Category Archives: Servant

Teaching with the language of the heart…

15 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in Heart, Leader, Leadership, Love, Maturity, Servant, Teachers, Vision

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With this being the standard week of giving cards of love and yesterday Valentine’s Day, I would like to touch on how teachers and leaders can reach the hearts of their students and followers.

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Understanding that one box of chocolate does not fit all and more importantly, you throwing a red rose blanket at the feet of others does not cover all; there are certain points a teacher can make that are exemplary of their leadership for others that truly comes from the heart.

Challenge them

Great teachers are not afraid to challenge the heart of a student. How do you do this? You step into the unknown, looking for opportunities that can help a student grow. You inspire their hearts to the point that they want to do and be better. Sometimes, that even means going against what the pacing guide or the curriculum says to do that day. No one is ever for the better if they are always staying the same and unchallenged. Challenge students to succeed, not to fail.

Make your classroom a shared vision

While you are the teacher, your classroom should be more about your students than you — a shared environment, where ownership exists between both parties. What is the vision you want your students to see? Too many times, teachers “box” their students in, keeping the lid closed, stifling their growth. A shared vision pulls students forward. Be willing to speak their language and have an idea of who they are. Together, your classroom becomes much more conducive to teaching and learning.

Model the mature way

Someone has to be the adult in the classroom; please let it be you. Yes, you, as the teacher or leader, must model the mature, professional way. This is the behavior that wins the respect of others. Do not be the clownfish who drowns in their own immaturity. You set the standard, let them be high. Why would you set them low? Having a quiet strength has been shown to win the day more often than not.

Teach from the heart

This is why we teach and lead… or suppose to anyway. It is our calling that enables us to build students up who are torn down by society. With the concept of “me first” being propagated everywhere one looks, the one constant has to be your teaching from the heart. This is the only way we can lift spirits, and promote a better way. Knowing what to teach is nowhere equal to knowing how to teach.

While every one of the above topics aligns with servant-leadership, it goes without asking, “What are we here for as teachers?” As an educator, are you trying to pull the best out of a student from the inside, where their heart is, instead of pushing something down their throat from the outside? Like anything else in life, for all involved, understanding the why of something increases the likelihood of a better effort given. Why a person does anything can always be seen by where their heart is.

Teach with the language of the heart, you just might be able to see a heart melt and turn into something solid.

©2019 J Clay Norton

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Is your teaching and leading built on a foundation of excellence?

01 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in Actions, Choice, Consistency, Deciding, Effective, Essence, Expectations, Foundation, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Relationships, Servant, Teachers

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For this week’s blog, I am going off the road of general leadership but staying on the leadership map. Today, I would like to take a small side trip and talk about the educational leadership side of teaching.

Let’s start with this quote from Epictetus (Roman Teacher/Philosopher, 55-135, AD)…

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Foundation of Excellence: “Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Therefore give yourself fully to your endeavors. Decide to consult your character through excellent actions and determine to pay the price of a worthy goal. The trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths. Remain steadfast – and one day you will build something that endures: something worthy of your potential.”

 

I believe the question that can be asked of the quote is, “What are the foundations of our teaching/leadership* building?” I have a few thoughts…

*While discussing this idea, you can at any time switch out the words teaching and leading/leadership, because I think both, in essence, are the same.

To build anything, we must know the personalities of all involved. What are the personalities of those we teach? What makes them tick? When we understand who we are teaching first, our teaching becomes much more effective; understanding that leading is not about us but others. Learn who your people are.

We must also be consistent with our teaching. I have never seen a foundation made for a structure that is not consistent. Inconsistent foundations will not hold up and support what is being built. It reflects the “tentative efforts” part of the quote… for we will obtain “tentative outcomes.” Overall, one of the main problems teachers have is not being consistent with their day-to-day methods; how they teach, how they manage.

Your foundation is your foundation. No one else can build it for you. Now, there are some great teachers who are very deserving to model, and it does us well to emulate some of their teaching characteristics, if and only if those characteristics can work for you. However, a common mistake of many teachers, young and experienced, is always copying and not being yourself. Be you and adapt and adjust depending on the environment. The worse thing you can do is be hard-headed. “My way or the highway” is not good teaching or leadership.

Great teachers are willing to try new approaches. The worst six words with regards to any leadership are, “We have always done it this way.” Just because the “manual” says this is the way to do it, does not make it the only way. As teachers, we have to find what works and connects to our audience. Only when both are established can we bring our efforts “fully to our endeavors.”

Lastly, I believe great teachers are willing and want to keep learning. There is nothing more disappointing than seeing a teacher who is either contented or disheartened. Go back to the “tentative efforts” part of the quote. Experience does matter, but not to the extent of believing you know it all. We can always learn something new.

Great leaders are aware of not only who they are but also who everyone else is and the environment surrounding them. This is an ongoing process that is rooted in servant-leadership. Start today building that foundation of excellence.  Be that person and when you are, referring to the quote, “one day you will build something that endures: something worthy of your potential.”

©2019 J Clay Norton

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How Effective Is Your Effectiveness?

16 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Actions, Authentic, Consistency, Effective, Humility, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Servant

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Do you ever wonder if your leadership is effective? This is not a question of asking if there is a direct correlation between everything, and everyone working correctly and together. I am asking you to think about the effectiveness of your leadership.

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Many times we try to define what effectiveness is, and it remains ambiguous. Does effectiveness equal the successful result or bottom line? Is that where we should immediately look? General society would probably say yes. While both the result and bottom line can give us an answer, does it tell the story of how? The how of the story is the process of your effectiveness, and I believe that is what we must consider in our leadership.

“Effectivelessness” (not sure if that is a word or not, but I like it) leaders fail to be able to define their effectiveness because they have misconceptions of their own making. As long as their status of popularity, power, and the bottom line of results are where they need to be, then the misconception stays true for them.

On the contrast, the effective leader’s effectiveness is seen and felt through the heart they have for others. They do not flaunt, threaten or remind you of their power, for their power is a by-product of their effectiveness. Their understanding of others creates an achievement level (bottom line) rooted in the foundational belief that an effective process equals effective results.

Take a football or basketball play… the result is to score, per se. Everyone has a job to do that contributes to a successful outcome. If the score happens then, the play was effective, and success was achieved. But what about the process and the why of how did it happen? Are the members of the team threatened not to execute properly? Or, do they score because it means something, not so much for them individually but as a group? Yes, both are effective, but over time, one will stay the course, and the other will lose its effectiveness. As a leader do you want to be known for the result only or the process of the results? (This whole idea can be found in Todd Gongwer’s book “Lead For God’s Sake!“)

Effective leaders make an intentional attempt to connect to the process of the journey of all, encouraging to the point that motivation becomes intrinsic, and achievement of the goal equals success for the right reasons.  They understand both the goals, the purpose and most of all the process. Leadership should not be a position where a person does nothing more than satisfying their own actions. The effective leader is for others first and is consistent with their leadership. We may and often do fool ourselves, but we cannot fool others who know how effective our effectiveness really is.

Be an effective leader. Everyone around will be better for it, including you.

©2019 J Clay Norton

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

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Square Peg, Round Hole Leadership

10 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by in Actions, Authentic, Character, Consistency, Decisions, Facade, Importance, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Relationships, Servant

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“I can make it fit. No, you can’t, it is not going to work. You know it, and I know it. Fine, I’ll show you. Go ahead then, you will figure it out.” Moments later, “Why will this not fit?”

A square peg in a round hole… the classic idiom.

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We have all seen the pre-school hands-on learning tool, and we have seen children trying to figure it out. Never ceasing to be amazed at the comedy that it provides.

Oh, but how many leadership truths can be found in something so trivial?

Now, fast-forward to adults in leadership settings who are trying to do the same thing. Have you ever asked that question of, “How did that person get that leadership position?” The comedy increases, but it is not the same kind of harmless fun. It takes on a whole new level that could have a negative effect on many.

Bottom line, truth to be considered, is the fact that some people have leadership positions because of who they know instead of what they know. Yes, believe it or not, wrong people can be in leadership positions. Why and how, are questions that probably do not want to be answered. It happens, and we see it every day. Our society is running rampant with it in every area imaginable where leadership is involved.

While the outer appearance looks great, square peg, round hole leaders really do not contribute to the growth and development of others. Motivation is done through fear, and the assertion of their leadership only happens when mistakes are made, thus creating rejection.

Square peg, round hole leaders sell a facade of leadership that it can work and the main issue is that many “trick” themselves into thinking that it actually can, knowing all along that the square peg is not fitting in that round hole.

So, what to do? I have more questions than I have answers for this blog post, but I do know that time has a way of revealing everything for what it is worth. The one constant I believe that will always work is to be for others and the greater good and not your own self-interests.

©2019 J Clay Norton

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

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