To all the Principals reading this email: Happy National Principals Month! Thank you for your unending support of your students, your staff, and your communities! Your job is a tireless one, as well as one that is often thankless given the scope of your job. I hope that your staff lets you know just how appreciated you are this month.
To everyone who’s reading this email and who isn’t a Principal – make your Principals feel special this month. Honor them. Bring them some food. Write a letter telling them how much they mean to you and your community. Send them home early one day. Take a game duty for them. Grab them a gift card to go out to dinner with their spouse. Get them a new book. Coordinate an activity for students to express their thankfulness to your Principal, like writing notes at lunch. Whatever you do, just remember to celebrate them.
On the topic of celebrations, allow me to remind you that we don’t always need a formal reason to celebrate. Sometimes, it’s awesome just to celebrate the great job our people are doing on any given week. If I had to guess, we do a great job of celebrating things – achievements, students, etc. – at the beginning of the year, but we don’t always remember to continue celebrating as the year goes on. Deloitte (2012) showed that creating a culture of appreciation within an organization through rewards and recognition contributes to overall employee satisfaction and organizational success.
Notice that their study referenced a “culture of appreciation.” Acts of appreciation can’t be one-offs that we only do when there’s a reason to celebrate. They should also not be limited to certain “days” or “months.” A culture of appreciation is fostered throughout the year. It transforms mundane moments, like a walkthrough in a teacher’s classroom, into efficacy-inspiring interactions through something as simple as a card in that same teacher’s box to let them know they taught an amazing lesson. A culture of appreciation is built by this kind of intentionality.
How do you plan to foster a culture of appreciation this year? What actions are you taking that are honoring your people and increasing your school/district health? If you don’t have immediate answers to these questions, spend some time thinking about how you can begin doing this important work.
Choose to be Great!
Angelo
CHOOSE TO BE GREAT 