We continue our reflection on Ten Ways to Create a Positive Work Environment....
7. Be Approachable
Always communicate to staff that you are there to support them. It has been said that non-verbal communication accounts for 70% of the messages that a person sends whereas 30% is accounted for through verbal communication. What does this tell us about interactions with staff?
If we want to present ourselves as approachable there are many strategies that we can work to employ. For example, always make eye contact and smile frequently. When speaking with a team member be aware of the messages that your body language is conveying. Instead of sitting behind a desk, walk around and lean on the front of the desk to remove physical barriers. Ensure that your body language communicates interest and attention. Since verbal communication accounts for a much smaller portion of the message, choose your words wisely. If you make a statement about performing a task for following up on an action be sure to do so.
Here's a simple action research project for the week: After one of your interactions with a team member, reflect on your non-verbal and verbal communication with that individual. What did you do non-verbally and what did you say? Self-assess your skills with non-verbal and verbal communication. Is there anything that you'll work to change? Why or why not?
the middle school teachers stop by every morning on their way to their rooms to say good morning and see if there's something going on that they need to know about. They share any concerns and I pass those on to other teachers so that we are all on the same page. No one feels alone here, they know that everyone else has their back. We truly care about eachother.
ReplyDeleteThe times that I have been in the middle school I have felt those warm, fuzzy feelings between the middle school teachers. How do you think those came about? Is it because the staff is smaller- or bonding through moving?
DeleteI had a gossiping incident happen last week and went and talked face to face to the teacher. I didn't go around to see who had heard, I went right to the 'victim' of what I'd heard from someone else. I tried hard to maintain eye contact and just let her know I was there. I also didn't mention names and be as diplomatic as possible in helping her through the incident. I know it didn't do anything to keep it from happening again, but I think I got it across that I was there for her and told her to seek refuge where she felt positive energy and my room was always available. Before I probably would have just ignored it and hoped it would go away, but I went face to face and just try to get to the bottom to support that teacher.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't have a lot of team members that stop by my room- so when they do I do what I can to send the message "I'm listening!" If I'm busy working on something I stop and turn to face them- and I try really hard to make sure I'm smiling- so they don't feel like I'm bothered by them interrupting me. If they are asking me to take care of something I say something like- do you mind if I write this down on a sticky/write that email right now/text so that I don't forget to do that later. I know that I am sometimes absent minded- and I hope that this shows my team that I care about them and whatever issue they came to me about. If I need to talk to an administrator about their issue I try to meet back with that team member face to face to let them know that I emailed/talked to an administrator and that as soon as I have an answer I will get back to them. I hope that with time this will show my team that I care and listen.
ReplyDeleteI try to watch my body language and what it might mean to others- especially during parent/teacher conferences. I try to make sure that my body language conveys that I am open and comfortable with speaking to the parents- especially when the body language coming from the parent tells me they are not so open and comfortable. I will definitely make sure that I pay attention to my body language during team meetings and other interactions with my team.
After reading your post, I try to pay more attention to what I'm doing when people come and talk to me. I was bad about still looking at the computer, etc. Now I stop and look directly at the person so they know they have my full attention.
DeleteI believe that teachers and staff feel I'm approachable. I've even been told that quite a few times.
ReplyDeleteAfter some interactions though, I realize that sometimes I don't always give eye contact. I will work on that more. I want to not only listen, but give eye contact as well.
It's very hard for me sometimes to just stop what I'm doing and remain focused on what someone is telling me. I'm working on stopping what I'm doing when I can to address or simply just listen to what they are saying/asking. I try to make myself approachable for most things.
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