Before we get started, I have two quick announcements

1.     I’ve been hearing a strong interest in how to support beginning teachers. I went into some key practices last year in episodes 214 and 215, so if you are in the mode to think about how to support your BTs (and ECTs), give a listen to episodes 214 and 215

2.     The July 22 episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast we feature a panel discussion with myself and five assistant principals. Some are national/state AP of the Year awardees and others are just wrapping up their first year as assist principals. The focus of our discussion is being a first year AP! We would love to hear from you. If you have questions, topics, advice, or stories, please consider sharing. Please email them to me at [email protected]. I would love to be able to name contributors but will only do so if you explicitly give permission for us to include your name and affiliation. We are recording on July 15, so don’t wait.

Okay, now onto the episode…

Five for Friday Outline

Hello colleagues and welcome to the Assistant Principal Podcast. I’m your host Frederick Buskey. The goal of this podcast is to help improve the life and leadership of assistant principals. Today’s episode of Five for Friday recaps the strategic leadership emails for the week of December 19-23, 2022. 

Imagine setting a leadership intention at the beginning of each day. That’s what many readers of the daily email do. For some, it has become a ritual: Pour a cup of coffee, open your email, read the Strategic Leader Daily, and set one intention to be aware of or execute for the day. The daily email is a powerful leadership practice so if you aren’t already a subscriber, I hope you’ll consider joining the list. It’s just one more way to include me on your leadership journey, and that would bring me joy. You can find a link on my homepage at https://www.frederickbuskey.com/ 

Recap…

Monday: : Traditions have origins, and traditions change.

Three pictures:

• My mom’s Christmas tree
• Pam and I’s Christmas tree
• Mara’s (my daughter) Christmas tree

There are lots of similarities because things like Christmas trees are heavily influenced by traditions. Not just the traditions of the family members who preceded us, but also the traditions of our friends, neighbors, and the broader society.

There are also some differences between the trees. Traditions are not replicated, they are renewed, and in the process of renewal, some things change.

Education example??? Teacher break room? Cigarettes and negativity?

Today’s intention: Be aware of what you do during this season and why you do it.

Tuesday: Productive Failure

It doesn’t take courage to fail.

It does take courage to publicly acknowledge it, and to turn it into something different. 

Productive failure.

This is a re-release of episode 26 that aired way back in May 2022. This episode is one of my top three favorites, so I hope you listen and grow from it as much as I have. 

Today’s intention: Think about a recent failure, big or small. Is or was there a way to publicly dissect it and learn from it so that others would see how failure can be productive?

Wednesday Developing people requires a systems approach.

We generally hold athletic coaches in high regard. Unless they lose to their rivals like my Buckeyes did last month 😖

What do we expect from them?

Winning of course, but we expect coaches to excel at player development. The essential part of a coach’s job is to help players become better by improving their skills and physical attributes.

In fact, the better the athlete, the more important coaching becomes!!

So why does it seem like developing teachers, salespeople, medical technicians, or anyone else is optional?

I reflect on my experiences as a teacher. I earned National Board Certification and was regarded by (most) of my students and their families as an excellent teacher. But I know so much more now than I did back then and I can identify so many missed opportunities and small tweaks that would have helped me be so much better.

Why is intensive development optional, for leaders and for those they serve?

Today’s intention: Step back and think about your organization and the systems it has in place that support consistent development of your people. What’s working? What’s not? Are there any simple tweaks to make coaching or supporting growth a tiny bit easier?

Thursday origin of A-B

Talked about this two weeks ago because we actually made a switch!

In case you missed it:

At the end of the 2012-13 college football Season, The Ohio State University football team’s defense gave up 576 yards to Clemson University, losing 35-40 to the tigers in the Orange Bowl. This capped a season in which the defense ranked 48th overall and 110th in pass defense (out of 130 teams). Defenders were consistently out of place and slow to react. Following the season, new defensive coordinator Chris Ash began a defensive overhaul epitomized by the phrase: “4-6, A-B.” He asked for players to go from point A to point B with relentless effort for 4-6 seconds. 

The focus is on moving from one point to the next point in the sequence by closing the shortest distance in the shortest time. 

Working A-B helps us stay focused and make immediate improvements. And if the situation doesn’t improve, maybe because we misdiagnosed the problem, we haven’t wasted a huge amount of time or effort.

Friday We choose whether or not a day is special.

The days – each one – are what we make of them.

Christmas is special, if you celebrate it, because you make it so.

You can make today special, tomorrow special, the day after, and the day after that.

What makes a day special?

You do.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Takeaway

Its about what we make of things:

• Embrace or revolve our traditions
• We can turn failure into success
• Choose to prioritize coaching others
• Focus on A-B
• Make each day special

Here’s our holiday schedule in The Assistant Principal universe:

• The next two weeks of emails will feature a strategic leader’s rendition of the 12 days of Christmas. Expect one email each day from Dec 26-Jan 6 with one lyric from the carol and 1-3 short sentences providing the leadership lesson.
• Both those weeks Five for Friday will feature me singing and recapping those lyrics, so you may want to turn down the vol...