Hiring Season: Building Culture and Growing Without Guilt - Your Morning Boost

From the AWB Studios. This is your weekly Morning Boost, brought to you by AWB Education. We are proud to be featured on the forward Ed Network advancing voices shaping education. Join us as we amplify knowledge, widen reach, and broaden impact. Let's get ready to boost your week. It's that first real week back, isn't it. If you're listening on your way into the building this morning, you might notice how the air just feels a little different than it did in December. The holiday lights are coming down, the hallways have that freshly waxed scent again, and there's this quiet underlying shift in our conversations. And here it is, we are in January. So good morning, everybody. Welcome back to your Morning Boost, the first Morning Boost of twenty twenty six. If you hadn't caught it already, things look a little different around here. As we begin season three, we are now joining forces with some amazing educators to bring you even more than what you were getting in our previous seasons of this show. If you've not done so already, take a quick moment to like, follow and subscribe to our new channel. While you're there, give us a quick rating or review because it certainly helps us reach and reach even more people in this awesome profession that we are all in. So anything you can do helps, we thank you for doing so. Now. In our schools, January isn't just about the midpoint of the year. It's the moment we look toward the horizon. Even as we are greeting our students and getting back into the rhythm of the bells, there is this second track that's running in our minds. We start thinking about the future. Who will be joining us next year, where might we see ourselves and how our teams might evolve. It's hiring season, or at least the preamble to it, And while that often sounds like a series of administrative tasks, it's actually a very human, very vulnerable time for everyone in the building. So I'm glad you're here to sit with us as we talk about that for a few minutes this morning on Your Morning Boost. This segment of Your Morning Boost is sponsored by Grunmeyer Leader Services. Since twenty thirteen, GLS has been a trusted partner for school districts across the Midwest, specializing in executive recruitment and leadership support. They believe that great schools start with great leaders, and they are here to help you find a perfect. Fit for your district. Transform your school's future with the right leader at help. Visit Grunmeyer leader search dot com to learn more Grunmeyer Leader Services Transforming education one leader at a time. There is a tension we feel this time of year between staying present with the students in front of us and beginning the work of imagining next year's staff. When we talk about hiring season, the conversation usually goes straight to logistics, you know, posting possessions, screening files, scheduling interviews. But if we peel that back, what we're really doing is the work of culture building. When we look for new colleagues, we aren't just looking for a set of credentials or a specific certification. Those are just the baseline. What we're really searching for is the person who will hold the other end of the heavy lifting when things get difficult in May. We're looking for the person who will add a new perspective to the lunch room or a different way of explaining a concept that has been sticking in our students' minds. We're looking for a teammate, a co conspirator, in the work of making kids lives better. But there is a flip side to this. Many of us are also looking at our own paths. Maybe you've spent the break reflecting on your own growth. Maybe there's a poll towards a leadership role, or a different grade level, or even a different district that offers something that your soul has just been leaning toward lately. We often feel a strange sense of guilt about that. In education, there's this unspoken idea that if you love your school, you should never want to leave it, as if our loyalty is measured by how long we stay in one classroom. But growth isn't a betrayal of where you are. It's a natural result of the work you put in. If we aren't evolving, we can't expect our schools to evolve. The deep dive here isn't just about the job market. It's about the honesty we owe ourselves and each other during this window of time. How do we make room for people to grow without making them feel like they are quitting on the community. Because the truth is, a healthy school is a place that people are allowed to grow out of just as much as they are allowed to grow into so what does this actually look like when we're walking the halls this week. If you're on the side of bringing people in, think of it less like a search and more like preparing your home for a guest. When we look at our buildings through the eyes of the candidate, we start to see the things that we've become kind of blind to. Maybe the way we speak to each other in the mailroom, the level of support a new person actually receives when that honeymoon phase ends. Is our culture a place where a new teacher can actually breathe Before we even post a job. The real work is making sure the house is a place where someone would want to stay. That means having honest conversations in our department meetings. These conversations should be about how we support each other, not just how we share resources. It's about bringing the kind of community that doesn't just hire for fit, but instead hires for addition, bringing in people who make us better because they are different from us. If you are the one looking at your own resume this week, I want to give I want you to give yourself some grace opening that document for the first time and a few maybe three, five, ten years, it can feel very overwhelming. It feels like you're trying to squeeze your entire professional heart into a few pages of bullet points. My advice is to stop worrying about the buzzwords for a moment. Instead, think about the stories. What is the one thing that happened in your classroom or your office this past semester that made you realize you're ready for the next step. Write that down first. Let your resume be a reflection of your impact, not just a list of your duties. You are more than just a list of responsibilities included. You are the architect of a million tiny breakthroughs. And then there's the role we play for our friends. You might have a colleague stop by your room this afternoon, close the door, and tentatively mention that they're thinking about applying for a promotion or a job elsewhere. Our first instinct, because we love them and rely on them, it might be to say, oh, you can't leave us, we need you here. But the most morning boost thing we can do is to step into the role of a true mentor. I remember a former supervisor of mine, someone who's still a very close friend to this day. I went to them once to ask for a letter of reference. I was nervous, and when they asked why I needed it, I started stumbling through a safe answer. You know, I said something like, well, you know, I might apply for a position over at YadA YadA, and they stopped me right there. They didn't want the logistics. They said, no, I understand the purpose of the letter. I want to know your purpose for your career. What are your dreams, what are your desires. I realized then that they weren't just checking a box for me. They told me, I want to know where you want to go, so I can craft this letter and make the phone calls that you need to help you achieve that goal. That is what professional friendship looks like. It's acknowledging that someone's talent is something the whole world deserves, even if it means a Tuesday mornings get a little bit harder without them supporting a colleague and their departure or their promotion, it isn't a loss. It's an investment in the profession. When we create a culture where it's safe to talk about moving on, we actually create a culture that people are more likely to want to join. Hi. I'm doctor Lisa Hill, a longtime educator of nearly forty years as a teacher, counselor, professor, and vice principal, and I've seen just about everything public schools can throw at you. And now I'm sharing my tales on my comedy podcast, Vice Principal Unofficed. It's where school leadership meets laugh out loud. Stories from underwear required parent teacher conferences yes really, to staff launch confessions and more. You won't believe I'm telling it all with humor and a whole lot of heart. I also tackle the serious stuff too, like what schools really need to change and those behind the scenes moments no one talks about. So if you're ready to laugh, learn, and maybe even cry a little, but mostly laugh, join me and my ninety year old mom, my unofficial co host on Vice Principal Unofficed. New episodes drop bi weekly on Apple, podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast picks. Trust me, this is one detention you'll actually look forward. To as you head into your first full week of the new year. I hope you take a moment to look at your surroundings with fresh eyes, whether you are looking to grow where you are planted or looking to move to a new Garden. Remember the work you've done up to this point is the foundation for whatever comes next. You don't have to have it all figured out by Friday. Just be honest with yourself about where your heart is leaning, and be kind to those around you who might be doing the same. Thanks for being part of the work and for spending your time with us. We certainly appreciate everything you do for your students and everything you do for a community. Thank you again for joining us to day on your Morning Boost. If you haven't done so already, check out some of the other shows that are already on the Forwarded Network, and keep an eye out for more to come in the near future. There's a lot of really cool stuff going on around here. I promise you're going to want to be a part of it. Take care, everybody. We will talk with you again next week. That concludes another episode of Your Morning Boost and AWB Education Production. To find more incredible content, be sure to check out other amazing education shows on the forward Ed Network where they are truly advancing voices and shaping education. Join us again next week. Until then, keep boosting your impact