Category Archives: Servant

What You See Is What You Get…

07 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Character, Leader, Leadership, Relationships, Servant, Teachers, Transparent, Understanding

≈ 1 Comment

The key to effective teaching is subject matter knowledge. But more important than that is your ability to convey your understanding, while at the same time being able to bridge the gap of teacher-student relationships. Teachers who do not foster relationships with their students in and out of the classroom forfeit their sincerity, authenticity, and transparency.

So… As a teacher, do your students see what they get from you?

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I believe in answering that statement; a teacher needs to have two characteristics.

One, be a servant-teacher…

How many teachers do you know that make the classroom all about them? I find these type of teachers having poor student interaction and have difficulty with their classroom management. The goal of a teacher should be to “get” their students to enjoy coming to your classroom for the right reasons. If that can be the case, then maybe, just maybe, they might give the subject matter a better chance, even if they dislike the class.

Being a servant-teacher requires intentionality with being who you say you are. It means having an understanding of the lives of your students. It means that you grow your students from the inside out. If you can change their heart, hopefully you can change their mind. Servant-teacher means you put them first. Empower them with ownership.

Two, be an example to follow…

The power of teaching has a direct proportion to the character of the teacher. The great concept about everyone we interact with is knowing if we like or dislike the example they portray. It does not take a student long to figure out what you see is what you get with teachers. Our students are much smarter then we give them credit for sometimes.

Christian author and speaker Josh McDowell said it like this, “You can con a con and kid a kid, but you cannot con a kid.”

Think on it like this… The example you provide might just be the only example a student sees as to how they should be. There are enough terrible examples in society for their picking. Give them an option for positive models for the betterment of themselves.

Teaching is a privilege, and not everyone can or wants to do it. Nothing we do as an educator gives more pleasure than to see a student succeed. Be the servant-teacher, and the example students need to see.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

The Call of Teaching: Desire

10 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by in Attitude, Authentic, Desire, Heart, Ideals, Inspiration, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Passion, Sacrifice, Servant, Teachers

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“Vocation” comes from a Latin word: VOCARE. It means “to be called”. I don’t work. I live my calling. Everyone’s calling has messy parts and costs them something, but when you are called there is no option not to answer it and pay the price to do what you love. That’s living. –        Brian Kight

Well, here we are again… The start of a new school year. I hope each of you had a great summer and are ready to tackle the next 180 days of the next ten months as we embark on another journey of educating the future.

As the faces of students and teachers change, one thing stays constant, the ideal of what teaching should be.

As we start today’s blog, let’s ask this question, “Can the high calling of teaching be placed on a pedestal?” At some point, we are all called to teach. We do it every day, conscientiously or not.

But, a teacher (and I am talking about those that are great at what they do) makes a significant contribution to the lives of their students.

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Who are these teachers? Instead of giving you one long list of reasons why in one blog post, today I would like to provide you with one of four thoughts for the first part of our school year. Each idea is significant and can stand alone. However, when you put the whole list together, you get a powerful example of what the call of teaching can look like.

They are the ones who…

Have an overwhelming desire to do the work of teaching.

The one thing a teacher does on a daily basis is they step out of their own families to another family for eight hours a day. By the time a teacher gets home, eats, does homework, go to ball games, the time with their own families is very limited.  I say that to say this…

Teaching is a step forward to serve (I find it more and more that many teachers want to be served). Their passion to teach is so strong that the pull of the outside world and it’s negativity is negated inside classroom walls with the belief that yes, a student can learn and be successful even when that student does not do their part. A real teacher feels so strongly about their involvement with education that it is not merely something they want to do, but something they must do. This is what a desire to teach encompasses.

Do you know these types of teachers? Yes? No? Guess what; they are both out there. Some are giving oxygen and life while others are taking oxygen and life from what teaching should be.

As the new school year begins, only you know where you are with your attitude of teaching and what it should be. Better yet, if you are in denial about the whole idea, then do not worry… There are plenty of teachers who “get it” and understand the way it should be. All you have to do is start asking the students, they know.

Also, never lose sight of this as well…  Really good teachers are leaders.

For those who want to know what the next three topics to “The Call of Teaching” are, here you go.
Week 2: Gift
Week 3: Character
Week 4: Crisis for Good (not sure about this title yet…)

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

Living vs Dead Leadership

22 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Choice, Decisions, Leader, Leadership, Servant

≈ 3 Comments

Any leadership worth its salt must be evident, not so much by faith, but by the works which are shown to others. If you live your leadership in the faith of hoping others will embrace your leadership, then your leadership is dead.

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Photo Credit: outreachmagazine.com

As leaders, one of our primary aims is to distinguish between living and dead leadership. Sounds easy, right? Probably easier than you realize, if you are a servant leader in your works that is seen and felt by others.

Three thoughts that can make sure your leadership is alive and not dead hinge on being a servant leader. Let’s see how it plays out…

CAUSE
The cause of living leadership is having your heart in the right place toward others. True leaders know they cannot produce living leadership merely going through the motions. This quickly leads to dead leadership. The leader with dead leadership believes they have the power within themselves instead of empowering others.

NATURE
The nature of living leadership is a firm belief of the truisms that others matter. Dead leadership is nothing more than emptiness and paranoid opinions that have no real effect on the heart of others. Living leadership, on the other hand, embraces the essence of others and surrounds itself with meaningfulness.

EFFECT
The effect of living leadership is the most important. This is where leadership can be distinguished. What your leadership says about others is more important than what your leadership says about yourself.

What effect is your leadership having on others? Is it living or dead? The beauty and the burden of the effect are that it will be one of the two.

Dead leadership leads others to trust in a vacuum. They get sucked in and just circulate within the chamber of self. Until we start providing living leadership, we are dead leaders walking.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

How Well Do You Listen and Can You Hear Me Now?

18 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Clarity, Communication, Heart, Leader, Leadership, Listening, Servant, Understanding

≈ 1 Comment

Do you remember the Verizon Phone Company’s commercial of “Can you hear me now?” While that “jingle” might be slightly funny, the question itself with regards to leadership is profound. How many times, do others have conversations with us, and they walk away wondering if they were ever heard?

One of many essential characteristics of great leadership is listening. It sounds simple, but… as you well know, some leaders simply do not listen, or they do not listen as to understand. I believe that there are times when people come to us, they have something to say. They want our attention, and they know real quick if they have it or not.

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As I think about the different time’s people have wanted to speak with me, did I listen to hear? I can also ask that same question for when I wanted to be also heard. For those times when the answer was “no” in both cases, after hard lessons learned, I begin thinking of what type of listener leaders are and the type of listener I wanted to be.

To always keep it simple, I have three ideas about what type of ears a listener you may have…

CLOSED EARS

When a leader has closed ears, it is tough for others to talk to them. They cannot ask questions or explain anything. It becomes more of a task and chore. The issue here is with the listener. It has nothing to do with the person or what is being said. I believe there is a direct correlation between leaders with closed ears having a closed heart.

SELECTIVE EARS

We have all heard that notion of someone having selective hearing. Well, here it is. Leaders who have this, only listen to what they want to. They want to hear what is pleasing to them. Leaders like this will surround themselves with people who say the “right thing” and are basically “yes people.”

HEART EARS

For a portion of my life, I listened to others with my brain (and I am still guilty of it at times). Listening this way means I would think of how I would respond to the other person instead of listening with my heart to truly hear what they were saying. This is the type of listening leader we should strive to be, listening with heart ears.

What type of listener are you with your leadership? If you do not know, odds are others do. Like me, I am sure each of you can name a leader whose listening style reflects one of the above.

If leaders care for their people, then having heart ears is the only way to listen. You and everyone around you will be better for it.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page