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Right about now, school administrators are finalizing their opening day plans. Pouring through inspirational videos, articles, podcasts, and books. Deciding how to welcome back and motivate their teachers for the 24-25 school year.
I’ve been doing the same, determining where to take my school. Thankfully, I’m working with an incredible coach who challenges my thinking and is pushing me to create something that will have a lasting impact.
Last week, I stumbled across an energizing blog from Amber Dembowski’s Eudemonia. I was so inspired by her words, that I shared the post with my coach and fellow principals. In her post, Dembowski explains the importance of establishing community and connection on opening day with staff. She also highlights the importance of inspiration and establishing your why.
I’ve reflected a lot about the “why” over the past year and how important it is to be guided by a set of core values. But core values for an individual are not enough. Those values and experiences need to be translated into something else - a vision for your school.
As leaders, we must ensure the why is apparent from the onboarding process and every little thing we say and do and ask of others.
During my staff welcome-back meeting, I will unveil a new vision for my school. One grounded in many factors including my personal experiences.
In this week’s post, I’ll remind us why the why is important for guiding our work. Then, I’ll provide a 5-step process for crafting your vision. By the end of this post, you’ll see why the why can drive your staff to want to be and do better. You’ll also be empowered to start drafting your school’s vision.
Why the Why for Your School Vision
I know I’ve referenced Simon Sinek in other blog posts, primarily because he is so amazing at what he does – inspiring others to become better leaders and human beings. He is probably one of the factors why leaders talk about empathy so much now.
In his book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, he explains that to be a true leader, one must follow a specific way of thinking, acting, and communicating to motivate employees. When we know why it is what we do, we can be more inspired to enter our workplace every single day.
A strong leader can generate energy and momentum with their people not only to inspire them but also to create a following of individuals who believe in the cause.
Sinek explains that inspiring rather than manipulating distinguishes the everyday leader from the exceptional leader, the one who follows what Sinek calls “The Golden Circle.”
It doesn’t look fancy but it will revolutionize any organization.
Starting from the outer circle…..
WHAT = What every organization or company does. You can describe what you do. So within education, what do we do? We provide education to students to create a knowledgeable citizenry.
HOW = Some organizations know how they do what they do and how they’re different. For a school, maybe you are different because you’ve adopted a new curriculum that allows for more individualization. Or perhaps you follow a workshop framework.
WHY = What very few organizations clearly define - why do they do what they do (more green 🤑 is not the answer). Why do the staff leave the comfort of their bed in the morning? What is the school’s purpose and why should anyone even bother to care?
A strong leader can generate energy and momentum with their people not only to inspire them but also to create a following of individuals who believe in the cause.
You can inspire others to become self-starters when you have a clearly articulated why. They will see and understand the purpose behind the organization. Now, having the why or vision clearly articulated is all fine and dandy, but you need to live that why. Embody it and model it in everything you do and say. Otherwise, it is just words.
When you function within a vacuum of nothingness. When you exist without a why. You will not be able to build authenticity. When you are clear with your why, disciplined enough as to how you will achieve it, and consistent with what you say and do, you will build trust and loyalty.
A 5-Step Plan for Crafting Your School Vision
Ever heard the saying by Peter Drucker, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”? If your staff is not passionate and dedicated to your school’s vision, then good luck trying to execute any plan. Your strategy will have to be taken around the barn as Mr. Wonderful says.
Creating a strong vision that clearly articulates your why will inspire, create buy-in, and propel your school forward. When I created my vision this past summer, I followed the process below:
1. Lead with humanity
When reflecting on why it is you do what you do, consider the human element. Ask yourself, how can we create a system or school that gets to the core of the human condition? What do we hope to achieve within our school for our students, staff, and larger community? It is more than increased test scores.
My experiences as a mom, educator, child, and human influenced my vision. I leaned into these sometimes painful memories and harnessed that energy to create something that would, hopefully, inspire. I suggest that school leaders consider different stakeholders within your school to craft a vision that can be meaningful for all.
2. Consider the data
If you have any sort of data at hand, take time to reflect on that. Did you provide a survey to staff, students, and their caregivers? Reflect and see what comes from it. I’m sure there will be some tough topics to swallow because, hey, it’s a survey and sometimes things sting. But if you can separate that emotion and see what themes emerge, you can use that to influence your vision. Following the Feedforward Framework can help you digest the data.
Additionally, if you have test data or other local data such as demographics, attendance, etc., those pieces can influence what kind of an organization you want to create and why.
Tap into that data and use it wisely. But don’t let it blind you to the affective part of your vision.
When you share your vision and why, consider having others reflect on their whys and goals and how they connect to the larger school vision.
3. Connect to core values
Core values are essential for any leader. If you do not have your core values, you will be rudderless. Those core values should permeate everything you do as a leader, educator, and human being. Connecting core values to the vision will ground your purpose to your being. If your organization has core values and/or a mission clearly defined, try to connect to them as well.
When I went through the drafting process, I kept my core values right next to me, written down on a sticky note. When I felt myself going off on a tangent, I glanced down and recentered myself on what truly matters.
4. Get down & draft
Now comes the fun part… writing your vision. When you get to this part, it might be helpful to have the human experiences, data, and core values readily available. Maybe you have them all on stickies…. Maybe you have them organized in a mind map or other graphic organizer. Whatever you have, make sure they are present so you consider these three factors in your why. Doing so will strengthen your vision.
If you have a brain partner, trusted colleague, or coach, bring them into the fold. Present your vision to them and gather their perspectives. See what your blind spots are. And heck… even if you don’t have one of the above, get into a tête-à-tête with ChatGPT, our AI 🤖 friend can also provide you with guidance and feedback.
Throughout the drafting process, you must separate yourself from the different drafts. I would tell this to my students and still follow this maxim to this day. Separating yourself from your writing for a day or more can help you chew on what you’ve created. When you revisit it, you’ll bring a fresh perspective that will help you revise and improve what you’ve crafted.
5. Share with the world
Hello, world! Now is the time to finalize and share with your staff. How you share will be up to you, but the more you can share why and how you came up with the why, the more individuals will buy into it. Be vulnerable.
The rollout and presentation are vitally important and need to be well thought out. When you share your vision and why, consider having others reflect on their whys and goals and how they connect to the larger school vision. This will create connection and with connection, you can inspire and motivate.
One Last Thought
I would love to share my vision with you all, but I’m waiting for opening day, so that will have to wait. What I will share with you is the frustration I had working in previous schools and not knowing the why. I’ve always been someone who knows and understands why I do things, but when that is not connected to a larger purpose and the school does not have a why, you feel lost and alone.
You might wonder if what you are doing is right or purposeful or if those around you carry the same banner and belief. As leaders, we must ensure the why is apparent from the onboarding process and every little thing we say and do and ask of others.
Start with why to inspire, lead, and ground your people in purpose.
References
Dembowskiconsultin. (2024, July 31). Unlock the potential of your Kick-Off meeting with teachers. eudoleadership. https://www.eudoleadership.com/post/unlock-the-potential-of-your-kick-off-meeting-with-teachers
Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Penguin.
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, July 28). Peter Drucker. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker
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