4. Don’t talk about others. Other than when discussing personnel issues with other administrators and when giving feedback on observations and evaluations, it is best if you don’t talk negatively about other people. If you do, then people will believe you talk about them as well.
What is even tougher is to not listen to others talk about each other. What person hasn’t been put in the difficult position of having a colleague talk disparagingly about another teacher or staff member? It may sound trite, but if you wouldn’t say it to that person’s face, then don’t say it at all.
And people love to talk… once it goes out of your mouth, it invariably ends up getting back to that person and a moment of “small talk” has ruined your relationship with that person permanently. You may not even know it either.
Ironically, this is the same advice that we give our students about dealing with their peers. It’s worth hearing again.
5. Do what you say you’re going to do. Follow-through is important. Good intentions are great, but you need to be seen as a person who stands by their word.
People need to be able to count on you. You may have heard the saying “Underpromise and Overdeliver.” The tone of your school is set by your example.
6. Get to know your staff. Other than your family, you spend more time with the people at work than anyone else in the world. Ask.com states that “About one-third or 30 percent of human life is spent working. On an average, most people spend about 25 to 30 years working.”
Getting to know you staff members helps you realize that they’re people just like you, with hopes, dreams, problems and challenges too. Life is an amazing thing, but it can sometimes get in the way of “performing”.
Children’s illness, family issues, and personal health concerns can all be potential pitfalls in your staff’s performance. They can also be an opportunity to rally your faculty and staff to come together. People who care about each other are usually happier and more effective with your students.
To sum this all up, a happy school is where people care about each other. Remember treat people like you want to be treated. Put people first. Over the years I have observed that the most successful people got there by continually looking for ways to help other people.
I will leave you with this quote:
“Without realizing it, we fill important places in each other’s lives. It’s that way with the guy at the corner grocery, the mechanic at the local garage, the family doctor, teachers, neighbors, coworkers. Good people who are always “there,” who can be relied upon in small, important ways. People who teach us, bless us, encourage us, support us, uplift us in the dailiness of life. We never tell them. I don’t know why, but we don’t.
And, of course, we fill that role ourselves. There are those who depend in us, watch us, learn from us, take from us. And we never know.
You may never have proof of your importance, but you are more important than you think. There are always those who couldn’t do without you. The rub is that you don’t always know who.”
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
I would love to hear from people who might agree, disagree or think that may list is way off. If so, don’t sit on the sidelines… comment below!
Have you ever entered a school and it just “felt happy”? It had that somewhat hard to define quality that you just knew made kids (and teachers) want to be there. I don’t have the hard research and cold facts to back this up, but I think you know I’m right.