- Implement the Stop-Start-Continue Feedback Loop: Use a brief, anonymous survey with trusted staff to gather crystal-clear, actionable data on your leadership behaviors.
- Conduct a Candid Time Audit: Track your time for two weeks to see if your daily actions align with your instructional priorities (e.g., are you spending 70% on email and only 10% on walkthroughs?).
- Check your Relational Capital: Identify the 10 most critical people for your school's success (custodian, union rep, veteran teacher) and proactively invest in any relationship that scores low.
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:20 Sponsored by Grundmeyer Leader Services, where together we are transforming
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 education, one leader at a time.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:27 Now, get ready to amplify your day with your morning boost.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 Hello, everybody. Welcome back to your morning boost. Happy Thursday.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:40 Happy Thursday, November 6th. And today we're continuing our focus on leadership
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 self-reflection from another article from the Grundmeyer Leader Services Fitting
00:00:44 --> 00:00:48 5. Today, we're discussing a timely piece from Dan P. Butler.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:53 This is called It's Time for Midterm Grades, but Not the Kind You're Thinking of.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:58 As this first quarter draws to a close, we're all thinking about student grades.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:04 But this article challenges us as leaders to give ourselves an honest midterm assessment.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 This isn't about judgment. It's about course correction.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:11 If we wait until the end of the semester or the end of the year to evaluate
00:01:11 --> 00:01:16 our leadership effectiveness, we've missed a huge chance to pivot and improve
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 our impact on students and staff right now.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:31 The key to effective midterm assessment for ourselves is making it fast,
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 focused, and objective.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:38 We need to measure what actually matters, our behavior and our connections,
00:01:38 --> 00:01:42 rather than relying on vague, subjective feelings of busyness.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:49 This exercise is about shifting from doing leadership to reflecting on it.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:55 The primary advice here is to start by implementing the stop-start-continue
00:01:55 --> 00:02:00 feedback loop. We need to stop guessing on how we're doing and get some real
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 feedback on our leadership behaviors.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:08 To do this, think about inviting a small, trusted, but diverse group of staff,
00:02:08 --> 00:02:13 and possibly parents even, to participate in a brief, anonymous interview or
00:02:13 --> 00:02:17 survey. The brilliance of this format is its simplicity.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:21 What is one thing the leadership team should stop doing?
00:02:21 --> 00:02:27 What is one thing we should start doing? And what is one thing that is working
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 well that we should continue?
00:02:30 --> 00:02:35 This low-stakes approach gives us crystal-clear, actionable data on how our
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 leadership is truly perceived.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:44 And building on that behavioral feedback, we also need to give ourselves an honest time audit.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:50 This is essentially a self-reflective midterm grade for our own energy expenditure.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:56 My advice here is that for maybe two weeks, track where our time actually goes
00:02:56 --> 00:03:02 versus where we think it goes. We often feel overwhelmed, but we rarely verify
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 the source of that pressure.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:10 Are we spending 70% of our day on email and only 10% on instructional walkthroughs?
00:03:10 --> 00:03:15 You know, a candid time audit reveals if our daily actions actually align with
00:03:15 --> 00:03:20 our stated priorities. And if they don't, then we can make an immediate pivot
00:03:20 --> 00:03:21 in our calendar strategy.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:26 Now, once we've addressed the behavior and time, let's move to measure what
00:03:26 --> 00:03:30 truly matters to a school culture, our relational capital.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:35 This involves creating a simple, consistent way to check the health of our key
00:03:35 --> 00:03:36 professional relationships.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:41 My advice here is to identify the 10 most critical people for our school's success.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:46 Think of your lead custodian, your union rep, your most veteran teacher,
00:03:46 --> 00:03:50 and score your relationship with each one of them out of 10.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:56 If a score dips below a 7, we know exactly who we need to proactively schedule
00:03:56 --> 00:04:01 a non-transactional how-are-things-going conversation with this week.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:12 This isn't about failure, it's about empowerment. Commit
00:04:12 --> 00:04:17 to using the start-stop-continue feedback loop to gather clear data will also
00:04:17 --> 00:04:21 help us perform a candid time audit to align our actions with our priorities
00:04:21 --> 00:04:26 and then conduct a relational capital check to ensure that we're proactively
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 investing in the people who matter most.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:33 These are the adjustments that ensure we finish the year strong.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:39 Join us again tomorrow when we finish up this week strong with our last article from The Fitting Five.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:43 One more time, if you don't get this newsletter or want to learn more about
00:04:43 --> 00:04:48 Grunmeier Leader Services or AWB Education, please reach out to us at the links
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 that are provided in the show's description.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 Otherwise, have a wonderful Thursday. Thank you for listening.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 We will talk with you again tomorrow.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:03 That concludes another episode of Your Morning Boost. We hope today's daily
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 dose of professional development helps you amplify knowledge,
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 widen reach, and broaden impact.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:15 Your Morning Boost is an AWB education production brought to you with the generous
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 support of Grundmeyer Leader Services.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:22 Join us again tomorrow for more. Until then, keep boosting your impact.