The Principal's Handbook

Leading with Optimism: Transform School Culture Through Positive Leadership
[00:00:00] In today's episode. I want to talk about leading with optimism and how principals can transform their school culture, and how principals can transform their school culture through positive leadership. That's all coming up here on the principals handbook. Stay tuned.
Welcome to the Principal's Handbook, your go to resource for principals looking to revamp their leadership approach and prioritize self care. I'm Barb Flowers, a certified life coach with eight years of experience as an elementary principal. Tune in each week as we delve into strategies for boosting mental resilience, managing time effectively, and nurturing overall wellness.
From tackling daily challenges to maintaining a healthy work life balance, I'm Barb Flowers. We'll navigate the complexities of school leadership together. Join me in fostering your sense of purpose as a principal and reigniting your passion for the job. Welcome to a podcast where your wellbeing is the top priority.
, welcome back to the podcast.
I am excited to talk about the topic of [00:01:00] leading with optimism. And I think this is such a great topic for principals, because you can really transform your school culture when you're leading with positive leadership. And I, of course, I'm a huge advocate for having positive thoughts and positive thinking.
It's a. It's a large part of life coaching and what I do with my clients. Is I really help them. Evaluate the thoughts that they're having, because one of the things I'm going to teach on today is how impactful our thoughts are. But before we get into that, I just want to talk about. The principal's mindset has such a huge ripple effect on the entire school community. Think about a time that you maybe were a teacher or you were in a building where the leader didn't have a positive mindset and maybe they talked to negative about teachers or students and how that could impact the. And how that could impact the entire school community. It's so important to remember how much the leader sets the tone for the building. And if the principal [00:02:00] is positive and optimistic about teachers, about students, about parents. It is going to set the whole building up for success.
It makes such a huge impact on school culture and how people interact in that building. It really sets the tone in that foundation for the entire building. When a principal has positive thinking, they're optimistic. It's going to create. Hi, staff morale. It's going to increase teacher satisfaction and retention. And it's going to help students experience, right?
If principals are positive towards students and have positive thinking toward students. They're going to have better experiences in school and better achievement. It's also going to help parents be more engaged and bring the community in when the principal has a positive outlook and is optimistic in the school. And it really models what this can do for the whole school community to all stakeholders.
So. The principle, having a positive [00:03:00] mindset, being optimistic is huge. And just some ways that really plays out. If you think about this in your own leadership, when you're having that positive leadership, and you're really optimistic, teachers feel supported because you're not leading with this negative mindset of it's too much.
We can't do it. You're leading with, we got this right. We can do this. I'm here to support you. , I'm here to support your students. It's this positive team mindset that really teachers are gonna feel supported. There's a better classroom environment. Also staff, when they feel positive from your positivity as a leader, they're going to collaborate more.
It's going to just help problem solving at all levels because everybody's coming at everything from a more positive lens. It's we've got this. We can fix this. What's in our control and what can we actually work on? And so I want to talk about one of the concepts that I coach on, which is called the T cycle. And it's called the T [00:04:00] cycle because we're talking about your thoughts, create your emotions, which create your actions. And so it's really important to understand the T cycle and how that works for you and what your leadership looks like when your thoughts create your emotions, which create your actions. So I want you to think about this. If you're in a negative thought cycle, right?
If you have this thought that a teacher isn't trying hard enough, of course, it's going to lead to an emotion of frustration or disappointment with that teacher. And your action with them is going to be very punitive evaluation. It might be harsh feedback, right? It's coming from a place of frustration.
I can think about my own situations like this, where I have been frustrated with the teacher and I didn't handle the situation very well because. My thoughts were coming out from emotions that were frustrated. Right? And so then the actions were not positive actions because everything was coming from a negative place.
However, if you can [00:05:00] reframe that thought to. This teacher needs additional support and resources. It's really going to change your emotions to having empathy and determination to help that teacher. Which then leads to actions of collaborative coaching, professional development. Professional development plans for that teacher really giving them that support versus that harsh feedback that might not be helpful at all.
If you're not giving them enough of that support. So that's an example of teacher performance, where we're really thinking about how our thoughts. About that teacher impact our emotions and actions. Another scenario I want to give you is with parents. If you have the thought, these parents are always complaining. It really brings the emotion of being defensive.
You're annoyed with parents, you're feeling defensive. And so when a parent contacts you to complain about a situation or to talk to you about a situation they're concerned about. You're going to be very dismissive. You're going to [00:06:00] have a minimal response. You're going to just want to get this parent off of your plate.
Right? Get this email out, get it done with however. If you change that thought from parents are always complaining to. This feedback from the parents going to help us improve and it's actually gonna help me be a better leader. You start to feel appreciation. You start to feel curiosity about what is going on, what's happening in this situation. Which then leads to action that is you actively listening.
It's you being solution focused and you really figuring out how can you problem solve and fix the situation. having positive thoughts really does change everything. And I'm not talking about toxic positivity where everything's great. You know, and people are not getting along and they're disagreeing and you don't address it because everything's great.
And you are focusing on the positive. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying, I want you to really think about your lens of how you're looking at things. Are you looking at it through a negative lens or [00:07:00] are you looking at it through an optimistic, positive outlook? Because it really does impact everything. And I noticed this. In my own leadership , when I went through this short period of burnout. I was struggling with being optimistic.
I was struggling with leading with positivity, which then spiraled everything, right? Because if you're leading from a negative place, then every thought you have is negative. Every emotion you have is negative and every action is negative. And the thing about being a principal that's so important is you have to keep your emotions in check. It's so easy to let our emotions get out of hand and roll the situation.
But if you're not aware of what those emotions are, what you're feeling, what you're thinking, that's causing those feelings. It really can get out of control where you're leading with emotions, which is not good for anybody, whether it's positive or negative emotions. You need to really be, , really be mindful of what thoughts are driving your emotions.
So I just want you to keep that in mind. That's the T [00:08:00] cycle. That's something I coached my one-on-one clients on, where we really dive into when a principal is struggling. Like, what are the thoughts causing the emotions here. If you have this result or action happening, let's dive deep. Let's go backwards.
What are the emotions? What are the thoughts causing that emotion? So something you can do on your own, if you're struggling. Going with a certain action or getting a certain result. So some ways that you can reframe and change those thoughts. If you are noticing that you're having these negative thoughts. You really need to find a place where you can create more positive thoughts.
And one way you can do that is through affirmations. And I love affirmations because they're really just a positive thought that you can have in your back pocket when you're thinking something negative. So for example, if you're feeling down on your leadership or you're feeling like you're not making a difference, you need something that's going to help uplift you.
So you change not only your energy in that moment, but how you're thinking about the situation. So for example, an affirmation would be my [00:09:00] leadership inspires positive change throughout the school community. , or maybe I'm building a culture of excellence and support.
, one thought that I love to have every time I had a really hard challenge. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow as an effective leader. I love to think about myself. If I had to deal with something really hard, it was just an experience that was helping me grow. So instead of being frustrated in that experience, I would think this is a challenge that's helping me grow. Another thought is my actions today shape our school's future. Another one is I am growing and learning alongside my staff.
So any way that you can reframe challenges. Is really helpful. Right before I left my school, I was dealing with a parent who was really difficult, probably, , up there with one of the more difficult parents I had dealt with. And. I just constantly had to remind myself that every situation and interaction with this person was [00:10:00] really helping me grow as a leader.
It was really helping me grow as a person. . Because. I obviously didn't like that conflict that I was having with that parent. But every time that I got to have that conversation with that parent, that difficult conversation. It was forcing me to get out of my comfort zone and grow just a little bit.
So always think about that, that those people who challenge you, those difficult conversations,, maybe it's a difficult staff member, difficult students, right? Those are the ones that help you grow the most. When I think about my leadership and growing, I think about the staff members who have challenged me, I think about the students who have been hard to figure out what discipline works for them.
Right. Those are the ones that have transformed me the most as a leader. If everybody did exactly what I wanted them to do. And. Did exactly what they were supposed to do all the time. I would have never grown in leadership. So just think about that as you reframe these challenging situations, as you go throughout your day. It's always helping you grow.
It's always helping you to be a better leader, , and help your [00:11:00] teachers see that too. The more you're leading with optimism, the more you can help your teachers reframe their thinking. I did a lot of reframing with teachers where I would help them see the thing that's so negative for them from a different lens.
And sometimes it's really hard to see it when you're in it, but that's one thing I really enjoyed doing was helping them see that negative situation from a positive lens. So some ways that you can do this, some practical application ways that you can really focus on , leading with optimism. First. Have some sort of system for staff recognition where you are focusing on recognizing staff for the good things that they're doing.
Some things that I've done. We did weekly notes and I would recognize people in weekly notes and give out sweet treats. , we have done positive notes in mailboxes where I would give positive notes to staff, thanking them for things that they've done around the building. Or they could give positive notes and feedback to each other.
That's been great. We did purple tickets , We're staff members could give each other purple tickets. They entered a drawing and could win a prize. [00:12:00] And the great part about that is I would draw it at a staff meeting and then we would read what was on the ticket and what somebody did to be recognized.
So that was always fun, too. , another thing you can do is have personal reflection time. So one thing I like to do is called the 3, 3, 3. I like to think of three gratitudes for the day, at the end of the day. Three things that went well and three things that are going to go well, the next day, it's just a way to set me up for success the next day.
And also to reflect on the good things that happened that day. And I personally had an assistant principal, and so sometimes we would do this together and I really liked doing it with another person because we could hold ourselves accountable. And sometimes we would laugh because if it was a crazy day, we would be like, oh, what was the good thing that happened today?
And then, but you could always find something, right. Even if it was a. A really stressful day. We would think about a great conversation we had with a teacher or a connection we made with a student, right. There's always something positive happening. And the more that we [00:13:00] practice pulling those out. It really does make a difference on your brain. Your brain will automatically resort to more positive things.
The more you practice positivity and optimism, the more, your brain will automatically go to that. So that's one thing I want you to think about. So make sure you're focusing on positivity with your staff, with staff recognition systems. Having time to personally reflect.
And then make sure you're also having time to deal with your own stress management because stress management is what is really going to help you manage your emotions.
It's really emotional management, right? When you're stressed out, that's when our emotions typically get out of control. And again, our emotions are created by our thoughts, but it does create, , a negative or positive action or result. And so you. You really want to make sure you're managing your own stress and your own emotions and how you do this is by really creating great work-life balance. And I know some [00:14:00] people hear that and they think there is no way as a leader.
I can have great work-life balance. There is no way. Well, first I want to say I have a couple podcasts episodes that I've done recently about work-life balance about, , health for principals wellbeing. I'm going to link all those in the show notes. I really think that you should go back and listen to them.
If you struggle with this. The other thing I want to say about that is it is possible. It's possible to have work-life balance. If you change your thinking about it. Because it really comes down to changing your thinking about time. And how you deal with situations during the school day. And how you're using your time.
So that's another aspect and I have an episode about you're thinking about time, that I'll link as well. But I really encourage you , to evaluate if you're stressed out, if your emotions are all over the place and you're struggling with feeling positive. I want you to go back to that idea of work-life balance as a leader.
How can you really focus on having that? Because I have seen personally the difference in myself of when I am focused [00:15:00] on school all the time, and I can't disconnect from school. And by disconnect. I mean, I go home and I'm just thinking about and replaying and ruminating on everything that happened that day.
I'm thinking about the discipline I dealt with. I'm thinking about a conversation I had with a teacher. I'm thinking about a parent call that I had. And when I did that all the time, every evening. It was exhausting. My emotions were all over the place. I was stressed out. My thoughts about being a principal.
Weren't great because I couldn't shut it off. I couldn't go home and just be a mom or go home and be a wife. Or just be right and focus on myself. And so having that work-life balance is really going to help you lead with optimism I always told my teachers, we got to work hard when we're here, but then we also have to rest hard when we're at home.
Right. Work hard, and then go home disconnect, be with your families and have that time. To really rejuvenate yourself. So you're ready for the next day. And if we're in this constant stress down mindset where it's like, [00:16:00] we were working all day, we go home, we think about work all day. Then we come in, we do it again.
And we do this all week. Our thoughts are going to be so negative, which are going to lead to such negative emotions and negative actions from our leadership. And we're going to be leading our building in a negative way. So really that's such a huge one that I can't stress enough.
And that's one thing I love coaching leaders on is helping them find that balance. Helping you find morning, routines that work for you, health routines, how do you eat healthier? All these things that don't seem like they would matter for leadership sleep. That's another one, getting enough sleep. As a leader,
You have to focus on your own work-life balance, your own wellbeing to be the best leader, to lead with optimism, to have those positive thoughts, positive emotions, positive actions that are really going to lead your school forward. So. If you are struggling with that, I will say that is an area.
I love coaching people on. I would love the opportunity to have a free consultation where we talk about what that could look like for [00:17:00] you. I just want to,, summarize. Go back. Half staff recognition systems focus on having positivity in the building. Have time for personal reflection and do the 3, 3, 3, 3 gratitudes three wins for the day three wins for the next day. And focus on work-life balance and making sure you're focusing and prioritizing your own wellbeing as a leader. That's what I have for you today to practice leading with optimism.
And as we close, I just want you to remember that there is a long-term impact on your leadership. If you can lead with optimism, if you can lead with positivity. So. Find me on Instagram at Bart flowers, coaching. I have a lot of resources for you. , if you love the show, if you're listening on apple, scroll down in your app lever of you, I'd love to get your feedback on the show.
Also it helps other principals find the show. Keep in mind, you have the power to shape your life. According to the mindset you choose. I hope you have a great week and I'll see you back here next time
[00:18:00] Mhm. Mhm.