Leadership lessons from the Seagull and the Fungus

The Seagull

If you're not familiar with the coastal regions, seagulls are beautiful birds. However, they can quickly become a nuisance. At the first sight of food, they swarm like white, fluffy flies. 

While grilling at the beach a few years ago, I had a seagull swoop down and snatch a hot dog straight off my grill! He did it right in front of me, straight from the flames. Unfortunately, I didn't bring any extras.
Leadership in the dark

Seagull leadership lessons:

  1. All interactions are opportunities to give, not take. 
  2. Your energy, enthusiasm, and appreciation are important to teachers.
  3. When you swoop in to "save the day", you're actually stealing commitment and ownership from your teachers.
  4. Instead of swooping in, be present on a consistent basis. Be there supporting, listening, and empowering.
Read this post for 3 concrete ways to empower teacher leaders!

The Fungus

I love mushrooms. They taste great. Alfredo sauce with mushrooms is an indulgent masterpiece. But I've never seen a mushroom lead.

Mushrooms stay in the dark. They prefer the dark. They grow in manure. This is not the ideal decorative plant. It certainly is not the ideal leadership model.

Mushroom leadership lessons:

  1. Save office time for after hours.
  2. Be engaged with your staff and team.
  3. Ask questions, listen, and be a lead learner. Know the campus. You are the creator of the narrative. And the narrative must be grounded in reality.
  4. More than your spreadsheets (which are still a must!), your ears will shed light on the challenges not showing up in the numbers. The informal and qualitative data are necessary lights. Use them to find solutions. Use them to help teachers to find creative innovations.

The seagull and the fungus are very important to nature. They have real purposes. They are useful to humans and other life forms. They aren't great at building school cultures for continuous improvement. They aren't the model for school leadership.

If you found value in this post, please like or share below the seagull.

Related Post:
Leadership Lesson for District Leaders: Feed Your Principals!

School leadership that swoops in

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