Yay! Wooooo! Congratulations! Bang the cymbals! You, (insert name here), have just given birth to a brand new, bright eyed, bushy tailed, electrified school board and I couldn't be happier for you. You've all worked hard to get to where you are. You have the support of your communities. You're eager to start.
So What? Well, this is a team effort. On your own, you're Clark Kent.....but, as a high functioning team, your board is Super Man, cape and all. Your board flies at the forty thousand foot level, overseeing, guiding, monitoring, inspiring, connecting, partnering...leading. Your trusty sidekick superintendent is a constant by your side, working for you and with you, bringing life to your goals and priorities. You are quite a team. On the ground are staff, parents, students, community members, businesses, cities, counties, CASB....all there to help your district become great. All looking to you for your guidance.
Now what? How do you get this done? It's HUGE! Well, you take a breath, and listen. To build relationships, you must listen. To build partnerships, you must listen. To build community trust, you must listen. You'll know when it's time to speak. You'll know when it's time to act. But first, build your team by learning to listen to them, finding out who they are, what they do, how they think, what they do for fun. Let them learn about you. Your team must function well in order for it to do good work. Work on your work.
Your first assignment from me....have some fun with your team this week. You'll be glad you did. Your second assignment......read this blog regularly. There is no other e-warehouse hosting the best of Colorado school boards' insights, work, and learnings. See what others are doing and how they got there. You will be inspired.
Now get out there and enjoy yourself, learn lots, and don't forget to bang your district's cymbals every now and again.
