LM Jan 2024

How Do You Retain and Attract Employees? You Build a Culture of Value, Appreciation and Happiness. Matt Plater Superintendent, Havana CUSD #126

After 25 years as a superintendent in two school districts, I would like to think I have figured a few things out. I often compare the role of superintendent to that of a head coach or general manager but, together, we all form our team. Like head coaches, superintendents are responsible for almost everything in our organizations but, when it comes to our employees, we are most certainly the leader. I think I’m like most leaders in that we are always looking for ways to make ourselves more effective leaders for our employees and our districts. We seek fresh ideas from motivational books, videos, other successful leaders or from anywhere that

Shawn Achor reveals how very simple changes to students’ mindset and habits can result in positive changes in a school district. See his video here.

might help us be more successful. For almost 30 years, I have used a simple motto: Be PROUD, Be POSITIVE, Be PRODUCTIVE. I found that I could

Be PROUD, Be POSITIVE, Be PRODUCTIVE.

the “Be Positive” part. Achor’s research showed that our brains just function better, and we perform better when we are happy (Productive). Happy people are positive people and, as a bonus, happy people live longer. Based on all of the happiness research, I decided that, for our employees to be their very best for our students every day, they had to first be happy themselves. All of these happiness research findings made sense, and I thought it had to be easier to make people happy than it was to make them be positive. To lay the groundwork for my new initiative, I started by showing the 12-minute Ted Talk at the Opening Day Institute, and I highlighted some of the research findings on happiness. We then launched “The Happiness Advantage” book studies in every building for all district employees. The book studies were done in small groups that met after school weekly to discuss and share individual stories. This helped our people learn a lot about one another outside of school and helped our teams’ bond. We didn’t have 100 percent participation, but it was over 90 percent. I was very excited about the initiative, and I sold it hard by showing them the

apply those simple principles to any group in any situation. In education, it is our job to produce a graduate and make kids better people every day. Every district employee should be focused on making a difference in our students’ lives every day. Being positive is about our attitude and it is a choice. The POSITIVE part has been my biggest challenge— creating a positive environment in a society obsessed with being negative. Lastly, if we do the first two things well, I believe we will be very proud of what we are able to accomplish. Long story short, the 3 P’s have served me well and provided a clear expectation that our employees can recite in their sleep. It has helped create a good environment, but I always felt like it could be better. About five years ago, I saw Shawn Achor’s Ted Talk about his research on HAPPINESS. I immediately bought his book “ The Happiness Advantage ” and soaked up all of his findings that were reaffirming a lot of the things I already believed 100 percent. I knew this was going to be the next piece I would share with our team and help everyone with

26 LM January 2024