The Assistant Principal Podcast

The Assistant Principal Podcast

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8 Actions to Lift People Up

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Today’s episode is inspired by a book study I did last week with 25 building and district school leaders. The focus of the book study was stage 5 of A School Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose, which is all about 5-minute coaching. 

We began with celebration
We did 5-minute coaching
We reflected in small groups
We recapped in a large group
We took 15 minutes (!) for our closing circle
Participants left feeling grounded, connected, and hopeful. I left wanting to dig more deeply into what happened, and to identify some important things we can consistently do as leaders to help those around us. To help me do that, I’ve asked Mara Buskey to come onto the show. It’s been a while since Mara was on – she is now 26 (off my health insurance) and has her own business helping entrepreneurs move from chaos to clarity. Mara’s undergraduate degrees are in women and gender studies, global studies, and Spanish language. Those educational experiences and her own empathetic disposition give her a unique ability to understand how our emotions and work inform each other, and I think that makes her a perfect guest for today’s show on 8 actions we can take to lift people up.


Celebrations:


The Big Idea
  • Turbulence exacerbates urgent leadership (tasks) but requires greater degree of strategic leadership (people)
  • People are impacted by turbulence to the whole organization, parts of the organization, and their own lives
  • Roles of leadership in turbulent times:
    • Provide stability (the rock in the storm)
    • Realistic optimism: drawing on our values, faith, trust, and determination
    • Confronting the brutal reality: defining and naming the problem, not just the symptoms
    • Expressing our values, even as they are under attack

8 Simple things to do:
  1. Create an internal mantra that puts people first
    1. Survival first, growth second
    2. Community
  2. Celebrate (together) everything, no matter how small
  3. Take time for the close (and for community)
    1. Primary function of meetings during turbulence is building community
    2. Openings and closings are opportunities
    3. Meaningful discussion, sense-making, and comradery are requirements
  4. Check in frequently to communicate value and provide support
    1. Send a text or email
    2. 5-minute coaching
    3. Tell me one good thing
    4. How are you? (x2)
    5. I’m so glad you are here
    6. I care about you, I value you, I believe in you.
  5. Use value-laden language and don’t censor yourself
    1. If you value working with the diverse communities that make up your school, then say it
    2. If you believe in providing opportunities to people who haven’t had them, say it
    3. If you believe every student should have access to the general curriculum, say it
  6. Choose to show up
    1. Be intentional
    2. Be a lighthouse
  7. Take care of yourself
    1. Peer support
    2. Morning time: move, ground, check in and set intentions
    3. Reflect
    4. Put a box around working from home
    5. Create healthy transitions (especially work to home)
  8. Be realistic and determined
    1. Acknowledge real challenges
    2. Identify real strengths
    3. Talk about what you can do, not about what you can’t do



Summarizing (The big takeaway)

Sponsorship:
I want to thank IXL for sponsoring this podcast…

Everyone talks about the power of data-driven instruction. But what does that actually look like? Look no further than IXL, the ultimate online learning and teaching platform for K to 12. 
IXL gives you meaningful insights that drive real progress, and research can prove it. Studies across 45 states show that schools who use IXL outperform other schools on state tests. Educators who use IXL love that they can easily see how their school is performing in real-time to make better instructional decisions. 

And IXL doesn’t stop at just data. IXL also brings an entire ecosystem of resources for your teachers, with a complete curriculum, personalized learning plans, and so much more. 
It’s no wonder that IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. Ready to join them? Visit http://ixl.com/assistant to get started.



Close
  • Leadership is a journey and thank you for choosing to walk some of this magical path with me.
  • You can find links to all sorts of stuff in the show notes, including my website https://www.frederickbuskey.com/
  • I love hearing from you. If you have comments or questions, or are interested in having me speak at your school or conference, email me at frederick@frederickbuskey.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.
  • If you are tired of spending time putting out fires and would rather invest time supporting and growing teachers, consider reading my book, A School Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose. The book is available on Amazon. You can find links to it, as well as free book study materials on my website at https://www.frederickbuskey.com/reclaiming-purpose.html 
  • Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.
  • Remember the secret to good leadership:
    • Be intentional in choosing how you will show up for others
    • Be fully present
    • Ask reflective questions
    • And then just listen
    • Don’t overcomplicate it, the value is in the listening.
  • Have a great rest of the week!
  • Cheers!


Mara’s Links:

Frederick’s Links:
The Strategic Leader’s Guide to Reclaiming Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWRS2F6N?ref_=pe_93986420_774957520


8 Actions to Lift People Up

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