Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea

Game time adjustments #5

Who are your assets?

Fact:  Most schools and organizations have people who you would consider an asset and sadly the converse is also true.  You have people that you consider a liability.

Maybe I just stated the obvious.  And if this is true, I want you to take a moment to reflect upon why you think of each person as either an asset or liability. 

As I reflect on my career as a school principal and superintendent, I also had one additional category of employee classification that existed in my head.  This was the category of the mediocre.  These were people that I could not regularly consider an asset nor were they employees I could consider a liability.  They existed in the “land of the OK.”

You know your assets.  These are the people that you can regularly count on.  These individuals go the extra mile and exhibit a high sense of pride in their work.  They are hardworking and respectful. They plan and execute the game plan. They like their jobs and enjoy being there.

According to Forbes Magazine, the liabilities tend to demean, behave rudely, condescend, swear, belittle, lie, are sexist and or racist, they withhold information,  gossip, spread rumors, blow up regularly and they never hold themselves accountable or responsible.  (Nine Ways to Keep Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset-Its Employees, Forbes Magazine, 8/20/13)

Working with your liabilities is extremely difficult.  They love building roadblocks and could easily put up a barrier to anything that you hope to accomplish.  These liabilities are burdens.  They cost you an incredible amount of your time and do not forget that your wasted time is money.  So, these liabilities are extremely costly from a variety of perspectives.  And it is impossible to measure the emotional damage they do to you and to others.

I sincerely doubt that you will ever be able to change many of your liabilities.  The most important thing I can suggest to you is to take the hiring process very seriously and never sign on to that liability. Think long and hard before you make every hire.

Let’s look at what you can do to personally help these folks.  And more importantly help those that are residents of the “land of the Ok.”. Sadly, I am convinced that the only recourse for most of your liabilities is to fire them.  Get rid of them.  Invest the time and energy so you can excise them from your school.

But there are things that you can do to help.  Yes, you can help some of your liabilities but perhaps more importantly, you may also prevent those that are OK from becoming new liabilities. Namely:

• Always tell the truth.
• Keep your commitments—Follow through.
• Engage your staff in the decision-making process.
• Communicate, communicate, and communicate.
• Coach your people up.
• Respect everyone.
• Help them succeed and show them what it is to be responsible and accountable.
• Provide an emotional safe environment for them to take a risk and grow.
• Praise them.
• Recognize accomplishments, no matter how small.
• SHOW GRATITUDE!

If you want your teachers and staff to be your school’s greatest asset, treat them as such and never take them for granted. 

Is sounds so easy, but why do we make it so hard?