Educational Leadership with Principal JL
Principal JL is an educational leader who explores various topics facing educational leaders today! The Mission of this podcast is to inform and inspire other Educational Leaders on how to be their best for their Schools by honing their skills and talents so they may impact their teachers, staff members, students, parents/guardians, and community members positively for their School District! Come with a Growth Mindset as we journey through Educational Leadership!
Educational Leadership with Principal JL
Episode 12: Coach'EM Up Leadership Series: The Art of Communication in Educational Leadership
Could mastering the art of communication and feedback revolutionize your role as an educational leader? This episode promises to equip you with essential strategies to enhance your communication skills through active listening and constructive feedback. With personal anecdotes from my journey as a principal, I share insights on fostering a supportive environment for teachers using techniques like paraphrasing and the "positive sandwich" method, empowering them to grow and excel in their roles.
The excitement doesn’t stop there; we’re gearing up for some incredible future episodes featuring guest speakers who are trailblazers in educational leadership. While their identities remain a secret for now, their contributions will undoubtedly inspire and transform our community. As we continue our mission to become 1% better each day, I invite you to engage with our podcast through feedback and fan mail. Let's embark on this enlightening journey together, focusing on continuous improvement and fostering a collaborative culture that benefits both educators and students alike.
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Email: the.principal.jl@gmail.com
Hello educational leaders. Hope you guys had a great holiday break. I know I did. My wife and I had a quick getaway. We went to New York City and saw the city a little bit, but also got to watch Nebraska Cornhuskers in the pinstripe bowl. Thank goodness the Huskers were able to pull it out. I was a little nervous at the end there, but yeah, it was really fun just to get away and do some things and to have that time to recharge with my wife but also spend some time with my family over this holiday break.
Principal JL:And so now I'm getting back to it. I have some exciting news. I've actually have three verbal commitments of guest speakers or people I will interview on the podcast coming up this spring. I'm working out the details. I don't want to tell you who they are right now because I want to make sure we get all the details hashed out and we get the podcast recorded before unveiling. But I will tell you these three people are major contributors to educational leadership and to principals and superintendents across the nation. So that's exciting. Some awesome things are happening with the Educational Leadership Podcast here with Principal JL.
Principal JL:Today we're going to go ahead and continue our Coach' Em Up Leadership Series. Today we're going to talk about the yard of communication in educational leadership. So what we're going to do is talk about effective communication techniques, and we're really going to dive a little deeper on some things. The last episode was about building trust and relationships, and what we're going to talk about when we talk about effective communication is things that we kind of touched on in the last episode, but we're going to kind of go a little bit deeper in this episode about what those effective communications are, and so two things I think that you can learn to do really, really well as a principal or as an educational leader is to be an active listener and to provide constructive feedback, and you want to do it a way that helps people grow right. This whole thing is about how do you coach up your teachers, how do you coach up your staff, how do you help them become better, and one of the things I've always talked about. Before I became an educational leader, I spent 11 years in the classroom. I've been through and seen a lot of things as a teacher. I feel like I can definitely help my teachers get better because I spent 11 years in the classroom. Now I'm year seven as a principal and I haven't forgotten where I came from. I haven't forgotten being a teacher in the classroom because I know they're doing the work. I know they're working really hard and doing the best they can. My whole goal is to help them get better and to help them grow, and so these are two things that I utilize every day, or especially when I'm providing feedback to my teachers is being an active listener and then providing constructive feedback. Let's talk about the first one active listening.
Principal JL:As a principal, we're going to get bombarded by a lot of things. We have a lot of things coming at us. We have teacher issues there or student issues, there's the maintenance issues, there's, you know, anything in every district office issues. All these things come at you at any given time in the day, and so you want to be able to hold space for people when they are coming to you and seeking help, and they're seeking your advice, and a lot of times they're just wanting you to listen to them, because sometimes just getting it off their chest helps them. But also they're coming to you because, hey, they trust you. You have that relationship built up. They want you to help them find a solution to an issue With active listening.
Principal JL:A lot of times I try really, really hard to do some things to help them understand that I understand what they're saying, because I want to be able to listen to what they're saying, but I also want to be able to let them know that I heard what they're saying, because a lot of times people can say they're listening but they could be zoned out, thinking about something else and not really paying attention to what they're saying. I want to make sure, when a staff member comes in, I stop what I'm doing and if it's something I could work through with them right there, I will and we'll do the things we need to do to kind of solve that, solve that issue. What I like to do is I make sure I stop what I'm doing. We go sit down. I have a little area where we go sit back on the table by table and then I want to make sure I'm giving them eye contact and I'm also showing attentiveness. I'm not going to be on my phone, I'm not going to be slouching a chair, I'm not going to be rolling my eyes or anything like that. I really want to focus in on what they have to say, because I need them to know that I hear them and then some techniques that I use.
Principal JL:You guys might have done this if you have done any type of adaptive school training. I think two years ago I did some adaptive school training with a couple of my district office people my district SPED director and my curriculum director, I believe one of my assistant principals. We did adaptive school training and so we talked about some active listening skills and providing constructive feedback. So you may hear some things that I have picked up through that, but these are things that I've done since I've been a first-time principal as well, because I want people to know that I hear them, and so what I would do is I would paraphrase and help them understand that I do. I understand what you're saying.
Principal JL:I may have a teacher coming in and saying, hey, I'm struggling with a co-teacher, or I have this teacher in my classroom, we're supposed to be working together and they're telling me all about it, and what I want to do is really listen to what they're saying, because once I kind of pick out what their issue is, I want to kind of say so what I hear you say is that you're frustrated because the co-teacher is not communicating with you changes that they want to make to the lesson. They're just going ahead and doing it and there's no collaboration on that part, right, do I understand you correctly? And the teacher will be like, oh yeah, that's kind of what I'm saying here, and so I will also use probing questions within that dialogue and I will go hey, so this is the issue. Tell me more about this, or could you give me more details about this situation? Because what I'm trying to do is figure out the underlying causes to that situation so we can help maybe find a solution. You know, here's some things I could suggest, and what I want to do is make sure that I'm understanding the situation, but I'm also understanding the situation fully, because when I say it back to them and they confirm to me or no, that's not what I was saying, I'm actually saying this, and so I want to be on the same page with them, because if I'm not on the same page with them, I can't help them. I can't help them find solutions.
Principal JL:They kind of talked about body language. I talked about not slouching, not acting like you're not interested in what they're saying, because any time a teacher comes in or a staff member comes in, you need to be ready to help them and help them solve that issue with them, because that's why they're there. They're there to seek guidance from you and that's part of your job as a principal is to help your teachers in those situations. So utilizing these active listening skills are very important. What I usually do is I have an open posture. I don't want to have a threatening posture. I don't want to be like my arms crossed. I don't want to be slouching. I actually want to have an open posture, a non-threatening posture. If you've done any man training, which I have I will keep an open posture so they can see that, hey, I'm non-threatening. I want them to be able to tell me what they need to do. I might lean in slightly, you know, or you know, let them understand, I'm engaging with them, so they know that I'm there to listen. Your body language is also important and will trigger them to know that, hey, they're listening to me, they're understanding my situation. And then what I want to do is I want to bring them in to the conversation when we talk about finding solutions. If they know that I know what they're talking about or what their issue is, then we can collaborate and figure out solutions together for that issue.
Principal JL:There are going to be times when a staff member may hesitate or have silences or it's really hard for them to get out what they want to get out, and a lot of times you have to be really sensitive and know your staff member and go. Okay, I understand this is hard for you and I want to make it easier for you. So I want you to know that this is a safe space and what you'd say to me stays here, like's not. I'm not gonna go run around and tell people that so-and-so came into my office and and told me all these things because it's no one else's damn business. Honestly, really, what I'm there to do is help them and if they're having a hard time telling you what they need to tell you, you need to help reassure them and go.
Principal JL:I understand this is hard and when you're ready, you know, know I'm here to help you and listen and a lot of times when you do that, that kind of just relaxes them and then they can tell you what they need to tell you and that helps break that hesitation of science, because a lot of times staff members or teachers, they're scared when they come in. They don't want to be people that come in and say I don't want you to think I'm causing trouble or becoming a troublemaker, they want just help and your job there is to help them. And a lot of times, through these active listening skills, I will try to joke around with them a little bit when it's appropriate. I understand if it's a very sensitive topic, I will, you know, remain, you know, engaged but also respectful of the situation. But I always try to hopefully get them to smile and laugh about the situation and my goal before they leave is to feel better than they did when they came in leave is to feel better than they did when they came in. I know I've been effective if they had a good experience and they feel better after our conversation than they did when they came into the situation Because you got to understand. Some of your teachers will be scared to death when they come in to talk to you about stuff and you want to try to bring the environment or the setting into a position to where they feel like you're helping them, you're being productive and you're providing the solution to that situation. Active listening is just one effective communication technique that I have used over the past seven years as a principal, I believe I've used this as a teacher as well, with parents and students. It wasn't the first time I've ever done active listening skills.
Principal JL:The next effective communication technique we're going to talk about is providing constructive feedback. This could be a lot of different things. It could be, you know, your formal evaluations, or something that pops up Be informal. It can be anything that you're trying to provide feedback to a staff member or to a teacher about something, and this could be positive and it could be negative. I mean, when you talk about feedback, what your goal is as a coach, or as a principal in this case is to provide them information that helps them grow, helps them get better. You don't want to sit there and be critical and criticize them and talk down at them. You want to help them grow. You want to help build them up. You want to help make them better by building up the things they need to do to get better and have that growth mindset.
Principal JL:When you talk about constructive feedback, I always tell my teachers hey, when I am giving you feedback, it's going to be constructive, it's going to be something that I want to do. I want this to be more of a conversation and not just me telling you. These are things you do well, things you need to work on right. Teachers are smart. They know what they got to work on, and I don't care if a teacher has taught one year or 30 years. They can grow in something. Even if they feel like they've got it all figured out, there's something they can work on and get better. Because if you're not actively trying to grow and get better as a teacher, then why are you here? What is your purpose? Your purpose is to help other people learn and grow, and you need to learn and grow, and, as a principal, I need to learn and grow and I have to be able to model those things. And so if I'm learning and growing, my teachers are learning and growing, my students are going to learn and grow, and that's the whole mindset we've got to have.
Principal JL:When it comes to these constructive feedback sessions. What I will do, I will do have pre-conference meetings with my staff before I even do a formal observation, and why I do that is because I want to hear from them what they think they need to work on. Or here is an opportunity for you to say what are some things you want me to watch out for. What are some things that, as I come in, you want me to be kind of focused on so I can help you get better at that. Because, guess what, every teacher is different. They're at a different space or a different place in their growth. Some people will be at the very beginning and be working on classroom management, and others will be working on trying to level up and try to be more innovative with things and try to learn or try to utilize a strategy that is something they really want to do but is something that they're struggling with. So they may want some more help and feedback and guidance from you. When you do those things, when you're giving feedback to be constructive, what I do is I tell them hey, don't take these things personal. This is my way of helping you learn and grow. I'm coaching you up and the whole goal of this is to have a conversation to make you better, and that's how I lay it out to my teachers when I give them my feedback on anything that they need feedback on.
Principal JL:I want to make sure the feedback I give them is specific. I don't want to give them generalities, because I could do that all day. I can give generalities as what it looks like to be a good teacher Generally. This is what it looks like. I want to that all day I can give generally. This is what it looks like to be a good teacher Generally. This is what it looks like. I want to be more specific. Hey, I notice you are struggling with wait time. It looks like you're just rapid firing and going through, but maybe have you thought about, you know, giving kids more time to respond back to you so you can understand. Get more feedback so you can understand do they understand the content or not? So that's just like a quick example of something specific.
Principal JL:So it's not like you need to prove you know your classroom management. Well, be specific about something, don't be general. What you want to do when you're specific is you actually give them the ability to think about okay, yep, I see that and I know where you're at, and then we can also start thinking about actionable steps to get better at that. You also want to be thoughtful of how much feedback you give, because you don't want to overwhelm them, and so I truly, before I get into a formal observation, I really try to pick out two or three things that, hey, I want all teachers to do.
Principal JL:But also what are some things that they told me in that pre-observation meeting they want me to focus on. And if there's nothing, I will say, hey, I'm going to look for your classroom management, I'm going to look for how do you engage students. I'm going to look for how do you engage students. I'm going to look for how do you interact with kids. And those are the three things I generally look for if they don't give me something back. But I'll look for those things. But if there's something specific, like, hey, I want you to pay attention to this. Hey, I'm struggling with this student over here. They like to cut in and they like to be disruptive and I'm really struggling on how to work with that student. So could you give me some feedback on that? And so I'll focus on that as well. That's why it's important to have those pre-observation meetings, so you can get specific on the type of feedback you want to give.
Principal JL:Now, when you give feedback, I call it having like positive sandwiches, like you want to be able to talk about. Hey, here's some things you do really really well, right, and I see your strengths here, and before I get into that observation, they will tell me. These are my strengths, these are things I struggle with, and so I will talk about hey, your strengths are here, you do really well. I really like seeing these things. But when you mentioned that you're weak on this area, let's talk about that and let's have a conversation and try to find solutions together on those weaknesses, and then at the end I'll wrap it up and say, hey, you did really well here. These are some things you need to work on, and we're really going to do these actionable steps to work on that. And then I'm going to do these actionable steps to work on that, and then I'm going to follow up with you. I am going to make sure you're following through with those actionable steps and hope you get better and check and see where you're at and then keep up the great job. You know I really enjoy having you as a teacher, and so I like to really end those things on a positive note too, because I want them to have a good interaction with me.
Principal JL:When I'm giving constructive feedback in those areas, and when you do it like this, what you do is you start to get those guards down on teachers and they're going to be more open with you and they're going to know that, hey, you care about them. It's not. This is the thing. Giving feedback or doing formal observations should not be a checklist and that should be something that you check off because you have to do it. I really enjoy observing my teachers and providing feedback because that is one way I can coach them up and make them better, and I want them to be better, I want them to have a growth mindset. But that's how I can help have impact on my school is to make sure my teachers are coached up in a way that they're getting feedback and they're provided solutions and techniques and strategies to make them better, and those things are really, really important when you provide constructive feedback.
Principal JL:Now, I like to have fun, I like to joke around. If you haven't noticed, I talk about humor a lot, but at the same time, that's because that's who I am like. Not everybody has a sense of humor and I understand that, but this is how I am and I like to have fun with my staff. I like to joke around and you know my goal, like I do with active listening when I give constructive feedback, I want them to feel better than they did when they came in. I want them because a lot of times they're nervous oh my goodness, what is he going to say? What are we going to talk about? I want them to understand like I'm here to help, I'm here to coach you up and make you better so you can go out there and be the best teacher you can be for your students and so the students can be the best for themselves. And so, with that all said wrapped around here, I kind of talked about two effective ways to communicate. One is active listening and the other one is providing constructive feedback. And so I know these aren't the end-all be-alls, but these are two easy things that you can start working on to get better at, so you can help build that trust, build that relationship. But it helps build your teachers, it helps build your staff in a way that they understand you're there to care about them and help them throughout their time.
Principal JL:If you liked what you heard about, tell me about it. I'd really like to hear your feedback. Whoever my first person is to hit the fan mail link and provide feedback to me, I'm going to give you a shout out on my next episode. I'd really like to see who is out there and if there's more than one person giving me fan mail and providing me feedback, I'm going to give them a shout out too. So I'm going to go through and try to give out some shout outs for people that have written into the show and talked about hey, is this helpful? Is this something that is meaningful to you? Is it bringing value to you?
Principal JL:Some things I want you to really think about is if you have other ways that you effectively communicate, I would like to hear them. How do you incorporate more active listening techniques in your daily interactions with people? What steps do you take to provide more balanced and actionable feedback to your team? Some of the things that I haven't said that you have. You have some suggestions? I'd love to hear it, and so share me your thoughts and tips and things that you have done. Today was a lot of fun. Today's episode about being an effective communicator is really important to do and understand.
Principal JL:I really hope you guys enjoyed this episode. I hope you guys had a good break and hope you guys are ready to get back to it. I'm really excited about some upcoming episodes with interviews that I have that I'm going to be conducting in the future here, and I'll share more information out as the information comes about and I'm able to get everything together on those episodes and give you more information about that. So I really appreciate everybody that is out there downloading and listening to the podcast. I really love to hear from you and if you do provide me fan mail, I will give you a shout out on my next episode. So I hope you guys enjoyed this Coach'Em Up Leadership episode of the Art of Communication in Educational Leadership. Until next time, always be 1% better. Bye.
