As I began my journey as a new principal this past year there were many things that were on my radar as essential pieces to leading a team. We were starting off the year in a virtual environment and there were natural barriers to building trust with a new team in the virtual world. Trust is the most important piece of leadership with a team because out of trust comes the confidence to take on challenges, collaborate to overcome challenges and the common desire to achieve results. In any line of work, you and an organization are only as strong as the relationships that make up the organization, and trust is the bedrock of any healthy relationship. I began to research what trust means and as usual I migrated to my resources around leadership and the plethora of content out there on leadership.
I consistently find myself migrating to content put out by Focus 3 Leadership, and I have formed a connection with a consultant that preaches the work of Tim Kight. Mr. Kight often refers to the building blocks of high performing teams as chemistry, commitment and connection. I began to wonder how to facilitate these pieces without the human connection of working together in person. Since the end of January, we have returned to our building and these pieces have been easier to work on in person versus virtually, but I have spent some time reflecting on how we worked on these pieces in the virtual world which positioned our team to continue to embrace these pieces as we returned to in person learning.
Chemistry is difficult to describe and define in an organization. Chemistry comes from understanding the unique pieces that put together a team and understanding and honoring those differences while allowing people space to be themselves. When establishing a culture there are informal opportunities that build chemistry like conversations around family, weekend plans, sports, weather or any other topic that you often find yourself discussing with colleagues. True chemistry is different though. Chemistry comes from an understanding of how people respond to different situations and a level of predictability as you navigate the challenges together. Chemistry is a function of clarity which is provided by communication. Chemistry is based on the explanation of why and how you respond to a situation that allows others to have a sense of what your response will be before you even have a chance to respond.
Building this in a virtual world was challenging but our team was able to create a sense of chemistry through regular check ins and communication from me on all of the changing pieces of providing public education in a virtual world. Our student services team set up morning coffee talks that allowed people to assemble on Zoom and discuss anything other than work related topics. As the principal I spent time being intentional around setting temperature check meetings with staff and other less formal types of communication like messenger or text message. This allowed us to build a sense of chemistry while working in the virtual world.
The next piece of a high performing team is commitment. Luckily for me as a new principal there was already a strong commitment from our team around doing great work for children. As a new leader I needed to learn and understand this commitment and what it looked like in practice. After gaining an understanding of the current level of commitment it allowed me an opportunity to push and shape the direction of that commitment. This has come through in a way that allowed us to allow grace and understanding during virtual instruction during a global pandemic to students, while also pushing forward on moving our learning system forward in instruction. The pandemic provided an opportunity to step outside of our comfort zone and grow as educators because it was essential to engage students in the virtual world. As a team we were able to push forward around embedding our instructional framework of Deeper Learning into aspects of our teaching, professional development and evaluation process. As we move forward, we will continue to leverage these areas of growth while maintaining our commitment to doing great things for students.
That last piece of an effective team according to Mr. Kight is connection. Much like chemistry this was a challenge in the virtual world. As a leader is essential to build connections and this is done through accessibility. It is very difficult to connect with someone that you do not have an opportunity to spend time with in both formal and informal settings. Time is our most valuable resource and as a leader it is essential to allow your team access to your time in order to build that connection. As a principal that was easier in the virtual world because there were not as many impromptu issues that came up during the day, which allowed me to be deliberate in providing time to team members to build that connection.
As we transitioned to in person learning the connection piece was the most unique part of the three characteristics that foster trust that allows a team to function at a high level. As we got back into our building, I realized that I knew the virtual versions of people and they knew the virtual version of me. I am a large individual that can be loud, intense and very passionate. So, the first morning that we were back in person I was walking around our school clapping and inspiring our staff prior to us engaging with our learners in person. This was new and different for our staff and one staff member told me that this is the first time we have been together in person and I am different in person than I was in virtual meetings over the internet. This made me aware of the need to reconnect and allow staff accessibility and visibility to me as a leader in person.
As we move forward as a team it is essential to continue to be deliberate in fostering a trusting relationship between members of our team. Chemistry, commitment and connection will continue to be our foundation of establishing that trust. As I reflect on those three pieces, they also become clear to me that they are the bedrock of any good relationship. Relationships are also built on chemistry commitment and connection. Relationships are what drives any successful organization and being deliberate in creating a system around the foundational elements of relationship building are vital, while also allowing the more natural informal opportunities that strengthen relationships to occur as you embrace the challenges of leading a team. We will continue to look to grow and develop our trust, which will foster relationships, that will produce high levels of student achievement.