Monday Moanin Thoughts #200 Check Out What Teams Are Focusing On

Happy mild March 2016 Monday Moanin to all of you. I hope all of you are well and ready to take on a new week. As I reflected on what to post this week, I kept thinking about what some of the administrative teams I work with in our Administrative Learning Team(ALT) are focusing on. The goal of the team is to focus on an area of need that enhances their work over the course of 5-7 weeks until we all meet to debrief. Then another area is chosen and the process is repeated.  As a result, I thought sharing a few of their areas  may inspire your teams to work on something similar. The key is being proactive with intentionality. Check these out:

• One team is focusing on paying attention. Using the idea from Kouzes and Posner, the team is making a commitment of being out of their offices for 15 minutes a day with the sole purpose of paying attention to the good stuff in their school. The goal is to validate the efforts of staff and students consistently and encourage growth and performing with a positive purpose. As Fullan states’ ” I respect that you have a growth mindset, please show me you are growing.”

• Another team is working on implementing a daily huddle or check in protocol to help improve communication and also determining a consistent message, and establishing clarity for the day. Lencioni writes; “A big part of these meetings is that leaders know they will see colleagues within 24 hours, so rather than firing off an email or interrupting someone in the course of their day, they simply make a note to bring up a small issue at the next day’s meeting.” 

• The final team is working on establishing a climate of collaboration. This team is giving emphasis to this goal by encouraging  and planning for it. At grade level, department , or staff meetings strategies are planned that ensure time for professional sharing and reflection.  Barth writes; “the secret to a good school setting is collegiality.(collaboration) It depends on respect of teachers and administrators for themselves and each other.”

I hope that these strategies serve as a prompt for you as you begin your week. Have a great one and keep finding the good stuff.