I think for many, this can be how we view some leaders. Probably, the more influential the person in leadership, the more we view them like Dorothy and her cohort (I would encourage you to watch the whole clip here!). I wish it weren’t like this across all leadership positions, but I do not think Jeff Bezos or Tim Cook have signs on their office doors saying, “Come in, my door is always open.” I’m simplifying my view, of course, because people like them cannot entertain every employee on a whim or allow “drop-ins” unannounced. Still, it can make the work environment more enjoyable when one can see their leader as approachable. For my blog post this week, I am looking at ISTE element 1c, “Cultivate a supportive coaching culture that encourages educators and leaders to achieve a shared vision and individual goals” (link). I wonder how best to create this “supportive coaching culture” within my school, the more specific focus of my post.
As the new school year has begun, I have acquired an additional role alongside teaching ELA to high school students. I am also the new “technology integration” leader. It’s not the best-sounding title, and maybe I will be allowed to change it later, but it is not meant to come across as an I.T. job. I am not trying to put technology in the classrooms, the lunchroom, or any other school area. The position is an opportunity for me to coach and lead other teachers to integrate technology into their teaching. I will assist teachers in helping them to better their teaching through adding technology to a lesson or implementing something tech-related. Referring back to my title and illustration, I never want to be a leader who is not approachable. I see myself coming alongside my colleagues and help them incorporate technology more efficiently. Honestly, many see “incorporating technology” as being, “I have created slides through PowerPoint when I teach,” or ” I know how to plug my computer in to the projector and use it to teach.” While those things are good, they aren’t enough to meet our students’ level by making a lesson more engaging. Mostly, though, I want to be seen as someone people can feel comfortable coming to with any questions. I wish first to be approachable. I believe this is one of the first steps needed to create a supportive coaching culture.
Joel Garfinkle has written an article that, on the surface, seems overly simple in his “8 Ways to Become a More Approachable Leader” article. I say this because the things he says sound almost obvious, but I venture to think that there are leaders who do not do some of the things he mentions. Things such as: “Greet everyone.” This tip is not just for the people standing at the doors of Wal-Mart. Garfinkle says, “Just saying ‘good morning’ builds your approachability and reputation in small increments each day…you convey people matter to you” (par.3). I like that. Although it sounds simple, I think that it does so much. Garfinkle, more specifically, notes taking the time to learn people’s names so you can greet them even more personally. I do think this is powerful.
Another tip Garfinkle offers is, “Make time to chat.” Yes, another one that sounds simple, but it can be easy to stay behind your desk all day because when you take time to go to the water cooler, you think you are wasting time, not getting work done, or loafing. Garfinkle says, “Get to know people, discuss non-work matters and ask about them and the things they care about” (par. 11). One last tip Garfinkle offers, which I believe is important and accompanies taking time to chat, is, “Show you care.” He writes, “Ask about their tasks, about barriers they’ve encountered, about troubling factors and distractions from outside work” (par. 4). For this tip, Garfinkle was speaking more about work-related issues so that you can offer to help in a specific way or find someone who can help. Anything that can remove an obstacle from someone being able to do their job well is essential to being approachable. You have to be careful with this tip, though. You don’t want colleagues coming to you with every obstacle so that you end up doing their job for them. A challenge helps us grow, especially when we figure out our solutions.
I won’t list all 8 of Garfinkle’s points, but the central “theme” running through his article is to see a co-worker or colleague as a person first. We can be better leaders when we stop looking at the different positions people occupy and see them as someone who probably needs to talk about an issue, or maybe someone who needs some guidance on how to proceed, or simply someone who needs to hear, “good job!”
One question that also continued to roll around in my mind was, “How do build a culture?” While I wanted to discuss the relationship aspect as one good way to begin a coaching culture, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up other ways to include the coaching aspect of the ISTE standard. Here is a great, short YouTube video on how to build a coaching culture:
References:
Garfinkle, J. (2020, August 18). 8 ways to become a more approachable leader. SmartBrief. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2018/02/8-ways-become-more-approachable-leader.
Iste standards for coaches. ISTE. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-coaches.
