The Leader-Ship: Who's On Board?

The WOW! Factor

Let’s imagine that the Leader-Ship is a huge cruise ship. Why did you choose to be here? When you talk to people about your organization, do they get that WOW? WOW stems from passion and creates more passion. What’s the WOW factor that keeps people coming back each day?

“Be passionate about it or don’t do it.” –Rudnesky

According to urbandictionary.com The WOW factor is: “The distinctive appeal that an object, behavior or person has on others. An impressive display brought on by a certain object, behavior or person.”

When you walk into our building, we want you to get that WOW! Factor. We absolutely need that distinctive appeal that makes us different in a positive way. When you talk to someone about our organization, we want you to get that WOW! Factor. Some contemporary leadership literature documents that you don’t need enthusiasm to be an effective leader. I disagree. I see that enthusiasm carry over to all aspects of our organization. Enthusiasm generates enthusiasm.

I work in a school, and you may think some of the examples I use won’t work in your organization. Keep an open mind. I think these examples will work in any organization. We’ve had people from all over the world visit our organization from as far away as Japan. One of the common threads is happiness. We had a visitor a few weeks ago state that the first thing she noticed was smiles. WOW, got that one!

Another common thread is kindness. Granted, we certainly are not perfect at it, but we practice on a daily basis. Each year the New Jersey Department of Education requires all schools to have a Week of Respect. I think it’s lame because we should practice respect all year. So I asked the mayor of our town for a proclamation declaring the whole year, a “Year of Respect.” And that’s what he did. WOW!

“I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." --Ralph Nader

Commitment

Commitment

I do not know where he got it or if it is his own, but a friend of mine always demonstrates three levels of commitment when he speaks to an audience about leadership.

Level One- Try

Level Two- Do my best.

Level Three – Whatever it takes

Use this analogy: Have ever flown on a plane? The pilot gets on the loud speaker, “Hi, I’m Pilot Bob. I’m going to try to get to your destination.”

Sorry, Bob. I want the pilot that’s actually going to get me to my destination. How about if your heart doctor told you, “Hey, I’m Dr. Pete, and I’m going to try and cure you.” No! I want the doctor that can actually cure me.

Level three commitment reminded of a Star Wars movie:

“Do or do not there is no try.” –Yoda

In the Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker is training with Master Yoda in a swamp on some planet I can’t recollect. Luke, through his new found Jedi powers, is trying to raise his ship out of the swamp. The ship starts to rise then Luke gives up. He says, “I can’t.”  Yoda replies with one of my favorite quotes listed above.

That quote is painted on the wall in our school. It reminds me every day of the third level of commitment. I secretly wanted to be a Jedi master but until they actually perfect an authentic light saber, I will not go through the training. I still partake in Jedi mind tricks once in a while but not in an official capacity.

If you self-communicate the concept of commitment through hard work and preparation, it becomes a mindset. Instead of making excuses, you find a way to make things happen in a positive way.

There will always be self-centered, hidden agendas from people trying to create more followers. When your goal is to create more leaders, the focus stays away from useless meetings, bureaucracy, and meaningless data. Find your passion. Self-communicate your goals, and change your environment in a positive way.

In addition to self-communication, self-reflection becomes a part of a quality process. In the foyer of our school, we have a sign that is twenty feet wide. We would have made it bigger but the wall was not any wider. I was facilitating a breakout session at a leadership conference last week and I asked the audience of adults if they noticed the sign. Not one did. The sign reads: LEADERSHIP. Conversely, I facilitated the same session to all students and asked the same question. Almost all of the students noticed the sign. Why?

As adults, we are already making our next move or talking without listening or not stopping to enjoy the moment. Carpe  Diem! Stop and reflect. Are you where you want to be? I hope so. If not, leave or change the environment. Create more leaders instead looking for more followers. It works. If you don’t believe me, ask a student. LEADERSHIP: it’s on a wall near you. Now take it down and seize the moment! Self-communicate. Our future depends on it.

What is the Norm?

What is the Norm?

If you are an educator, almost everything revolves around your kids at school and/or your kids at home. Obviously, the last few days were no different. Likewise, the technological, global society we started living in during the last century enables us to take real-time, anytime learning and teaching wherever we go.

On Monday, April 17, 2013 I was walking down a hallway of our school around 2:50PM when the Twitter account on my phone was going crazy. I checked my phone to find a news alert that said there were two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Even though I am probably overly vigilant as a middle school principal, I immediately thought of the best case scenario as I was talking to a colleague. He said it was probably pyrotechnics at the finish line. My positive expectations quickly took a dark turn as I realized that it was malicious.

When I returned to my home, I was glued to the television as was my whole family. It wasn’t exactly a well-planned family night but my younger daughter (11 years old) had a lot of questions. These questions are becoming redundant.

Here I am angry (again) because some extremist idiot sucked up all of the mass media for a negative reason. And even though it was not a school this time, these occurrences are too common place. I keep explaining to my children at home that they are safe. My eleven-year-old’s reaction is, “Are you sure, daddy?”

The problem is: I’m not sure, and although always vigilant, there are circumstances we cannot control. I’m certainly not altering my attendance at an event with our school or a vacation with my family. I feel sorry for the people that refuse to see that people should always “be treated better than you want to be treated.” It always works. No matter what your status or how much money you make or not, BE NICE. I know this will not be the philosophy of extremists but hopefully BE NICE will continue to resonate in our school.

And there I was yesterday, in a convenience store, on my way to work doing something I started once a week after 9/11: buying a stranger behind me a cup of coffee. When I did, he said, “Really, you don’t have to do that.”  It was different this time because my voice quivered as I said, “Yes I do because this is the United States of America and we can be nice to each other. Have a great day!” He walked away with a smile.

At my oldest daughter’s high school they started a positive Tweeting campaign. They set up a few Twitter accounts where students Tweet each other compliments. Great idea! Now that is powerful. That is a wonderful way to use social media in schools.

Peace.

@DrFrankRud

Meandering Path to Education

 The following poem was inspired by one of my former students. She was recently a finalist in New Jersey's Poetry Out Loud held at Princeton University. To say she was awesome would be an understatement. 

My desire was further enhanced by a poet/keynote speaker at the recent NJ Association of Middle Level Educators conference.  Keep in mind two things: It's my first attempt and you should read the poem out loud. This is my journey to become an educator.

Peace.

Meandering Path to Education

This is my story.

I often wonder what it would have been like

If I chose a different path, although I did

Choose another path.

From a scrawny kid in a project home

Where no barrier of race broke me down

As I watched my dad hitchhike to work

Doing odd jobs myself as I grew up,

Lawn mower operator, pizza operative,

Bank teller, dairy worker, factory work, 

I did.

To a basketball court, off the street,

High school was blurry, and big, and sometimes not fun,

Please never tell me I cannot do something,

I will come back and haunt you,

 I did.

To the University of San Francisco

And a Fisherman’s Wharf magician

I often wondered if I stopped there.

Perform magic

Chained, handcuffed, nailed in a box

And thrown in a river, on purpose,

Then to the boardwalk I went: magician, entrepreneur or entre-manure

Stepped in it, I did.

That’s where my path started toward a classroom.

Substitute teaching, ah, 2 more miracles and I’m a saint

and someone saw me

Connected.

They did.

Back to School.

That was my expression of inspiration,

As my first grade teacher said:

Your vocation will find you, vocation, vocation

Where are we going?

That’s not vacation but your vocation, Find your voice, so I did.

When I walked in the classroom,

The only time I was disappointed was by choice

Inspire them, and they will learn!

Teacher, Coach, role model, parent, psychologist, comedian, hall monitor, cafeteria worker, proctor, crossing guard, colleague, trainer, listener, inspire-er of dreams,

In my class we could turn mole hills to mountains, rain drops to rivers, dreams to reality,

So I did!

Now a real husband and parent

Be a doctor of learning, always yearning

My wife asked. “Why not a principal?”

I told myself honorable, principle centered, le to principal al.

Not that I could be the best but I knew I could be different and I am.

Take people higher than they thought they could go: students, staffulty, parents, community

I thought

When you hit a wall climb over it, 

I did.

Quit being attacked and go on the offensive.

Stop apologizing for making a difference,

Be passionate about it or don’t do it.

The one real job you can like going to,

And if you don’t, blame yourself.

And Make A Difference,

Make A Difference, Make A Difference, Make A Difference,

 I did,  

 How about you?