Student / Staff / Parent Voice

As a leader, how do you access student / staff / parent voice and keep open the lines of communication?

As leaders, we need to stay strongly connected to our students, staff, and parents if we lead schools.  The same applies to staff and clients in organizations.  How do we access the thoughts, perspectives, concerns, and ideas of those with whom we work and those whom we serve?  We need mechanisms so that all of these 'stakeholders' know that they can express their opinions, they will be heard, and they will be responded to.  If we don't have these avenues of communication open and readily accessible, we run the risk of leading organizations that are hierarchical and decreasingly responsive to the needs of those they serve and those who work within these schools/organizations.  In a world where people have previously unheard of access to communication in the palm of their hand, we, as leaders, can create ever-improving schools and organizations by mobilizing the intelligence of our stakeholders.  Avoid open lines of communication at your peril.