SuccessFoci

Most of us want to be successful.  And the meaning assigned to the word "success" is unique to each of us.

Regardless of our respective goals, our priorities, the task of actually achieving them is the tricky part.  How do we get to where/what we wanna be?

Being able to stay focused on that which is important seems to be the key.  Our days are filled with an overwhelming bombardment of interactions, data, information, meetings, reports, scheduling obligations,.... 

More often than not, most of those encroachments on our time are NOT well-aligned to our achieving "success," as we understand it.  So, what to do????

Consider a simple two-step approach:

1. Decide, and write down and keep handy, the 2-3 three things you deem MOST important to your being able to achieve "success."
2. Dedicate a portion of each day, EVERY day, to pursuit of those things and only those things.  It does not have to be a huge chunk of the day, but it's best done EVERY day.

Otherwise, as so oft noted by the late Dr. Stephen Covey, the urgent will most certainly crowd out that which is important. 

Life is too short to forsake the important.

FB Approuver

“Eat what your body needs. More importantly, STOP eating what your body doesn’t need.”  

Those are the wise words of my physician friend, Dr. Ben Edwards, of Veritas Health Community.  I have taken Ben’s advice to heart since 2012. And, my physical health and wellbeing have shown subsequent positive effect.

 

I have long believed that our “nutrition” also impacts our “health and wellbeing” in the cognitive and emotional-spiritual dimensions of our lives.  We Are What We Eat, truly, whether that consumption is in the form of physical food, or in our intellectual intake, or in our emotional-spiritual diet.

 

I have chosen to stay of Facebook to try to be a positive influence in an environment that has a ton of negativity flowing through it. So, I remained. I tried. I failed.

 

I am puzzled by the amount of negativity and vileness that flows through that medium. Often, from people I know, I love, and I am certain are decent human beings. 

 

So, I’m gonna clean up my diet, so to speak. For those who want to continue to connect with me in the digital environment, I won’t be hard to find. My website will still be active, and about a bazillion of you have my cell number. You won’t, however, find me in another cesspool. Life is too short to swim therein.

 

Best wishes to you all for a happier, healthier life. Choose well what you consume.

10MindframesForLeaders

I recently read 10 Mindframes for Leaders: The VISIBLE LEARNING(R) Approach to School Success, a book edited by John Hattie and Raymond Smith (2020).

In this relatively short book, JH/RS have enlisted other prominent leaders in the learning-causation field to contribute chapters.  Those contributors include the likes of Micheal Fullan, Zaretta Hammond, Sugara Mitra, Dylan Wilam, and others.  It was quite a coup to get their participation, and the product is a superb book to help guide us educator types as we continually search for better and more effective ways to improve schools AND the learning outcomes of the students who attend those schools. 

My favorite quote from the book:

“As Simon Sinek (2019) claims, a “Just Cause” is a specific vision about the future that does not yet exist, a future state so appealing that people are willing to make sacrifices in order to help advance toward that vision. Our notion of the Just Cause for schooling is for school leaders and teachers to create a learning environment where children want to come to learn, want to invest in learning, enjoy the mastery of learning, and are invited to reinvest in learning. We want schools to be places where children are taught precious knowledge, heritages of themselves and others, respect for self and others, and how to participate in the rule of law and fundamental premises of a democracy. We desire for schools to be inviting places where children want to explore, create, be curious, and relate and transfer ideas, as these are the very attributes we would want them to explore and exhibit when they are adults...We believe the best way to do the above is to create an environment in which information can flow freely, mistakes can be comfortably made, and teaching can be offered and received in a way all students feel safe.” (p. 116)

It's well worth the time, and would be an excellent resource around which to have team book studies, either at the school district or campus level.

Gifted

The Christmas season is associated with the act of giving gifts. Most of us (in the Christian faith) have memories of especially meaningful gifts received over the years at Christmas time.

Those special gifts take the form of toys, tools, clothes, jewelry, gadgetry, cool experiences, ..... The list is unending.

So, which is best?  

Consider this:  There is none greater than the gift of attention.

Having the attention of those I love and respect means the most. I see it in their eyes, I hear it in their words, I feel it in their touch, I sense it in their vibes.

Think I'll learn better how to give that gift.

Merry Christmas!

GraduAdmonition

 About half of my professional life has been spent serving as a high school principal. One of the duties of that role is to plan and deploy the annual commencement ceremony for the graduating class. 

I made it a habit to remind the graduates each year that they did not arrive at that important day all on their own. Each one had someone, or a bunch of someones, who supported them in achieving that milestone. Thus, I admonished the graduates to not let that special day pass without expressing their appreciation, thankfulness, love to those who meant so much to their success.

Oddly, the simplest expressions of gratitude and love often feel the weightiest. In fact, a simple hug, a heartfelt "Thanks," a sincere "I love you" seem supreme. 

Graduation day is a great time for voicing such gratitude and love.

Thanksgiving is another excellent day for same.

LogRollers

Any leader, good or bad, can tell you how important communication is. In fact, I've heard some leaders assert that leadership actually IS communication. An interesting thought...

The best leaders I know communicate often, communicate clearly, communicate through all kinds of media.

The wisest leaders I know consistently attempt to minimize their use of monologue, while at the same time maximizing the amount of time spent in dialogue.  

I've much to learn from those wizards.

Followership

Leadership is tricky business. Doesn't matter if we're talking parenting, coaching, preachering, teaching, bossing, generaling, or....

Effective leaders spend far more of their time, effort, thinking, and energy on building followership.  Autocratic leaders depend on compliance, through legalism and force, to achieve desired outcomes.

Armies that won't march...  Employees that slow roll work... Children that won't mind... Teams that won't commit... All are tells of uninvested followers. 

Autocrats respond by executing, firing, beating, dismissing the non-compliant.

Authentic leaders, on the other hand, respond by making a clearer, better case for followership toward noble and worthy goals. 

By the way, TRUST (not force) is the precursor to followership.  In case you were wondering.