 | In Chapter 1 of The Savvy EdTech Leader, I wrote the section “Persist with Consistency.” I discuss the importance of consistency in leadership. I say, “When you are consistent in leadership, you keep doing the right things you know will work. It is an action that your team knows they can continuously expect and doesn’t leave them guessing as to how you will react.” |
In the blog entries I will be contributing bi-weekly here on our website, I plan to share some techniques and examples for establishing consistency with your staff. It’s easier than you think and has proven to be an investment in time for the reward you will get from it. Early in my teaching career, I learned that when students knew and understood the routines of their day, they could build those habits for success because they knew what to expect. However, we were not rigid in our daily schedule because we all know schedules change and must be flexible. Bottom line - I found that when students established routines, they could practically run the classroom without me.
One of the things I missed when I left the classroom was creating that weekly newsletter for parents about what students were covering in class, what events were coming up, and other extraordinary news from our classroom. When I taught at the middle level, our principal created a Friday bulletin and distributed it every Friday via email. It had vital information for staff and some funny tidbits or timely trivia. Staff knew that if they had a question about something coming up on the calendar, they should consult the bulletin first because chances were that it would be addressed there. The consistent staff bulletin saved the staff time because they knew where to find information and built trust, clarity, and transparency between administration and staff.
When I became an edtech leader, I wanted to do the same for my staff. Being raised as a pastor’s kid, I always learned to use my life experiences as lessons for life, technology, or leadership. When I became a CTO, I channeled that teacher energy into CTO energy and created a weekly blog for our department members.
One of the things I missed when I left the classroom was creating that weekly newsletter for parents about what students were covering in class, what events were coming up, and other extraordinary news from our classroom. When I taught at the middle level, our principal created a Friday bulletin and distributed it every Friday via email. It had vital information for staff and some funny tidbits or timely trivia. Staff knew that if they had a question about something coming up on the calendar, they should consult the bulletin first because chances were that it would be addressed there. The consistent staff bulletin saved the staff time because they knew where to find information and built trust, clarity, and transparency between administration and staff.
| When I became an edtech leader, I wanted to do the same for my staff. Being raised as a pastor’s kid, I always learned to use my life experiences as lessons for life, technology, or leadership. When I became a CTO, I channeled that teacher energy into CTO energy and created a weekly blog for our department members. |  |
When I started in my Wisconsin school district as CTO, I inherited a staff of 40 in the Department of Technology. Members of our department were knowledgeable, hard-working, and independent workers. One of my goals within the first years of my leadership journey in the district was to work to help the department members come together as a team. I also knew they needed to view me as their leader and learn more about me so they knew I had their backs and always had our students and department in mind while serving at the district leadership level.
One of the “routine” or consistent things I did was create a blog entry on our department web page, which only our department members could access. With the help of our Executive Assistant (who always ensured that the post was created, edited, and up by Monday morning) and our Senior Advisory Leadership Team (SALT), we would compile a list of items our department members needed to know, including department member’s birthdays, and I created a blog entry. It usually includes a story of something I had experienced in the past week and a lesson learned from it, vital information for our staff to know, upcoming events within the department or school district, a staff member highlight where we learned more about our colleagues, and staff birthdays. For years, I was the sole author, but then we started inviting guest bloggers from our department, and it was a huge hit. It was refreshing to hear the voices of others in the department and hear about their experiences and lessons learned. The weekly blog with guest authors removed the mystery of leadership and helped us know more about the people with whom we work.
That consistent blog posting routine lasted the entire duration of my leadership at that school district. When I checked back with the district’s Executive Director of Technology earlier last week to see if they had an archive of the blogs so I could grab a few entries, I learned that they STILL have some form of that blog going out to their staff weekly. She said, “When greatness exists, you just gotta keep it going.”
Persisting with consistency. It’s something that, to me, is a necessity for savvy leadership. It helps to establish routines, allows your staff to come to expect clarity and transparency in what you’re doing, reduces the energy it takes to search for information, and, in the example of the authoring of the weekly blog - it builds community.
One of the “routine” or consistent things I did was create a blog entry on our department web page, which only our department members could access. With the help of our Executive Assistant (who always ensured that the post was created, edited, and up by Monday morning) and our Senior Advisory Leadership Team (SALT), we would compile a list of items our department members needed to know, including department member’s birthdays, and I created a blog entry. It usually includes a story of something I had experienced in the past week and a lesson learned from it, vital information for our staff to know, upcoming events within the department or school district, a staff member highlight where we learned more about our colleagues, and staff birthdays. For years, I was the sole author, but then we started inviting guest bloggers from our department, and it was a huge hit. It was refreshing to hear the voices of others in the department and hear about their experiences and lessons learned. The weekly blog with guest authors removed the mystery of leadership and helped us know more about the people with whom we work.
That consistent blog posting routine lasted the entire duration of my leadership at that school district. When I checked back with the district’s Executive Director of Technology earlier last week to see if they had an archive of the blogs so I could grab a few entries, I learned that they STILL have some form of that blog going out to their staff weekly. She said, “When greatness exists, you just gotta keep it going.”
Persisting with consistency. It’s something that, to me, is a necessity for savvy leadership. It helps to establish routines, allows your staff to come to expect clarity and transparency in what you’re doing, reduces the energy it takes to search for information, and, in the example of the authoring of the weekly blog - it builds community.
Question: In your leadership, what do you prioritize so much that it has become routine or consistent in your practices?