RECALIBRATING OUR COLLECTIVE COMMITMENTS
Andrew is sitting in the Interview Chair and is asked the following question:
How would you define a healthy work culture?
Andrew pauses for a brief second and then he responds: “A healthy work environment is a place where you look forward to going each day because you feel connected, valued, appreciated, and inspired. Moreover, you are given a voice to be a part of something bigger, something meaningful, and you believe that together with your colleagues, you can accomplish anything.”
Andrew went on to crush the interview and was named principal at Roosevelt Middle School. That was four years ago.
It’s now February 2024 and Andrew feels like his staff is hitting a wall.
Recently, I met with Andrew, a middle school leader whose staff was frustrated with the behavior of the students since returning from the holiday break. He shared with me that at the last faculty meeting, the staff had indicated they felt the school needed a ‘reset’. Hallway behavior was getting worse, office referrals were on the rise and teachers were becoming increasingly frustrated in their classrooms. It’s predictable. Students will misbehave.
But what about the adults? Is it possible that our behavior at times will also need a reset and rather than just focus on student behaviors, we need to re-examine our collective commitments to determine if the behaviors of the adults are aligned with our vision and mission as a school?
And if we want to get people to invest in recalibrating their collective commitments, then we will need a process to ensure everyone has a collective voice.
Imagine for a moment a process in which the entire staff is placed into groups of four and given ample time to reflect, discuss, share, and collaborate to come up with specific behaviors that they believe will positively impact the school culture. After much discussion, the staff determines that they are struggling to build relationships and connect with their students on a personal level.
First, we must define what we mean by these terms. Let’s take relationships, for example. If we were to ask all four members in the groups above, my guess is we might get four different definitions of what we mean by relationships. How I define relationships may or may not align with the way others define the word. This immediately creates a disconnect in terms of how we will behave, and perhaps how we go about building relationships with our students. As simple as this sounds, this step is often overlooked, creating a plethora of issues and frustrations among staff members right from the outset. I often hear educators state that we have to do what is best for kids – but yet we don’t take the time to define what we mean by what is best for them. And who gets to decide?
We often leave out the crucial step of identifying specific and agreed-upon practical ways in which we will collectively and intentionally build relationships daily with our students. If this is never discussed and agreed upon upfront, then it is likely that some teachers will make this their focus and others will not. Others will do the best they know how, but if it fails to produce the expected results, they are likely to stop doing it. I have witnessed dozens of educators, teachers, principals, and district office staff spend an enormous amount of time, energy, and resources on staff trainings, yet they continue to fall short when it comes to getting the results they hoped to get. I cannot help but wonder what we are doing to our teachers when we continue to cycle through new literacy and math curriculums, only to watch them go by the wayside when we don’t get the results we want. My friends, the problem is rarely the curriculum, but rather our ineffective processes that must be cycled out. My colleague and friend Cale Birk calls this “solution-itis” – moving rapidly from problem to solution without involving the people who will implement the solution.
The next time you decide it is time for a new curriculum, if we fail to truly give every teacher a voice in the process, then what we are saying without actually saying it is that you have been doing wrong for all of your years.
Heartbreaking.
Giving everyone a voice is critical in creating a healthy culture, but it does not necessarily guarantee a positive result. We cannot fix every issue that arises, but we can continue to improve our practices which I believe in the end will procure a better result. When everyone is given a voice as part of a process that clearly defines what our values mean and they are given a voice again to identify practical ways in which we all agree to live out those values (behaviors), then we benefit from better outcomes. However, to create a ripple effect across the entire system at all levels, the classroom teacher and district office personnel would have to reflect on the same steps above when working with students and principals, respectively. Remember, I believe that we are all responsible for the culture and climate of our organizations.
Revisiting core values yearly is one of the most critical components of any healthy culture, but one that we often neglect. And when we do, we pay a heavy price, especially when we are solely focused on the student’s behavior, much like Andrew’s middle school staff was.
As we navigate this challenging month of February, let’s pause and re-examine our collective commitments as a staff to ensure that our behaviors are aligned with our words as we move towards March, April, and May. And if we want to achieve a better result, then we will need to make sure that everyone has a collective voice. Teachers and support staff are likelier to put forth their best effort when they have a legitimate voice in the process. However, let’s not forget the same holds true for all students, elementary, middle, and high school students alike.
My friends, it is time to recalibrate.