Quote-A-Day: Day 281

It doesn't matter whether the glass is half full or half empty.  What matters is whether you drink it up. #QuoteADay #Day281 #edchat #edu

Whether optimist or pessimist, you’re still missing the point.  It is never about whether the glass is half empty or half full.  To be honest, we shouldn’t be worried about such things.

What we should care about, and the mark of the best leaders, is whether we embrace what we have, and drink it up.

The best leaders realize that they can’t change some things, and whether they are “resource rich” or “resource poor” they have to make the most of what they have, and do the best they can for those they serve.

When we spend time worrying about whether the glass is half empty or full, we tend to ignore what is in the glass, and therefore we tend to miss the fact that we do have something, and our charge is to work with that “something” to do the best we can.

In fact, we need to start ignoring the glass (remember, a smaller glass could be filled to the brim with what we have, and a larger glass more empty; it is all relative), and just focus on its content (water is water, wine is wine, no matter what vessel we put it in).  By focusing on what we have, instead of how much we have of it, we’re positioning ourselves to focus on what’s most important.

Quote-A-Day: Day 280

The best #learning often happens when we don’t even know it is taking place. #QuoteADay #Day280 #edchat #edu #NYedchat #ASCDL2L #TiTC

This morning we began work on our Teaching is the Core grant program.  Organized by New York State to help reduce the focus on standardized testing by helping districts craft assessments for learning (rather than of learning), this program will provide districts with two years worth of professional learning, feedback, and assessment design assistance.

Our facilitator, Diane Cunningham (from Learner-Centered Initiatives) began by sharing a powerful quote: “Assessment is at its best, when students don’t know it is taking place.”

I tweeted the comment out, and then I began thinking about it a little deeper.

In my eyes, it isn’t just assessment that is at its best when we don’t know it is occurring; it seems to me that it is all learning in general.

When we focus on the actual process of learning, we can become lost in the procedure, rather than actually engaging in the learning.  So, I believe that by not knowing we’re actually learning, we can tend to learn even more than if we were thinking about the act of learning itself.

Why is this important?

Well, if we want to emphasize the learning of others (or our own, for that matter), we should be less concerned with learners knowing they’re learning, and more concerned with making the learning truly meaningful and relevant for all those involved.

Only then can learning actually solidify to become life.  And that makes all the difference.

Quote-A-Day: Day 279

Sometimes, it is just as important to say it without words, as it to say it with them. #QuoteADay #Day279 #edchat #edu #Lead #Learn

So, I'm taking a fifteen minute breather while my youngest takes a nap and before I start putting up new shades in my oldest's bedroom (just another Sunday :) ).

I opened up the main section of the New York Times and saw this ad from Nest:

It made me think, "How many times have we come across a situation where it was more powerful for us (and more important) to get an idea across without words?"

If you're like me, the answer to that question is "Many times."

Often we can make a case with fewer words, or none at all.  After all, our actions are important, our words may not be.

With that in mind, I'm going to take my quote's own advice and stop here.  Hopefully this post is as capable of making you think as some of the longer ones I've written.

Remember, the number of words never equals the power of the idea.

Quote-A-Day: Day 278

Want others to accept responsibility? Start by asking for your own forgiveness. #QuoteADay #Day278 #edchat #edu #ASCDL2L

We can talk about the importance of accepting responsibility as often as we like, but if we're aren't modeling what it means to be responsible, then what is the point?

Being responsible means taking credit for all the good and bad that we do.  This means regularly asking for forgiveness, something that some leaders aren't particularly good at.

Asking for forgiveness sounds easy, but it can be a struggle for some.  "If I'm in a leadership position, then why should I be apologizing for leading?"

Of course, things are never that simple.  Leading isn't about making decisions that are always right.  In fact, leading is about acknowledging the fact that some decisions made are wrong, and that this will happen.  It also means that when we acknowledge the wrong decisions, we must also apologize for having made them.

But won't an apology weaken your status as a leader?

Never.

Leaders are human, and all humans make mistakes.  The best leaders aren't right all the time, but they do take responsibility all the time.  When we acknowledge our successes, as well as our failures, we lead the way we were meant to.

Imperfectly.

Quote-A-Day: Day 277

#Relationships require you to get to know people, not just get to know about them. #QuoteADay #Day277 #edchat #edu #GettingToKnowYou

Relationship building is a central part of the successful leader’s repertoire.  If we don’t build relationships with others, then we won’t be able to truly accomplish what needs to be done.  You can’t build capacity if people don’t know you (or don’t want to know you).

Relationships are based on getting to know people, not just getting to know about them.  This is important as it is very easy to get to know about others, but much more difficult to truly, and deeply, get to know people.

Getting to know someone requires us to learn about them in ways that we can’t do third-hand.  We can’t get to know others by hearing about them from another source.

We need to actually sit down with people and talk.

And listen.

When we get to know people, we not only learn what makes them who they are, we get the added bonus of knowing how we can support them, and in turn, how they can support us.

The best leaders understand that relationships are at the heart of building a community.  And, unless we’re willing to invest the time and energy into truly getting to know those around us, we’ll never be able to turn our organizations into our families.

Quote-A-Day: Day 276

There's a tremendous difference between #hearing someone, and #listening to what they have to say. #QuoteADay #Day276 #edchat #edu

Are you a good listener?

Or do you hear people better than you listen?

Note that there isn’t anything wrong with either answer, but it is useful for us to know.  The key is that there is a big difference between hearing people and actually listening to them, and the difference is important.

We can hear people simply from being in the same room as them or having their voice enter our space.  Hearing people is incredibly important, and it is the first step towards having an understanding of people’s needs and wants.  If we don’t hear people, then we won’t be able to help them.

Listening takes this a step further.  When we listen, we are actively engaged in what a person is saying.  We’re ready and willing to provide them with some kind of feedback, whether it be verbal, visual, or something else entirely.  We are ready to take action, because we are invested in what the other person is saying, and what they need from us.

Leaders have to hear people, but they also have to be good listeners.  Listening takes a lot of energy, and at times, all we can do is hear others.  That being said, we need to monitor our response to what people are saying and ask ourselves the following questions:

1.       Have I been listening to people as well as hearing them?

2.      Am I differentiating between when I can simply hear others, and when I need to listen to them?

3.      How can I become a better listener, and a better hearer of information?

There are others questions we can ask, but these are a good start.  The goal is to make sure that we’re both hearing and listening at the appropriate times.  Everyone has a right to be heard, and everyone should be listened to.  The goal is to monitor our time and energy to make sure we can do both for all.

Quote-A-Day: Day 275

You'll always lose every #game that you don't #play. #QuoteADay #Day275 #edchat #edu #ASCDL2L #InItToLiveIt

Why are we sometimes so afraid to put ourselves “out there?”

Even as leaders, there are some situations that make us less inclined to take a risk, even when we know we should.

And yet, if we don’t take that risk, if we sit on the sidelines, then we can never accomplish anything.

Why?

Because we haven’t even played the game.

The best leaders understand that it isn’t about winning or losing.  In fact, whether you win or lose has nothing to do with learning and leading.  Rather, it is the fact that we are engaged in playing a role, that we are actually “living” leaders and learners that makes all the difference.  By investing ourselves in a situation, by taking a step into the spotlight, as opposed to “sitting this one out,” we can learn more, and lead deeper.

This doesn’t mean that we have to “be” the spotlight or all that is in it at all times.  But, it does mean that if we really want to internalize what is going on around us, we have to be deeply invested.

And the only way to be deeply invested is to be deeply involved.

While life isn’t a game, in many ways, it operates like one.  The fact is, we’ll always lose every game that we don’t play in.  Even if our team “wins,” if we’re sitting out, we’ve missed much of what we could have learned, and in turn what could have made us better leaders.