The Big Picture

As a leader, how much of 'the big picture' do you share with your staff?

As a leader, it's essential to have 'the big picture' of where your school/organization fits within the larger purposes of the system in which it is situated.  More importantly, as a leader, it's essential for you to have 'the big picture' of where your work and the work of your staff fits.  The question that arises for us as leaders is, How do we support staff in building their understanding of where their work fits within a larger, purposeful context?

None of us likes to work in a situation where we don’t see how our work connects to things that we believe to be of value or to be important.  As leaders, we need to provide opportunities for our staff to engage in conversations where connections are made to what is important outside the walls of the workplace.  If our work feels out of context or disconnected, it becomes meaningless.  Where is our motivation if we don’t see that our work adds value to any thing or any one?  As a leader, do the people you lead have the big picture of where their work fits both within the larger organization and within a greater purpose?  If not, this is an important opportunity for you as the leader to provide opportunities for staff to reconnect with why they chose to work in your school/organization.  Reconnecting to purpose can breathe new life into each of us.  The big picture can help each of locate ourselves within our work and within an important purpose.