“I don’t want just words. If that’s all you have for me, you’d better go.”
~F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and the Damned
While I extracted this quote from Fitzgerald’s novel about a doomed couple, it is also a sentiment easily applied to leaders. Teachers are not a naive audience. Those born to be teachers were also born with the gift to quickly spot a phony. This gift is a survival instinct that is deeply embedded into their psyche to assist their navigation of those students who try to fake their way through a class discussion or assessment or bathroom requests. With little hesitation, teachers feel in their guts whether a student is being truthful when she says her printer wasn’t working or her dog ate her homework.
Teachers have the same instinct when it comes to school leaders.
School leaders have to offer more than “just words.” Truthfully, leaders should listen — really listen — more than they speak. An astute listener will learn more about a school’s culture, a teacher’s struggles, or a student’s pain by what is left unsaid. Leaders, then, should use their words to ask questions, to propose possible solutions, and to create plans.
School leaders must be comprised of more than the words they proffer during faculty or PTO meetings. Leaders who show teachers that the work they do matters and that they believe in them are those who create positive school climates which lead to productive teachers and students.
So how do you show you are a person of more than words? Resolve to perform one, two or all of these actions before the school year ends:
- Dress up on a theme day. I mean who doesn’t want to go to work in PJs? Of course you can have your regular business attire at the ready, but if it is school spirit week, make sure you show your school spirit.
- Teach a lesson. Plan the lesson. Teach the lesson. Gather feedback. Repeat. True, it is probably not something you can do often, but you should try to do so several times a year.
- Celebrate teachers. Show the community how hard they work. Invite the local newspaper to write profiles. Take photos and post them on Twitter. Write a blog that describes what teachers do each day to teach and reach students.
- Give them time. Too often leaders make the mistake of talking their ways through the entire professional development days. If you need to present information or provide training, limit yourself to 20% of the allotted time slot for the in-service. Give teachers, then, the rest of the time to work in groups or alone to extend their learning and apply it to their teaching.
- Seek input from your teachers and staff. Consistently ask where they want to go professionally. What should the school do to be a better learning environment? What does and does not work about a daily schedule. When someone gives you a great idea, then, make sure you give him or her the credit.
What other ways can school leaders show they are more than “just words”?
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