How School Administrators can Support Staff

In hindsight, one of the best decisions I learned you can make as a #departmentchair? Investing in #staff. 5 years ago, we had a culture of #faculty telling #staff how to do their jobs. Which is fairly common in #highereducation Fast forward and, now, staff advise me and faculty on what's best for their areas. Culture shifts in a #university are rarely easy. We have 12 FT staff and here are 3 ways we’ve focused our efforts: 1️⃣ Invest in a thorough hiring process. Know the difference between what you can and cannot teach a new employee. - Does the position call for someone who is very experienced and will teach us? - Or are we bringing someone on to be taught? - What are the soft skills that are needed? **Ex. It's a lot easier to teach someone your advising process than it is to teach them empathy or communication skills.** Generally speaking, we’ve looked for people who are: a.) team players b.) curious c.) self-aware 2️⃣ Invest in professional development. I like to work with people who are problem solvers, eager to grow, and have connections in their industry that our entire program can benefit from. Don't you? Then support your staff to attend workshops and conferences. Our staff have returned from these trips with: - Software solutions to long standing problems. - New ideas on how to improve our school. - Connections to peers in their field. It's one of the best ROIs I've seen. 3️⃣ Invest in building relationships. For the past 3 years, each fall, we’ve brought in a facilitator to work with staff on basic management practices - time management, communication, boundaries, etc. I’ll be honest, the first year staff were skeptical, but by the end of the first few sessions, they had bought in based on the changes they were seeing. We’ve continued working with that facilitator and also support a monthly staff lunch, staff mentorship and a more formal staff onboarding process. The best part? Many of these changes were staff-driven. ********** Hire experts. Give them authority (w/ their responsibility). Support their growth. 🌟That's a recipe for success.

Removing barriers in education should not be the standard but the bare minimum. How do we add value to those we serve? How do we ensure that they can excel because of extra support, as opposed to simply getting out of their way? As a school administrator, we had several teacher-led initiatives that we focused on in our school, which the staff was leading. We not only provided access to professional learning opportunities but also to substitute teachers to cover classes so our staff could plan during the school day, not after. If something is essential to be achieved by any school or organization, not only will resources be provided, but also time during the day to those who are asked to be contributors. If we ask people to constantly spend their own time outside of the school day for organizational initiatives, we are either saying that the goal is not that important and/or neither is their own personal time. No matter our role in education, there are so many little ways to go beyond removing barriers to adding value. Of course, providing someone to cover a class costs the school money, but when this happens, people often go further because they feel they and their time are appreciated. The return on investment was usually exponential. There are so many little ways to go beyond removing barriers to adding value, no matter our role in education. Removing barriers is often about making life easier, but adding value is about making things better. Both are needed for people to excel.

🤷🏽♂️I don't know if this has ever happened to you before as a leader, manager or boss, but it happened to me when I was a school principal. 😓Several teachers told me during 1-on-1 conversations that they were "exhausted", "extremely tired", or "really looking forward to a break", and this was mid-September, only a few weeks into the school year. It made me start thinking of ways that I can support my staff and I'll share a few quick tips for you. 👂1. Practice Active Listening Teachers have a difficult job, and it's essential they feel comfortable in being transparent with talking to their administrators. They should feel confident in coming to their principal to discuss issues in the classroom, problems with students, or anything else that affects their school day. 🧰2. Provide Great Resources Teachers often struggle to manage their classrooms with minimal resources. It is a common theme that teachers use their own money to ensure their class is adequately supplied with resources. If possible, give your teachers the tools and resources they need to successfully educate their students. ⭐️3. Recognize Teachers Often Teachers thrive on recognition and a positive school environment. When someone has done an impressive job, celebrate it! The recognition may be public or it may be a quiet comment or note to the teacher, letting them know they’ve been seen and appreciated. 🧘♀️4. Monitor Teacher Burnout 80% of teachers claim burnout is a major issue. Creating a respectful, safe, and supportive work environment helps guard against burnout. Often, a mental health day can help ease the stress a teacher might be feeling. ❤️These actions really helped keep my teachers engaged and supported them in feeling emotionally and psychologically safe. If you need more support in this area, schedule my workshop for your staff entitled, "Burning Up Instead of Burning Out!" 🙌🏽Please share your thoughts and strategies you use to support teachers to be high performers and excel with their students.