Expect The Best From Your
Staff
"There is a concept called 'The
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy' which states that people generally will perform in
the way others expect them to perform. So, if you have high expectations for
your staff, treat them as if they are capable, competent people and expect them
to function as such, they will rise to the occasion and be the excellent
employees you see them to be. However, if you ... expect them to
be mediocre and treat them as if they can't function well on their own, that is
the behavior they will give you. A good supervisor always has high expectations
for his/her staff and treats them accordingly."
This excerpt was quite thought-provoking for me. In my reflections, I've recalled times that I DID have high expectations and I DID expect team members to function well on their own, and yet I was disappointed. I just couldn't get a team member to fix that pacing guide or give that overdue retest or to turn their Specific-Praise: Redirect ratio around into a better proportion for the students despite a lot of additional supports. What I learned from these experiences is that not giving up reinforces our high expectations. While it took many repetitions, attention to detail and a LOT of follow up, those folks eventually had a perfect Pacing Guide, completed retests in a timely manner and turned that ratio around. It helped me to keep going with my high expectations with those few individuals when I remembered that just as many and often even more team members were consistently meeting high expectations.
It must be true that expecting the best from our staff will do more to promote positivity in our school culture than if we settle for mediocrity. Do you agree/disagree? List some specific ways that you implement high expectations/encourage the best from your team members.
I have found that teachers that are not as confident in their teaching have lower expectations for their kids. A way that I promote positivity and high expectations.in my team is to try to promote the self confidence of others. New teachers as well as old are under an extreme amount of pressure right now. Our, (yes, mine included) confidence in the classroom has been shaken and we are all uncertain. I have been trying to encourage my team with positivity by noticing what they have been working on and noticing when something is going well. Complimenting an idea for a lesson plan, sharing ideas with others, and working as a team seems to lower the stress level and give my teachers a little more confidence to focus on their teaching.
ReplyDeleteP.S. The time on this blog is wrong. It's off by 2 hours.
ReplyDeleteI know! I can't figure out how to fix that up but at least I got it back up and running again! :) Sorry
DeleteSome things I've been trying to do to instill confidence is to delegate, it sounds off but I'm trying to delegate ideas, projects. I'm trying to show that I trust my team and that person's specific abilities. I'm hoping this empowers them about themselves and what we are teaching. I'm also working on more one-on-one communication (which I struggle with) to compliment an idea, or something else the teacher did. With DI skills (which can be difficult for teachers), I try to always point out the positive. A teacher was down about her testing data, but I pointed out the positive of decreasing the students not passing and increasing the passing students. I tried to keep her from not focusing on the negative and see the big picture so she didn't get down.
ReplyDeleteI am working on an approach to setting high expectations with my team, I want to put it in with behavior management. I'm just trying to get some research, data, etc to give some ideas on how to manage the behavior to help achieve the high expectations successfully.
DeleteI too have noticed how confidence, productivity and positivity go hand in hand. When one starts to falter the others soon follow. I know we are coming up on one of the hardest times of the school year where we are all feeling overwhelmed and in a sense "drowning" under all the pressure and tasks that are building up at work as well as at home. As team leaders we have the added task of keeping our teachers spirits up as well as our own. I like Karen and Tai's suggestions about instilling confidence in their teams by complimenting ideas and delegating to show their teachers that they "believe" in them. I know personally, I don't get to see my teachers that often-sometimes going days without seeing them, so I try to come up with other ways to let them know that I appreciate them: i.e. a random email or text complimenting something that they have done or just checking to see how they are doing, a small token of appreciation (like a little piece of chocolate) in their mailboxes, etc. It may not be a big production but I hope my teachers understand that by doing these "little" things that I do appreciate them and hopefully knowing that helps to keep their confidence and positivity up!
ReplyDeleteI agree. We are the role models for the entire school (our teams and each others' teams). One way I found to boost positivity is to do things like Dawn said, such as sending a positive text, checking on your teachers when you see they are upset. Reassuring each other as well as our teams will keep a positive caring environment. Times get challenging in education as they have throughout history. We are strong, we are EDUCATORS! We can do this! The thing I love about working here is we are all here for the kids!
ReplyDeleteI saw an idea the other day about some of the comments and thought I would share. I'm going to try to do this for my team, not an every day thing, maybe a few times a week. I saw one of the project managers at my mom's work does "Random texts of Kindness" where she texts her team about accomplishments, helpful ideas or a thank you to her staff. She sends them to everyone so others can share the positivity. Thought it was a super idea!!
ReplyDeleteI like the thought Jenn shared about not giving up if team members do not initially perform how we had hoped. I am going to have to watch myself for that type of reaction and then remind myself to try, try again.
ReplyDeleteLike Karen, I also try to delegate when I can. Ms. B. Smith delegated a lot of responsibility to her team, and we were sad when she left, but we felt confident that we could carry on (with Dawn's help of course!) That being said- delegation is not one of my strengths! I fight that feeling that- "it's quicker to do it myself" or I worry that I might have to go back and redo the task if it isn't done correctly. With all of the added pressure on everyone right now I feel bad about adding anything else to my team's plate. I will sit down over break and make a list of tasks I'm confident my team can take over and work on delegating those.
I agree, we do need to keep our expectations high for our teachers and students. I think by trusting our teachers, giving them tasks to help the team, and treating them like the professionals they are, it makes them feel empowered and appreciated. Which in turn, will make for a positive culture!
ReplyDelete