"You have to 'be' before you can 'do,'
and do before you can 'have.' "
— Zig Ziglar: Is a motivational author and speaker

January is flying by. I get a motivational quote a day from a couple places. I enjoy reading them and it is amazing how aligned they tend to be with my work for that day or week.

This one seemed to stick as we prepare for our Teacher Leadership in Action: Making Instructional Change Happen conference being held next Thursday and Friday. Our main differentiator is a dual factor model that includes both the instruction side as well as the teamwork side. So this quote got me thinking.

1. What do teacher leaders have to consider with regards to "being" before doing?

Our answer: "Being" is personal leadership. Insight and understanding into your own personal talents and leadership capacities as well as taking ownership for your results. Modeling desired behaviors and getting the coaching support you need to "be" the best.

2. What do teacher leaders have to "do" before having?

Our answer: "Doing" is about building a high performance team that can execute and take action vs. talk a lot and never seem to implement change. It is about measurement and accountability. It is getting positive results and using them as a springboard for even greater accomplishments.

3. What can teacher leaders (and their teams) "have" as a result of being and doing?

Our answer: "Having" means that teacher leaders and their teaching teams improve learning and student success. Today's results are better than yesterday's and tomorrow's will be better than today's. A powerful teaching and learning environment is created that sustains long-term excellence.

While this doesn't seem too complicated. School leaders must consider if they are providing the resources and support to allow teacher leaders to "be" and "do". Only then will they get to "have" what all educators, students and parents desire.

Share your thoughts. How are you "being", "doing" and "having"? What is your district doing now or should be doing?

Bob

The 20/20 Perspective

Prior to going out on my own as a talent management consultant and leadership trainer, I worked for one of Rochester's top companies in human resources. We always used the 20/20 scenario to reinforce the importance of being a great place to work and shop. What is the 20/20 scenario? Lead, work and serve (model behavior) so you are always ready for a 20/20 (news) investigation. If 20/20 was to investigate you, your business and your people, are you ok with what they will find. Better yet, do you think it will be a great opportunity for some positive PR? If yes, great.

As far as schools go, consider the following when evaluating what you are spending your time on and how you go about doing what you do:

1. What would your school's 20/20 headline be?
2. If 20/20 conducted interviews with your students, staff and parents what would they say?
3. As the cameras caught everything live, what would they be catching?

What is less important is your answers to these questions. What is most important is if your answers to these questions raise any concerns, you begin to take the actions needed to be a 20/20 Spotlight on Success vs. an investigation.

Don't forget to share your thoughts and have a great weekend!!!

Bob