Leading With Lollipops

I saw this video for the first time last year, and it was someone else who showed it to me (thanks Norm).  I took it back to school and showed it to my staff, because it was perfect.  I wanted to let them know how much I appreciated the hard work that they were doing every day, that they were making a huge difference in the lives of kids every day, and that I understood how few thank yous were sent back in return.  I also wanted to let them know that--sometimes--the most meaningful moments for some people are, well, missed by others.  I always expected that when my big thank you came, I would be not only be ready for it, but expecting it.  I was wrong.  My life-changing thank you came about because of an incredible tragedy. 

I was working in another district as a Vice-Principal, and was attending a celebration of life at the school for a former student who was tradically murdered.  At the service, another student came running up to me, exclaiming that he was hoping that I would be there and that we could catch up.  He told me that he was a commercial airline pilot, that things were good and stable for him, and that--gulp--I had saved his life.  Wow, saved his life.  That statement still hits me like a tonne of bricks.  He said that he was at a point of not caring about school or life and wasn't trying hard, and that I pulled him aside and had a really hard conversation about what it was that he wanted to do with his life and about doing things in a way that allowed people to see the real him and not just the facade that he was hiding behind.  I gave him the gut check to decide how he was going to be remembered, and then gave him a chance to make up all missed work and get caught up but only if he was going to give a real effort and stop playing games.  He said that conversation and the following weekend gave him the pause to see his life clearly, and he made a choice to follow his heart--that person hiding inside his chest--and walk away from the life of gangs, drugs and violence that had enveloped his older brother.  So you see, when he told me that I saved his life...he meant it.  The problem for me was that I didn't remember the conversation.  Sure, after some reflection I put myself back into that Geology 12 classroom, sitting down beside him and talking to him about wasting his talent.  Sure, I could remember the late afternoons setting up and explaining rock labs and sending him home to complete the write ups.  But, it didn't play back like a movie, and it wasn't glamourous.  And, it wasn't me who did any of that work, it was him.  I just pointed him in the right direction, and promised to be there to help should he choose the right path.  Maybe that is a lot, and maybe I was foolish to expect anything more.  I was so proud if him that day, and I still am.  I also know that there will be a time in his life where he will use that experience to help someone else make a big difference.  How amazing is that?

So my challenge this weekend is for everyone to dig deep and find that person who made a difference for them.  Chances are it will be a teacher, but it could be anyone.  Then, find a way to track that person down, and hand them a lollipop or some other reasonable or symbolic facsimilie, and thank them for making a difference in your life. 

It might be the most important thing you do all year, and it might make a far bigger difference than you could ever imagine.

From My iPhone

I have spent 2 1/2 hours in the last two days covering kindergarten and grade 1 classes. It has been a good opportunity for me to help get to know the newest students in our school, and it helped out our teachers. Having this opportunity to get into the classroom helps remind me that we always have to keep the people--the kids and the staff--first, and the paperwork second. No matter how big the pile of stuff is to do, this still isn't a desk job.

This is my first iPhone post. I am interested to see how it turns out.

Proud to Be a Canadian

We had a remarkable day at school today, celebrating Canadian Citizenship Week by hosting a Canadian Citizenship Ceremony.  Our kids worked so hard to get the gym decorated and set up, and we all dressed in red and white and watched as 53 people—including one of our students—from 17 different countries became new Canadians. 

I was so proud of our students and our school, and so proud that we were able to share in such a wonderful moment in the lives of these new Canadians.  I spoke to a family of four from Ukraine who came from a village very close to the one that my grandfather came from.  I spoke to a wonderful couple from Texas who were so happy and proud to be Canadians and who were so grateful that they were able to share such a touching ceremony with our kids.  I spoke to a man from Australia whose wife had just been hired onto the district as a teacher, and another family from England who had lived here for 13 years and were finally “officially Canadian”.  But I didn’t get a chance to catch up with the elderly man who sat in the very front row, on the corner to the right of the judge.  He had a beautiful smile on his face, and sat there quietly weeping for the duration of the ceremony, occasionally removing his glasses to wipe away the tears running down his cheek.  As Principal, I sat up with the dignitaries and shook the hands of every new Canadian following their few private words with the judge.  It took everything this man had to shake my hand, as he was so overcome with joy that his body was trembling.  I looked for him as the line neared its end and saw him, for an instant, through a break in the crowd;  however, the gap closed and he disappeared before I could find a word with him.  We wanted to know his story, but his quick exit probably left a bigger mark on us because it left us with an image of him choosing to be Canadian.  He wasn’t born here.  He may not have grown up here.  But he chose to be here today to become a Canadian.

I am so proud to be a Canadian.

I am so proud to be the Principal of this school.

Finding My Way

A good friend is moving away. 

My friend is a good leader and a good teacher.

My friend does not like public attention, and always tries to push the team to the front for any credit or accolades.

My friend set me up for success.

My friend is a great supporter, had my back when I needed it, but also never let me off the hook when I needed to stand up and be counted.  I needed that.

My friend made me wear my big boy pants.

My friend has a great laugh, and so do I.  My day works better when I use my laugh, and it was great to work with someone who made that okay.

My friend gave me the time—and the permission—to settle into my role, and to find my way.  Not by telling me the way, but by asking me to dig inside myself. 

My friend really helped me to find my way.

My friend made a difference to me—a big one.  I will help to pay back that favour by making a difference to others who cross my path.

I am grateful that our paths crossed, and excited for the opportunities that lay ahead of my friend.

My friend is moving away, but can't get rid of me that easily...

Living on an Island

 

Wow, I thought that this was going to be an easy post, but I am into the 5^th draft and not convincing myself of anything else other than the topic is more complex that I first intended (and even understood).  I wanted a brief and concise “rah, rah” kind of salute to networks, and I ended up on so many disconnected tangents that I had to put the writing away 4 times to give me time to reflect and digest.  Hmmm, maybe that is the real point of writing these things down?  But, I digress...

Early on, I had many people talk to me--professionally--about the importance of building a network of support, and some even tried building this network for me.  It didn’t work in most cases, of course, because it wasn’t authentic or genuine.  One event, however, stands out for me as the moment that I really began to take my personal networks seriously (meaning that I stopped taking them for granted), and that was a keynote by Alan November for an administrative institute that I attended about six years ago.  Alan spoke to us about technology in education, but came at it from an angle that I hadn’t really considered before.  He demanded that we use the technological tools available to us to connect to the rest of the world.  Not randomly, meaningfully and in the best interests of kids and education.  Not to do so, he argued, was malpractice.  Needless to say, he had my attention.

Skype was reasonably new to most people in the room back then, and Alan used Skype to call a professor at some US university to get a point of view on an educational question that we were discussing.  Alan didn’t know all of the answers, but he knew where to go to get them.  His confidence was in his network. 

I have never forgotten that lesson.

So, here are my questions for you:

1.       Who is your key contact when you find yourself in a jam at work?

2.       Who is your moral compass when you bump up against an ethical dilemma, or find strain in a relationship?

3.       Who do you seek out for comfort and security?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, please, take the time, right now, to find them.  My guess is that they will all be found right in front of your nose.

I used to think that we could not live on islands, and that we had to build bridges to connect our communities.  That is not exactly true anymore.  We can live—physically—in isolation, so long as we stay connected to that web of support around us.  But we need support, and it comes from people that we trust, and not in gigabytes or in megapixels. 

People are important. 

It is important to remember that networks can only work if they run on two-way streets; having someone as part of your network likely means that you are part of theirs, and while giving advice is easy, asking for it is difficult.  Connect with your network and promise to ask for help.  Then, go home and make a stronger promise to yourself. 

Promise yourself never to suffer in isolation. 

Promise yourself to seek help when help is needed; it is exactly that humbling of character that builds character.

Now go and connect with someone important to you.