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00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Welcome to Your Morning Boost, your daily leadership advice to help you lead your school community.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 Brought to you by AWB Education and sponsored by Grundmeyer Leader Services,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 where together we are transforming education, one leader at a time.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Now here's your host, Adam Bush.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 Good morning, school leaders. Welcome back to Your Morning Boost.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 Happy Wednesday, everybody.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:26 If you have some more time today, I would suggest taking the time to catch our
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 special Booster Shot episode today.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:33 Today, I'm joined by the esteemed Todd Bloomer as we dabble into a menu of topics
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 that will help you lead your school. I promise you will not be disappointed.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:41 Now, today, we're going to focus on the A in SMART goals during this week-long
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 deep dive into goal writing.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 Today, the A is achievable. We're
00:00:45 --> 00:00:50 not just aiming high, we're aiming for realistic, sustainable success.
00:00:56 --> 00:01:01 As Vince Lombardi once said, the achievements of an organization are the results
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 of the combined effort of each individual.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:08 But those individual efforts need to be directed towards realistic, attainable goals.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 Setting goals that are too ambitious, that can lead to not only discouragement,
00:01:12 --> 00:01:16 but can also lead to burnout, and then kind of that sense of helplessness.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:20 We want to inspire. We don't want to overwhelm.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:24 A study by the University of Southern California found that individuals who
00:01:24 --> 00:01:29 set moderately challenging goals experienced higher levels of motivation and
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 satisfaction than those who set overly difficult goals.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:37 Think of it like climbing a mountain. You need to choose a path that is challenging,
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 but also one that is within in your capabilities.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:48 So when we talk about some actionable tips here, we're going to start again with yourself.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:52 When you're doing this for yourself, you want to break large goals down into
00:01:52 --> 00:01:53 smaller, manageable steps.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:58 This not only makes the goal feel more achievable, but it also allows for the
00:01:58 --> 00:02:02 opportunity to celebrate small victories along the way. And that's a very important thing.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 Think about assessing your resources, your time, and your skills,
00:02:06 --> 00:02:07 but do so realistically.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 Conducting a SWAN analysis, if you're not familiar with those,
00:02:11 --> 00:02:15 that's identifying your strengths, your weaknesses, your opportunities, and your threats.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:20 That's a good method here to try to really identify whether or not our goals are attainable.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 We want to identify some potential challenges, but also then,
00:02:24 --> 00:02:28 therefore, identify some opportunities for us within the goal.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 So ask yourself a couple questions.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:36 Number one, do I have the necessary resources and support to achieve this goal?
00:02:36 --> 00:02:40 This includes not only material resources, but also do I have the time?
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 And maybe do I have the expertise?
00:02:42 --> 00:02:47 And frankly, sometimes do I have the emotional support to be able to achieve this goal?
00:02:47 --> 00:02:51 Consider some past achievements and failures. That's number two.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:55 Learn from those. What strategies worked for me in the past?
00:02:55 --> 00:02:59 What obstacles did I encounter and how did I get over those obstacles?
00:02:59 --> 00:03:03 Or maybe how I didn't, how I learned that this is just something that maybe
00:03:03 --> 00:03:08 is a weak area for me that I'm going to have to work a little harder at to be able to attain.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:16 An example of this might be if you're going to try to implement a new school-wide
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 behavior program. It's a pretty common goal, okay?
00:03:18 --> 00:03:22 Within one month, that's probably not achievable.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:27 Instead, let's break that down a little bit more. Maybe by the end of the first
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 month, we're going to create a team. That's going to be the only thing we do
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 for that first month. And we're going to have that first meeting.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:37 We're going to discuss what this new behavior program is. Got to crawl before
00:03:37 --> 00:03:38 we can walk, before we can run, right?
00:03:39 --> 00:03:43 So maybe by the end of the second month, we're going to have a draft of what
00:03:43 --> 00:03:47 this new program might look like and what that's going to be and what we're going to try to create.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 And then the third month, fourth month and so on, we add and we add and we add.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:57 Gives us an opportunity to actually achieve something, but also keeps us moving towards our ultimate.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:06 Now, if we're talking about our staff, we want to encourage our staff to consider
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 their current capabilities as well, but also their limitations.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 Help them identify those potential
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 obstacles and help them develop some strategies to overcome them.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:19 As we do this, we're going to facilitate some discussions about these realistic
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 timelines and also the resource allocation.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:27 You might have a goal that's very specific as part of a very small portion of
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 our day, and it's still an important goal, but we also have to be realistic
00:04:31 --> 00:04:36 about how much resource, time, skills, everything we can align to that one particular goal.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 Encourage them to ask for help when needed, whether it's from their colleagues
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 or whether it's from you as well. That's going to help them go a long ways.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 Well, I also want to think about providing some opportunities for professional
00:04:47 --> 00:04:51 development, especially if I can get opportunities that are directly aligned with those goals.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 Training, any of those things that can help enhance their skills and knowledge,
00:04:55 --> 00:04:59 which is going to help them be more successful in attaining that goal and again
00:04:59 --> 00:05:03 much like ourselves we want to make sure we celebrate small wins take some time
00:05:03 --> 00:05:07 to be able to give that opportunity to celebrate the small wins and acknowledge
00:05:07 --> 00:05:11 effort this helps build morale it's also going to help reinforce that a set
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 that sense of achievability that we want to get.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 So here's an example the teacher wants to
00:05:22 --> 00:05:28 like fully implement technology in the classroom that's a pretty pretty normal
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 goal we're going to have to help break that down a little bit so kind of like
00:05:31 --> 00:05:37 our scenario first month focus on something maybe we focus on one new piece
00:05:37 --> 00:05:41 of software that they're trying to implement into their classroom awesome second month we're going
00:05:42 --> 00:05:46 to focus on maybe a new hardware implementation if it's really truly about the technology.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 Or maybe if it's something different about using the technology that's already
00:05:50 --> 00:05:54 there a little bit more, first month their goal is going to be to meet with
00:05:54 --> 00:05:58 other colleagues to learn more about how to use this technology in the classroom.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:02 And the second month is giving that a shot, giving a trial till we start to
00:06:02 --> 00:06:03 become more comfortable.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:08 Again, step-by-step processes to actually get towards attainment or achievement
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 is going to be key for our staff.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 Just remember that achievable goals they build confidence
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 and momentum when we foster a culture
00:06:17 --> 00:06:24 of success it's going to provide a sense of control and empowerment have a great
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 wednesday we're nearly halfway through the week or maybe you're already there
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 depending on what time you're able to catch this show today just keep an eye
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 out again for the booster shot episode with tom bloomer that starts here today
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 it's going to be worth your time to listen i promise you Otherwise,
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 thanks for listening. We will talk with you again tomorrow.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:45 You have been listening to your Morning Boost by AWB Education in partnership
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 with Grundmeyer Leader Services.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:51 You can find out more about our services by clicking on the links in the description.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 Remember, you are doing this vital job that only a few can do.
00:06:56 --> 00:07:00 So until next time, thank you for your service to your community.