Years ago, I was blessed to be in a position to hold seminars with groups of educators designed to discuss and build leadership skills both informally and formally, internally – for the individual and externally for the school. As we discussed leadership skills and qualities, we would talk about new tools being put in our toolboxes as leaders. This year in Teach & Serve, I have decided to talk about many of those tools.
SUPPORT
Christmas is close. Christmas Break is closer. This is a time of year – and there are a few of them – when days feel like weeks and weeks feel like months. It is a time when it seems teachers and students are barely hanging on and are calendar watching as Break seems to be so very far away. It is an easy time of year to understand that our communities need the support of academic leadership to get to the finish line.
Support, however, is something that a leader needs to give all year long. Support goes a very long way for our staff and faculties. People who know they have the support of leaders feel more safe and more secure in their work. They feel more valued. They feel that they can take appropriate chances and risks. They feel understood.
I can point to many instances in my career where the act of giving support was the definitive moment in developing a relationship with someone. People remember when a leader says “I understand what this was and I support you.” They remember it for a very, very long time.
To be clear, I am not talking about a, “you can do no wrong” and unconditional type of support. This is not a blanket “I always have your back” support… sometimes individuals do wrong. We are not always at our best and sometimes mistakes are made. Not everything that happens in the course of a school year can be supported.
But these situations speak about actions. Support is focused on individuals. I can always support the person even when noting that they have made a mistake or a misstep. Focusing on support of the individual must be a tool every successful administrator has. It may be the single most important tool a leader can use.