Let’s face it; it is tough to love every part of your work no matter what you do. There are going to be parts of your job that you downright abhor. For instance, teachers love helping students grow academically, but they hate meddling parents, student misbehavior, and overbearing leaders. Also, they hate the fact that they are woefully underpaid.
A guide to inspiring others
However, great education leaders can inspire their team and make sure they know what they are doing has a more significant impact than they realize. They can paint teaching as a noble profession that has way more rewards than it does drawbacks. They can keep educators’ eyes on the big prize, which is helping students grow up to be model citizens and successful in life.
As educators, we set the foundation that makes all of this possible. We have to be able to inspire our teachers and fellow leaders to see this, even when it seems that the field of education is being attacked on all fronts. For instance, we get accused of being glorified babysitters who don’t rise to the level of being professionals. They use this as justification for keeping our salaries and benefits low. But with the inspiration of teacher leaders, school and district leaders, and educators are pushing back in a big way. We have seen educators in several states protest and eventually receive raises, and I expect to see more of this in the coming years.
A little homework
So over the next three months, make it your duty to inspire as many people in your school community as you can. Whether it’s praising a student or teacher for a job well done or giving a pep talk to the school baseball team, inspire everyone you can. After a month, what do you notice? You should notice that people light up when you enter the room because you have motivated them to become a better version of themselves. You will also notice that student and teacher productivity are now through the roof. You have created a school culture where everyone motivates and supports each other. All with three month’s worth of work.
