So let’s go!

The rules to play the Fantastic Four meme are simple:

1. Copy/paste the questions into your blog.
2. Type in your answers.
3. Tag four people on your list
4. Don’t forget to change the answers to your own!

FOUR PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER AND OVER:

• Loveland High School
• Colorado State University
• King Soopers
• Lowe’s

FOUR PEOPLE WHO EMAIL ME REGULARLY

• Lorraine (my wife – although she much prefers the GTalk)
• Dad
• My boss
• My adviser

FOUR PLACES I LIKE TO EAT:

• Qdoba (Naked Chicken or Chicken Gumbo)
• Wendy’s (Spicy Chicken Combo with chili, baby!)
• At home (My wife is an amazing cook!)
• Carino’s (angel hair with artichokes)

FOUR PLACES I’D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:

• Rocky Mountain National Park (it’s only 30 minutes away!)
• Yellowstone National Park (standing waist-deep in the Yellowstone River with fly rod in hand)
• Europe (Paris, Rome, London… I’m not picky…)
• Washington, D.C.

FOUR TV SHOWS I COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:

• Lost (coming back in a couple weeks!)
• Heroes
• How I Met Your Mother
• Friends (my all-time favorite show)

FOUR PEOPLE THAT I THINK WILL RESPOND WITH A LITTLE LINKY LOVE: (or at least people I’d like to know a little more about)

• Rick
• Michael
• Jeff
• Tim

Leading for the majority means that I…

• …avoid like the plague addressing the entire staff or an entire department about the transgressions of a minority. No one likes receiving the all-staff email that starts out with, “It has come to our attention that several of you are not showing up for your assigned duty in the cafeteria…” Nonsense. If Mr. Jones isn’t cutting the mustard, I take it up with him. Sure it’s uncomfortable the first, oh, hundred times, but that comes with the big, fancy office.
• …use policy as a guide when making decisions, but not as the Gospel. There is always a chance it was written by someone in the late ’80s who retired years ago who had a particular axe to grind. (Seriously? “Students may not use the pay phones during class time?”)
• …focus on what is best for kids, not what is easiest or most comfortable for adults. Yes, I know that having your prep during block 1 is more convenient, but you’re the only person who teaches Nuclear Physics and that’s when it best fits most kids’ schedules.
• …communicate with others if there is a chance that they’ll feel like their “power” was undermined. For instance, if I opt to give a student back his confiscated cell phone prior to 3:00 (per policy!) because he has to leave to pick up his little sister at elementary school.

So it’s tricky, this “leading for the majority” thing. But I can tell you that in the end I’ll sleep better at night.

One of the biggest things I got from the book was the power of effective storytelling in influencing others. For those looking to tell great stories, I wanted to share something else I stumbled upon this summer.

The Moth is a not-for-profit storytelling organization that started more than 10 years ago as a small group of folks who would gather to spin tales on a friend’s porch. I’ve subscribed to the podcast and have a great 10-20 minute story delivered to my iTunes each week. Some of them are not appropriate for classroom use, but many are. If nothing else, they demonstrate the power of a well-told story — something that all of us school leaders could stand learn a lot from as we write the next chapter in the story of our own organizations.

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s receiving or giving lousy customer service. We don’t put up with it at the Olive Garden or the Starbucks, and we sure as heck shouldn’t expect our customers to put up with it from us.

Schools walk a precarious line with parents and the community. Generally, they like us OK. But then one little thing goes wrong and that’s it. They tell a friend or two how crummy our school is and that friend also tells a friend or two. Pretty soon everyone’s working on the assumption that your school is an unfriendly place because someone didn’t get the satisfaction they wanted.

I’m not talking about overtly bad customer service like being rude or snippy with someone, although that shouldn’t be acceptable, either. But sometimes the little things we do (or don’t do) and the hidden messages our offices and classrooms send speak louder than words. In one of my all-time favorite posts by Scott McLeod, he points out the subtle (and not-so-subtle) messages we send out to our teachers, parents, students, and community every day.

Consider the mother of a teenager in need of some last-minute advice from the student’s counselor. She walks into the counseling office and the secretary’s desk proudly displays that oh-so-witty sign that says, “Failure to plan on your part does not constitute and emergency on mine.”

Or consider the dad who comes in to review his student’s attendance. He is told by the first person he sees, “That’s not my responsibility. You need to see the Attendance Person.” So he dutifully goes to the attendance office only to find that the Attendance Person is at lunch. Approaching the nearest counselor he is told, “Your son is not in my part of the alphabet. You need to see Mr. Y and he’s booked all afternoon.” Down but not out, the father walks to the administrative offices and is told that his son is a senior and therefore he needs to see Mrs. Z who happens to be out of the building at that moment.

Now consider that pulling up Little Johnny’s attendance would have been about three mouse clicks for that first person. Why do we do this to people? Are we so afraid of stepping on someone else’s turf? Or is that we resent having to do “someone else’s job?”

Taking care of our parents and community is all of our jobs. As school leaders, we contribute significantly to the culture of the building. When people see us stop and pick up a piece of trash on the floor, it sends the message that we’re not too important to do our part to keep the building clean. When others see us stop to help a lost or confused parent in the building, they get the idea that we all need to take responsibility for taking care of the people visiting our school.

Empower the people in your building to do what is required (with consideration for what’s ethical and appropriate) to help a parent. Doing so will stop the game of parent “hot potato” that we play by bouncing these people from one person to the next. And even if they’re not happy with the result of the conversation (Johnny has missed how many math classes?!?), the parents will leave with at least a little bit of dignity as well as some satisfaction that someone took the time to listen and help.

Think about the thing that’s most on your mind right now. It’s probably not the thing you think is most on your mind; the stuff that’s really getting our attention likes to run behind the refrigerator whenever we turn the lights on. But, anyway. Got it? Okay.

Merlin walks through a simple example that neatly illustrates the kind of broad items most of us end up capturing and how to recognize that what you’ve really got is an action and a project. While far more articulate about this stuff than I am, Merlin makes the point I was shooting for yesterday.