The media is full of stories about business Chiefs and the pressures they are under to perform. At every turn, Chiefs are faced with changing requirements, inadequate resources, technology shifts, limited time, high stakes, and even higher expectations. These challenges parallel those of a less touted yet equally important group: educators.
In my view, business Chiefs would do well to take a page out of the notebook of leading Chief educators. I have a specific group in mind: the educators supported by the Griffin Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) outside of Atlanta Georgia. Recently I had the privilege of offering a keynote at their 6th annual summer meeting of education leaders. The theme of this year’s conference was Improving Performance Through Effective Leadership.
The conference was conceived by Dr. Stephanie Gordy, Griffin RESA Executive Director, with the intention to share best practices among leaders in the agency’s targeted eight counties. Over 200 amazing teachers and administrators were in attendance, including many from the other 151 counties in Georgia as word has spread about the conference’s value.
The two-day conference provided a framework for success that would provide a positive impact for any company. In this case, the balanced focus was on teachers (think: employees) and students (think: customers). The similarities to business practices were apparent. Among the sessions offered were:
Engaging Your School Community to Improve Results
Leadership Doesn’t Always Come from the Front Office – Cultivating Your Teacher Leaders
Changing the Culture of How Children Learn
Strategies to Regain Teacher Time
Tech Tips for Timesavers
Strategies for Successful Mentoring
Improving Performance through Impactful Communication
Increasing Achievement via Support Systems
Many of these topics are aligned with my own views on what it means to be Chief. Spending time with these committed professionals was a reminder in servant leadership, discipline, teamwork, life-long learning, perseverance, walking the talk, values, and kindness. It was an honor to keynote their conference, and it reinforced my belief that we have much to learn from educators.