Why Boss's Day Makes Me Cringe

I'm sure there are bosses and managers all over who actually enjoy Boss's Day. Not me, though. As a high school principal, Boss's Day makes me cringe.

Before I get any farther with this, I should point out that I work with an amazing admin team, who took a few minutes out of their day on Friday to show me some love on Boss's Day. Their gesture was kind, witty, and greatly appreciated. I had no idea they had anything planned, and the surprise truly made my day. For their thoughtfulness, I am grateful.

But Boss's Day still makes me cringe.

As a high school principal, technically I am the boss. By default and by definition, I ultimately am responsible for everything that happens in my building. I am accountable to my boss and my stakeholders for every standardized test score, every budgetary dollar, every college placement, every new hire, and every contract termination. I am accountable for the culture, the learning environment, the professional growth of my faculty and the partnership my school creates with stakeholders. For all of these reasons and more, I am the boss.

So, what's my problem with Boss's Day?

I often tell members of my team that "I reserve the right to play the boss card." After all, the buck stops with me. I have worked tirelessly for years, though, to create a culture and an organization in which my entire team can function without a boss. In other words, I have worked to foster independent thinking, creativity and freedom to explore new ideas. I have worked to create a culture in which everyone on the team takes equal ownership and responsibility for our wins and our losses. I have worked to create an organization without a hierarchy so that members of the organization feel they have a voice and say in what happens within the organization. I have worked hard not to be the boss.

Granted, there are times when I have to be the boss. Thankfully, after years of planning and execution, I don't often have to be the boss. When I walk the halls, I do not want members of my organization to think, "here comes the boss." I'd much rather be thought of as another member of the organization, a guy who is in the trenches along with every other member of the team, After all when we win, we all win. When we hit a speed bump, we all hit the bump together. When we face a challenge, we tackle the challenge head on, together, as a team.

The key to this kind of teamwork is that everyone on the team, every member of the organization, has been charged with doing something that lines up specifically with his or her gifts and talents. Ideally, no one's role is valued more or less than others. Algebra I instruction is no more or less important than counseling. Managing the front desk of the office is no more or less important than teaching AP English Literature and Composition. Providing superb college guidance is no more or less important than leading our choir. Teaching chemistry is no more or less important than serving in our library. Leading as principal is no more or less important than teaching Spanish I. How can I possibly think this? If anyone in the building does his or her job with anything less than excellence, the entire organization suffers. Each of us has been tasked with particular responsibilities, based on the things each of us does well. It just happens that my responsibilities differ from everyone else's. Each of us must fulfill these responsibilities as best we can.  When everyone in the organization understands this, and truly "gets it," hierarchy virtually disappears. When hierarchy disappears, there is little need for a boss.

My problem with Boss's Day is this: I don't want any more emphasis than necessary placed on the fact that technically I'm in charge. Instead, I want to be considered part of the team. I want a flat organization where I am seen as a contributor. Granted, I sign purchase orders and contracts; I hire and fire; I provide coaching for teachers; I cast a vision for the school; and I work daily to perpetuate the culture we have created. But those just happen to be the responsibilities that line up with my gifts and talents. I couldn't teach calculus or manage transcripts and report cards. Just like everyone else, I have a job to do. Unless we can find some arbitrary days throughout the year to recognize everyone else in the building, let's don't do Boss's Day again. It makes me cringe.

THIS kid needs YOU to be THAT ONE PERSON

The kids that show up in our classes, hallways and gyms every day come in all shapes, sizes and colors, with varying physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs. The kids each have their own strengths and weaknesses, hopes and fears, and baggage. Their levels of motivation and IQs vary as much as their socio-economic backgrounds, religious backgrounds and home situations. Each of these variables and more factor into what kids are like when they get to school. Bottom line: each of the kids in our classes, hallways and gyms truly is unique.

One of the challenges in reaching unique kids, each of whom is wired differently, and really making an impact on them lies in figuring out how to connect in an authentic way. This can be tricky. Not every adult in the building can connect with every kid, and there are plenty of kids who seem to struggle to connect with anyone. This is where you enter the picture. You and only you can do this. I'd stake my career on the following: there are plenty of kids who can connect with plenty of adults, but there is this one kid (think about it... you know who he or she is) who needs you to be something special and rare and extraordinary. You are the one adult in the building who can connect with this kid. And this kid needs you to be that one person.

What do I mean by that one person? Think about the people in your own life who make your life better, who add value to your life, who make you happy. Now, narrow the list to that one person who does this to a greater extent than anyone else. You know who I'm talking about. Narrow the list to that one person who:

• makes you smile.
• makes you stand a bit taller.
• makes you walk with your shoulders back a bit more.
• makes you want to be a better person.
• makes you feel significant.
• believes in you more than you believe in yourself.
• believes in your potential.
• sees you for your potential.
• takes an interest in you, even about mundane things.
• knows how to make you laugh.
• knows how to make you cry.
• knows exactly what to say.
• always has your back.
• thinks you're cool.
• thinks you're smart.
• thinks you're the best.

This kid? This one kid who will connect with no one else but you? This kid needs you to be that one person. 

Go be that one person and change this kid's life.

Q: What does a high school principal do every day? A: @prinicpal.project

As a high school principal, I'm asked a wide variety of questions (many of which would make quite an entertaining list). The question I'm asked the most, though, is "What does a high school principal do every day?" Before I became a high school principal, I'm not sure I ever really had stopped to consider the question. Had I known the reality of the answer, I might have waited a few more years before embarking on what has been one of the most challenging journeys of my life.

In truth, there can be no simple answer to the question. Even if I know exactly what my calendar says at the beginning of the day, I truly have no idea what each day holds. I divide my time each day, in varying amounts, between students, teachers, coaches, parents, colleagues, my boss, email, phone calls, unexpected visitors, and others. I am present daily in classrooms, gyms, hallways, elevators, stairwells, chapel, offices, parking lots, the cafeteria and the library. I divide my mental energy each day, in varying amounts, between teaching, learning, counseling, budgets, schedules, college placement, discipline, English, math, science, conflict resolution, negotiations, athletics, fine arts, maintenance, and more. And... I'm expected by everyone on my campus to be an expert in all of the above.

I could write more but I've decided to explore the answer to this question in a different way. For the 2015-16 school year, I'm going to provide an honest, unfiltered pictorial answer to this question by documenting my year with my iPhone. My medium will be digital images, and you can find my documentary on Instagram at @principal.project. There will be no self-promotion, no pitches, but rather just an honest look at what a high school principal does every day. I hope you'll consider following and spreading the word, not because you're interested in me. I hope you'll consider following because what a high school principal does every day is often interesting, sometimes exciting, usually challenging, occasionally maddening but ultimately, if the job has been done well, meaningful.

New posts begin August 21. I apologize in advance for occasionally posting more than once daily, thus breaking with Instagram etiquette.

"I'm going to coach whoever shows up"

I recently completed Roland Lazenby's Michael Jordan: The Life. As I anticipated, I've come away from the experience with more than a few thoughts and ideas that translate pretty well to the classroom.

I spent my high school and college years completely fascinated (translation = obsessed) with Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls. Only later in life, once I became a teacher and a coach, did I realize that one of the fundamental factors in the success of both Jordan and the Bulls was a gentleman and master teacher named Tex Winter. Winter, a veteran coach and the godfather of the Triple-Post (Triangle) Offense perfected under Coach Phil Jackson's Bulls, epitomizes "teacher" better than most any coach around, save perhaps John Wooden. Phil Jackson once tweeted me that Tex Winter was the greatest teaching coach he'd ever worked with.

One of my favorite passages from Lazenby's book gives us a great insight into Tex Winter's #coachteach approach: "Winter believed that he had been hired to teach, so he taught whenever possible, with the sort of frank, direct feedback that most players hadn't heard since middle school. 'When we step out on that floor at a practice session, I'm going to coach whoever shows up,' Winter once said of his approach." Furthermore, Assistant Coach Johnny Bach said of Winter in the book, "He brought an enthusiasm that went beyond the normal."

As the new school year is upon us, Tex Winter's example serves as a great model for teachers. Winter declared he would teach "whoever showed up." In other words, he didn't care if he was coaching the greatest basketball player of all time or the practice squad's reserves. Winter was going to teach, and he was going to do so with "enthusiasm that beyond the normal."

Imagine the impact teachers can have with Winter's attitude - teach whoever shows up. We all know that we're going to get all kinds of kids in classrooms this year: super smart, academically average, academically behind the curve, distracted, hungry, hurting, perfectionist, defeated, highly motivated, hardly motivated, likable, hard to love, rich, poor, and more. The challenge is this: teach whoever shows up and do so with enthusiasm beyond the normal. Admittedly this is a ridiculous challenge. Thank God we have teachers in classrooms and not anyone else.

Interested in more parallels between coaching and teaching? Check out the #coachteach hashtag on Twitter, or check out What Teachers Can Learn from Sports Coaches.

A Powerful Question About Your School's Culture

Just before the end of the 2014-15 school year, I found my mind blown by a powerful question about my school's culture. As I wrapped up an interview for a teaching position with a bright, young teacher, I asked if he had any questions for me before we concluded our time together. One of the questions he asked nearly knocked me out of my chair because no one had ever asked me this question before. Indeed, I'd never heard the question before. The question: Which students are the celebrities in your school?

Let that resonate for a moment...

Which students are the celebrities in your school?

Whether your school is an elementary, middle or high school, whether your school is public or private, whether your school is pre-college or collegiate, this question can bring things into focus quickly for you. If you answer this question objectively and honestly, you can't help but gain some valuable insight into the culture of your school. If your goal is to be honest and introspective, there is no right or wrong answer. However, the honest answer certainly is a window into the very heart of what makes your school unique, what defines your school, what your school is all about. The answer to this question goes a long way to capturing the essence of your school culture.

As the school year gets underway, I challenge you to consider which students are the celebrities in your school.

In case you're wondering, I hired that young teacher and I fully expect that he's going to be a difference maker for my students.