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Friday with Friends - "Relationships Matter"

As humans we crave relationships. We are relational beings. Need proof? Next time you go on a plane pay attention to how many people who are seemingly strangers will talk to each other for the duration of your trip. Relationships matter not only to us in society, they matter to us as educators. When I was in college, my education professors always put an emphasis on student relationships. Making sure we interact well with students. I wish that I could provide a silver bullet to developing relationships with students or a simple ten point checklist to follow to create better relationships with students, but the fact of the matter is that I would then be lying to you. It's funny. At points I have heard stories of some students who misbehave for some teachers. Those same students are like angels in my class; I love working with them. Sometimes I have students who challenge me but don't challenge their other teachers. Relationships depend entirely on t

The 2 Basic Drivers of Engagement

The understanding of “how to" effectively and meaningfully engage others is critical to virtually every profession and organization on the planet.    This understanding is also critical to social interactions.   Further, it can have a tremendous positive impact on personal, professional and organizational goals toward success and achievement.  A few examples that come to mind: Engagement between a sales person and a consumer (new or returning) can “make or break” potential, current, or future transaction(s).   Thus, failure to understand engagement at the most basic level can impact a sales person’s financial goals, a business’s brand, and consumer satisfaction. Engagement between a student and a teacher can make a vast difference in the educational process as well as the growth of individual learners.   Copious amounts of research point to the “growth benefit” of safe student-teacher relationship(s) and the positive impact they have in the learning process.   All of wh

4 Leadership Lessons from the Pace Car

I can remember the first Indy 500 I watched.  Specifically, I can recall my captivation with the “pace car.” The very first pace car I watched "set the pace" was a Chevy Corvette driven by Jim Rathmann. I remember asking my friends in the room “what exactly does a 'pace' car do and why is it needed?”  Without any hesitation someone in the room replied “it paces the drivers to ensure they are up to speed and ready to start the race.” I now realize that the “pace car” is actually a “pace setter" and it does more than just "set" the speed.   When I think of coaching, teaching, mentoring etc., it is evident that "pace setting" is a quality of effective leaders. Pace setting creates opportunities to grow success by setting expectations. 4 Leadership Lessons from the Pace Car #1 - The pace car ensures that the track is safe. Effective leaders ensure that organizational culture is both physically and emotionally safe. Yes, the

Belated - 3 Ideals for Goals and Resolutions

It is 2018 and the New Year if off and running! Many people and organizations will craft "resolutions" or "goals" for the new year.  However, by this time of the new year many of those same people may have lost sight of their goals or may  have given up on achievement.  It is estimated that only about 12% of those who set new years related goals will maintain the pursuit of those goals past January 15th of the year.   In fact, Allstate has spoofed this thought through their well known "mayhem" commercials.  They, like Farmers, "have seen a thing or two and know a thing are two." At the beginning of this post I placed "The Toddler Laws of Property."  I believe these "toddler laws" best exemplify the mindset, passion and behavior needed to effectively set and achieve new goals and resolutions! Considering that, I want to share with you "3 Ideals for Goals and Resolution" that I have learned to apply over