It just might be a one shot deal (Frank Zappa)

Photo by Olu Eletu on Unsplash

First impressions are tricky.

It's a one shot deal. 

At Woodford House, thanks to the fact that I wore a suit and was lead through the staff room, my initial visit made it seem like I was a politician looking for babies to kiss.

At Westmount Kaipara, staff report that I came across as 'staunch' when I was introduced by the campus administrators.

I'm not a politician but I do like 'staunch': loyal, faithful, trusty, committed, devoted, dedicated, dependable, reliable, steady, constant, hard-working, vigorous, stable, firm, steadfast.

Yeah, baby!

So, my thoughts have turned to how I might come across at my new campus in September. I'm super aware that leaders design and create an environment.

What environment do I want to create? Easy one to answer!

Apparently my 'relentless positivity' tag has been popularly spread already. One Regional Principal even said it's become my middle name! Cool!

Here's five things I intend to do quickly to embed that idea:

• No office. That might be a shock to accepted norms in the UK setting. Good. I'm keen to continue my 'no office - hot desk - never in the same place twice' policy. Patent pending.

• Learn names. Rain or shine I'll continue greeting students and parents/grandparents with a smile and a cheery 'good morning' as they arrive at school in the vans. When they leave at the end of each day it's a great opportunity to check on their day. It's a great time for learning names and getting to know who everybody is.

• Listen to students. Basically, this is the start of establishing relationships. When I was interviewed the students targeted student voice as their area of greatest concern. So I'll be listening and thinking and working out my next steps.

• Regularly, drink tea at interval and eat lunch at lunchtime. Leaders who are removed from the laughter and the banter and the fun of a staff room are missing out big time!

• Embrace positive LEAN meetings and distributed leadership. A tight ten minute review and reflection time run by different staff each day ticks many boxes.

In the fullness of time, at the end of the day, when all is said and done - it's all about relationships and communication.

You're the voice, try and understand it, make a noise and make it clear (John Farnham)

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Student voice. That was the answer.

My question was: what's the one thing you would like me to address if I become your new Head Teacher?

This came during my (successful) epic interview for a new job in the UK.

It was the student interview. They asked some searching questions and when they were done they asked me if I had a question for them.

I did.

Was I surprised by their answer? Not really.

My current senior students at my current school would probably have said the same thing if they'd had the chance to interview me before I became the Kaipara Principal.

Student voice.

This can be interpreted in different ways.

It may mean 'more choice', or 'getting what we want', or 'asking for our opinions', or 'our preferences'.

The simple fact is, I liked how they asked if I had question for them. It made me feel included somehow. 

Now, the reciprocal question needs to be asked of the students. Everyone likes to be listened to, don't they?

What do you want to say? (Go ahead; I'm all ears).

You win some, lose some, all the same to me (RIP Lemmy - Motorhead)

We're just about at the new year. 

2016 is poised, ready to pounce! What better way to end the old year than with these five items.

1 What students say they want!
In the old days students had zero say - these days - we're at least interested in what they say they want - so read this!

2 LISTEN!
It's a forgotten skill. Listen to this message, please!

3 Creativity in ignorance
I like this idea - there is creativity in ignorance.

4 Typeface
This is a pretty cool site - lets you see various typefaces - I'm big on wysiwyg.

5 Awesome reader
Love this too - suggests other books that you might like! Anything that promotes reading is alreight by me.

Oh I knowww, I knowwww (Sybil Fawlty)

The McKinsey Quarterly had a guide to better listening recently. This is an area of interest to me because I am often annoyed by people who don’t listen well.

You know the poor listener types:

The pseudo listener nods the head a lot, and adds insincere comments like ‘How interesting’ and ‘I see’ because they are too busy thinking about their own opinions and what they want to say instead of listening to you.
The continual talker/ non listener never shuts up. Continually interrupts conversations. Loves the sound of their own voice.
The critic misses clues to your underlying feelings because they are too busy looking for facts.
The ‘I’m in a hurry’ listener never slows down long enough to look you in the eyes and find conversation. Talks and listens while doing other jobs.
The bored listener also doesn’t look you in the eyes. Other body language stresses that he/she refuses to give their full attention. They would rather talk to someone else as their eyes scan the room behind you.
The aggressive listener has contempt for others’ ideas. In meetings and conversations this person is usually waiting to interrupt/jump in over you and point out mistakes- usually interrupting conversations and making the speaker feel inferior.

The guide made three simple suggestions for people that, if followed, would reduce the number of poor listeners.

1 SHOW RESPECT
2 KEEP QUIET
3 CHALLENGE ASSUMPTIONS

All three are crucial cornerstones of good listening. The first two are succinct and self explanatory. The third needs a little further comment.

To listen well we have to be prepared to challenge long-held and cherished assumptions. Then there is a miraculous world of new possibilities.

This takes real effort because it flies against human nature. We need to force ourselves to shelve prejudices and assumptions and shake up our thinking…and become better listeners.