“Leadership isn’t a difference maker; it is the difference maker.” – Tim Kight

Leaders inspire people and energize teams to do things they wouldn’t do on their own. It is the leader who creates the culture and models the behavior required to get the desired results. Leaders are willing to make tough decisions and welcome accountability for their actions.

Covid-19 has challenged our culture; it has tested many leaders. This crisis requires more than management; it demands empathy, humility, and reflection. Covid has exposed some leaders and revealed some culture gaps. In crisis mode, we resort to our training and our core values. If the desire to lead isn’t happening in you, it can’t happen through you. Leaders want to lead.

Tim reminds me, “your culture is what leads when no one is watching.” What are people saying to their friends? How do we act when working from home? I aim to be consistent, true to my inner core and make disciplined-driven decisions. It’s easy to get caught-up in either fear-mongering or covid-denial. It’s natural for emotions to drive default-driven actions.

In the end, it’s not about me; it’s about our students. It’s my responsibility to exude calm and disciplined direction. Our district will perform at the level of my leadership. Leaders respond to the everyday challenge of leadership.

“Habits are built through repeated action over time, and they can only be changed through repeated action over time.” – Tim Kight

In times of stress, during this coronavirus pandemic, my daily behavior is critical. My training with Tim Kight, the habits I intentionally strive to practice, prepare me to lead with skill. I don’t always get it right, but when I practice with purpose; I build skill. This 21-day journey, writing these blogs, is building skill. It helps me gain and maintain focus.

What I do every day reinforces my habits. When I act with purpose, I am practicing disciplined behaviors. Building skill requires developing good habits; it demands intentional practice. These R-Factor skills create a system to practice and reinforce the actions that lead to success.

“Your R is an E for others” captures a simple truth – the way you manage your actions creates experiences for others. 

I consistently Press Pause to remember people feel my attitude, see my actions, and hear my words. As Hilliard’s Superintendent, my Response creates Events for thousands of families. The responsibility to Make A Difference weighs heavily on my heart and mind – especially during this Coronavirus Pandemic.

As a leader, I must first take total ownership of my attitude, actions, and words. I will make mistakes, and I don’t always get it right, but I must act with discipline and own it. I am accountable for my actions. Everything that I do has the ability to add value and make others better.  

Not everyone will agree with my decisions; this is especially true given the hyperpolitical and highly emotional environment today. It’s become commonplace for leaders’ motives and actions to become the target of hateful and vitriolic words, posts, and comments. Making a Difference and leading isn’t easy and demands accountability. I admire smart people who hold differing opinions and thoughts. I deeply value those who push us to be better through open-minded, respectful dialogue. These are people who also make a positive difference. Each of us is a leader; each of us has the opportunity to make a positive difference.

Under normal circumstances, change is a necessary part of life. For those who know me, I embrace the productive discomfort of change. I believe education must continually change and evolve to meet the needs of the students we serve. Public schools aren’t preparing students for the workforce of yesterday; we must change to prepare our students to be ready for tomorrow’s jobs.

The ability to Adapt and Adjust is vital for a successful leader. When Events happen, those who can adapt and adjust in their Response will be successful. “We’ve always done it that way” leads to stagnation at best and blatant failure at worst.

During Covid, I’ve been pressed to set timelines and lead with absolutes. There is comfort in consistency and definitive plans, but we must adapt to the data and adjust to guidance from our public health partners during this coronavirus challenge. Our situation and circumstances change quickly; we must Respond with intentional actions. It isn’t “flip-flopping” when my commitment has been steadfast to adapt and adjust as needed.

Hilliard will continue to adapt and adjust to achieve the desired Outcome. I continue to seek the most learned advice from public health professionals and make recommendations with skill and purpose.

“Don’t use difficult Events as an excuse for a default Response. Use it to Step Up to the discipline required at the moment.” – Tim Kight

Covid-19 has been the most challenging, ongoing Event in my career. Each day brings new challenges. In some ways, Covid-19 has been one large Event; in other ways, it’s been a daily series of continual Events, each requiring discipline Responses.

Leaders must Step Up when faced with difficult decisions. We are under pressure due to conflicting health recommendations, tension heightened by the politicization of mitigation efforts, and changing scientific guidance. Covid-19 is new from a research standpoint; as scientists learn, guidance changes. Each day we receive email and social media posts advocating for polar opposite positions. Under pressure, we don’t rise to the occasion; we “step up” to learned behavior. We act with purpose and skill.

As a leader, my inner-core is focused on serving our students and community. It’s not about Stepping Up to some decisions; it’s about focused and disciplined daily actions. It isn’t uncomfortable and may be unpopular. We have trained with Tim and Focus 3 to prepare with R-Factor Skills to Step up and Respond with skill.

Our mindset affects every aspect of our lives. Our “inner response” determines our “external response.” When we “get our minds right,” our actions are intentional. When we are disciplined in our self-talk, our behavior is discipline.

I’ve struggled at times keeping my mind right during the coronavirus crisis. I get frustrated by the situation; I try to control things that are out of my control. When I see critical, or just hateful, social media comments, I lose focus on what’s most important.

To achieve the best available Outcome, we must act with purpose to choose the required Response. We must have a disciplined focus on the facts, on listening to understand those with expertise, and on what we can control. I can’t control how some folks choose to comport themselves on Facebook. I can manage my Response and my behavior.

During the most challenging days, the ability to Get My Mind Right is critical to strong leadership. I am at my best, so are you, when my self-talk is disciplined and focused. Stay focused on your behavior, on your inner-core, and others will follow your lead.

We Press Pause to think before we Respond. It’s necessary to gain focus – to respond in a discipline, skillful way.  

During the ongoing months of this Covid-19 crisis, I can’t count the number of times an Event has sparked a passionate Response from me. My first thoughts, sometimes my first words, are often undisciplined. Like many, I have Covid-Fatigue; there are times I am tired, frustrated, and just sick of operating in a no-win situation. Then, I Press Pause to focus – so I can gain clarity. I ask myself, “what is required of me to achieve the best possible Outcome?”

Leading with discipline becomes more critical the more difficult the Events we face. When we act to balance the health and safety needs with our students’ educational and mental health needs, skillful leadership is required. We can’t operate on impulse during these unprecedented times; we listen to experts, review recommendations and guidance, and maintain focus.

It’s never too late to Press Pause. Your feelings are real; your emotions are raw. As leaders, we stand firm on the foundation of our training. We recognize our feelings, press pause, and regain focus on what’s needed to achieve the best possible Outcome.

“Every day you choose how to respond to the events you experience. The outcome you get is determined by the responses you choose,” Tim Kight.

Covid stinks; it has produced irreparable loss, pain, and suffering. Covid is an Event; it creates a series of events in our lives every day. All we can do, each of us, is choose the best possible Response available to us. The Outcome is the result from our “R” we choose.

Not every “R” is good; not every “R” will make everyone happy. In fact, in difficult situations, we must step-up and make decisions that may be unpopular, but we act with purpose to choose the best “R” available to us. We intentionally strive to separate emotion from facts and data; we purposefully fight impulsive “Rs” to act with skill. As a leader I own my decisions because I have confidence that I’ve acted with discipline in choosing my “R.”

We are all leaders; we all create Events for others. Discipline-driven action is our foundation, but it isn’t easy. Let’s resist default-decision behavior to create the best possible Outcomes during these challenging times.

2020 and Covid-19 have challenged me like never before. Over the past nine months, I’ve wrestled with decisions that tested my discipline – my ability to act with intention rather than emotion. There are times I’ve felt defeated; there are times my feelings have gotten the best of me. We’ve all experienced a sense of loss; the coronavirus took things we may have taken for granted from us. And, it’s not over.

What’s sustained my leadership during this crisis has been my foundation and training. For years, I’ve been working with my friend and mentor, Tim Kight. Our leadership team, our district as a whole, has partnered with Focus 3 since the summer of 2014.

As Tim reminds me, “The core purpose of E+R=O training is to make your Response strong than any Event you face.”

Covid-19 is an Event, a global pandemic, that requires an elite Response.
Keeping Life in Focus is critical as we navigate this crisis together. I invite you to join me on a 21-day journey to keep our focus on intentional, Above the Line, Responses. Each morning for the next 21 days, I will post a short, 2-3 paragraph message reminding us of our training and tools to choose the best “R” available to us.

The first day of school will be a very different experience.  It won’t be the first day we’ve come to expect; it won’t be a typical first day.

First of all, thank you to our teachers.  Your unwavering skill and dedication have our district prepare for eLearning this week and, hopefully, hybrid very soon.  Teachers are essential workers, and you have responded to this challenge.

Our support staff and administrators have been working endless hours preparing for multiple instructional modes.  The team has rebuilt schedules, and class lists shifted 3,000+ students into an online academy and managed daily changes in conditions.  Our bus drivers will assist with classroom preparations for hybrid; our food service team is ready for delivery this week and boxed meals in hybrid.  It’s a new day in how we provide support and services.

Finally, to our parents and community, thank you.  Our schools are the cornerstone of our Hilliard Community.  Covid-19 has disrupted all our lives; the impact from a school perspective is significant.  We appreciate your patience with ever-changing plans and short notification periods.  We share in your frustration and understand your desire for consistency.

I wish I could promise consistency in our school schedule, but that’s not possible.  Our motivation is to get students in school, with their teachers, as soon as safely possible.  Our commitment is to be open with our communications and transparent in our decision-making process.  We will change when state orders and public health officials dictate; we remain student-focused and intentional in our decisions.

This isn’t the first day we hoped for, but it is our first day.  As a teacher shared last week, “We’ve got this.”  Let’s not lament what’s lost but celebrate what we have.  

Teachers and students will connect beginning tomorrow.  We start a journey together –  a journey that will have ups and downs.  Our Power of the Team, our values, will keep us on course.  Together, we’ve got this!