The “bottom” 20% are critical

I use bottom in quotes on purpose. Too many “professionals” feel too self important to recognize the support staff that makes any organization truly run. It struck me in a fictional book I was listening to where every character had a name, except for a cameo by the custodian. The character had lines, and in his cameo performed a pivotal action. But the author didn’t take the time to even provide a name.

Why is it that this character was nameless? Who are the "nameless" people in your organization? I bet many of them are just as critical to the success of your organization as some of your top executives, teachers, sales people, marketing, or accounting personnel. Find out who the custodian that won't let good enough be good enough. The IT guy that can get anything back on line, and teach others how to also. The administrative assistant that keeps everything organized and communicated, greeting customers in a way that makes them want to wait on hold.

Touch base with the department heads or managers of each division of yours. Find out who the unsung hero is in that department, and then find a way to recognize them. In person if you can, and by name. Bring them out to lunch or for a cup of coffee, and ask them to tell you about what makes them tick and why they do their job so well. Not only will that motivate them to keep working, and have a proud story to tell when they get home, but it will also help remind you of why you do what you do as the leader.

Comments

Vulnerability

I cannot claim to be an expert on vulnerability, that title belongs to Brene Brown. Through her work, I have learned that being vulnerable is key to major breakthroughs in life. The opposite of this is true as well. Being unwilling to take risks, fearing failure or embarrassment, leads to stilted growth and eventual regression. The unwillingness to struggle in the short term leads to eventual major disappointment. That struggle is unpleasant, painful, draining, aggravating, defeating, and necessary. As a teacher, vulnerability arises when teaching a new grade level or content area. It happens when a re-designed lesson is taught for the first time, a new resource is used, and when being observed. Leaders face vulnerability when launching a new initiative and taking questions from stakeholders. Coaches face vulnerability when they meet with a new client or a client who operates outside the coach's wheelhouse of knowledge or skills. Humans are adept at procrastinating, which is a phys...

Navigating Uncertainty

One thing most people can agree on in early April 2024 is that no one knows what to expect right now. Federal agencies are being closed at a record pace, tariffs are rocking global finances, AI is changing faster than most people can keep up with, everyone has an opinion on this, and no one can anticipate what might happen next. The stock market is a prime example of the uncertainty, and on the day I started writing this the Dow Jones surged by 800 points and ultimately fell by 600. Today as I continue writing, it rose by nearly 3000 points. There are countless ways to reach when life becomes chaotic. Some people "don't look up" as the movie's title states, because as long as you can't see the asteroid heading straight towards you it does not exist. Some like to lean into the chaos, acting like Loki, the Norse god of mischief and disruption. Others protest through marches, speeches, and boycotts. All of these are human reactions on which I place no judgment. Based...

Scheduling - A School's Heuristic Problem

Students learn about algorithms in Computer Science to solve complex problems in reasonable times. Some issues are too complex even for the best algorithms to perfectly solve, and those are known as heuristics. The example commonly used is the traveling salesman. While a little outdated, and I have updated the example to be the logistics of UPS delivering packages, the story goes like this. A traveling salesman arrives in a new town intending to get to each house in the most efficient path possible. They get a road map of all the homes they will visit and their hotel room and start mapping out paths. The math works out to show the following: Let's nerd out for a moment. Each number of possible paths is the mathematical factorial of the number of homes on the path. So 3 homes means 3*2*1 = 6 paths. 7 homes means 7*6*5*4*3*2*1 = 5040 homes. Just 10 homes, and we are at 10 factorial or 3,682,800 pathways! How can one possibly solve for the best route with that many choices? It is too...

Teacher Leader Coach

Search This Blog