Listening for what Matters…. Deciphering Between Noise and Validity as a Leader

As I reflect on my first year as a building principal, I am grateful for the effort of our staff and our students. What a year the 2020-2021 school year was, and I am grateful that it is behind us. There were many key lessons learned and many experiences that pushed me to grow as an educator and a leader. Our staff worked tirelessly to provide our students with authentic learning experiences through virtual learning, hybrid learning and in person learning with concurrent instruction for virtual students. We were able to navigate these challenges with a key mantra of working together collegially and collaboratively to provide our students with engaging and meaningful learning opportunities. It seemed at every turn we did not know what the next day would bring or where we would be at in the journey to mitigate risk during a global pandemic, but our staff showed up in every space with a collaborative and collegial approach. This was invigorating and exciting to watch as a leader. 

While this was going on for our students, I was subject to many concerns from students, staff, parents, district leadership and some people that do not have kids in our system but are taxpayers. There were concerns about safety, cleanliness, instruction, pay, assessment, special education supports, quarantines, discipline, a leak in the roof, heating issues, and the list goes on and on with the day-to-day operation of a middle school. I realized that working in public education was a political endeavor, but I was often times put in awe by how political the role of a principal is in today’s climate. There were the macro political concerns about Covid 19, and Critical Race Theory that you hear about in the news. Then there are the micro political concerns about allocating budget dollars to certain things, staff concerns and parent concerns with their child and other children. It seemed every discussion or meeting had some sort of political side to the discussion. 

Through all this communication there were many concerns coming from many different areas. As a leader it was essential to validate each concern and to truly listen to hear. That was the easy part. The harder part was to determine what was just noise and what truly needed to be addressed and how to address that concern and when. In my previous leadership roles, it became evident early on that not everyone would like me. That was not the hard part to this as it was not about my popularity. The hard part was with finite resources what needed allocation of resources and what did not. When I refer to resources there are three categories that I define as resources: time, talent and funding. The funding piece seemed easier to allocate and come up with solutions. It was the time and talent that presented a greater challenge. 

When people come to you with a concern they come with different needs. As a leader it is only natural to operate from the lens of a problem solver. Not everyone with a concern wants a solution all the time. Some people want to be heard. Some people want to vent. Some people just want to share how a decision impacted them personally and professionally to help you grow. Then there are situations that demand immediate action. As a leader it is essential to your success to identify what the person needs in the moment and to respond accordingly. Choosing the wrong course of action can add to frustration for stakeholders and raise the temperature at a time when the temperature could cool down by inaction of the leader. 

As I grew as a leader this became evident as a staff member was voicing a concern and we had a great discussion. Towards the end of the conversation the staff member said that I know your next question is going to be what do you need from me and the answer to that is I do not need anything right now. This was eye opening to me. This staff member knew that all that was needed in this situation was for me to listen and hear the concern. The staff member did not need anything more. This required me to press pause and be deliberate in how I would respond. I chose to just say that I hear the concern and I will be mindful going forward in how I lead. That was what was needed in the moment. There was no need to spend money, provide more people for support or to restructure the time demands of the day. From my perspective that was a very simple and easy solution that I would have missed had my colleague not been so deliberate in defining what was needed in the moment. Pressing pause allowed me to respond in a way that allowed us both to move forward feeling good about the outcome, without any tangible course of action other than acknowledgement. Acknowledgement required no allocation of funds, talent or time. 

This is an example of determining the right course of action as a leader based on the needs of the team member. Solutions do not always require resources. This was a valid concern that required a specific course of action. It became evident throughout the year though that there were other types of concerns that would be deemed as just noise. The type of concern that no matter what you do there will be somebody unhappy. In those situations, it is essential to drown out the noise and maintain a laser focus on what guides, drives and motivates you as a leader. I am driven by doing great things for children and changing the trajectory of our learners. When I realized that the noise was inhibiting me from staying on that course, I had to become very deliberate in identifying what was valid and needed attention and what was just noise. As this skill set grew, I also began to sleep better at night and notice an improvement in my mental health. 

Leadership is challenging, tough and lonely, but it also provides you with a tremendous amount of gratitude, self-worth, and personal reward when done well. As I reflect on my year in review, I am grateful for everyone that came on this crazy journey with me, and I am eager to see what year two brings. I am excited about continuing to reflect and grow as leader and I would love to hear any feedback or insight you share. Please leave a comment or send me a message through the site.