How to Thrive Through COVID-19 As a School Leader
Hey, although these might seem tough times it is what we as leaders were trusted to do when we were appointed.
Your job as a leader is to be microscopic on the present and telescopic towards the future.
In less than 100 hours we went from organizing a possible break in school to a mandated two week closing.
We went from canceling a few sporting events to being self-quarantined and no gathering of ten or more people.
Some states have already canceled their end of year assessments, some are telling schools to start preparing for a full digital platform through the end of the year.
Looking at our third and fourth quarter Principal Checklist through our Blue Print4Success program there are some critical organizational objectives (enrollment, hiring, strategic planning, budgeting) you need to be thinking on.
We have so many unknowns over the next 30 days every day matters to the future success. There is one thing I know for sure...
when you confuse you lose!
With parents of millions of students across the country now 100% responsible for the education oversight for their children, that is not something you can afford with homeschool and virtual school options increasing annually.
Watch the video above, or listen to the call, or check out the PLAN AHEAD script below to equip and fully resource your team as we work through this global crisis.
School Enrollment and Branding Workbook (Use Promo Code LBL50 for 50% Savings)
Performance Indicators of a High Quality Charter School
In times of crisis leaders can afford to be uncertain, but we cannot afford to be unclear. People will not follow fuzzy leadership.
Time to PLAN AHEAD
To get the results you desire you need to plan ahead and take intentional action. Use this PLAN-AHEAD acronym I learned from John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership’s Law of Navigation to achieve your goals!
Pre-Determine: It takes vision to set goals. If you were to watch a highlight video of your school 30, 60, 90 and 120 days from today, what would we see in terms of the education plan, hiring, enrollment, budgeting, school growth and people development. Write down everything that you need and desire to accomplish.
Lay Out Your Goals: Based on the items you wrote down write a SMART Goal. We have all heard the term SMART Goals – but do you truly understand this concept? Instead of saying I want to be fully enrolled at each grade level (100 students) with a 50% waitlist for each grade be sure to add a specific date (by June 30, 2020). Or, We will complete our 2020-2021 budget based on 90% and 95% enrollment by June 30, 2020. See how clear and tangible those goals are compared to just saying, I want a full school or complete my budget.
Adjust Priorities: To meet goals, you need to know what activity is going to give you the greatest return on investment based on the goals. This means you need to teach and empower your people to create plans, execute strategy and be alright with someone else being in charge! If it is not taking you towards your goal, eliminate it from your life.
Notify Key People: Critical times to know your people. Their talents, their strengths, their weaknesses and their long term goals. Chunk information to those in need, paint the picture with people inside. Their role to the goal is critical. Do not forget your community stakeholders. When you confuse you lose. You want one united and consistent message coming out from the organization. Be sure your teachers are working through their step to step plans before sending it out. I’ll repeat, when you confuse, you lose.
Allow for Acceptance: Take a breath and reflect on your plan so far. Embrace the initiative and reflect on your plan.
Head into Action: Daily intentional action is critical to meeting your goals. Follow the Pareto Principle. The Pareto Principle states that 80% of our productivity comes from 20% of our actions. Designate specific, uninterrupted time each day to work towards your goals.
Expect Problems: When Thomas Edison was interviewed by a young reporter who boldly asked Mr. Edison if he felt like a failure and if he thought he should just give up by now. Perplexed, Edison replied, "Young man, why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp." And shortly after that, and over 10,000 attempts, Edison invented the light bulb.
Always Point to Success: Celebrate each win, no matter the size! Shout out your results and start the Flywheel Effect, you will inspire others to do the same.
Daily Review of the Plan: You have worked hard on your plan, review and reflect on it every day. Maybe there is a daily blog or thread your team can type in to relay how they are feeling, how their lessons went, what they learned. Let your plan navigate you towards your destination.
Printout this template to begin planning ahead today!
If you desire to have a thinking partner to help you during this time schedule a complimentary 1:1 session right now. Click here: https://go.oncehub.com/LB
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