Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea
Game time adjustments #2
Do you reward negative behavior?
Fact: I bet you do. I did!
Think about it. Think about it every time that you ignore:
- That person sneaking in late or leaving early.
- That subpar teacher where you give him or her a “do-over” on an observation.
- That softball evaluation you just wrote on that poor teacher because he is “nice guy.”
- That bully in your meeting that hijacks it and intimidates everyone else.
- That you give that “soft schedule” to one of the good old boys.
I could probably go on and on. You get my point. But every time that you ignore one of these behaviors you become culpable in cheating the system. You are cheating your students. You are not doing your job.
Let’s delve into perhaps some of the reasons for your behavior. First of all, we know that everyone clamors to hear the truth. That is, until you tell them the truth. In most cases you have to tiptoe your way through your message and by the time you are done, your true message is probably lost.
This dance is draining, both physically and emotionally. But not as draining as when you know that by telling the truth or addressing some of these negative behaviors it will cost you hours of time, tons of paperwork and emotional capital. There were times that before I addressed something wrong, I would mentally calculate the cost to me and yes, I must admit there were times, I just decided it was not worth it. Of course, at this time, you do not calculate the damage that you have done to this person individually or to all of the others around you by not addressing it. Your act of deciding to ignore things takes its toll on others. Everyone then processes, “if he or she can do it, or get away with it, why not me?” You set yourself for failure as a leader. It takes a very strong person to resist the temptation of cutting corners when he or she sees aberrant behavior.
Yes, I am saying that every negative behavior needs to be addressed. No, I am not saying that a federal case be made of little things. Just address them. It could just be a simple little talk as you walk with the person to his or her classroom. That person needs to know that they were wrong and that you are not going to tolerate it. You will know the situations that need a stronger response. Believe me, you will know them when you see them.
At the end of the day, your staff will appreciate your consistency and candor. You can be truthful without being mean or aggressive.
Don’t be so quick to appease. Yes, I mean appeasement to that squeaky wheel. Appeasement does not work. Just ask Neville Chamberlain about that.
Also, people must know your expectations and what they must do to meet your expectations. You cannot hold people accountable when they do not know exactly what you expect.
The people that specialize in negative behaviors become insatiable alligators. And if you have ever been in the south, you will see signs all around a pond cautioning you to not feed the alligators. Feeding these same alligators at work will probably cause you to meet the same consequences as if you met that alligator at the pond. It will not end well for you.
Over the course of my career, I have had the pleasure to have worked with and hopefully led a fine group of hard working, committed and dedicated teachers and administrators. However, when I close my eyes, I can see some of the others that I have worked with, behaving like the girl in the picture. A petulant child.
Finally, please take my word for this because just like the Farmers Insurance ad that we see on television “I know a thing or two, because I have seen a thing or two.”
Good luck.
