Group items tagged

Without trust, employees won’t level with you—at best, you’ll learn either non-truths or part truths.

The best way to start building trust to take the time and meet as many individual contributors as you can as soon as you can.

I made this my priority partly because I wanted to know what customers were saying—but also to make an internal statement.

Doing this correctly takes time—but less than you might think.

Later on my first day at Intralinks, I began arranging meetings with individual contributors. That’s where my learning really began. Over the next few weeks I met with over 60 individual contributors. Not only did I learn a lot, but I convinced them that I cared what they thought and could be trusted with the truth.

Instead of just laying this out in an all-hands meeting, I began laying out the plan in one-on-one meetings in which I talked about how each individual’s feedback had helped guide my thinking.

None of this could have happened without building the trust of the team. New leaders must remember that many of the best insights on how to fix a company lie with employees further down the org chart. Creating a trusting, honest dialogue with these key personnel should be every new leader’s top priority.

2. They ask their biggest critics for feedback.

Change agents in education are surrounded by a supportive group of people that can and will give them honest feedback. No one feels scared or defensive in the exchange of feedback, because the educator has been intentional in creating a trusting environment where constructive criticism is welcome.

3. They fail fast and fail forward.

They know that failure is an imperative part of the creative process. Innovative educators are brave enough to try new ideas in and outside of the classroom.

4. They are passionately curious.

They are constantly learning. This is also why they are idea blenders, because their curiosity leads them into a new web-design class or a subscription to an entrepreneurship online magazine.

5. They believe in their students.

Provide clarity about the expected outcome.

Grant the necessary authority

Be prepared to assist.

Monitor progress.

Recognize key milestones and celebrate successes.

Title 1 funding that traditionally would have paid for an additional literacy specialist was allocated for the data strategist position.

The possibilities are endless when an individual's interests and skills are considered within the context of a school's needs. Such roles might also include community liaisons responsible for connecting families with various social services while plugging students into local job, volunteering, or community service opportunities. A keen interest in 21st-century skills might develop into a role that guides students to collaborate with others, synthesize information, and create something unique and useful for their peers.

The most prevalent barrier to hybrid teaching roles is the district-mandated staffing plan that leaves buildings with little opportunity to determine how personnel are allocated.

The difficulty for leaders, and for us, is that many significant challenges are ambiguous.

Leadership is turning ambiguity into measurable action steps, translating what we fear into what we can do.

Leadership is turning ambiguity into measurable action steps, translating what we fear into what we can do.