Showing gratitude is a win-win.  Harvard research shows that just thinking thoughts of gratitude makes you measurably happier, regardless of whether or not you act on them.  Setting time to think or write thoughts to yourself about the gratitude you feel has positive effects on your general outlook in your life, and also on the relationships you have.  So if you go out and share your thoughts, notes, letters, or posts about the gratitude you feel, then that feeling becomes contagious and everyone wins.

I am truly grateful for so many things that I am fortunate to have in my life - my family, my friends, and my dog to name a few - and there are so many ways to show them my appreciation.  But how do we show that gratitude professionally?  I know how to show my wife and my kids and my parents appreciation, what is the right way to show that to people we work with?

This question popped into my mind while reading a book recently- How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. ...

Most people will last anywhere between three hours and three weeks when it comes to implementing new behaviors in their lives. Most quit because they do not see the results. Growth happens on the inside before it will show on the outside. Basically, just because you do not see it, doesn’t mean it is not working. 

Becoming a stronger, more effective leader takes time. John Maxwell’s third law of leadership from his 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, the Law of Process, states that leadership evolves daily, not in a day.

As a leadership coach, speaker and trainer, I am privileged to interact with hundreds of organizational leaders each year. There are many who believe that because they attend a conference, read a book, or participate in one of our leadership calls that they are now a leader.

Successful leaders are indeed learners but the learning process is ongoing - a result of self-discipline and perseverance. As said by John Maxwell, “Microwave leaders do not have any staying pow...

Hello {{first_name}},

I know you get WAY TOO MANY emails each day. I know because I have been in your shoes the last two years being the interim principal for six different schools. Your list of emails is like....

SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, parent complaint, teacher need, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM....

If you are looking for help with how to manage your emails I added a lesson I did years ago on how to STEP READING YOUR EMAILS (link at the end). 

I appreciate you being on our School Leadership Community list and I hope that anything we send you find valuable and can help you today or tomorrow. 

Knowing you get SO MANY Emails I wanted you to know that every day of the week you can go to any of our Social Media pages and get quality resources to improve all aspects of your school and life. 

Bookmark this resource page and subscribe to the social media page that best meets your needs. We are about to hit our 200th Podcast Episode and have over 100,000 downloads. 

Every day I post a short video highli...

Just because the goal to raise student achievement is clear in your head, does not mean it’s clear to your team.

Here are three questions your instructional leadership team and teachers must know the answer to.

Download a copy of my book and read chapter two, Quality of Student Work for more resources

https://www.leaders-building-leaders.com/10Indicators

Don’t BE SELFISH as a leader….

Lead your team through this easy accountability strategy and raise their performance and build a more cohesive team.

Worried about keeping your top talent?

Desire to build on the talent you have?

This research article was shared with me from a mentor on why organization’s are losing their top talent.

In this quick lesson I share multiple solutions for any leader to begin building their High Performance Culture.

Click Here to Download the Article

Raising Your Awareness,

Dr. Tom

I believe that problems shape our leadership soul.

Solving them is what we are paid for as school leaders.

However, if you desire to solve the root cause of the problem, you need to implement this strategy first.

I believe what is appreciated appreciates. And in turn, was is depreciated, depreciates. 

Here is what I mean. 

One of the services my company provides is facilitating climate surveys and exit interviews for  schools.

I was reading through the notes from one school and saw this response from a departing teacher.   

“When I turned in my resignation letter no one from the administrative team came to talk to me. I felt devalued as an employee.”  

It made me think about my practices as a school leader. 

How do I treat people? Do they feel appreciated around me? Or depreciated? 

I know that I have definitely avoided many rooms and halls of staff who turned in their resignation or who have been told they are not coming back.  

I am definitely guilty of not engaging some staff. 

I come up with excuses in my head. They don't want to talk to me. I am just glad they came today...terrible right?

But then I started to notice somethings about the school building. 

Shelves were bare that ...

I have learned that if you aim to be an influential leader you have to give up the right to complain down. 

Think about it, no one wants to be led by a complainer. 

You simply cannot lead and whine at the same time. 

For example, as a principal, you cannot complain in front of employees about other employees. You’ve not only modeled poor leadership but you’ve also made it alright for your employees to do the same. 

As a teacher, you cannot complain about other teachers to parents in front of your students. You’ve now decreased your peer’s credibility and in the meantime, lost some yourself. 

As a parent you cannot complain about your school, your principal, your child’s teacher in front of your child. This has now given your child the right to do the same. To not follow rules or respect teachers or classmates.

When I was a special education teacher I had a GIANT EGO. I thought I knew it all. Mainly because I was very productive and a strong member of the team. Well at least I tho...

I believe that compromise is not about listening and learning from others, it’s about giving in on what you truly desire. 

It’s skipping the run because it’s too cold. It’s having one more cookie because they are amazing. It’s sleeping in when you need an early start to get that report finished. 

It’s also letting parents pick up their kids late daily without penalty. It’s not saying something when an employee comes in late. It’s picking up the slack for others who don’t finish the job on time. 

It’s not being prepared for the team meeting. It’s creating double standards for employees and separate standards for administration. It’s making a commitment without following through. It’s failing to address obvious problems. It’s sending surveys but not using the information to create change. It’s talking about, gossiping about employees. It’s accepting inferior performance and not fully orienting and training employees.

Should I go on or do you get the point?  

Compromise against what ...