Wednesday 26 October 2011

One Small Thing

As a leader, what one small thing might you do today that could make a difference in your school or organization?

As leaders, we often think that big, bold, new initiatives are needed to bring about change.  We hope that these new initiatives will make a difference in terms of the work we do and the results we'll get.  Today, I'd like to propose that we flip that idea around.  It's not to suggest that bold initiatives don't help us accomplish what we need.  What I want to suggest is that they can work hand-in-hand with small things, thus, my question at the top of this post: What one small thing might you do today that could make a difference?  A few starting thoughts follow.  What might you like to add to this list?

  • Get out of your office and wander the building - even more than you normally do.
  • Reconnect with a staff member or two.  Do you really know how they are doing and what's important to them?
  • Compliment people who aren't expecting it.
  • Help someone you've never helped before.
  • Speak with someone you don't normally speak with (e.g. a student, a parent, a client).
  • Thank someone for something that seems small or insignificant.
  • Ask someone - whom you've never asked before - for their opinion.

These are a few ideas.  Corny?  Perhaps.   But the point here is to do things in a different way and see what happens.  Remember, if we continue to do the things we always do, we'll always get the same results. 

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