LM Jan 2023_hi

LealiQ&A ... cont’d.

healthy, thoughtful and mindful as it needs to be. I think taking a pause first and giving yourself an opportunity after you’ve read it to think it through. I also think sometimes phone calls are way better than responding via email. Or even in-person conversations. There’s too much tone. There’s too much context. Everyone’s reading it from their side of the table. Something like that can really be way more productive than just firing off an email and getting it out of your inbox. Q Everysuperintendent isgoing tohave to dealwithanangryparent or community stakeholder. Inyour book, you talkabout somestrategies todealwith that situation. Couldyousharesomeof those? I think taking ownership is one of the first things that I would talk about. Passing the buck or blaming somebody else for something in the organization is not going to yield great results in terms of resolution. I think that we can also take more time to fully understand what’s upsetting or even understand what the emotion is. Brené Brown talks a lot about emotional granularity, and I think we are too quick sometimes to think everything is coming from anger. Sometimes it’s about fear. Sometimes it’s about sadness. Sometimes it’s about frustration. Actually pinpointing those emotions before you start to problem solve is important. That’s because, not only do you have a better sense of what the resolution could be, you also are able to validate and really make sure the other person feels heard and understood before you move forward together. A Whydidyouwriteabout the importanceof laughter andsuperintendentsquestioning if they’re funnyor not? I enjoy laughing and having fun and being joyful at work, and I think that’s something that everybody enjoys and there’s brain research that backs that up. Being in an environment where you can enjoy yourself and have fun is important for people building teams, creating relationships and de-escalating situations. It can also create a sense of belonging. A

Why isdocumentation important for new superintendents? When you look back and somebody asks you how you got to the place you were in, you can give some solid and concrete examples of the decisions that you’ve made, the conversations you’ve had or your journey. There’s so much shared wisdom in education. We have so many talented leaders and educators. We don’t share with each other enough, and the only way you can really share is if you’re documenting or if you’re journaling. You have to think about those successes that you’ve had and find ways to see if they can be replicated in other places. Any final thoughts? My final thought is I don’t think chaos is going away in education. I think it’s here, and we’re getting ready to ramp up into additional chaotic situations. The more we can share with each other about our strategies to handle that and keep calm, it’s going to be easier to keep focused on what’s right for kids. We’ve descended into an era where chaos is a norm, and we don’t want that for our students. We want them to feel grounded, stable and supported. That’s really important to me, not only as an educator, but also as a parent. I have three kids that I’ve seen go through this crazy time these last few years, and we’re dealing with the after effects together. We’re working through it together. The more that we can do as educational leaders to tamp that down, and stay focused on what’s right for kids, the better off we’re all going to be. We all went into education to support kids—and kids are joyful. I just think it’s about creating a climate and culture of joy and ensuring that your organization is modeling that because that’s what we want for kids. When we think about humor, it’s very personal and you have to know your audience. I mean it’s not like you can have the same humor at home with your family that you would with folks at work. But I don’t think it’s necessarily jokes. It’s about being able to bring a sense of lightness, especially at a leadership level or with teachers. It shows who you are.

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11 LM January 2023