Summer 2006 Leading Change

Changing Culture Begins With Strong Leadership

by Dan Heckman, Superintendent, Plainwell Community Schools

A student notices visitors in the school hallway and offers to walk them to their destination. A school bus driver pulls to the side of the road after dropping off students, allowing waiting cars to pass by. A teacher makes a special effort to attend students’ extracurricular activities outside of the school day. A secretary speaks at a Board of Education meeting to commend the accomplishments of a co-worker.

As laid out in Strand II of the Michigan School Improvement Framework, changing culture begins with strong leadership. By our behavior, each of us sends out many messages daily: messages about our level of caring and commitment to our family members and friends and to the organizations and people we serve. What we say—our verbal messages—comprise only seven percent of what we communicate to others, while what we do—our behavioral messages—comprise 93 percent. In addition, research has shown that it takes many positive messages to counteract just one negative experience with an individual or an organization.

Positive messages like those sent by the student, bus driver, teacher, and secretary described above can make a great difference in the success of a school district or any organization. Student achievement is higher when learning takes place in a nurturing atmosphere, free from fear, where help, acceptance, and positive reinforcement are primary. It has also been shown that employee job satisfaction is much greater within this kind of work environment. In addition, positive behavior and an attitude of service to others form strong, durable linkages with communities.

To alert our employees to the importance of the messages sent by their behavior, we have developed a program called IMPRESSIONS It All Begins With Me! In Plainwell Community Schools, we consider the program to be the adult companion to our character education program for students. IMPRESSIONS defines four simple but key behaviors that are expected of school staff in our daily dealings with students, co-workers, parents, and community members.

Our first key behavior is Observe and Greet. How many times are we so preoccupied with our own concerns that we fail to notice others—so intent on our own thoughts that we may even pass others by, leaving them feeling ignored, unimportant, and uncertain? We should be aware of all those within our surroundings and, at the very least, offer a pleasant greeting. Being friendly, approachable, interested, and willing to help can make all the difference in a person’s experience within the hallways of our schools.

Our second IMPRESSIONS behavior is Inform and Be Pro-Active. Do parents and other visitors we encounter need directions, introductions, or particular information? Do parents and our co-workers need sufficient notice of upcoming activities so they may plan ahead? We endeavor to anticipate these needs and meet them in a timely and relevant manner, providing exactly what is needed and when.

The third behavior is Listen and Respond. Making eye contact, paying attention to what is being said without interrupting, and repeating the message back for clarity is the way we carry out this behavior. We encourage input, listen with an open mind, and offer specific options and solutions as appropriate. Furthermore, we try to respond promptly to needs, messages, and requests.

Help and Take Responsibility is our fourth and final IMPRESSIONS behavior. A willingness to go the extra mile, even when it may be inconvenient, and keeping our commitments, whatever it takes, typifies this behavior. We cooperate to find the best solutions to problems and define the next steps. A willingness to admit mistakes and apologize is essential to successfully implementing this behavior. Once issues are resolved, we encourage following up to make sure all is well.

The overall goals of our IMPRESSIONS behaviors are to increase trust and communication, to create a better learning and working environment for all, and to serve our community well. No one is perfect in their behavior every moment of every day. Yet our employees have overwhelmingly indicated their commitment to assess their interactive behavior, develop personal action plans, progress, and follow through on goals for improvement.

Creating lasting and positive IMPRESSIONS goes a long way toward moving a school district or any organization forward from ordinary to extraordinary!

Try This
Plainwell Community Schools offers detailed development ideas for creating “Impressions” behaviors in learning environments. The following are just a few:
If You Need To: Be more aware of others and surrounding environment	Try This: Be alert to what is happening around you. This promotes safety as well as friendliness. Remember what it is like to feel invisible—when others are too busy and distracted to pay attention/offer help/give you time.
Ask more open-ended questions: “How are you? How can I help? What do you know about…?”	Ask every person you talk with at least one question that doesn’t require a yes/no response.
Communicate in different ways (talking, voicemail, email, notes, etc.) and tailor to situation	Email; leave a voicemail message; write a note; set up a ten-minute phone call to cover an issue; meet face-to-face; present information at meetings.
Listen actively: make eye contact and do not interrupt	Bite your tongue (literally). Don’t think about what you’re going to say next. Take a breath before you talk (every time). Ask trusted peers to give you feedback when you interrupt.
Encourage input: don’t act defensively and welcome feedback	Relax. Count to five before responding. Remember that understanding another’s viewpoint is key. Watch your body language. Uncross your arms and look people in the eyes.
Keep commitments, get it done— whatever it takes	Do what you say you’ll do. This may mean not over-committing to begin with. But if you’ve listened, asked questions, offered to help, figured out a ‘win/win’ solution—then just somehow remind yourself to follow up, do it, go the extra mile, make the extra calls.

For more information, contact: Dan Heckman, Superintendent, Plainwell Community Schools, 600 School Dr., Plainwell, MI 49080-1595, (269) 685-5823.

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