I originally wrote this in November 2010
I just read this post http://ht.ly/2RLX3- by Leadership Freak AKA Dan Rockwell about finding ones Sweet Spot.
Here are some quotes from the post:
“Finding the sweet spot may take patience and persistence.
Finding the sweet spot is about helping others reach their own goals and achieve their own dreams.
In my opinion, the greatest obstruction to finding another’s sweet spot is imposing our own agenda on others.”
I asked myself how can educators or more specifically Principals help teachers reach their own goals and achieve their own dreams?
Then as fate would have it I was listening to Deborah Kenny being interviewed by Bill Cosby and one of the points she made was about how she empowers her teachers to make certain decisions on their own about the curriculum etc.
Based on that interview and some of my own thoughts I came up with a list of what I can do as an administrator to help my teachers reach their goals without as Rockwell said imposing my own agenda on them.
1. Empower them. Let them have control over what goes on in their classroom
2. Find something they are passionate about and let them take the lead in that area. For example of one of the issues we have in my school is getting students more involved in our Prayer program ( we are a religious school) If a teacher had a certain passion about Prayer I would ask him/her to head up that committee
3. Offer choices for areas of Professional growth.
4. Be supportive
5 Value the contribution they make to the school and to the team. We are all individuals with different talents and everyone plays an important role. I often use a sports analogy in speaking with my students. Tom Brady may be a great quarterback but you can’t have a whole team of quarterbacks and if you do you probably wouldn’t win too many games. Every person is unique and important.
What I didn't realize then but realize today is that "Finding The Sweet Spot" is not about your own dreams and potential but it is about helping others reach theirs.
We talk about transparency, openness, collaboration etc. How great would it be if we each of us tried to help find that sweet spot within their school community or community.
Imagine how much true collaboration and transparency there would be if we truly wanted our friend to reach his or her potential.
During these days of Repentance we focus not only on our relationship with G-D but in our inter personal relationships as well. Imagine if we took upon ourselves to help out family friends find their sweet spots.
As educators we are in the profession of helping others and therefore I think one of our goals should be t help others meet their goals and help others find the SWEET SPOT
Transparency... in my opinion, is the key to successful learning communities in schools.
ReplyDeleteIt means I understand my 'why' & my 'how' when it comes to the work I do each & every day with students.I don't think as teachers we are asking you to give us all the gory details, but being treated as a professional with what we do know can make all the difference in the world.
Yes... plus, being transparent make it easier to find when you know what you are looking for:)