Making the MD&A a Daily Consideration

Recently published in SBA the official magazine of the Association of School Business Officials International SBA

 Great tools for today's administrators available from Rowman & Littlefield (link below) - Featuring 3 of my books from the Reality-Based Leadership Series

https://rowman.com/catalogs/RL22SchoolAdministrationCatalog/index.html

Sorting Out Coronavirus Fact From Fiction

The following article was forwarded from a colleague and good friend at CENRIC Benefits Consultants in New Providence, NJ.

Ed Gunther and his team shared the following great advice in their recent August Newsletter - Live Well, Work Well!  It is clear, informative and on point.  Let's take a look:

"Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, people were fighting misinformation about health conditions, vaccines and treatments online. With the pandemic constantly evolving, it may be hard to keep up and understand what’s factual and what is fake—especially if your primary source for news is social media.

SMARTER DECISION-MAKING - NEW RELEASE

I am excited to share my book SMARTER DECISION-MAKING Avoiding Poor Decisions Through Effective Listening available on Amazon in Paperback or Hardcover.

https://www.amazon.com/Smarter-Decision-Making-Decisions-Effective-Listening/dp/1475854552

This is a great book for any leader in any business!

The impact of decision making in today’s business environment is more critical than ever due to the acceleration of information and messaging. 
As business leaders we constantly make decisions that impact our staff members, teams, companies and our organizations.  Getting it right with respect to positive outcomes and effective decision making is critical to our success at every level. 
Given the rapid advancements in technology our messages are spread over a global network in a matter of seconds leaving a permanent record that cannot be erased or taken back.  Therefore, it is more important than ever to avoid making poor decisions by listening in a way that is effective, deliberate and responsible.
This book is the first in a series of Reality Based Leadership (RBL)© books written with the goal of sharing strategies and proven techniques for managers and leaders at all levels within any field of business. 
The concepts, principles and ideas shared are rooted in experience, and the knowledge gained serves as a foundation for success across a wide range of applications.

 

thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World » The Importance of Setting Quantitative and Qualitative Goals

thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World » The Importance of Setting Quantitative and Qualitative Goals

Preparing for Negotiations

The time to prepare for negotiations is not when the current contract enters the final year; it starts the day after the current contract is ratified and stays open until you get back to the table!

Constant planning is required to ensure critical goals are reached and needed adjustments are made at every opportunity.  Don't just wait until the formal process begins with meetings between management and the union, work throughout the contract to ensure vital information is collected, processed and understood well before the 'demands' hit the table and most critical - before the table is frozen.

Less than favorable conditions exist when either party attempts to bring up grievances, demands or concerns after both parties have agreed to forgo any additional items thus 'freezing the table'.  What usually happens is the individuals responsible for the actual negotiating receive concerns or demands from those they represent after the initial presentation of concerns or demands.

To ensure this does not happen, I encourage leaders to keep a folder available on their desk marked negotiations and throughout the contract period place items of concern along with extracts of the contract noting changes or errors in order to adjust, fix or modify in the next round of negotiations.

Accepting Feedback for Improvement

Feedback is an important element in professional development and growth.  Far too often individuals focus on 'who said what' instead of focusing on 'what is being said.'  Only through acceptance and reflection can one improve and grow as a leader to become more effective in achieving goals and objectives.

Any good evaluation focuses on what an individual is doing well (strengths) but equally important is looking at areas that are in need of improvement (weaknesses).  Done right, a good evaluation becomes a personal improvement plan for the individual as well as the organization they serve.  The key if providing concrete examples and allowing the individual to question or get clarification to ensure understanding.

Many leaders find this uncomfortable and as a result shy away from this important task; however, the performance will continue to suffer along with the missed opportunity for the needed improvement.  Likewise when a reviewer softens the intent or lightens the degree of response, they allow the individual a false sense of security or even worse reinforce the negative or sub par performance.

In a cost benefit analysis, we refer to this as an opportunity cost, in human resource management it is a lost opportunity to strengthen the team.

 “I think it’s important to actively seek out and listen carefully to negative feedback. This is something that people tend to avoid because it’s painful, but I think this is a very common mistake.” - Elon Musk

https://medium.com/science-journal/the-importance-of-negative-feedback-5dec045232bf

School Security - Everyone's Concern!

Strengthening School Security

Immediately after the school shootings in Columbine, CO, a fear gripped local communities across the Nation.  Like most tragedies an increased awareness, concern and call to action had local law enforcement, school administrators, parents and statewide legislators focusing on gun control, campus security, lockdown protocols and other measures to reduce risk and enhance student safety.  That was eighteen years ago.

Since this dreadful event, the belief that this could happen in our schools or our communities was pushed to the back of our thoughts.  Perhaps due to fear or simply a rationalization that according to probability and statistics we had a very slim chance that it will ever happen again, or to that magnitude.  Even in our own communities as we moved forward, heightening security measures and signed agreements with local law enforcement to strengthen overall security measures, we felt more confident in our ability to make our schools a safe place for students to learn, play and grow. Then came Virginia Tech in 2007 and Newtown, CT in 2012, both unimaginable and horrific.  Once again, the focus of prevention and protection became active in the forms of mandated lockdown drills, shelter in place, active shooter drills and other strategies and initiatives including facility design changes such as “man traps”.

With the recent tragedies of Parkland, FL and Santa Fe, TX, we realize our world has changed and the threat is real, prevalent and everywhere.  Since Sandy Hook, a gun has been fired on school grounds nearly once a week.[i] 

According to Krishnakumar, “There have been more than 180 shootings on school campuses that resulted in an injury or death in the U.S. since Dec. 14, 2012, when 20 children and 6 adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.”

In Parkland, FL, ABC Affiliate WPLG reported, “that students were seen running with their hands up as authorities with guns drawn swarmed the area.”  “Other students were seen lined up one by one, leaving the area in an orderly fashion while other students were hysterical.”  In Santa Fe, TX affiliate KTRK reported, “a 17 year old carrying a shotgun and a revolver, opened fire at a Houston-area high school, killing 10 people, most of them students.”  “Thirteen people were confirmed to be injured during the shooting.”  Earlier this year, NBC anchor Lester Holt reported in special broadcast[ii] that aired on February 14^th that there had already been 18 school shooting since the year began on January 1.  With the May school shooting in Santa Fe, that figure climbed to 19.