We’re looking for every option available to open schools and keep them open for everyone’s benefit, and we recently learned about a new COVID/infectious disease management solution for schools offered through Educator-Resources that is actually very interesting. 

As an avid reader of the School Growth blog for many years, I thought that having Scott Barron speak at our annual board retreat would be an excellent way to inspire and challenge our board. We had no idea how fortuitous that training would be, especially what we learned about the Laws of the Grapevine, with the devastating events that unfolded over the next couple of days. 

We're hosting the third and final webinar today on FLOW. 
(CLICK HERE to Learn More)

During leadership retreats and association events over the last few years we facilitated a self-assessment of Organizational Health. Over 90% of these leaders identified Communication to be the discipline that needs the most improvement in order to grow. 

This is especially true in the midst of the uncertainty in our world today. Sustaining culture and relationships is PRIORITY #1, and that requires an even stronger commitment to the communication habits of SEQUENCE, FREQUENCE, and FLOW. 

(Continued from previous blog article)

I was in the stands cheering at that middle school game, but left shortly thereafter to attend another school event. So I didn't hear the coach's pronouncement about the players and cheerleaders wearing their game uniforms to school on Monday. 

And I underestimated the consequences of failing to train volunteers on our communication protocol that was designed to prevent the eruption that was about to happen.

It took me by surprise I must say
When I found out yesterday
Don't you know that I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine

Remember the last time you felt that pain--the embarrassment of hearing news through the grapevine that should have been shared with you directly. That's a feeling that doesn't go away easily. 

Last week two career military leaders in the Navy were involved in a "miss communication" fiasco that resulted in painful career and relationship disasters for them both. These were avoidable circumstances that could have gone very differently had they understood The Laws of the Grapevine and practiced the discipline of Sequence.

The speed and accessibility of communication media today requires a new set of leadership disciplines, especially for educators. Hopefully  you can learn from these situations in order to avoid the devastating consequences.

Effective communication is crucial at every level of the organization, especially within and from the board. It promotes better understanding, reduces unnecessary conflict, and helps build healthy relationships. We've found that high levels of emotional intelligence and self-awareness are common among the best communicators.

At a recent Leader Retreat for a school board, one of the longest-serving board members raised a major issue. He was grey-headed and, based on the body language and deference of the others in the room, he was highly respected for his experience and wisdom.

We learned some valuable insight from some very wise and experienced educators over the last few weeks, and we were pleasantly surprised that one key point was emphasized by all of them. 

One Saturday we facilitated a Leadership Retreat for their school board. We assessed organizational health and included a brief introduction on how to properly Sequence messages in order to build trust and engagement.

All went as planned--and then it didn't.