Strong Relationships = Strong Teams

Strong Teams = Strong Organizations

Strong Organizations = Strong Culture     – Jon Gordon, Soup

We are in the relationship business.  From teacher to teacher, parent to teacher, and teacher to parent . . . we build trust and create connections.  No technology can replace a strong relationship.  We get to know each other as individuals.  We provide support, provide motivation, and create strength.

Take the time today to create a bond; take the time today to strengthen at least one relationship.  Our team . . . your team . . . will be stronger because of your efforts.  An organization – a team – is only as strong as the relationships cultivated by each individual.

The more the team looks inside, not outside (expectations, media, press) the more they play with grit, power, and unity.  – John Gordon

As educators we face a truck-load of external criticism.  From legislators creating assessments systems that narrow our focus, to the media seeking ways to create drama, from parents utilizing social media to fan the flames of anger, to students seeking instant gratification, there are plenty of outside voice to distract us from our mission . . . from our purpose.

The more we are able to look at ourselves, the more we are able embrace our passion for excellence based on our purpose, the better we will serve our students.  As professional educators – as motived, educated, and service driven people – we know what it takes to be elite.  We know what is required of us; we are willing to step up and make a difference.  Let’s commit to focusing inside . . . we are stronger together.

You can’t serve yourself and your team at the same time.  You must decide.  Am I going to serve Me or We?  When you serve the team first you both get better.  – Jon Gordon, You Win the Locker Room First

We are stronger together; we THINK WE NOT ME.  We live to fulfill our purpose through the service of others.  We build relationships – we create connections – to take WE to higher levels of success.

You must decide.  When you serve others first you have an exponential influence on success; your purpose is lived through others.  Don’t limit your purpose, your drive, to yourself.  Live the journey through and with others.

Finding our purpose is a challenge, but the bigger challenge is having the courage to live it.  – Jon Gordon, The Seed

Life can’t just be about making a living.  Life must be about creating our lives.  We wake every morning . . . we leave our homes and head out to work and to school . . . we are on a journey.

What drives you?  With purpose, with the wind in your sails, you live life with directions and passion.  Each of us must have the inner strength to follow our heart – to live our purpose.  Love what you do and do what you love . . . have the courage to live your purpose.

The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. – Stephen Covey
I love this quote . . . this is the ultimate Above the Line approach to any situation. This is the heart of getting your mind right.
We strive to live discipline-driven lives. We prepare to be intentional and we enable our self-talk to act in a purposeful way. The ability to take that impulsive, autopilot response and press pause is key to Above the Line actions. This is the heart of self-control and the soul of purposeful living.  

Too often in our world today we seek the immediate solution or feel-good answer. Too often we cave to our impulse without reflecting on our values. Be proactive . . . live the life worthy of your values

Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us. – Stephen Covey
Events happen to us – around us – each and every day. Our freedom – our power – is we get to decide how we respond to each event.
Too often, in the heat of a moment, rather than taking the time to decide what is required of us we act with haste- or, sometime worse, choose not to act. Each of us has the right to decide how we respond to different situations.
Today, when outside events affect our personal situation, take the time to press pause and ask yourself the question, “What is required of me?” It is your right and power to decide your response.

I teach people how to treat me by what I will allow. – Stephen Covey
Have you ever been in a room, been with a group of people, and felt incredibly uncomfortable? Have you ever had someone make a comment, or hurl an insult, and just let it go? Do people in your organization talk behind the backs of others? Do you listen or participate in gossip?
The behavior you allow . . . in both your professional and personal life . . . is teaching people how to treat you. Have you ever thought, “If they talk about others this way when I am in the room, they probably talk about me this way when I am not in the room?”
Stepping-up means having the strength to be true to your inner core. Your values are your guideposts . . . your values are defined by your actions. Always remember, what you permit is just as powerful as what you say.

If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the only thing over which I have control – myself. – Stephen Covey
There are times we all get in a rut. I’m not talking about the single event that requires a single response. I’m talking about those ruts . . . a week of events, and responses, that seem to create pessimism and negativism.
You are the only one who can control the solution for you. Press pause – STOP – long enough to step back and assess what is required for the situation to change. Talk to respected and trusted friends, family members, and colleagues – stop the negative spiral of events.
Once you identify the problems in the situation, now it is time to step-up and act with purpose. It is up to you. There is no room to blame others or complain . . . take control and make a difference.

You have tremendous untapped potential; strive to set new goals and reach new heights.
Yes, we should all be proud and content with our work. We should all be pleased with our experiences. We must also realize that we are all on a journey . . . a journey that never stops.
As Daniel Coyle shares in The Talent Code, “Although talent feels and looks predestined, in fact we have a good deal of control over what skills we develop, and we have more potential than we might ever presume to guess.”
You are talented, skilled, and successful. The joy in our lives is that each day we can be even better. So today, think about you where you are and then reflect on where you want to be. You have incredible potential . . . never stop striving for excellence.

It isn’t about what you can do really well. Life is about discovering – and then perfecting – the things you don’t know how to do yet.
In his recent book, Talent is Overrated, Geoff Colvin shares, “If you set a goal of becoming an expert in your business, you would immediately start doing all kinds of things you don’t know how to do.”
As we embark on a new year, as we set-out to lead, to teach, and to learn, we must embrace the idea that the skills we already possess will not make us great. We all have talent; if we didn’t we wouldn’t be in our current position. We all have competence; we have experiences that permit us to be in our specific roles. What sets some people apart is the drive . . . the drive to perfect what we will be asked to do in the future which isn’t currently in our skill set.
Think about your current role . . . what you are asked to do each and every day. Now . . . don’t spend too much time today doing what you already do well. You’ve got that! Take time today to embrace that which is difficult . . . take time to master the skills that are your weaknesses.