Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea

Game time adjustments #3

Do you have the “we” factor?

Fact:  Most schools are devoid of the “we” factor.

That’s right.  Schools are missing something.  And that something is critical to the success of the school.  That is a bold statement and may anger many of my colleagues when they hear me say that.  Sorry.   Perhaps your annoyance at me will cause you to reflect upon my assertion. 

Schools lack collective ownership.  Each employee in a school should have a degree of ownership in that school.  There has to be a collective pride in one’s school.  With that comes a shared responsibility and accountability.  It is much more difficult to be critical when one recognizes that they too, are responsible and accountable.

Each person must be an ambassador for that school.  Yes, teachers, principals, secretaries, custodians and any other person that works there must be a salesperson for their product. 

Sometimes we forget that the children and their parents are clients in the school.  They in essence become the customer.  Please do not mistake my conceptualization of this.  I am not saying that the customer is always right for that would make the school unmanageable.  I am however asking each person to adopt this “client” type of mentality for our children.

Being an ambassador for your school goes far beyond refraining from saying something bad about your school.  Being an ambassador requires one to sell the positives of the school. Think about the next time you are accosted in the supermarket or the soccer field on a Saturday morning.  Are you going to be that positive person or are you going to add to the mistruths and lies?  That will be up to you.  Always remember that people love talking about the negative and just like the old telephone game, the truth ultimately disappears after several people repeat the story.

Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Atlantic Airlines, has fully adopted the “we” concept and has incorporated this notion into the mission of Virgin that “the “we” is that pulse that drives everything.”  He also asserts that when people think and speak in terms of “we” more often than “I” they are a lot more likely to succeed.

In this day of charter schools and a host of different types of magnet schools it will ultimately become the survival of the fittest.  Competition, if the playing surface is level, should make us all better. 

Do you have the mindset to be that ambassador?  Do you have the ability to see that glass as have full rather than half empty?  Can you sell your product? Can you actually think in terms of “we?”  I hope so.