
Cheers, Frederick --- PS: If you are a school or teacher-leader interested in helping teachers excel at developing strong classroom cultures, check out my free course on the Foundations of Classroom Culture. You will find a systematic integrated approach to building relationships, managing the classroom, and responding to safety events. Give yourself about five minutes to log into the course as there is a brief on-boarding process. There are five video lessons, each about 12 minutes long. |
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