Messaging Matters. William D. Parker
multiplied over and over again can create a momentum of strong culture in our schools? If you are making a commitment to better messaging with your students, teachers, and community, you must begin by understanding the characteristics necessary to positively engage school communities in order to see a more positive school culture taking shape. An integral component of such a culture is developing a foundation for effective communication in the following ways.
Be Trustworthy
This should go without saying, but in order for your messages to be trusted sources of communication, you must be trustworthy. No amount of planning, preparing, communicating, or accountability will be effective if you have not earned the trust of those who are listening to your messages. Building trust starts with building strong relationships, and it continues with reliable, consistent follow-through. When you’ve taken time to invest in relationships and given others the best information available, people are more forgiving. This is especially true when you can’t show them both sides of the moon; many situations in school require privacy or confidentiality.
Begin by Listening
You can learn a lot by just listening. Taking time to listen and reflect with staff, students, and parents will strengthen your understanding of their perspectives. You will discover areas in which people need direction, guidance, or clarity and can answer their questions and better understand their interests. Schedule time to meet and listen, or collect feedback using surveys (such as the online platform SurveyMonkey, www.surveymonkey.com).
Listen for the Story Behind the Story
It would be difficult to find a school leader who has not heard teachers, students, and parents share their frustrations from time to time. When people share, they often make statements that include words like always and never. Even though people might seem to be simply venting with these statements, they often contain some important elements of truth. For example, it is easy to become offended when a teacher says, “We are asked to do too much with absolutely no support.” Or a student might say, “My teacher always grades us unfairly.” When you accept that such universal statements are common when people are frustrated, you can begin to listen for the story behind the story. What the student speaking about grades may really be saying, for example, is, “What I really want is for my teacher to recognize the value of my hard work, dedication, and commitment.” By listening for the deeper meanings, leaders go to the other side of that person’s moon to understand the messages he or she is communicating and what response or follow-up those messages require.
Don’t Allow Misunderstanding to Keep You From Communicating
This may be one of the toughest lessons in leadership and in life. We all want others to understand and respect us. Others may never have access to the information you understand or the context in which you operate as they discuss issues with you.
For instance, a teacher who has asked to meet with you about a concern may have no idea that you just dealt with an intense situation involving bullying and harassment. You may have spent the previous thirty minutes calming an upset parent or finishing the forty-eighth page of your accreditation report. But you do not always have the luxury of explaining context when someone needs a moment to interact with you. Because others deserve our respect and attention, we cannot hold them hostage to whatever challenges or frustrations we are facing. So it is okay to accept that others can’t see the side of the moon you are facing. And it’s helpful to remember that they have areas you can’t see either.
Try to See the Other Side
When was the last time you reflected on the influence your communication may be having on others? How is your messaging helping or hurting others in their attempt to have a better perspective?
You may be managing personnel decisions or implementing policies for student discipline, or you may be guiding choices on curriculum or instruction. Whatever the tasks ahead, don’t forget that at the end of the day, the moments that matter most will often be the small moments. It may even be a twenty-second conversation—a word of encouragement you offer a teacher or student. Or maybe it’s a reminder you give someone that he or she is talented and has something to offer the world. It may be a program you’ve helped develop.
No matter what pressures you face throughout your school, keep in mind that there are others whose lives are simply or sometimes radically influenced when they know you believe in them, want the best for them, and provide opportunities for them to learn.
We all want others to understand our point of view; however, you cannot allow your motivation to always achieve perfect understanding drive your messaging. Sometimes you can build stronger trust when you accept that you are limited in your perspective, when you must listen openly to learn from others, and when you give others the benefit of the doubt even when you can’t always see the other side of every issue. When you acknowledge this perspective and begin communicating from it, it helps you see how you can still direct, coach, announce, guide, and celebrate common goals without being caught off guard by limited understanding.
Now It’s Your Turn
• Do you make time to listen?
• What positive steps can you take to be a better listener?
• How comfortable are you with the knowledge that no matter how great your intentions or comprehensive your communication tools, others may sometimes misunderstand you?
• What steps are you willing to take to see the other side of the moon with your students, teachers, parents, and community?
Wrap Up
Successful leadership is not simply about focusing on evaluations, test scores, or wins and losses. Data are important, but leaders must see data as contributing factors to the overall positive culture and learning experiences. The implications of the Gallup (2013) research for school success are clear: engagement begins when we first create an environment in which students and staff members feel valued and heard, are engaged, understand what their roles are, and know what they can do to develop their strengths. They must also feel that their leader understands the foundation of effective communication. Once they are engaged, watch out! Your messaging within an engaged culture is much more than a set of words; it is a call to action.
| 2 | Cultivating a Positive Message With Teachers |
Communication is the key, and it’s the one thing I had to learn…. I was so involved with the visual and technical aspects that I would forget about the actors.
—Steve Buscemi
As an actor, Steve Buscemi had the advantage of spending years in front of the camera before he began working behind the camera as a director. But like anyone who steps into a leadership position, he had to learn that management of others is not just about outcomes; it is ultimately about people. The same lesson applies in school leadership.
For several summers, I had the privilege of traveling to Washington, DC, as a coordinator for our state principal’s association. One of my responsibilities was to set up educational advocacy meetings with members of Congress on Capitol Hill. One summer I traveled there with my superintendent of schools, Rick Thomas. On our last day in Washington, we had some downtime before heading to the airport. We decided to rent a kayak and paddle along the Potomac River to Theodore Roosevelt Island.
As we settled into our boat and started paddling, we quickly discovered we weren’t making much progress. I was paddling in one direction while Rick was paddling in another. After realizing what we were doing, we laughed and then agreed that paddling together would be a lot more effective than each of us trying to separately navigate the course. As I paddled in front, and he provided steering in the rear, we finally began gliding across the water near the Key Bridge.
As this story shows us, when we paddle together—when we form a cooperative culture, collaborate, and communicate effectively—we achieve more than we could alone. Begin with a focus on these three Cs to help promote positive messaging with teachers in a school