Turn Your Toughest Teachers Into Your Biggest Assets
3 Solid Solutions for Principals
In every school community, there may be individuals who bring down morale, hinder initiatives, and generate negative emotions in their colleagues due to their negative attitude, constant challenging of leadership mandates, or instigating and cynical behavior. As a leader, it is crucial to address these situations promptly because they can erode the very essence of the school's culture, which is woven together by the interactions, attitudes, and actions of all community members.
Strategy 1: Be Proactive
Proactivity involves taking action in advance to prevent problems or capitalize on opportunities. Instead of accepting negative discourse as inevitable, principals can take a proactive approach by providing teachers with positive topics to discuss. By sharing quotes or optimistic messages, principals can create a culture that not only encourages positive connections and collaboration but also communicates the values of the school. This proactive approach helps to prevent negative discourse, burnout, and other toxic behavior from permeating the school's culture.
Here are a few proactive ideas:
Build social and self-awareness with Spot & Ask - a strategy designed to bring one’s attention to the language others use when talking about students, planning, colleagues, leadership etc. For example, post these quotes in the lounge and copy room, via a staff newsletter, in the hallway. Ask teachers to reflect on them as they relate to their school relationships.
”Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are"
"Surround yourself with people who lift you higher."
"You become like the five people you spend the most time with."
During a staff meeting give teachers the opportunity to participate in guided discussions surrounding these quotes. The goal is to generate conversations that emphasizes the importance of surrounding ourselves with people who share our goals and values and with individuals who inspire and motivate us to be our best selves. By surrounding ourselves with positive and supportive people, we can gain the energy and encouragement we need to overcome challenges and achieve our goals.
Build self-awareness and relationship skills with Seek & Justify - a strategy designed to set aside the clutter and redirect your focus to what you value. Much like the seek and find books, provide teachers with a WordCloud filled with 20-30 words and quotes related to education. Ask teachers to locate and prioritize 3-5 items that they see as top priorities. Then ask them to justify and discuss their choices. This can be done during a PLC, PD, or a staff meeting.
Strategy 2: Communicate
Build Relationships
Strong and positive relationships among teachers and staff can help minimize toxic behaviors by creating a culture of respect, trust, and positivity. When teachers feel supported and valued by their colleagues, they are less likely to engage in negative behaviors such as gossiping, bullying, or undermining others.
"When adults build positive relationships with one another, it creates a culture of trust and support that benefits everyone in the school community."
Dr. Christine Hertz and Kristine Mraz
To cultivate positive relationships with and among staff members, consider the following ideas
Learn their strengths:
To foster success for both the school and the individual, take extra time to get to know difficult teachers and identify their strengths. Once you know their strengths, create a job or role that utilizes those strengths and ask them to lead the team. In addition, encourage all educators to create a plan to achieve their goals and offer coaching to support their growth. By providing regular feedback and recognition of achievements, you can create a positive and productive work environment where everyone can succeed.
Build a Community
The importance of meaningful relationships among employees at work (Hanson, 1996) is known to impact how supported staff feel and overall morale (Kofodimos, 1993).
Teacher Recognition - Create a space that all can see to highlight a different teacher each week. Include a photo, personal information such as family, hobbies/interests, talents, and school involvement and achievements.
Get the whole staff involved. Have staff members send you positive words that they believe define the teacher’s character and personality. Create a WordCloud with these words, blow it up poster size and place it alongside the teacher’s info. When you take it down have it framed so they can hang it in the classroom, as a reminder of the characteristics their colleagues value.
Celebrations - Take time to celebrate both personal and school successes. During the first staff meeting of the month have teachers complete a short self-evaluation. Ask them 3-5 short answer questions, such as share a success or a breakthrough you had during the week; share something that made you smile or laugh; share something you are grateful for and why.
Use this information to create Reward Certificates and present teachers with small tokens such as Starbucks and Amazon gift cards, or a certificate to get out of a duty, or a certificate for an extra planning period. Announce the winners during the following staff meeting
It's also important to reward expected behavior that you appreciate, such as teachers being present for their AM or PM duties or helping cover classes. You can announce these accomplishments during staff meetings and follow up with a token of appreciation, such as a small gift card or certificate.
These seemingly inconsequential actions go a long way in showing you value positivity and appreciate your staff.
Be Transparent
To ensure a smooth launch of any new initiative, it is crucial to be transparent and upfront. Change can be challenging, and it may lead to pushback. Thus, it is essential to ensure that your staff feels heard, valued, and that their opinions matter. Be open to feedback, and approach responses with a flexible and understanding mindset. It's natural to feel defensive when faced with opposition, but take a deep breath and give yourself time to respond thoughtfully. Above all, always make sure to listen carefully to what others have to say.
Strategy 3: Addressing Problems Head-on
Deep Dive
To solve a problem, it's important to understand its root cause. By adopting a mindset that acknowledges that "nobody chooses to fail," you can approach the situation with empathy and continue to ask questions until the root cause is identified. Only then can you begin to work towards a solution.
Ignoring problems won't make them disappear; in fact, they may fester and spread like a virus. As soon as you become aware of a problem, address it promptly. Allowing an issue to persist only creates an environment where negativity thrives.
"The biggest problem in the world could have been solved when it was small." - Witter Bynner
While confronting problems may be uncomfortable, avoiding them can give negativity the chance to become more toxic. Even if you have previously addressed an issue, if it resurfaces, it requires attention again. Failing to address negative behavior leaves everyone vulnerable. Teachers need to trust that you will handle concerns quickly and fairly.
In conclusion
Dealing with difficult teachers requires proactive leadership and a commitment to creating a positive school culture. The three strategies discussed - being proactive, prioritizing communication, and addressing problems head-on - can help principals build trusting relationships and inspire effort from all members of the school community. By investing in these strategies, principals can create a culture of support and collaboration, leading to improved teacher performance and student outcomes.