He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing in the world?
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people
Few would dispute that people are the school leader’s most valuable resource. Assembling the right people and ensuring they are in the right ‘seat on the bus’ can be a career-long endeavour!! It may also be a goal that is never achieved.
While it is important to have an eye on the future, the here and now is where it's happening for you and your people. You may never have that perfect combination of staff members so let's consider what you can do with what you have.
At edLead we believe in potential – that's what coaching is all about. We also wonder about unrealised potential in our schools. Are we growing and developing our people, not only as teachers and leaders… but as teams?
At edLead, we know from experience, that being part of an effective team motivates and inspires us, it supports and challenges us, and it empowers us to innovate and contribute to education. We also know it doesn't just happen – it must be prioritised and deliberately worked upon.
Elena Aguilar in her book The Art Of Coaching Teams states – ‘Leading a team involves a skill set in which very few of us have ever been trained.’ A sobering thought perhaps. Consider for a moment how much training you have had in the skills involved in building and developing an effective team. How many of your team leaders became team leaders because they were good teachers and have then been expected to get on with the job?
At edLead we believe that a key to school improvement is team development. Working ‘in the team’ is not enough. When school leaders learn or hone, the skills to work ‘on the team’ potential can be unleashed.
Taking a deliberate and planned approach to team development in your school, may be the next place to put your leadership energy. When people are working together collaboratively and collectively in pursuit of agreed goals and outcomes, feelings of motivation and efficacy are high, and positivity and persistence are maximised. Stress and pressure are minimised as people feel energised & empowered by being part of an effective team.
Let's challenge ourselves to break the busyness cycle. We need to prioritise time to work ‘on our teams.’ Does the busyness of our schools prevent us from undertaking the very work that could have the most impact? Is this the real crisis in education?
As you consider your 2019 PLD priorities and decide what is next for your people, think TEAM and contact edLead. We know how to support you to take your team to new levels of potential and performance.
These quotes may be useful to begin the teamwork conversation with your people.
Effective teams conduct ‘autopsies without blame.’
Grouping people together and calling them a team does not necessarily result in collaboration that transforms a school.
To build an effective team, you need to know yourself. There is no other place to start.
Elena Aguilar- The Art Of Coaching Teams