Leadership

My 2024-25 Back to School Speech

Posted by Dean Shareski on in Classrooms, joy, Leadership 0 Comment

I realize that depending on where you live, you’ve been back to school for a while. For my oldest granddaughter, this is her first day of 2nd grade in a brand new school. I’m thinking about her today. But I’m also thinking about her teachers. I want them to be ready, excited, and equipped to give Harriet a great start and a great year.

Several years ago, I wrote a Back to School Speech that was written in response to many of the bad speeches I had heard. It got quite a bit of response including a district that created a video from it. I wanted to rewrite it with a slightly different feel but a similar tone. I used ChatGPT to provide some of the reframing to include some of the new challenges of burnout and anxiety that many teachers and students face. This one, like my previous speech is written as a Superintendent or School leader:

Good morning, everyone,

I know the start of a school year can be overwhelming, with endless tasks ahead of you and so many responsibilities pulling you in different directions. But before you dive into your preparations, I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts with you.

First, I hope you truly had a chance to rest and recharge over the summer. In today’s world, our work has only become more complex and demanding. The pressures on you as educators are immense, from meeting curriculum standards to addressing the diverse needs of each student in your care. It’s no small task, and that’s why it’s so important to prioritize your well-being. You cannot pour from an empty cup.

As we begin this school year, I want to remind you that taking care of yourself is not only necessary but critical. Lean on us—your leadership team. We are here to support you, and we will hold you accountable for balancing your passion for your work with your health and happiness. You don’t have to do it all alone. Let us help you when things feel overwhelming. We also expect you to hold us accountable. When we are asking for unreasonable things, you need to let us know. While we have the greatest faith in your ability, we sometimes ask too much. As a system we’ve not done a great job at making your job better. While we know it’s always going to be hard, we want you to thrive and we will examine everything that’s not working towards that goal and together we want to improve it. We won’t tell you to “do yoga” as a solution. That’s a bandaid at best.

Yes, teaching is increasingly complex, and the world outside our classrooms is more chaotic than ever. But never forget: what you do here goes beyond any curriculum or academic standard. The role you play in shaping minds, hearts, and lives is perhaps one of the most significant ways we can all make the world a better place. Your influence extends far beyond the walls of your classroom. Remember that the little things you do every day—the kind word, the encouragement, the patience—those are the things that change lives. While we’re good at measuring achievement as described by test scores and grades, we want to continue to consider curiosity, well-being and belonging as even more important. I realize that can sound like a platitude but as leaders we need to work with you to make that a thing.

You’ve done this before. You’ve succeeded before. When the days feel long, remember that this school year is not a sprint, but a marathon. Pace yourself. Celebrate the small victories along the way and take time to reflect on the great work you’ve done in the past. My friend Joe Sanfelippo says “Start and end each day with joy.” Share your learning—both your successes and your challenges—with your colleagues. Cut yourself some slack when things don’t go as planned because none of us are perfect, but we are always growing. While we all are striving for the very best all the time, sometimes “good enough” is “good enough“.

So, as we embark on this new journey together, know that you have a community behind you, cheering you on. Go help your students to learn, smile, and belong. Ask hard questions, try new things, and share your experiences. And above all, find joy in the process. It’s not only okay to have fun, it’s essential.

This year is your year. We’ve got your back.

(Image by MidJourney)

Gondolas, Gratitude, and Generative AI: A Week to Remember in British Columbia

Posted by shareski on in ALP, gratitude, joy, Leadership, professional learning, professionallearning

I just wrapped up one of the best and most fulfilling weeks of work I’ve ever had, this time in British Columbia. My colleague Adam Garry and I went full throttle, spending full days in 10 different districts, helping them build their understanding of Generative AI. After an incredible start to the week—three days that I’ve already raved about—I capped it off with the West Vancouver School District. I’ve worked with this district for over a dozen years, building fantastic relationships along the way. The district’s culture speaks for itself, with its incredible stability and very little turnover. In a room of 60-70 school and district leaders, I knew so many by name and had the privilege of watching them evolve in their leadership roles over the years.

Chris Kennedy invited me to kick off their year by leading a day focused on the risks and possibilities of #genai. I’ll admit, I had my worries. This was their first day back—usually reserved for the lighter stuff—and here I was, rolling in with what could be considered some pretty heavy and heady content. I also wondered if these folks, who have seen me present more times than I can count, might be craving a fresh face. So yes, I had my concerns.

But I’ll tell you this: starting a PL session by taking a gondola ride up Grouse Mountain is not a bad way to ease into the day. For a prairie boy like me, the setting was nothing short of magical. We kicked off with some lighthearted fun, poking at my friend Chris Kennedy, who graciously let me use him to demo a deep fake. While no one fell for it (obviously), they appreciated the effort. And in true me-fashion, I spent far too long creating a 30-second video—but let’s be honest, I wouldn’t change a thing. One participant told me the day flew by, which is always a good sign.

To top it all off, they showered me with more swag than I deserved. (Side note: Chris Kennedy doesn’t like being outdone, and I’ve been known to boast about the awesome swag other districts give me, so I think this was his way of making sure West Van stays in the game.)

We ended the day with a fantastic dinner on a patio, and what truly took me by surprise was how many people took the time to come up to me, not just to say thank you, but to share specific moments and ideas from the day that resonated with them. They didn’t have to do that, but they did—and it overwhelmed me with gratitude. I’ve delivered thousands of presentations in my career, but this one stands out as one of the most satisfying. As I soaked in their kind words, it hit me that this wasn’t just a one-off expression of thanks. This district’s success comes from the way they live gratitude every day. Their students and staff experience it regularly—it’s part of what makes them want to come to work, and why they enjoy being in each other’s company.

I hesitate to use the word “family” because it gets thrown around too often, but this place really does feel special. From the Trustees to the Superintendent, from District Leadership to the School Leaders and Teachers—they care about each other and, more importantly, they care for each other.

A few themes have stayed with me throughout my career, with joy and community being right at the top. This day was a perfect example of both. I’d like to think I contributed to that, but I definitely know I received it.

We Don’t Need Good Leaders…We Need Great Ones

Posted by Dean Shareski on in ALP, Leadership

My post asking Who Would Want to Be a Leader has received a great many responses both on my blog but also in conversations with leaders. It’s not hyperbole to say we are in a leadership crisis. The conversations on my podcast almost always explore succession challenges and the continued struggle to find good school leaders, particularly at the principal level.

I know many districts have and continue to have programs and initiatives designed to develop leaders internally. I also know many who are struggling to make these effective and produce the desired results of more great leaders. What I do know is that unless school districts are actively working to develop great leaders we are going to be facing a further acceleration of burnout and teacher shortages beyond what we’re currently witnessing. While there are multiple reasons and factors creating dissatisfaction, one that is referenced either directly or indirectly is the degree to which they feel supported and valued. More specifically, this is about leadership. Leaders who actively support, encourage, and work to reduce workload and stress are going to have a huge impact on teacher burnout and teacher retention.

My oldest daughter has a teaching degree and spent a few years as a classroom teacher. She had 2 early short-term contracts at high schools. The first one had a principal who was “okay” but when she was struggling with a few students, didn’t get the support she was hoping for. The second experience was with a principal who checked in on her daily and let her know regularly that she was doing a great job. After those contracts ended she began looking for another position. She was far less concerned about the role but very concerned about which school it was at and who the principal was.

When I look back at my 14 years as a classroom teacher I didn’t have a bad principal. I had mostly good principals. I didn’t really need much in the way of support. They were for the most part good administrators. I don’t think I needed a great principal, just a good one. Today, I don’t think that’s the case anymore. I think the vast majority of school leaders are good. I think most teachers are good. I don’t know how many are great. The job has become more demanding and the need to have colleagues that have your back, can keep you encouraged, and provide you with the things you need to be successful is critical and perhaps the linchpin to recruitment and retention. Don’t get me wrong, we do have many great leaders it’s just that we need more and that good leaders just aren’t good enough anymore.

There’s no magic solution to addressing this challenge. There are those who are naturally gifted leaders and inherently do the things that make leaders great. But I’d argue that most of us have to learn what it means. As I mentioned in the aforementioned blog post, teachers play a role here as well. They need to be able to step up on occasion to support and encourage their leaders. The one piece of advice I would give that is certainly easier said than done, is that leaders need to act like their having fun. While the job is certainly not always fun, the view from the outside often suggests that it’s not only not fun but it’s drudgery. The message that is sent to teachers and students is “I don’t want their job”. For many, it may be drudgery but I also think that for many spend too much time talking about and focusing on the difficulty of the job and not nearly enough time on the good stuff. As my friend Joe says, “Start and end your day with joy” We have to begin with those already serving in leadership and help them be conscious that others are watching and wondering if they should pursue leadership. In the same way teachers model to their students that while their job is hard they love it. Again, I know not everyone feels this way and those are the ones struggling. But we do have principals and teachers who are choosing to stay in the profession because they think it’s worth it and they find joy and satisfaction in their work. Many of those aren’t actively modeling that disposition to others and my argument is they need to in order to encourage young people to consider education as a profession. Many will talk about managers vs leaders. That’s part of it for sure but I think it’s more than that. There are those who are leaders more than they are managers but they aren’t excellent leaders.

How are you working to find and create great leaders?

Who Would Want To Be a Leader?

Posted by Dean Shareski on in Leadership

I’ve been privileged to work in and with leadership in education for much of my career. I’ve been around so many great leaders and admire their various qualities and approaches to leadership. While it’s easy to think there are essential characteristics that make up a good leader, the truth according to the research shared within the book “The Nine Lies About Work” is that leadership is not a thing. The only real measure of leadership is followers.

I don’t think this is a new concept. Good leaders, lead and their followers help with implementing and supporting their leaders. What seems to be different today is how leaders are perceived and treated and it concerns me.

Successful leaders don’t necessarily seek to do good work but rather gain followers. That’s a neutral statement in that, that can be good or bad. Today you see many successful leaders with a lot of loyal followers who aren’t necessarily aligned with your values. It seems that many of today’s leaders, particularly those in politics have to define an enemy and target them relentlessly. Much like sports, leadership in many circles is about competing against other leaders and working simply to defeat them as opposed to actually leading the pursuit of meaningful and purposeful change.

While it’s easy to point the finger at leadership, I think we forget that as followers, or potential followers, we have more influence than we might think. As you scroll through your social media feeds, most of the commentary about leadership is negative. While critique is an important part of the process and organizational health, vitriol is not. As I write this I think about my own tendency towards vitriol. I’m not even thinking about my own contributions but also my complicit acceptance of others’ hatred of leadership. I have many friends who are politicians, some at the local, provincial, and federal level. Occasionally I look at what others are saying about them and it’s disturbing. I know many of them have developed strategies and thick skin, but it’s still a lot. Every time I’ve done this little exploration, it makes me glad I’m not them. But it also makes me wonder who would want their life.

It’s not just politics either. I have a friend who pastors a large church and is nearing retirement. While he’s been there for 40 years and has a relatively stable and healthy congregation, he says, no one wants his job. In this case, it’s not exactly the same challenge that politicians face but it is the observable opinion that the challenges and difficulties that accompany the job are not worth it.

There has been a rash of school superintendents leaving in many regions. The pandemic and recent political issues have contributed but I also think the general lack of respect and suspicion of leaders makes it a hard job to keep. I do know of many outstanding school leaders who have faced many challenges and no matter their skill or character, leadership continues to become increasingly difficult. The ones that have been able to overcome typically have done so because of their work and efforts to build social capital. That’s a super easy thing to write and much harder to do.

It’s nice to be able to write about problems and try and offer some solutions. I don’t really have many to share except perhaps one: be kinder to leaders. I’m thinking specifically of the way we speak about our politicians. They are often simply caricatures of our imagination and the zeitgeist. It’s become sport and while I enjoy a great comedic take down of those in power, it’s a dangerous and thin line between witty repartee and hate. As educators and parents we need to be better. I know many who read this engage in a great deal of banter online and aren’t afraid to share their viewpoints. There’s nothing wrong with that and in fact it’s commendable in many ways. But that line gets crossed more often than it should even by well meaning folks. You might argue the stakes are high. I’m not arguing but I think most of us as educated “leaders” know when someone has been vilified beyond what is humane. And while you might again justify the stakes, the reality is that kind of vitriol bleeds into leadership positions where the stakes aren’t particularly high. The net effect is that young people who might potentially have the aptitude and disposition to lead, will choose other options for fear their ideas become that of public ridicule. Because all sides of all issues seem to exhibit the kind of behaviours that make leadership an undesirable career choice.

All I’m asking is for us to be careful. To celebrate and honour and respect the positions of leadership and at the very least, credit all leaders for attempting to be successful. Start with those you serve under. Make sure you know they are appreciated. Our schools are and have been challenging for teachers and they are looking for and are thriving under good leadership. But even if you aren’t completely satisfied, letting leaders know you are grateful for them isn’t necessarily about endorsement but an acknowledgment of their efforts. This doesn’t mean you relinquish your voice and needs but in fact is another way to build your own social capital. Once you get intentional about the way you treat leaders you see and work with, hopefully you’ll begin to apply those same principles with those in greater positions of power. If we do want to see great new and young leaders emerge we are going to have to do a better job in making these positions more appealing and meaningful way to spend a life.

Joe’s Videos

Posted by Dean Shareski on in facebook, Leadership, linkedin, professionallearning

It’s hard not to like Joe Sanfelippo. Despite his annoying habit of posting the Packer logo after they win, he’s a good man, doing good work. He also uses video in a pretty unique way. As part of a workshop I was doing with some local administrators, I wanted to share Joe’s approach and thinking around how and why he uses this content. I was intending to have him share during our live session but he wasn’t able to make that time so he graciously agreed to sit down with me via Zoom for a quick chat. Here’s the edited version of our conversation.