Monday Moanin Thoughts #227 Forget The Challenges, What Are You Doing Well?

Happy  October 2016 Monday Moanin  to all of you. Over the first six weeks of the 2016-17 school year, I have met with several building administrators to discuss how their year is going so far.

During these meetings, one common theme has emerged. Most administrators are very good at identifying the challenges and struggles they are facing. However, when the conversation shifts towards discussing their highlights and strengths, there is caution and a reluctance to share or even identify them. Why is it that challenges are easy to discuss and highlights are a struggle?  Could it be that challenges tend to be more urgent? Could it be that leaders rarely receive positive comments or feedback?  Maybe it is that challenges tend to drain energy and can steer individuals and teams into a negative frame of mind.  How do you fight this trend towards caution and negativity?

Keep it simple and doable. Through self-reflection ask yourself, What did I do well this past week? If you part of a team reflect and discuss, What did we do well this week?  Keep a journal of  your answers and refer to them often over the year. Highlights and things that went well are areas that you and your team want to build on. Today is a great day to get to work on identifying your strengths and lead with a positive purpose.

Have a great week and keep finding the good stuff.