Teamwork

Independence is defined as freedom from dependence; exemption from reliance on, or control by others; being in charge or direction of one’s own affairs without interference.  Sounds great doesn’t it? Liberating even? You know the saying belted out by every motivational coach, “There is no I in Team”. Well I don’t agree, in fact I see the “I” so important that it needs to go first.  Maybe even a new word, iTEAM. Modern day workplace culture is based on the importance of teamwork, of collaboration and consultation. Don’t get me wrong, I agree these are important but we first need to focus on getting our own self together and having freedom to be creative if we are to be a…

Working in schools can be challenging, especially for new graduates. I recently came across a brilliant article by Jenn Gonzalez on her website Cult of Pedagogy titled, Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule For New Teachers. The article, highlights the importance of surrounding yourself with good people. By finding the positive, supportive, energetic teachers in your school and sticking close to them, you can improve your job satisfaction more than with any other strategy and your chances of excelling in this field will skyrocket. Just like a young seedling growing in a garden, thriving in your first year depends largely on who you plant yourself next to. THE MARIGOLD EFFECT Many experienced gardeners follow a concept called companion planting:…

The moods and demeanours of our colleagues can have a huge impact on our own moods, our productivity, our overall work satisfaction and even our general well-being. Let’s face it, we can’t work in a bubble and our recent experiences with covid and social distancing have shown us that most people prefer to be around others rather than working alone, at least for some of the time (sorry introverts!). Unfortunately, while the majority of people enjoy connecting and collaborating with others, some individuals behave in ways that bring teams down rather than lifting them up – there’s even a term for these people: drain. Most of us have come across someone we would call a draining presence in the workplace…

Helpful attitudes: Behind every helpful behaviour in teams lies a helpful thought or attitude. If we can get the right attitudes to be practised, the necessary behaviours tend to follow. Some of the great attitudes I see in resilient teams are listed left. When such attitudes are evident in teams, you see behaviours like people stepping outside of their role to help out other team members, thinking more creatively and embracing change rather than resisting it. Yes, we are all allowed to have a whinge from time to time, but we need to limit the amount of time we spend doing so and appreciate the impact continued negativity can have on those around us. What attitudes are you personally modelling?…

There is no doubt that many workplaces go through periods of significant and ongoing stress. Your school might be in the middle of major stress at present. Yes, there are the day-to-day challenges – high workloads, challenging students, and difficult personalities. But there are also major challenges like restructures, major changes initiated by Central Office or school boards, new computer systems and the pressure of people being expected to do more work with less staff and resources. In some teams, I see the pressures coming out in very human ways – increased sick leave, staff becoming quite sensitive and less tolerant, people taking shortcuts with how they speak to each other and some people withdrawing into their work. I also…

What I am about to discuss here occurs in many staffrooms that I have worked in. You have been at work a few hours and it is time to head to the staffroom for lunch. Let us say that it is Monday morning and everyone wishes it was Friday. I have been here a few times! You sit down with a group of fellow teachers and discuss your weekend, usually on a positive note and then the conversation turns to work. Is it a positive conversation? Not usually. The staffroom in my experience is usually an opportunity for people to complain about their problems, whether this is home or work related. Have you been involved in this type of conversation?…