Have the last few days or weeks been overwhelming? EdLeaders, you don’t have to stay stuck in overwhelm, frenzy, and exhaustion.
Move from overwhelm to designing, from exhausted to artful, from frenzied to grounded.
Reclaim leadership. Design for thriving. You were made for this moment.
Here are 5 practical steps to take a proactive stance, get ahead of your calendar, and focus on what matters most.
Conduct an After Action Review
After a crisis or critical incident, a large-scale event, or a new initiative, you should conduct an After Action Review with those team members involved in leading through the ‘action.’
If the last month sent your school community into a crisis mode, now is the time to review what happened.
The After Action Review process was developed by the U.S. military and is endorsed by everyone from Margaret Wheatley (Who Do We Choose to Be – Facing Reality | Claiming Leadership | Restoring Sanity) to Michael Hyatt in his Best Year Ever course and his Business Accelerator program.
“The goal of After Action Reviews is to understand what happened, why it happened, and how to improve….This kind of ‘backward thinking’ will put you in the right frame of mind as you get ready to design your future…”
Michael Hyatt, Best Year Ever Course
An After Action Review offers you a collective opportunity to story and re-story what happened. In the process nuggets of insight are unearthed, and clarity emerges. It is a powerful learning opportunity for the organization. Plus, the reflective practice can springboard you into planning effective and strategic next steps. Finally, heavy-lifters gather to talk and leaders to listen; it’s therapeutic. Call the time social-emotional learning for adults.
If you would like an After Action Review template, an After Action Review Consult, or for me to facilitate an After Action Review process with your team (virtually or in-person), please reach out to me at karine@learnforward.ca. Together, we can discover a way forward to meet your needs.
Schedule a Magical Catch-Up Day
Schedule a catch-up workday onto your calendar. Then, treat it like a date with yourself. Plan it. Tell everyone you’ll be working off-campus. Find a nourishing space to reconnect, reflect, and proactively get in front of your leadership practices.
I recommend beginning the day with a ‘brain dump’ of the major tasks, projects, and initiatives onto an Eisenhower Matrix.
Then, brutally delegate and eliminate what simply can’t happen under the current circumstances. Then, schedule time for what matters most.
Double-Down on Your Wellness Rituals
If you have energy, health, and vitality, you will be so much more resourced to get ahead and stay ahead. Your discipline will equip you to lead effectively in your school.
Here’s an example…
Recently, I collaborated with a group of school leaders about the Workday Shutdown Ritual. We can be literally so tired by the end of the day that we aren’t making good decisions. Here is what is on my daily checklist to get things closed up and get to my family:
- Clear email (quickly)
- Tidy desk and digital desktop
- Record my actual time usage for the day in my digital calendar
- Review tomorrow’s schedule and draft Daily Big 3 goals
- Give thanks for the little successes of the day
I recommend considering 4 wellness rituals: Morning Ritual, Workday Startup Ritual, Workday Shutdown Ritual, and Evening Ritual. If you nail these rituals, you will be set up for success.
Invest in Renewed Focus on Goal Achievement
Research (2021) shows a waning ‘sense of success’ in schools is demoralizing teachers. Educators facing so much disruption over such a long period of time, begin to feel like their efforts aren’t making a difference.
What if your best retention strategy, the highest encouragement you could offer, or the most effective wellness approach is to…
Deliver Results!
Collaboratively, get clear on 1-2 strategic goals that you and your team can accomplish in the remaining months of this school year.
If you need support, check out the Learn Forward™ Goal Achievement Masterclass Series. I guarantee these learning experiences will help you refocus on execution. Your efforts in accomplishing even simple and straightforward objectives will pay dividends.
Get Curious with other Thriving EdLeaders
Are you connecting with other inspiring and ambitious school leaders? Do you continue to center equity conversations in your collaborations? How often are you discussing what matters most in EdLeadership with a thought partner?
And…
What questions are you asking? Holding powerful inquiries is a requisite school leadership capacity. Show up ready to learn, grow, and design for thriving in your collaboration meetings. If you need a community of Ruckus Makers, check out Better Leaders, Better Schools mastermind groups.
In conclusion, design for thriving. Crisis happens. We can recover.
What is the next right step for you?
Kindly,
Karine 🌱