“Successful People Initiate”

There are a lot of “The 3 Things You Need to Be Successful” type posts, and although I do enjoy reading them and learn from them, they provide more good ideas than a script on how to become successful.

But I will admit that this post, “One Behavior Separates The Successful From The Average,” had a message that resonated with me.  So what was the “one” behavior?

Successful People Initiate

Most people only do what they are asked, doing only the minimum requirement. They need specific instructions on most things they do.

Conversely, those who become successful are anxiously engaged in a good cause. They don’t need to be managed in all things. They don’t just do the job, they do it right and complete. They also influence the direction for how certain ideas and projects go.

Most importantly, those who become successful initiate. They reach out to people, ask questions, make recommendations, offer to help, and pitch their ideas.

Being successful requires being proactive and not waiting for life to come to you. It means you’re on offense, not defense. You’re active, not passive.

Summarized…they make things happen.

The idea of the “initiator” is something that I have not only looked for in myself but in others. I wrote a post about the “4 Attributes of a Great Assistant Principal”, and I wrote something similar as the first point because my former AP’s exemplified this in spades:

1. Self-starters – There is often a misperception that a principal should be delegating tasks to the leadership team and I guess sometimes this does happen.  With that being said, I rarely had to ever ask my leadership team to do anything because they were already jumping on every opportunity to do different things for our school.  One of my proudest days as a principal was when our school started “Identity Day“, not only because it was such a great day for our school community, but this was an idea that was started and lead by my assistant principal.  Not only did she come up with the idea, but she worked with every single grade to ensure that the day was a success.  Being able to be actively lead initiatives and work alongside teachers gave them instant credibility.

They did not only do the “fun” jobs, but my assistant principals jumped up to take on some of the boring stuff to ensure that we would all work together to better their school.

The people that I have been surrounding myself with lately make things happen.  They innovate inside the box and do not let outside circumstances dictate their destiny. They are not waiting for the “next big idea” to find them, but go do what they can with what they have, to create the best experiences for the people they serve.

I will admit that I get frustrated with the opposite.  The people who seemingly can always find time to have meetings, but not get into classrooms. The people who continuously go to conferences looking for inspiration, but aren’t necessarily implementing things into their schools that could be beneficial for students or teachers.  Do you create pathways or opportunities?

The people I am talking about are not only consumers but creators.  They do both, but when I say “creators” I am not only talking about creating content, but I am talking about experiences and opportunities for themselves and others.  “Life happens” to them as well, but they still find a way to make things better.

These are the people that inspire me daily, and who I aspire to be.

 

• November 27, 2016 “Telling will never be as effective as experiencing.”
• September 8, 2016 The #InnovatorsMindset MOOC Starting Soon! #IMMOOC
• September 19, 2016 3 More Critical Questions For the Innovative Educator
• May 7, 2015 Questions to Drive Growth #3QuestionsEDU
• June 28, 2013 The Prophets In Your Land

Source: George Couros

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“Successful People Initiate”

There are a lot of “The 3 Things You Need to Be Successful” type posts, and although I do enjoy reading them and learn from them, they provide more good ideas than a script on how to become successful.

But I will admit that this post, “One Behavior Separates The Successful From The Average,” had a message that resonated with me.  So what was the “one” behavior?

Successful People Initiate

Most people only do what they are asked, doing only the minimum requirement. They need specific instructions on most things they do.

Conversely, those who become successful are anxiously engaged in a good cause. They don’t need to be managed in all things. They don’t just do the job, they do it right and complete. They also influence the direction for how certain ideas and projects go.

Most importantly, those who become successful initiate. They reach out to people, ask questions, make recommendations, offer to help, and pitch their ideas.

Being successful requires being proactive and not waiting for life to come to you. It means you’re on offense, not defense. You’re active, not passive.

Summarized…they make things happen.

The idea of the “initiator” is something that I have not only looked for in myself but in others. I wrote a post about the “4 Attributes of a Great Assistant Principal”, and I wrote something similar as the first point because my former AP’s exemplified this in spades:

1. Self-starters – There is often a misperception that a principal should be delegating tasks to the leadership team and I guess sometimes this does happen.  With that being said, I rarely had to ever ask my leadership team to do anything because they were already jumping on every opportunity to do different things for our school.  One of my proudest days as a principal was when our school started “Identity Day“, not only because it was such a great day for our school community, but this was an idea that was started and lead by my assistant principal.  Not only did she come up with the idea, but she worked with every single grade to ensure that the day was a success.  Being able to be actively lead initiatives and work alongside teachers gave them instant credibility.

They did not only do the “fun” jobs, but my assistant principals jumped up to take on some of the boring stuff to ensure that we would all work together to better their school.

The people that I have been surrounding myself with lately make things happen.  They innovate inside the box and do not let outside circumstances dictate their destiny. They are not waiting for the “next big idea” to find them, but go do what they can with what they have, to create the best experiences for the people they serve.

I will admit that I get frustrated with the opposite.  The people who seemingly can always find time to have meetings, but not get into classrooms. The people who continuously go to conferences looking for inspiration, but aren’t necessarily implementing things into their schools that could be beneficial for students or teachers.  Do you create pathways or opportunities?

The people I am talking about are not only consumers but creators.  They do both, but when I say “creators” I am not only talking about creating content, but I am talking about experiences and opportunities for themselves and others.  “Life happens” to them as well, but they still find a way to make things better.

These are the people that inspire me daily, and who I aspire to be.

 

• November 27, 2016 “Telling will never be as effective as experiencing.”
• September 8, 2016 The #InnovatorsMindset MOOC Starting Soon! #IMMOOC
• September 19, 2016 3 More Critical Questions For the Innovative Educator
• May 7, 2015 Questions to Drive Growth #3QuestionsEDU
• June 28, 2013 The Prophets In Your Land

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Live Your Will…Live Your Change

It is not uncommon to hear people describe change as difficult. In fact, often we describe change as something that people hate, that people fear, or that people don’t like to do.  We think about it. Other times we talk about it. And then there are those times we just keep thinking about it or even talking about it, but not doing anything about it.  Doing something different or trying something new for the very first time can bring about an array of emotions, thoughts, and feelings. We’ve all been there. Perhaps our minds and bodies were filled with anxiety, nervousness, fear, worry or just left frozen, unable to act.  Or maybe those emotions embodied excitement, energy, or a celebratory feeling of hope and newfound inspiration. In many cases, it may even lead to a combination of these feelings.

But what if we spent less time thinking about how we do things or wish we could do things and spent more time living those things as a way to live out those feelings?

This summer I was able to observe a group of people come together to live their change.  Sparked by an idea led by Jeff Zoul and Joe Mazza, 10 educators came together to write a 50,000-word book in 3 days, describing the way we think about several topics in education, including change, our story, learning, relationships, assessment, technology, teacher engagement, family engagement, leadership and finally, collaboration. As added inspiration, our task would support the work of the Will to Live Foundation, a foundation dedicated to preventing teen suicide by improving the lives and the will to live of teenagers everywhere.

Below is an excerpt from the topic I wrote on how we think about collaboration.

A few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast on school leadership when I heard a guest share his views with the host on the topic of collaborative leadership. One particular comment caught my attention.  He shared that if school leaders are to be successful, they must expect their teachers to work collaboratively in teams.  Moreover, he went on to say that schools which have teachers operating independently of each other are more likely to fail than those of their counterparts.

 His comments made me pause and ask the question, “Does it have to be either or?” Are there not times in our work as educators that a certain situation cannot demand both? It’s as though we have stigmatized those who at times prefer to work alone to the point we now hesitate to do so for fear of being viewed as an individual rather than as a team player. Our profession is often critical of those who want to work independently as though somehow these individuals are isolating themselves from others in exchange for collegial discourse. On the contrary, there is a difference between working independently and working in isolation. When I think of working independently, I think of learners still being influenced by outside sources, often leading to a broader perspective and deeper understanding.

 Ironically, what I observed over the course of the three days in Philadelphia as the authors came together to write wasn’t much different. I saw professional educators given a task, timeline and clear instructions before eagerly leaving to go work on their own or as some might say, in isolation. During the time they worked together they worked, well, collaboratively.  But each time it looked different.  When it appeared as though they had exhausted their moments of independence, they would revert back to working collaboratively and vice versa, moving back and forth effortlessly, depending on what their brains needed in that moment. In other words, sometimes they just needed to refresh their experiences.

 They worked, it seemed, as independent collaborators. Independent in one moment, yet collaborative in the next moment. They combined the best of both methods to meet their needs when the time called for it. Whether we are working in content or grade level teams, partnering with instructional coaches, doing teacher exchanges with other school districts or taking advantage of the digital tools available to us in order to connect with other educators around the country, I would argue that in the end regardless of whether you are a student or an educator, there is a place for both the way “I do it” and the way “we do it.” What is important is that we just don’t talk about collaboration, but we live it, both independently and collectively.

 As we move forward in our work and our lives, I challenge all of us to focus on “living” our will to change rather than just thinking about it and talking about it, just like these 10 educators did in the course of three days this past summer in a hotel in Philadelphia.

 

Note: A sincere thank you to Routledge Publishing for helping us “live” our will to bring about change and sponsoring this project. All proceeds from the book will go to the “Will to Live Foundation.” We look forward to the release of #EdWriteNow in December.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Are we working too hard in schools to have it all?

With an increase in findings from education research, more education books that tell us about what we should be doing in schools alongside so many professional learning opportunities, it is worth considering, where do we start with change in our schools?

Certainly, the context of our schools, what is going well and what students need teachers to improve upon should drive the decisions that are made. Making choices for what needs to change, however, is difficult. We have to make compromises though, all too often, we are not willing to do just that, as Robert Simons points out:

“We frequently avoid making choices, in the mistaken belief that we can have it all.”

The above quote is one that is apt for so many educational leaders in schools trying to drive change and improvement. All too frequently do we hear about yet another element of teaching and learning that we have to improve in order to achieve a better outcome for our students. Teachers often get drawn into a world of competing priorities, some of their own and some from others, that all appear urgent to address. Being pulled in all directions, at times trying to unsuccessfully multi-task, craving mastery in everything that is teaching and learning. No wonder we see an unhealthy level of stress, after all, there is only so much that we can do at any one time and patience is required.

Yes, lots of things in our schools can certainly improve and change efforts are needed to implement the change that leaders wish to see in schools. Changing the way teaching and learning is done, however, is a slow and painful process, as we are trying to change habits.

These habits are patterns of behaviour that teachers have become accustomed to as classes are taught. It is highly likely that most, if not all of us, have a teaching habit that can be changed for the better in terms improving student learning. More than likely, we have many habits that can change for the better.

The problem is that habits are tough to break and turn into new ones, yet schools can be seen to be rushing to get everything ‘right’, as though there comes a point when our work will be done. Our work as educators will never be done, there will always be room for improvement and there will always be a finite amount of time, so compromises must be made.

Rather than expend energy trying to ‘fix’ everything, consider this. What one teaching practice would you improve in your school that would lead to better outcomes for your students?

Once the answer has been established, then focus on it until it becomes habit, then the next item for improvement can be addressed.

Remember, we cannot have it all in our schools and we should not waste energy in such a pursuit. It would be far better for every teacher in a school to make one focused, what may appear small, improvement, when combined together a school gets huge improvement.

School improvement is about directing energy effectively and on the ‘right’ things, so that the school may achieve sustained improvement, as opposed to teacher frustration and burn out, which is bound to happen if hard choices are not made.

Connect with me @richard_bruford

Originally posted on the Ed Leader blog

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Creating What We Experience

Sitting in on a presentation recently, the presenters shared the importance of reflection in practice, and how it is crucial to moving forward. I agreed 100% with this notion and had talked about the importance of reflection often in this space (my blog/portfolio). Having the opportunity to ask questions to the group, I asked them if they create time for the educators they serve to have time for reflection within their school day. They told me a few ways they were doing this, and I appreciated that not only said it was important, but they created time for it.

Here is the deal….If you really think something is important, you will make time for it. As an administrator, if you think something is important for the educators you serve, you will create time for it to happen.

Think about what professional learning is done doing during scheduled professional learning time, and then what initiatives are asked to be completed on “your own time” (after school, lunches, etc.). This will give you a great indication of what is deemed necessary in your school. If it is a priority, it gets done.

So why is creating reflection time within professional learning crucial?

I am asking you…why is this crucial?

You see, I have an answer, but I have an answer because of my own experience with reflection and making my own time to do it. And I am not talking about reflection through conversation with people at a table. That has its place. I am talking about sitting down and thinking or writing my thoughts out to help move forward with my practice.

I believe that reflection is so crucial to my learning that I do my best to embed it into my workshops that I lead. People are sometimes uncomfortable thinking and writing on their own, which is the point. The hope is that people experience the benefit, and then it trickles down into the classroom. We create what we experience, so that means we have to create new experiences in professional learning to change the experience in our classrooms.

Bruce Dixon, said the following statement that has always stuck with me:

In no other profession do we watch people do our job for a minimum of sixteen years before we do it ourselves.

Want proof that we recreate experiences in education and that they are handed down from generation to generation? Here is an example.

Have you ever said the term, “The bell doesn’t dismiss you; I dismiss you”? Maybe you haven’t said that, but have you heard it being stated? And if you have heard it, did you hear that phrase as a student, educator, or both? I guess that many educators that are reading this have witnessed this being stated (or something eerily similar) in their career, yet who made it up? This is a saying that has been passed down from generation to generation in education, which is proof that we carry on practices over time.

Handing down these experiences can be seen as a negative or a positive. If practices are passed down from generation to generation, what new practices that benefit students today will you implement that will become standard practice? Although I think it is important that we are flexible in our learning, I do believe that we need to revamp some practices in education and create new norms. The beautiful thing about teaching is that since we know we are creatures of experience, we can create new and better experiences in education that will impact generations moving forward.

• October 18, 2012 Let’s Figure This Out
• April 11, 2015 3 Things That Have Slowed the Change Process Down in Education (And What We Can Do About It)
• February 11, 2017 The Students are Paying Attention
• January 18, 2014 3 Things We Should Stop Doing in Professional Development
• May 20, 2015 Adjusting to the Room

Source: George Couros

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Creating What We Experience

Sitting in on a presentation recently, the presenters shared the importance of reflection in practice, and how it is crucial to moving forward. I agreed 100% with this notion and had talked about the importance of reflection often in this space (my blog/portfolio). Having the opportunity to ask questions to the group, I asked them if they create time for the educators they serve to have time for reflection within their school day. They told me a few ways they were doing this, and I appreciated that not only said it was important, but they created time for it.

Here is the deal….If you really think something is important, you will make time for it. As an administrator, if you think something is important for the educators you serve, you will create time for it to happen.

Think about what professional learning is done doing during scheduled professional learning time, and then what initiatives are asked to be completed on “your own time” (after school, lunches, etc.). This will give you a great indication of what is deemed necessary in your school. If it is a priority, it gets done.

So why is creating reflection time within professional learning crucial?

I am asking you…why is this crucial?

You see, I have an answer, but I have an answer because of my own experience with reflection and making my own time to do it. And I am not talking about reflection through conversation with people at a table. That has its place. I am talking about sitting down and thinking or writing my thoughts out to help move forward with my practice.

I believe that reflection is so crucial to my learning that I do my best to embed it into my workshops that I lead. People are sometimes uncomfortable thinking and writing on their own, which is the point. The hope is that people experience the benefit, and then it trickles down into the classroom. We create what we experience, so that means we have to create new experiences in professional learning to change the experience in our classrooms.

Bruce Dixon, said the following statement that has always stuck with me:

In no other profession do we watch people do our job for a minimum of sixteen years before we do it ourselves.

Want proof that we recreate experiences in education and that they are handed down from generation to generation? Here is an example.

Have you ever said the term, “The bell doesn’t dismiss you; I dismiss you”? Maybe you haven’t said that, but have you heard it being stated? And if you have heard it, did you hear that phrase as a student, educator, or both? I guess that many educators that are reading this have witnessed this being stated (or something eerily similar) in their career, yet who made it up? This is a saying that has been passed down from generation to generation in education, which is proof that we carry on practices over time.

Handing down these experiences can be seen as a negative or a positive. If practices are passed down from generation to generation, what new practices that benefit students today will you implement that will become standard practice? Although I think it is important that we are flexible in our learning, I do believe that we need to revamp some practices in education and create new norms. The beautiful thing about teaching is that since we know we are creatures of experience, we can create new and better experiences in education that will impact generations moving forward.

• October 18, 2012 Let’s Figure This Out
• April 11, 2015 3 Things That Have Slowed the Change Process Down in Education (And What We Can Do About It)
• February 11, 2017 The Students are Paying Attention
• January 18, 2014 3 Things We Should Stop Doing in Professional Development
• May 20, 2015 Adjusting to the Room

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9 Mistakes That Sabotage Your Classroom Management

If you've followed my blog, you might know I really like to refer to classroom management as classroom leadership. But that's not how we typically think of it.

Regardless of what we call it, it's challenging. It's one of the toughest things for early career teachers to get a handle on. And even seasoned teachers will have their fair share of challenges and not know how to respond in every situation.

It really has to be an ongoing process of learning and growth. No one ever has it all figured out.

So if you're struggling with student behaviors, give yourself a break. Keep working at it. Learn from others. Study different methods. And reflect on your own failures and successes.

In this post, I'm looking at some of the BIG mistakes that can happen when a teacher is frustrated or has a lapse in judgement. It's important to think about these in advance to plan for these NEVER to happen. When they do, it undermines the development of a positive classroom and healthy culture of learning.

These behaviors are harmful to kids and can harm your ability to develop a respectful, orderly classroom environment.

9 Mistakes That Will Sabotage Your Classroom Management

1. Painting a child into a corner.

Your most challenging students will often try to engage the teacher in power struggles. A skilled teacher can avoid these high stakes moments. The goal is to stop a disruptive behavior while also keeping the student in class. It's important to avoid a showdown between student and teacher. These situations end up with everyone losing. The teacher doesn't have to win in the moment. The situation needs to be addressed in the moment, but fully resolving a problem can happen at a later time. When some time passes, the results are often much better than escalating the situation when emotions are hot. 

2. Handling private matters publicly.

Students don't want to lose face in front of their peers. You can always delay and say, "Let's talk about this later." Just be sure to follow up as you promised. If a student feels disrespected or belittled in front of others, it will not end well. Try to keep tough conversations private. The tone will often be much different when there is not an audience.

3. Failing to give a kid a fresh start.

We all want to have an opportunity for a fresh start. We don't want to be judged by our worst moments. Our students need forgiveness too. So after an issue is resolved, let the student know they have a clean slate. Today is a new day. Let them know you believe in them and expect them to do great.

4. Using cutting sarcasm.

Sarcasm can be very dangerous. I've seen it used in a way that is not threatening and is just playful, but sarcasm can be degrading and manipulating. The best advice is to not use sarcasm at all. 

5. Speaking poorly of someone's friends or family.

Never criticize a student's friends or family members. You can certainly stand up for what's right, but don't pass judgments on people. It's also very important to never talk badly about a student when they are not present. If you wouldn't make a comment in front of that student's mother or grandmother, you probably shouldn't say it to a group of students or another teacher. If your harsh comment gets back to the student, it will be difficult to ever repair the relationship.

6. Speaking poorly of another staff member.

Never criticize another staff member in front of students as this creates a toxic environment. And, always defend a colleague if students are being critical. Even fair criticism isn't fair when it's shared at the wrong time and location. Tell your students if they have a concern with another teacher they should go talk to that person directly. If you have a concern with another teacher, you too should speak to them directly about it and not complain about them behind their back.

7. Losing control of your own behavior.

Always remember you're the adult and a professional. You have to stay in control of yourself and your actions. If you act badly, it will make it much more difficult to address the student's misbehavior. The student and the parents will be focused on what you did instead of focusing the responsibility the student's own actions. I can't tell you how many times I've worked to help a student reflect on their own bad behavior, but they are focused on what the teacher did instead. Sometimes that happens when the teacher was completely upright. But sometimes it's because the teacher showed up poorly in the situation.

8. Comparing a student to a sibling or another student. 

Avoiding comparing students to one another or to a brother or sister. These types of judgments chip away at dignity. You wouldn't want to be subjected to public comparisons with another teacher. Students don't like this either. Even comments like "Your sister was so smart or funny" that seem positive may chip away at a student's dignity. People want to be noticed for who they are and not compared to someone else.

9. Rushing to judgment without listening.

This one encompasses so much. It's easy to jump to conclusions or make assumptions in the course of a day working with students. Teachers make so many decisions. I shared recently about a situation where I really embarrassed myself by making a quick judgment in a situation. The key is slow down and approach problems with a sense of curiosity. Work to understand what is going on with the child, what needs they are trying to meet, or why they are not successful when expectations are clear and consistent. In a recent post, I shared 21 phrases that can help with these conversations.

Of course, there are many other factors involved in building a positive classroom culture. What are some of your thought? Leave a comment below or respond on Facebook or Twitter.

        

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