Request to Participate in an Educational Leadership Survey to School Principals

Survey Instrument: Building Collaborative Culture in School Survey

Title of the Research:

A Study of Principals Awareness for Teacher Leadership in Building Collaborative Culture in Schools

Purpose of the Research:

The purpose of this project is to identify what Principals’ “aware” about building a collaborative workplace environment for teachers. Collaboration is identified as teachers working together in the shared pursuit of improving professional practices that improve student learning. So the project aims to identify what awareness school principals have in building a culture of collaboration.

Teachers who engage in continuous learning become better teachers. Hence, improving student achievement is conditional upon teacher learning. And given the nature of the global economy that we live in, it is imperative for our education system to continually improve. Collaboration is one effective strategy for improving professional practice. Therefore, a collaborative culture becomes foundational to improving student learning and best preparing the next generation for a global economy.

This study will help clarify areas on which professional organisations, institutions of learning, education boards and departments across the country can focus to be more effective and efficient at building administrator’s capacity to create collaborative workplace environments for teachers.

Procedure:

Many school principals in the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra are invited to participate in a brief, 10 to 15 minutes on-line survey using Gmail facility.

                                                                                                                  

Risks:

There are no known risks of discomforts associated with this research.

Benefits:

Participants in this study do not receive direct individual benefit. However, participants do indirectly get professional benefit from participation in this research study will help professional organisations, institutions of learning, education boards and departments to develop principal capacity to create collaborative workplace environments for teachers. Results of this study will help these individuals and organisations provide current and future principals with better quality professional development and focussed learning based on identified needs that will ultimately improve teacher practice and student learning.

Confidentiality:

Your participation and responses to my questions are confidential. Data used in reports will be presented in a manner that prevents identification of individuals and schools.

Opportunity to Ask Questions:

You are encouraged to ask questions concerning this research before on after agreeing to participate in this research study. Please contact me at 09552061187 or my wife, Mrs. Ancy Radhakrishnan, 09552913784 or chettour@gmail.com or readnflourish@gmail.com with any questions you have regarding my study.

Freedom to Withdraw:

Your participation in this study is voluntary. You are free to decide not to participate in this study or to withdraw from this study at any time without adversely impacting your relationship with the researcher. Your decision will not result in any loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.

How to Participate:

Copy and paste the ‘survey attachment file’ given below into a new MS Word document and follow the instructions given with it or you can request me in the below given email id for survey questionnaire and follow the instructions in the questionnaire. After answering the questionnaire save the document onto your computer and attach and mail the same file in the given email id. Any problems, kindly contact the researcher. Forwarding this page link to interested fellow principals and encouraging them to participate in this exercise would be appreciated.

Consent, Right to Receive a Copy:

You are voluntarily making a decision whether or not to participate in this research study. Your acceptance certifies that you have decided to participate having read and understood the information presented. Please print a copy of this informed consent for your records. I would appreciate if you could mail me a certificate of your participation in this survey in your letter head with your sign and stamp.

Please accept my sincere thanks for your help with this important project.

Radhakrishnan. C

chettour@gmail.com

Survey Attachment file

Survey Purpose:

The purpose of this survey is to identify what principals “aware” about building a collaborative culture in schools for teachers. Thank you for your time!

5-point linkert-scale items

Please respond to the following items using this scale(Put a tick (√) against the appropriate option):

Use

DK = Don’t Know or Unsure

1 = Strongly Disagree

2 = Disagree

3 = neither Agree nor Disagree

4 = Agree

5 = Strongly Agree

Principals Must:

Sl. No.	Principals Must:	DK	1		2	3	4	5
1.	Involve staff in making important decisions.
2.	Provide opportunities for staff input on important decisions.
3.	Encourage staff input on important decisions.
4.	Expect staff input on decisions.
5.	Implement decisions based on staff input.
6.	Engage all teachers in leadership roles.
7.	Focus staff meetings on student learning.
8.	Use workshops as the best way to improve teacher practice that impacts student learning.
9.	Have teachers work together in teams as the best way to improve student learning.
10.	Have teachers work by themselves as the best way to improve student learning more than by working in teams.
11.	Engage teachers in daily professional learning as the best way to improve student learning.
12.	Build consensus in order to facilitate change.
13.	Persist in the face of all obstacles in order to implement change.
14.	Recognise whether solution(s) to problems are either simple or complex.
15.	Recognise that meaningful change can be easy.

To build effective teams:

Of the following items, please identify the importance that you place on each element needed for building effective teams.

Sl. No.	To build effective teams, how important is:	DK	1	2	3	4	5
16.	Specific question strategies for teachers.
17.	A focus on improving instruction.
18.	Teachers working together.
19.	Teachers planning together.
20.	Teachers thinking together.
21.	Teachers talking about professional issues together.
22.	Teachers responding and observing to teaching.
23.	Teachers observing and responding to curriculum.
24.	Teachers observing and responding to assessment.
25.	Teachers developing joint lesson plans.
26.	Teachers developing curriculum.
27.	Principal evaluation of teachers based on the work of the team.
28.	The use of protocols (step-by-step procedures for teams).
29.	Training teachers in the skills and knowledge of collaboration.
30.	Using an incentive system for high teacher performance.
31.	Eliminating the isolation of individual classrooms.
32.	Networking with teachers in other buildings.

Resources:

Of the following items, please identify the importance that you place on each resource for building a collaborative environment for teachers.

Sl. No.	How important is it for Principals to find, provide or develop:	DK	1	2	3	4	5
33.	Time
34.	Materials
35.	Equipment
36.	Space
37.	Training in the use of protocols (step-by-step procedures for teams).
38.	Training in specific procedures.
39.	Administrative support.
40.	Trust between teachers.
41.	Access to new ideas.
42.	Access to expertise.

Continuous Improvement:

Of the following items, please identify the level of importance that you, as building principal, place on each element you know is necessary for continuous improvement.

Sl. No.	As principal, how important is:	DK	1	2	3	4	5
43.	Focused resources on a small number of goals.
44.	Data collection and analysis.
45.	The use of multiple information sources to guide and demonstrate improvement.
46.	Research-based decision making.
47.	A simple focus on refining processes in small ways.
48.	Clear, frequent talk about teaching.
49.	Clear, frequent talk about learning.
50.	Recognition and celebration for superior practices and results.
51.	Inventiveness/Innovativeness.
52.	Risk-taking on the part of the teachers.
53.	High expectations for student learning.
54.	The inclusion of continuous improvement work in teacher evaluation procedures.
55.	Using group of teachers as the main way for improving student learning.

Designing of professional learning:

Of the following items, please identify the level of importance that you place on each design of professional learning that you know will improve student learning.

Sl. No.	In improving student learning, how important is:	DK	1	2	3	4	5
56.	Developing, scoring, interpreting and acting on assessment as professional development.
57.	Designing, implementing, reflecting on and revising curriculum as professional development.
58.	Analysing and acting on data as professional development.
59.	Engaging in lesson study as professional development.
60.	Engaging in faculty study groups as professional development.

Correlation to Student Learning:

Of the following items, please identify the level of importance you place on each as it relates to your own work and its correlation to student learning.

Sl. No.	As principal, I must:	DK	1	2	3	4	5
61.	Learn along-side my staff.
62.	Learn from a mentor.
63.	Plan together with other principals about professional issues.
64.	Think together with other principals.
65.	Observe and respond to teaching with other principals.
66.	Observe and respond to assessments with other principals.
67.	Focus on improving instruction with other principals.
68.	Use protocols (step-by-step procedures for teams) with other principals.

Your own level of awareness:

Please rate your own level of awareness by responding to the following items:

Sl. No.	Self-assess your own level of knowledge on each of these areas:	DK	1	2	3	4	5
69.	Staff involvement in important decisions.
70.	Teachers working in teams.
71.	Modelling professional learning with/for staff.
72.	Allocate resources to improve student learning.
73.	Focusing staff meetings on students learning and improvement.
74.	Continuous improvement of student learning.
75.	Adult learning principles.
76.	Student learning principles.
77.	Principles of change.

Open-Ended:

        78. Please identify specific assessment-related activities that teachers can engage in as part of their professional learning:

        79. Please identify specific curriculum-related activities that teachers can engage in as part of their professional learning:

        80. Please identify specific instruction-related activities that teachers can engage in as part of their professional learning:

        Demographics:

        Demographic Items:

        81. Total years in education (including the current year).

            Years:

        82. Total students in your school.

            Students:

        83. Total years as a Principal (including the current year).

        Years:

        84. Total years since your last higher educational course (any course).   Years:                                                                                     

85.  Do you participate in a professional learning team?

Yes/No    (Strike out which is not applicable).

      If yes, please describe the composition of the professional learning team.

86. Please identify which Education Board you are part of.

Education Board: CBSE/ICSE/IB/IGCSE/State Board

In case State Board, specify:

                      

Thank you!

 

Thank you for your participation in this important survey!

LEARNING TO TRUST YOUR INTUITION

By Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.

 

It is said that "life is what happens when we've made other plans." If this is so, then it doesn't make much sense to keep demanding life be a certain way. It doesn't make sense to go through life traveling down the same tunnel of expectation when we know that often brings disappointment. It is an act of self-love to stop hanging on to the way it is supposed to be. It is this hanging on that causes us to be buffeted about by the unwelcome surprises in life.

When we jump to the level of the Higher Self, we are greatly relieved to find the guarantee that we have been looking for. And that guarantee is this ... No matter what life decides to hand me, I'll handle it!

Do you see the peace this assurance of our inner power brings us? We can never control life in any other way. Yes, life is filled with surprises. But with the inner knowing that we can handle anything life hands us, we don't have to worry about the future any longer. We can get on with our life with a feeling of freedom and adventure. We can even begin to enjoy the mysteries, instead of feeling threatened by them. Wherever life takes us, we'll be okay!

Developing this kind of trust requires our constantly using our Spiritual tools. Even when we think we have the hang of it, new situations arise that bring up our need to control. But the more we find ways of dwelling in the house of our Higher Self and trusting the Grand Design, the easier it is for us to let go of our need to control.

There have been many times when I haven't understood why certain things have happened in my life. Much later, however, the great miracle of it all was revealed to me. I didn't understand why my first marriage didn't work out; I later learned that there was much I had to learn about becoming whole and, for me, being on my own was a necessary step. I didn't understand why I got cancer; I later learned how much a life-threatening illness teaches us about enjoying life in the present.

It certainly is up to us to take some action. And, we can begin taking more appropriate action in life when we learn how to listen to our innate intelligence, our intuition. Whether we are aware of it or not, the Higher Self is constantly sending us valuable messages that can guide us to where we need to go for our highest good. Our task is to learn how to tune into these messages.

In Western society, we are taught to think logically, not intuitively. Logical thinking is very important. It helps us get through our everyday mortal existence. For example, it helps us know that 2 + 2 = 4, an essential concept to understand when we are paying our bills! But logical thinking is very limited. It uses only part of our brain.

When we add intuitive thinking to logical thinking, we expand enormously our inherent capability of living life in an incredibly powerful manner. We realize that we have available to us much more wisdom and guidance than we thought we had. The logical mind draws on the teachings of the physical plane; the intuitive mind draws on the teachings of the Spiritual plane. When the two are combined, the resources for guiding us into the future are unlimited. We certainly are much more than we thought we were!

Since we have not been trained to use the intuitive part of who we are, the question is, "How do we tune into these powerful messages that are coming through to us?" Every morning as you contemplate your day, ask your Higher Self three questions...

"Where would you have me go?"

"What would you have me do?"

"What would you have me say, and to whom?"

Ask these questions with a sense of trust that your inner wisdom and power will come forth. Then consciously turn it over and go about your day. As your day progresses, listen to any inner messages that you are given. These are messages from the intuitive mind. Then start going where your energy wants to take you. Sometimes you just get the "urge" to call a friend, or a business contact, or whatever. Those urge is your intuition speaking. Again, see where these urges are taking you.

In the beginning you may hear nothing. But eventually, you will pick up on the guidance coming through. Some of it may make no sense to you consciously. But it will make sense to your Higher Self. Trust that. I have found that when I listen to my intuition, I am led to places that I would have never gone had I listened only to the logic of my rational mind. And the results have been magical.

Remember that our minds, when governed by the Lower Self, aren't capable of imagining the grand possibilities that are there for us. It is important that we learn to tune into a part of us that has much greater vision, the Higher Self.

People ask me how to know if it is their intuition speaking when they are being guided or when it is the Lower Self disguising itself as the Higher Self. My answer is that, in the beginning, we need to play with it a bit. Experiment with little things. If you get an internal message to call so and so and it makes no sense, call anyway. See what happens. Or go somewhere where you are being "led" to go. Or read a book that seems to jump out at you in the bookstore or online. And so on.

 

One clue that it is a message from the Higher Self is that it has a purpose for good. When we know that the action we are being led to take is a positive one, then we know we are probably on the wavelength of the Higher Self.

Another exercise that has been very helpful to me comes from Ram Dass, one of my favourite spiritual teachers. When I know I will be faced with having to make a decision, instead of lamenting, "What should I do?” the more peaceful approach is simply to say, "I wonder what Susan is going to do?"

When I say, "I wonder what Susan is going to do," in a sense I become the observer rather than the decision maker. I distance myself from the drama. I trust that "Susan" will be led by the wisdom within her and I put the issue out of my mind. Later I find myself living into the answer - easily and effortlessly.

 Remember, as soon as you leave the Lower Self behind and surrender to the events surrounding your life, you are free to enter the Higher Self where the fear, upset and disappointment disappear and new opportunities for a beautiful life are constantly placed before you.

Grow, Glow and be Great!

Read, Learn and Flourish!

How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Reviewed by Radhakrishnan Chettour

Recently when I visited Crossword, Bangalore, I found the book How to Talk so Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. For last few months I was actually in search of a book on communicating with primary kids. Many times during my workshops I have come across lot many questions from educators on this topic. Most of the training professionals, including me, have to admit that we concentrate our learning and modules targeting middle and upwards. So when I found this book, without a second thought, I decided to pick. I have to admit that I opened it with very low expectations, as I think that our culture tends to emphasize talking to our kids way too much. In general, and especially for toddlers, actions speak far louder than words. However, I was happily surprised to discover that I really enjoyed this book, and agreed with almost everything it had to say. It was aimed primarily at primary kids, but many of the lessons can be applied to Kindergarten children too quite easily.

The book gives what I consider to be really practical advice on how to talk to kids in ways that recognize their feelings (without labeling too much), encourages their cooperation, and helps them to be competent.  I especially loved how it shows parents how to help/let kids come up with their own solutions to problems they present.  Some of these were too advanced for toddlers, but even at my school when a child comes to me with a complaint, I'll often start out with, "Oh no!  What will you do?"  Not jumping in to solve every problem helps children feel competent and proud of themselves. Even the chapter on Praise, which made me cringe just to open it, started out looking at the difference between authentic praise and over-excessive praise, and how undeserved praise can backfire in different ways.  Then it looked at ways to praise kids that feels good to them. It is very hands-on, with exercises for you to do, and lots of actual dialogue between parents and kids. Some of these activities I experimented with my son and found quiet good and effective. In our day-to-day school activities many times we educators praise the children often without reasons and that I have seen really make the students lethargic and proud. In today’s commercialized schooling setup, we advertise for marketing purpose even small victories/deeds of our students with much exaggeration and ultimately sometimes it backfires and creates lot of indiscipline and even sometimes de-motivates them from setting high goals. If you are going through such a trauma, this book will help you to tackle the issue.

While reading the book the topics that caught my attention very much are alternative to punishment and encouraging autonomy. The lesson on engaging cooperation too is filled with plenty of practical ideas and tips which can be easily applied in our day-to-day schooling and grooming process of the children. Illustrations, conversation boxes, practical exercises and quick reminder boxes really add value to the book. The afterword additions such as the letters, yes, but…what…if… how about…? and about the negative tongue too help us have more insight in the subject. Many good books listed at the end for further reading can also help us find new readings on this subject.

 The only complaint I can come up with is that the book is very rosy in its outlook, with children going from being recalcitrant and surly to being reasonable and responsive with just a few short sentences from mom or dad. In reality, if you have negative patterns going with your child, it will take consistent practice to change those patterns. However, if things are going relatively well with your child, this book is a great resource for nipping negative interactions in the bud and helping your relationship flourish. I would definitely recommend it to preprimary and primary educators and even to all parents of young kids.

To buy online: How to Talk so Kids will Listen so kids will Talk

Read, Learn and Flourish!

For your success and glory!

Developing The Leaders Around You - Help Others to Reach their Full Potential – John C. Maxwell

Reviewed By Radhakrishnan Chettour

John C. Maxwell has turned to be one of my favourate authors on leadership. He is an internationally-renowned leadership expert, speaker, and author who have sold more than 18 million books. In addition to writing more than two-dozen books, he has established several organizations geared toward training and equipping leaders and has developed numerous ancillary products like tape series, handbooks and manuals, and curriculum materials. In short, he's an expert in his field and one of the best communicators out there.

Maxwell is outstanding in mining the wealth of information and resources he has amassed and recycles it all to create new books --- which means that one Maxwell book often overlaps into another one, which overlaps into another one, and so on. Longtime readers of Maxwell are well aware of this, having discovered a significant amount of familiar material in the context of information that's genuinely new. He's often criticized for this, but he still manages to sell a whole lot of books, so I suspect it isn't as much of a problem as his critics would like to believe. Whatever it is I like reading his books all the time.

Today I am here to bring a review and what all we can get from one of his magnificent book “DEVELOPING THE LEADERS AROUND YOU”. In this, Maxwell provides both inspirational and practical assistance for leaders who are committed to helping others reach their leadership potential. In his usual style, the author gets his point across by making the most of reader-friendly features like assessment tests, charts, cartoons, sports analogies, and mnemonic devices like original acronyms (such as RISE, Rewards Indicating Staff Expectations). He also sprinkles the text with well-chosen quotations --- some profound, some funny, but all of them relevant to the topic at hand.

The most important point I want to emphasis about this book is its helpfulness to people outside of the business community. It's especially appropriate for CEOs, managers and other leaders like School/college principals, but many of the principles and practical tips can be applied to people in all walks of life who supervise (or even parent) others. That's because at the heart of each principle is the priority Maxwell places on building strong relationships and learning to relate to people in a healthy and positive way. Besides, it is a stand-alone volume; there's no need to be familiar with any of Maxwell's previous works to benefit from this one.

Here's an example of what you can expect to find, from a chapter on a lifelong commitment to developing potential leaders. In addition to straight text, Maxwell offers a chart defining the distinctions among nurturing, equipping and developing others; three specific questions designed to determine the potential leader's motivation; an example of a practical plan for personal growth; a description of the four steps it takes for someone to adopt a new idea and adapt to new situations; several mnemonic devices, including the IDEA grid (Instruction, Demonstration, Exposure, Accountability); 10 guidelines for positive confrontation; and an analysis of the six levels of leadership growth. Clearly, this is an author who covers all the bases.

Anyone who has read Maxwell knows that he has a reputation for excelling in communicating his ideas. With DEVELOPING THE LEADERS AROUND YOU, that reputation remains intact. His casual, anecdotal style makes this an enjoyable read --- not bad for a topic that could easily produce the opposite result.

For my readers I am giving here a list of what I learned from this book. If you wish to have the real learning excitement from this book you must get a copy of this book and read it for yourself.

Major Takeaways:

•  Acquiring and keeping good people is a leader’s most important task.
• Grow a leader – grow the organization.
• Everything rises and falls on leadership.
•  It takes a leader to know a leader, grow a leader, and show a leader.
• There is no success without a successor.
• A leader’s success can be defined as the maximum utilization of the abilities of those under him.
• Momentum is the greatest of all change agents.
• It takes a leader with vision to see the future leader within the person.
• To develop positive, successful people, look for the gold, not the dirt.
• Character flaws cannot be ignored. They will eventually make a leader ineffective.
• A proven leader always has a proven track record.
• A great leader has the ability to instill within his people confidence in themselves.
• Liking people is the beginning of the ability to communicate.
• A leader who loves the status quo soon becomes a follower.
• Seek people who seek solutions.
• Nurturing has the ability to transform people’s lives.
• Leadership can only function on the basis of trust.
• Time spent with a potential leader is an investment.
• When you believe in people, you motivate them and release their potential.
• It is the leader’s job to hold hope high.
• Spend 80 percent of your time on the most promising 20 percent of the potential leaders around you.
• Equipping, like nurturing, is an ongoing process. Equipping must be tailored to each potential leader.
• A person should be spending 80 percent of his time doing things that require his greatest gifts and abilities.
• All good mentoring relationships begin with a personal relationship.
• The leader must know his people well enough to identify attainable goals that require a stretch.
• Good leaders are good listeners.
• Every idea is a good idea until you’ve settled on the best idea.
• Personal growth is like investing. It’s not your timing. It’s your time in.
• Excellence breeds character, and character breeds excellence.
• Teams that don’t bond can’t build.
• A good team fit requires an attitude of partnership.
• Individualism wins trophies, but teamwork wins pennants.
• Knowing where their team stands at every moment separates the great players from the adequate players.
• Success comes down to sacrifice-willing to pay the price.
• Having the right players determines 60 to 80 percent of the success of any organization.
• Problems almost always create opportunities – to learn, grow, and improve.
• Good coaches approach each opponent from a fresh perspective.
• Respect must be earned over time. There are no shortcuts.
• Give opportunities, resources, and playing time according to players’ past performance.
• Delegation is the most powerful tool leaders have.
• People development is life-changing for everyone involved.
• Believe in people, and they will rise to fulfill that belief.
• Look for opportunities to share yourself with people.
• People become empowered when you provide them with three things: opportunity, freedom, and security.
• To live a worthwhile, meaningful life, a person must be a part of something greater than himself.
• One of the greatest rewards of adding value to people is that it comes back to you multiplied.
• A leader who produces other leaders multiplies his influence.
• True success comes only when every generation continues to develop the next generation.
• Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership.
• How big we think determines the size of our accomplishments.
• Progress and innovation are made by people who think without lines.
• Give your leaders deep, broad roots by growing them slowly and varying their experiences.
• Managers are maintainers, tending to rely on systems and controls. Leaders are innovators and creators who rely on people.
• If you want to become an expert in a subject, according to Earl Nightingale, spend an hour a day for five years focusing on that subject.

Video Link: John Maxwell’s video on Developing Leaders  

To buy online:  Developing the Leaders Around You

Read, Learn and Flourish!

For your success and glory!

How to determine if a School is effective before admitting your ward or before joining for a job?

By Radhakrishnan Chettour

Most of us get confused to decide or determine whether the school is good to admit our children or to join as a faculty or staff. Today it’s more complicated because of the mushrooming of school brands and their aggressive marketing strategies. How do we know if the school where we are teaching is the right one for us? How can you tell before you even take a job there? What are some of the key characteristics of effective schools? Here are 10 ways to know if your school is effective.

1. Attitude of the Office Staff

This might seem an odd first choice. However, the first thing that greets you when you enter a school is the office staff. Their actions set the tone for the rest of the school. If the front office is inviting for teachers, parents, and students, then the school leadership values customer service. However, if the office staff is confused, unhappy and rude, you must question whether the school as a whole including its Principal has the correct attitude towards customer service and teamwork. Be wary of schools where the staff is just not approachable. You as a teacher will probably find that if the staff has a pervasive unhelpful attitude they will not provide you with the support you need throughout the year.

2. Attitude of the Principal

Just as with the office staff, you will probably have the ability to meet with the Principal of your school before you actually begin working there or admitting the child. His or her attitude is extremely important for you and the school as a whole. An effective Principal should be open, encouraging, and innovative. They should be student-centered in their decisions. They should also empower teachers while providing with the necessary support and training to grow each year. If you could ‘t meet the Principal on the given time of appointment you can make sure that after joining for duty to meet such a Principal will be very difficult. Analyse after meeting with the Principal how the Principal answered your queries on duties and responsibilities, pay and perks, professional development, performance appraisal system, etc.  Suppose the Principal could answer your queries in a satisfactory and convincing manner, then you can perceive that the school has certain system and procedures. If the Principal asks other than the subject you applied which all subject you can handle, guess that at any moment of time teachers used to leave the school and other teachers are given the responsibility of teaching those subjects. Principals who are never present, who have horrible customer service, or who are not open to innovation will be difficult to work for and will probably result in many disgruntled employees. After the interview process look at the coordination part of the interview board and check whether there were contradictions within the board while you were interviewed. If you find contradictions within the board you can make sure that top level management has difference of opinion and to work in such an organization will be difficult. Finally, watch around the office and tables to get an idea whether the Principal has organizational and management traits. If the office is in disarray, you can guess that the Principal lacks organizational skills and that will reflect on the way the school runs.

3. Mix of New and Veteran Teachers

New teachers come into a school fired up to teach and innovate. Many of them truly believe that they can make a difference. At the same time, they often have a lot to learn about classroom management and the inner workings of the school system. On the other hand, veteran teachers provide years of experience and understanding of how to effectively manage their classrooms and get things done in the school. At the same time, they are also sometimes stuck in their way of teaching a subject and might be wary of innovation. Only through a mix of the new and old can both learn and grow. So check the retention rate of teachers before you join. Google through the web you can find how many times and at what frequency the school posted job ads and for what all posts. Repeated frequent ads shows poor retention rate and lack of job security. This brings me to my next item...

4. Student-Centered Attitude With Core Values

To be truly effective, a Principal must create a system of core values which the entire staff shares. To do this, the Principal must involve the teachers and staff each step of the way. A common theme to each of the core values must be a student-centered view of education. When a decision is made in the school, the first thought should always be "What's best for the students?" When everyone shares this belief infighting will lessen and the school can focus on the business of teaching. If a conflict occurs between staff members, then they should first meet and together decide what is best for the students. With this focus there is no doubt that the final decision will be more effective and much easier to accept by all parties.

5. Mentoring and induction Program

Most schools provide new teachers with a mentor during their first year. Some have very formal mentoring programs and others are more relaxed. This should happen whether the teacher is fresh out of college or coming from another school. Effective schools have strong core values that each teacher knows. Only by pairing a new teacher with a mentor who truly believes these core values will the school's mission be fulfilled. On a more practical side, a mentor can help a new teacher learn the ropes. They will introduce them to key office staff and help them navigate the procedures involved with items such as field trips and procuring items from the store. Many schools even conduct group induction programs or individualized induction programs to introduce the new staff to the school culture and practices. This will help in creating ‘a feel good’ feeling for the new faculty. Most of the time new teachers become a laughing stock because they get involved into things that they are not expected to in the school. Lack of knowledge of systems and procedures of the new school is the reason for this embarrassing situation. This kind of situation may lead to disappointment at the very outset and can even lead to attrition. This issue can be well tacked by group or individualized induction program.

6. Departmental Politics Kept to a Minimum

Almost every department in a school will have its share of politics and drama. For example, a Mathematics Department might have teachers who want more power or who try and get a larger share of the department's resources. There will probably be some sort of seniority system set up for picking courses for the following year or determining who gets to go to specific conferences. However, a quality school will not allow this type of behavior to undermine the quality of teaching students. Again, this starts with quality leadership from the Principal on down. The school leadership should be clear on its goals for each department and work with the department heads to create a collaborative environment where politics are kept to a minimum. For this to happen Principal should keep himself/herself away from partisanship and balance delegation of responsibilities between departments.

7. Faculty is Empowered and Involved

When the faculty is empowered to make decisions backed up by the administration, a level of trust grows which allows for greater innovation and more effective teaching. An individual who feels empowered and involved in the decision-making process will not only have greater job satisfaction but will also be better able to accept decisions with which they might not agree. As before this starts with the Principal and the shared core values that all relate back to determining what's best for students. A school where teacher opinions are not valued and they feel powerless will result in disgruntled teachers who do not have the desire to put as much into their teaching. You can tell this type of school if you hear phrases such as "Why bother?"

8. Teamwork Amongst the Faculty

Even in the best of schools there will be teachers who do not want to share with others. They will be the ones who get to school in the morning, close themselves in their room, and don't come out except for mandatory meetings. If the majority of the teachers at your school do this, then the school has a problem. Instead, a quality school will create an atmosphere where teachers want to share with each other. This should be something which the school leadership should model. Schools which reward intra- and inter-departmental sharing will see a huge increase in the quality of classroom teaching. It is a proven fact that an integrated curriculum is more effective for the student than learning each topic in isolation.

9. Communication Is Honest and Frequent

The school leadership in a quality school provides teachers, staff, students, and parents with frequent communication about what is happening. Rumors and gossip are rampant in many schools. Many of these rumors can lead to disgruntled employees. If the school is not communicating the reasons for decisions or upcoming changes as soon as they can, then rumor mills will take effect the results can be devastating. Therefore, it is important that the school leadership models frequent communication and has an open door policy so that teachers and staff can come forward with questions and concerns as they arise. Make sure that the school and the leadership are an open book.

10. Parental Involvement

Many schools do not stress parental involvement in their child's education. It is the school's job to pull parents in and help them understand what they can do. Some teachers do not want to bother. However, the more you as a teacher involve the parents, the better the children will behave and perform in your class. Many parents want to know what's going on in class but have no way of figuring out how to do this. A school which stresses parental contact for both positive and negative reasons is one which will only grow more effective over time. Thankfully, this is something that each teacher can institute even if the school as a whole does not stress this involvement. School leadership must also take initiative to conduct frequent parental workshops and interactive sessions with teachers for guiding parents on what they can do to help children do better in academics, co-scholastic activities and emotional aspects.

For your Success and Glory!

Read, Learn and Flourish!

Real Leaders - Take the Blame and Give the Credit

Radhakrishnan Chettour

It's hard to hold a team together when mistakes happen. The temptation to point fingers may be hard to resist. Read how real leaders beat the blame game.

Good leaders take more than their share of the blame and less than their share of the credit. Unfortunately, most leaders take more than their share of the credit and less than their share of the blame. They are not respected. When errors do occur, are you ready to support heroic efforts even in the face of failure?

After only two weeks on the job of Data Manager, Ramu had made a critical error that took the school computer system down. Coffee time to discuss performance of students with the parents has scheduled for the next day. He went to his Academic Supervisor (AS) immediately and said, "I think I just made a big mistake." AS replied, "I'm sure it is not as big as you think it is." He confided, "I think it could be bigger."

AS’s eyes got large as Ramu described the system crash and his lack of a data backup of students. In the midst of problem solving, his boss entered in low-brain function, that sub-cortical reptilian area that runs on more emotion than intellect. For fifteen minutes AS might have shouted at for Ramu's mistake. But he went on a silent mode.

Ramu was sure he was history. All Ramu could think of was at least his resume was current; he wouldn't even have to admit that he had ever worked at this school!

AS took the heat for Ramu's mistake. Not once had he even mentioned his name. It would have been tempting. All he would have had to do was to point his finger at Abhi and say, "There HE is. He's new, and he's defective!"

After the Principal ran out of steam, she said, "This shouldn't have even happened!" Ramu's AS replied, "It did, and I take full responsibility. This is my department. But every minute we are spending here means we are that much later in getting the system back up." The Principal left the room, leaving Ramu alone with his AS. AS did not look at him. Instead, he stared at the door, closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. He opened his eyes, a smile formed on his lips, he looked at him and said, "Don't do that again."

He all but fell over his own words of apology. He stopped him, "I think you are going to remember the importance of backup. And if this continues to be a problem, we will have a different kind of conversation. But you took responsibility for your mistake. Most of the time, I have to search to find them. I respect what you did. You're the kind of person I want working on my team. Now, I'm going to need your help to get this system back online at the earliest to avoid an embarrassment tomorrow for the coffee time with parents."

What happened after this conversation was the real leadership mantra for all leaders. The techno-savvy AS accompanied Ramu to the data room and started working with Ramu till late night to restore the data lost. Finally, they could finish the work and next day’s coffee time became a great success.

At the end of the day Ramu went to the AS’s office to apologies for the mistake. But before he could apologies, the AS stood up from his seat and thanked him for working beyond duty time and even appreciated his computer skills and ability to deal with emergency situations. Ramu was really surprised and thanked God.

Weeks, months and year’s went on, Ramu continued serving the school with the same boss. One day one of his colleague asked him, why does you are so sincere to that person? Ramu replied him by narrating the incident that had happened after two weeks of his joining the school and asked him to look at his business card and said, "You can't see it, but every day I write in invisible ink - 'SLAVE.' I would do anything for that AS!"

Leadership may not be as complicated as we make it. The late Bear Bryant, the great football coach, shared the same truth Ramu's boss lived when he said: "I'm just a plow-hand from Arkansas, but I have learned how to hold a team together. How to lift some men up, how to calm down the others, until finally they've got one heartbeat together, a team. There's just three things I'd ever say: If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, then we did it. If anything goes real good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you." Those are wise words on leadership no matter what kind of team you lead.

For your success and glory!

Read, Learn and Flourish!

Perception and Gossip in Company Environment and its Effect

Radhakrishnan Chettour

We as human beings automatically make observations through out the day. Some of these observations are good and some are bad. These observations are also known as our perception of a person, place, or situation. We all know we shouldn’t judge someone the first time you meet them yet you’ve heard that little voice in your head making a comment and forming an opinion when you shouldn’t. That is your perception of the person you are meeting. These perceptions don’t stop on the street when you walk by someone new they go on through out the day, the week and the year.

The perceptions you have of others even overflow into the work place and can cause conflicts with other coworkers. When people begin to share their thoughts with other coworkers they open up the door for their coworkers to spread the gossip. This can cause enormous amounts of animosity amongst coworkers. There is also the issue of people getting involved in other workers lives whether its work related or not. They form opinions, make accusations, and cause drama. 

All of these problems are due to people forming perceptions of others when they shouldn’t. Workers should try to avoid idle gossip and concentrate on the tasks at hand. After all you are being paid to work not to congregate at the water cooler.

A good example of how perceptions and conflicts in the workplace affect real people is about this man I used to work with who was very well liked by everyone. One day one of the coworker decided to spread a rumor that he was not there for a company organized special function.  He started spreading the rumor that how the man could miss the function when he is in such a position. The rumors started flying around the office that the man was missing when the function was going on and nobody would say anything to him about it. In my opinion it doesn’t matter at all if the man was or wasn’t but it gave the office something to chat about. Finally when the gossip reached the top level management, the management called him and conducted a query. The man explained that he was present over there and working sincerely for making the function a true success. But the ultimate result was one person’s lying/gossip made the man embarrassed. It really hurt the man’s feelings and starts thinking that how should I work among such gossip mongers. The top level management also failed to take adequate measure against the person who started spreading the rumor even after identifying. The practice of the person became a habit and went on spreading rumors against the man. Finally the man ended up quitting his job because nobody looked at him the same. The worst part was he not only knew the man was there but even given instruction to that man to carryout some work related to the seating of guests for the function and the rumors spread by a coworker made this man leave his job. And if this kind of rumor mongers is at the top management level it will spoil the whole working environment and the company will miss right people and finally in the bus there will be only torch bearers of rumor mongers.

It’s the responsibility of the top management and all the people working in the company to identify gossip mongers and to make it known to everyone that such people won’t be tolerated. For achieving a non-gossip company environment, management at the top level should make sure that all actions and deeds are transparent and every one in the company has knowledge about what’s happened, what’s happening and what’s going to happen. 90% of the gossip can be prevented by this lone action. 

This just goes to show that opinions and perceptions of people are not always right and I believe they do not belong to the workplace.

For your glory and success!

Read, Learn and Flourish!