Day 12

Leadercast ~ Peyton Manning

Today’s post is a reflection on the 7  Leadership skills that Peyton Manning  shared during his time on the stage in  Atlanta last Friday.

• Thrive on being uncomfortable

I wonder if anyone can truly “thrive” on being comfortable or if we merely survive, until it becomes comfortable.

• Devote yourself to intense preparation

I think of the sewing rule for this one “Measure twice and cut once”. I’m not sure if we can ever be too prepared, as long as we are also prepared to be flexible and to have things change and evolve.

• Invest in a coach

I wonder if once educators reach a certain level (position within the organization) they feel that they are above needing a coach.  Within our board, we strongly support new teachers and new administrators, but what does continued support, beyond your first year, look like?  Investing in a coach also means that you are open to feedback.  How many of us actively seek feedback from others and then work towards improving ourselves?  Or do we associate with people who just tell us what we want to hear?

• Draw a new baseline

We should always be aiming to raise our standards and our expectations. We talk about that all the time in connection to students. But do we purposefully set our bar higher for ourselves.  Do we make a commitment to be better today than we were yesterday?

• Bravely adjust to new changes

“The only constant is change” is something that we should be embracing in our schools. One of the advantages to education is that, for the most part, we are given the gift of a fresh start each September.  With each new year, each new class, each new staff, each new project we should be look forward to doing things differently.

• Be a master observer

In another context today I was reminded that we were given 1 mouth and 2 eyes; so that we could spend twice as much time observing as we do speaking.  For administrators, the rule of thumb is that you should take the first 6 months and just observe before making any drastic changes.  How many actually do that?

• Understand that sustained power and influence flow from your relationships with others

It sounds obvious, but without followers, there’s not much sense in leading. In Manning’s world, a quarterback needs a running back and a receiver.  In the world of education, administrators need teachers and support staff who are going to believe that the “play” that is called is a winning play.  They need to trust that our leaders have read the field, know the opponents, know the strengths of the individual team members and can clearly communicate what needs to happen.

I’ve never thought about starting the day in a school in a football huddle with a staff, but maybe, just maybe…….