"Culture trumps strategy every time."
- Jon Gordon
School culture is the root of everything we do within our schools/districts as leaders. We should be constantly taking the "temperature" of our students, staff and school. Mike Smith, former coach of the Atlanta Falcons, said, "To be the most effective leader, you have to take the temperature of the building. I am not talking about what the thermometer reads. I am talking about the pulse of the team and the energy of the building." We must do this when things are going well and when they are not going so well. He had what he called "thermometers" around the building, different staff members who could share priceless information "allowing the organization to deal with potentially negative issues before they impacted the culture and performance." We cannot gauge the temperature by staying in our office. We must lead by walking around. We have so many responsibilities to juggle each and every day, but we must not forget the importance of a positive school culture.
Educators seem to receive a lot of unwarranted negative publicity and remarks from some of our highest ranking officials in the state. Educators who strive to make a difference for students every day have to battle the negativity that comes from such remarks. As school/district leaders, we have to find a way to combat this negativity by refocusing everyone on our purpose and reason for entering education in the first place. We have to tell our staff, "You know what we get to do today? We get to make a difference for every student we see today. We get to be that beacon for our students, preparing them for a successful life."
"Being positive in a negative situation is not naive, it's LEADERSHIP."
- Jon Gordon
Over the next several months I will be blogging about the importance of school culture, sharing strategies that we have used at Muhlenberg South Middle School to enhance our school culture. I will include strategies that we have used with our students, our staff and our community. My hope is that something I share will spark an idea that you can apply and implement in your school/district.