Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea
The Principal Coaching Clinic #18
Are you the fault-finder?
Yes, it is true. “The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise.” This is perhaps my favorite quote from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. And in part, it paints a clear picture of some of my friends and acquaintances, and sadly some of colleagues from work. Schools can be destroyed by the fault-finder. So, the question is clear. As the school leader, what can you do about it?
It is a consensus of opinions that Thoreau was asking you to love your life. Appreciate what you have. The same can be said for your school or any job.
I ask you to appreciate that job. In the big picture of life, it might not be that bad. Stop surrounding yourself with negative people and quit dwelling on the negative. It amazes me to see how the negative people quickly find each other in a school. I think that I could have given these people one million dollars and instead of being appreciative, they would have asked for two million or would not have liked the denomination of bills that I gave him or her. To them, something is just not right and they will focus on that.
As school leaders we are constantly seeking professional development opportunities for our staff. I know teacher professional development now is a hot topic. As a sidebar, I think teacher professional development must be self-directed. As the principal, it is up to you to help guide and support your teachers. We can dig into that topic on another day.
My best professional development activity would have been a road trip for my staff. I should have loaded everyone into a large yellow bus and hit the road. Let me explain this in a bit more detail. I spent most of my career in an urban school. We were an urban school but we were not an inner-city school. There is a big difference. Many years ago, I was invited to bring several staff member to visit a recently restructured middle school in New York City that was trying to do some innovative thematic planning and teaching.
When our small group arrived, we were told that our host would be a few minutes late. It seems as though her car was just broken in to and she lost her car sound system in the theft. I suggested that we return another day. Our host was not even phased. She just brushed it off as “no big deal and that kind of stuff regularly happens here.” We stayed the day and visited. They were in fact trying to do some good things but the task almost became impossible because of the behavior of the students. There was a constant sound in the hallways, which would have hindered a master teacher from teaching. Students walked in and out of classrooms at will. As I walked about, I was almost kicked in the butt by a horse playing student. To say it was chaotic was an understatement. Yet, it was a normal day for them.
I could go on and on. The few teachers that were with me, upon our return, almost kissed the ground. They could not believe how good we had it. They gained a new appreciation for our school on that day. I do not believe, although overall positive people, they ever found fault again. I missed the opportunity to provide some real meaningful PD. Even though my traveling group relished in telling the tale of our visit to NYC, one had to see it to believe it.
Love your life. Love your job. Love what you have and quit looking for what you do not have. This search is useless and does not matter. Take my word for that. Help your staff see the good in your school and in life. Provide them those specific opportunities to do this. You must be the constant coach and of course “coach them up.” Good luck.
