On Being New: Snapshots

One of the most frequent complaints I hear about newcomers is their tendency to draw conclusions too quickly. They see one snapshot of a situation and assume they understand what is going on. We all do this—it’s called first impressions. But for a new leader or someone new to an organization or position, it is a risky habit. Acting on or sharing information taken from one encounter can lead to all sorts of problems, including the immediate erosion of trust.

What sorts of snapshots are we talking about? One comes upon all sorts of situations on school campuses or at the office that, taken by themselves, seem off. If I come upon a student-staff situation, for example, where a student is clearly struggling, I am more likely to ask the staff member if he/she needs assistance, rather than jumping into a situation I don’t understand. If I see an employee hanging out in the hall on a personal call when there’s a meeting room waiting for his/her arrival, I wonder what’s going on. But I don’t report the behavior to someone else or interrupt their call unless I have grasped the full picture.

In the world of blindness education, I’ve encountered many student-staff interactions that have caused me to raise an eyebrow. “Human guide” that looks more like “human push.” Staff speaking for students instead of allowing them the time to speak for themselves. A white cane that is bent and too short for the student to use properly. Certainly I’ve watched administrators and staff become lulled over time, setting up an environment where little is expected. But acting on each behavior or situation that seems amiss can be just as damaging.

I stepped into one leadership position where my predecessor had repeatedly acted on snapshots. How do I know this? Because it was the first thing staff shared with me when I started touring programs. This leader’s behavior had left a lasting impression on staff that they projected onto me—I was viewed as suspicious in this well-established organization before I even opened my mouth.

It is natural that you will develop impressions of the people and circumstances within your job. But should you comment on or intervene as each incident unfolds?

It seems like our intentions as new leaders will most certainly be misunderstood.  But there is a relatively simple approach one can take, and it has four parts.

1.     Take your snapshot. Observe and reflect on what you think you have seen, heard, or observed.

2.     File that snapshot away in your brain as one data point, and as you see other examples, add them to the file. Perhaps the other examples will confirm or contradict the first example.

3.     Ask questions or gain further information about the situation(s) you observed. Make sure you ask in a way that is respectful and genuinely curious, and do it in private if you can. Aim to get the whole picture.

4.     Act on the observation if and when it rises to a level of concern. Continue to revisit the issue as you make further observations so that your actions are appropriate and effective.

It’s not hard to understand the harm one can do by jumping to conclusions, and yet this is an error nearly everyone who is new makes—sometimes repeatedly. I recently heard an interim minister reflect on his first weeks at his new church. The first thing he shared was that the art on display (portraits of past members, landscapes, etc.) were outdated and did not seem important. He proposed taking things down temporarily while developing a process for reviewing and prioritizing what would be hung where.  

Really? I thought. That’s all he’s got? The congregation is reeling with change after enjoying one leader for over thirty years and he zeros in on what’s on the walls? Let’s just say that I did not feel particularly supportive of the new guy based on his decision to share this relatively inconsequential issue.

The point is to take on the things that are a priority, not just pick out whatever seems amiss to you at the moment. And do so thoughtfully, after you’ve listened, learned, and decided what is most important. What you take on doesn’t have to be the biggest or the hardest thing, either—it just needs to be important in some way. As a new leader, you don’t want to be labeled as reactive or insensitive. Ask your questions. Listen to the answers. Then begin forming your plan.

On Decision-Making: Beyond Black and White

When I began my position as the interim principal of a school for the blind, I expressed concern that I was not prepared to manage student discipline or behavior. My experience up to that point had primarily been as an itinerant teacher, and discipline was not within my purview. “There’s an extensive discipline policy,” I was told. Don’t worry. Just follow the policy.

I did just that, following the policy to a T. Under my leadership, police were called anytime an encounter involved a student hitting another. We frequently suspended students, requiring parents or districts to travel long distances to take them home. Much of this did not sit well with me, and I wondered if we were doing the right thing.

During my leadership journey, I did my best to follow each organization’s policies precisely, fairly, and consistently. It wasn’t until I crossed into my fourth state and began applying my knowledge of special education and human resource law there that I started to wonder if policy was an exact science. How was it, if the rules were clear and steadfast, that different agencies and schools applied the rules in different ways?

One example sticks out. In one state, I asked for the files of past Child Protective Services cases shortly after I began working there. People seemed confused by my request, but I finally got the information. I was astonished by how few CPS calls had been made and learned that if abuse was suspected, a school employee would first call the parents to get further information. There is one law whose intent is clear: taking the reporter out of the equation allows the system to investigate allegations without bias and without implicating the reporter. Black and white application of the law is important, but was not followed in this case.

At the same time I found that this school’s discipline policies allowed for consideration of what was best for the student—how the student would learn best from the school’s discipline policy. Overall I was surprised by the flexibility but also impressed by the results staff were getting with their approach.

These seemingly contradictory approaches to the application of policy illustrate just how challenging decision-making can be for a leader. I’ve learned to apply a few tests to complex issues requiring decisions that I’d like to share here. 

The first recommendation is probably the most important: What are the unintended consequences of the decision?

For example, does the presence of a police officer on campus for relatively small infractions change the behavior of the students involved or other students in the school? And my favorite: was a student’s propensity for lying best handled by a suspension or through a behavior plan that helped him find alternatives to that habit?  

Does disallowing an employee to take paid time off to be with a dying relative in another state set a bad precedent for others to abuse policy, or does it allow him or her to manage a tough situation in a healthy way? Leaders have pocketsful of stories where they are confronted with decision-making like this, and following policy without consideration of surrounding circumstances is almost never the answer.

My second recommendation might seem obvious, but is one I’ve seen few people follow. Attempt to answer this question: What have others done in similar situations and how can that inform a decision for this situation? In an earlier blog, I referenced finding a village. The leadership stone here is simple: find a group of trusted colleagues with whom you can talk to about complex issues. Those folks need to be able to reflect honestly on your issues—to help you see where your buttons are and who is pushing them. And those who have tackled similar problems can give you feedback on what worked—and what didn’t. Most importantly, your village members need to people you can trust not only to give honest and wise feedback, but also to keep the discussion to themselves.

Black and white makes a striking outfit. But remember—tuxedos are mostly for show. Black and white application of policy may look good to outsiders, but a nuanced approach will likely have a better outcome.

On Finding your Village

You’ve taken the course, read the book, applied the technique. You’re convinced that this tool, this skill or methodology is the bomb, and that other leaders should follow suit. You find the perfect example of its brilliance to share with colleagues and then… nothing.

 Early in my teaching career I was trying to build energy around an idea I had for moving the rural school I was working at forward. I shared my frustration with a colleague who was also relatively new to her job but not to the field. She said to me, “Honey, you’ve got to find your village.” In a school of 120 students in a part of the state I had just relocated to, it was hard to think in terms of villages. But she was right: wherever you are in your career path, finding others who are like-minded or similarly motivated is critical.

 Finding one’s village today is much easier than it was in 1982. Tools abound to help us connect with others with similar interests or aspirations. Apps like MeetUp allow us to plug our interests and location into a search bar and peruse local groups that we might join. Online communities ranging from listservs to more updated venues like Slack are designed to bring together groups of people with common interests in order to work toward a common goal.

 A village of two can work as well as one of 20 when there is a specific goal in mind. I remember vividly the first time I sat among principals of schools for the blind—astonished and proud to be with people who “got” what I did. I left that meeting renewed by our common experiences.

Working alone is important for deep thinking, writing, and completing administrative tasks. It allows one to reflect on problems and ponder one’s progress. But many tasks are best suited for a group of some kind, especially one that is motivated and comes with lots of experience and a willingness to share. Find your village, dear leader. You will build skills impossible to attain on your own… and you will sleep better each night knowing you belong to a tribe that has your back and will propel you forward.

Humor and Leadership: on being yourself, embarrassing yourself, and continuing to lead

I have a pretty good sense of humor. I didn’t start out that way-I remember as a young girl sitting quietly in a movie theater with others who were openly laughing at one scene or another. I would either not laugh at all, or my laughing would be delayed until I eventually got the joke. I took everything seriously and envied those who seemed to walk more lightly through life.

In 1997, I joined a team of teachers who were genuinely funny. I would leave our monthly meetings with a stitch in my side after laughing for what seemed like hours. The group had the ability to combine serious problem-solving with humor that I had never before experienced. For example, a conversation about student confidentiality led to our assigning made-up names to any student we discussed. We rolled out a string of names unlikely in our southwest region—Shaniqua and Shaboodah, for example—to refer to our students by. We were dealing with real challenges and issues, but we kept the tone light by injecting it with just a little bit of silliness.

My understanding of others’ humor hasn’t always been first rate, but I’ve been able to laugh at myself since way back. I’ll be the first to share my most embarrassing moments at informal gatherings, like the time I scooped up a handful of Christmas candies at a party and realized they were decorative wax after tossing them into my mouth. I didn’t miss a beat in the conversation before ducking into the bathroom to spit them out. Or the time I wore a dress with a mid-thigh slit in it to my high school teaching job (I was 22) and faced unending teasing from high school boys. Or when, while rushing to leave a college biology lecture, I tripped and fell—my polyester skirt catching under my knees and causing me to slide down the steps… slowly, one step at a time, until I reached the bottom and picked myself up.

But managing humor as a leader is challenging. Because of one’s position, judgment by others unfortunately accompanies any potentially humorous moment. I learned this the hard way when I was a new school principal, sitting with colleagues at a particularly tedious training refresher on state testing. “I’m so done you could stick a fork in me,” I stated, slumping in my chair and suddenly realizing I’d used an outdoor voice to share this wisdom when all eyes fell upon me. I learned that while I still felt like one of the gang, my behavior was perceived differently in my new position.

But that doesn’t mean a leader stops laughing, saying funny things, or seeing the humor in situations just because she has a serious role. I loved the pranks teachers at my school played on each other—and on me. Perhaps my favorite was the kidnapping of a holiday moose that played tunes every time you passed it in the hall. A series of ransom notes followed, and it was finally located at the top of the flagpole on the school’s grounds.

The ability to have a little fun at work—to see the humorous side of things—has helped me stay positive and truly enjoy waking up every morning, excited to go to work. I cherish light-hearted moments where we take a little break from the seriousness of our work and laugh. Don’t be afraid to have fun, but you might want to consider an “appropriateness filter” to ensure that your leadership role is not unduly compromised. (Duly compromised is another matter, of course.)

Too many ideas; too little focus

Focus is a topic that gets a lot of attention in leadership. Greg McEown’s book,  Essentialism, talks about the pitfalls of trying to do too many things at one time. Prioritization is touted as an essential part of execution: getting things done. But most of what I read focuses on the leader’s vision and focus. What can a leader do to help others achieve and maintain focus?

One of the most challenging situations for me as a leader has been managing outside influences that distract me from my focus. The source of those outside influences? My own supervisors, aka the leaders of the organization. CEOs, presidents, and superintendents can unintentionally damage the focus of their team by peppering them with too many ideas. A visionary is an asset in an organization, but a leader who has vision but cannot bring it into focus can hold a whole organization back from progressing toward the envisioned goal.

After working with a number of visionaries, I coined the phrase, “Anyone can have a fresh idea. Few know how to execute that idea.” Here’s what happened. When I took a position with one organization, I had a clear idea of where transition services for our students should be headed. I was well versed on the technical side of things: I had read the research on transition for students with disabilities and what led to positive outcomes, I had extensive experience in providing transition services, and I understood self-determination and the need for students to have opportunities to function independently. I began looking for resources to implement these important principles and found many talented and enthusiastic individuals among the staff.

I worked under two different leaders while trying to implement my focused plan. One had a habit of coming back with new connections, new gadgets, new ideas, every time he was on a work trip. He would gather us together in an attempt to implement these new ideas—all of them.

The other decided to spread the information-gathering net wider, to hear new ideas from his own connections in the for-profit world. Each time a new idea was thrown to me, I was asked to investigate it. I became unable to move forward with the plan already in place as I had to repeatedly revise or abandon its details. I spent hours drawing new schematics, offering up new program ideas to meet the perceived priorities of my supervisor. As a result, I fell short both in my own initiatives and in those I was asked to initiate.

This issue became concrete when I was working on recertification for my professional licenses a few years ago. I started thumbing through my files of CEUs and other certificates of participation collected over my career, making sure I had earned enough credits to recertify. Acronyms and phrases started jumping out at me: EEI, SEI, PMP… each certificate evidence of the training du jour during that time period. I wondered: if we had actually stuck with one trend, trained well, determined desired outcomes, taken data, and adjusted our work, would we have made significant progress in educating our students? Instead, we jumped from one thing to the next, depending on the vision of the leader of the moment.

It’s clear that focus problems are not unusual in organizations. When I have brought the issue of multiple foci up to others in leadership positions, I have been constantly rebuked. I was identified as the problem: I was resistant to change—inflexible—stuck. And yet I feel that our lack of prioritization and focus consistently keeps us from meeting with success and growing more deeply as a field.

What can a leader do to help those around her maintain focus—to set a goal and stick with it? If you are the leader, encourage open dialog about each team member’s part in reaching an organizational goal. If someone who reports to you has a goal to achieve, support the process of meeting it. What tools, resources, skills, and support does he/she need to be successful? Ask clarifying questions. Expect and ask for regular report-ins so that you are part of the goal and its success. Remember that you are part of the team that will result in furthering your own vision.

And if you’re the visionary with a goal in mind, communicate your vision clearly, succinctly, and with an eye toward implementation. Help those who report to you understand their roles in achieving the goal, and support their efforts by listening to their ideas, providing resources, and redirecting if they veer too far off-path.

As a leadership stone, focus is foundational. It needs to be a big, sturdy stone on which others can be placed. But it is the one I feel is most out of my reach. We have increasingly become what I call a “bumper sticker society,” depending on one-liners and marketing campaigns to determine what is most important. If we are to make true, sustainable change in our organization or the field of education, we need to focus: to develop priorities and build structure around them. Be a leader: focus!