Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Leadership, Morale, and a Snow Plow

Today we are having another snow day in Newport News, Virginia.  I'm really looking forward to flying out to San Antonio for #gtadmin and #ascd10 tomorrow.

As a 12 month employee I still come in on days like today.  My drive into work this morning had me thinking about the #edchat morale conversation  and how I contribute to it as a leader.  I came up with a snow plow analogy that may or may not work for all but I thought I'd throw it out there.

The snow has prevented my students and staff from having a regular day today.  There are many days that everyone does report to school but other obstacles get in the way of real learning.  These obstacles can include an overcrowded curriculum, high stakes testing, or even equipment that isn't functional.

My role and responsibility as a leader is similar to the snowplow that I saw on the road this morning.  It's job is to clear the road so that we can do the job we need to do.  As a leader I need to be like a snow plow.  I need to clear the road from the obstacles that prevent students and staff from taking chances and transforming educational practices.

One of the keys to morale, performance, and transforming education is to adopt a snow plow mentality in regards to obstacles.  There are others but this one resonates with me most on a snow day.  B

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