Comparisons and Stealing Our Joy

What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. My name is Brian Martin. I'm a second grade teacher and hosted the teaching champions podcast. And I hope all of you are enjoying this time off, and that you're able to replenish a little bit. Today, I want to dive into teamwork. Because within the school system, you're gonna find many teams, you can start at the district level, and say that that's the district. And you can bring it down to the school level and say that everyone, within your school is a team. You have grade level teams, your classroom, every student, every adult that's within it is part of a team. And every year teams are going to look different. Obviously, many of us are going to have new students. But there's also going to be staff turnover. And every year, we set the tone of how our teams function, and how our school functions as a team is going to have a huge effect on how well we serve our students in the morale that there is within that school. And I want to share this story that I heard the other day. And it really illustrates the power of a team, and how every person plays a role and how every role is crucial. And this is a story of Charlie. Charlie grew up as a farm kid from Kansas with dreams of becoming a pilot. After graduating from Naval Academy, and completing his training, he became a part of the program which is now known as Top Gun. And during the course of his his career, he flew 74 successful combat missions over North Vietnam. And Charlie was five days away from the end of his tour when he took off on the 75th mission. And it didn't go as planned. He was shot down somewhere over Hanoi, and he was taken prisoner and tortured. He spent the next 2103 days of his life around six years, and a cell that measured eight feet by eight feet. Charlie survived and continued flying for a few more years before retiring. In one day, he and his wife were sitting in a restaurant. And a man from another table came over and said Your plum. You flew jet fighters and Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down. How in the world did you know that as plum? I packed your parachute. The man replied. Plum gasp and surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said I guess it worked. Plum assured him. It sure did. If your shoe hadn't worked. I wouldn't be here today. And that night, Plum couldn't sleep. You kept thinking about that man. Plum says I kept wondering what he might have looked like in the Navy uniform, a white hat, a bit of in the back and bell bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen them and not even said good morning, or how are you or anything? Because you see, I was a fighter pilot. And he was just a sailor. And Charlie Plummer is on now a motivational speaker telling this story to hundreds. And after telling this story. He always asked his audience who's packing your parachute? Whether it's our personal life, or work life, many people have a hand in our parachute. And it's important that we take time to acknowledge it. To think, and to reward them, because it's easy to overlook the work of money. And it takes a lot of people to create a team. Now, this story is just a reminder that we never do it alone. That to provide our students with a place that is warm and welcoming, a place that nurtures them, a place where they're seen, heard, valued, a place where they receive the type of education that they deserve. We need to be a solid team. And at my school, there's going to be a lot of turnover going into next year, between retirements and colleagues, finding new employment elsewhere. There's a lot of new faces that will be in the building next year. So I've been dabbling, and how to be a better teammate, and how to create a great workplace culture. And that led me to want to John Maxwell's books called the 17 indisputable laws of teamwork. And if you don't know who John Maxwell is, he is one of the greatest speakers of all time. He's a best selling author. He's traveled around the world teaching leadership. And in this book, he describes 17 laws that great teams follow. And I'm just going to share three of these laws. And then I'm going to share a bonus law that we should be very wary of. And the first law is the law of the niche. And John Maxwell says that every member of a team has an area in which they add the most value. And it's important that we put team members in the right places, because if we put them in the right spots, then we utilize their talents, we maximize their potential. But this requires us to pay attention, to recognize people's strengths, to recognize their weaknesses, and to see their skills and potential. And we have to take that, and we have to put them in places where they can succeed. And basketball. We used to say Kyp know your personnel and at the classroom level is all about understanding the strengths of all the adults in your classroom and thinking, how can you maximize those strengths? And how can you minimize their weaknesses. And the same goes at the grade level team. He understand that each other, have strengths, that they have weaknesses. And it's important that we know hours as well. So look to step up in the areas that you excel at. And if another team member excels at a different area, look to maximize their strengths. And Mr. Maxwell warns against putting people in the wrong places. And he says, when that happens, morale erodes. People become resentful. People become unwilling to work as a team. And the team's gonna play worse. Our classrooms, they're going to be worse. The second law that I want to share is the law of the compass. And this law states that a team that embraces a vision becomes more focused, becomes more energized, they become more confident, and it knows where it's headed, and why it's going there. And then the book, John Maxwell, he references World War Two Field Marshal, Bernard Montgomery, and Bernard Montgomery was referred to as the soldiers general. And he said that every soldier must know before he goes into battle, that that little battle that he has to fight fits into the larger picture and how his successes fits into the larger hole. We need to be vision casters, obviously, the administration, they're going to play a huge role in casting that vision. But it's up to everybody in the building to cast that vision as well. 180 days is a long time. It's a grind, and it's important that in January and February and March so that we know those days count that we know the importance of those days. And there's going to be those times when our energy dips. And at those times, it is so easy for those negative feelings to start creeping in. So we have to make sure that we keep that vision in mind, understand the bigger picture, and what everyone is striving for. In that vision, it can't just be sat on opening day meetings, or it just can't be said, at the monthly staff meetings as well. The vision that we want for our school, the vision that we want for our class, it has to be cast continuously. And part of that as well as also taking the time to remind those on your team, about how far they've come. Remind your students about the gains that they made, and where they're going. And then times, we have to remind each other of the gains, we have to remind each other of the progress that our students have made. So be a vision cast, let those around, you know where you're going, why you're going there. And take that time to recognize how far you've come as well. And the third law is the law of communication. And let me just ask you this, how biggest communication, think about the situations where you have been in when there was little communication, and how everything can take a negative spin. And I always say, when there is a communication void, that people are going to fill in that void with their own thoughts, and with their own assumptions. And oftentimes, these thoughts and these assumptions are going to be half truths, or not true at all. Think of times, though, when you've been part of a team, where there's been open communication, where everyone was aware of the situation where things were transparent, it's pivotal. And just think about how many issues can pop up, because there was a misunderstanding or breakdown of communication. You know, I've been on teams in the past, where there's been a breakdown in communication. And it was accidental. But colleagues got left out of things. And feelings were hurt. And that's why communication is key. And communication. It also involves healthy dialogue, we need to be able to have the discussions. And we need to be able to disagree at times. But when we disagree, it should be in a respectful manner. And another part of communication, and this is a big one is listening, hearing, respecting what others have to say. And sometimes we can be really good speakers. But we struggle with being really good at listening, and truly hearing what others have to say. And John Maxwell, he says, Everything rises and falls with leadership in leadership rises and falls with communication. So be aware of how you're communicating with your team. And the last law is one that we need to be wary of. And it's the law of the bad apple. And John Maxwell says that a rotten attitude can ruin a team. And the truth is that negativity, it spreads a lot faster than positivity does. And you may have seen this before, where someone's complaining about one thing, then another person jumps in, and another jumps in. And all of a sudden that room is filled with energy that can leave you feeling drained and depleted. And one of the biggest parts of this law is the one person that we have to take a really hard look at is ourselves. What type of energy are you putting out? And I'm going to be the first one to say that I'm not always perfect. I'm far from it. I wish I could tell you that I'm 100% of the time lifting The room up. But the truth is, I can easily get caught up in it. And on those tough days, there are times when I've let that energy come out, and it's drain the energy out of the room. But therefore can't conscious of it. And we recognize what we're doing, then it makes it a lot easier for us to check ourselves and stop putting that energy out there. And at the end of the day, people adopt the attitudes of those I spend the most time with, they pick up on their mindsets, they pick up on their beliefs, their approaches to challenges. So pay attention to who you're spending that time with. And as we slowly start to get ready for another school year, think about what you want your school team to look like. And think about how you can influence that team. Remember the love niche and recognize your strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weaknesses of those around you. Always look to put others in places where they're going to succeed, where you're going to maximize their strengths. And remember the law of the vision, and to cast that vision of what your school is, and where your school is going. Remember that vision has to be cast again and again and again. And take time to look back. Celebrate the road that's been traveled. In remember that law of communication mean how our schools, our classrooms can thrive with great communication, or they can crumble with poor communication. Last, remember the law of the bad apple? bad attitudes compound a lot faster than positive ones. First, check yourself, be that positive light. Don't participate in the negativity and check who you spend your time with. And my challenge for you this week, is to reflect on your classroom team this past year, how was your team successful? How did it thrive? What were the areas that we're lacking? In How are you going to change it for next year. Thank you for being here for being part of the teaching champions community. We support we encourage we lift each other up. And if you think someone would benefit from this message, please share it with them. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so the new episodes will come right to you. And always remember, it doesn't matter whether we're from rural America, to urban America, to Canada to Spain to Bahrain, where we're all on that same team. We're all on that same mission. And we're always better together. Keep being amazing, my friends, and as we go on to the week, May you step into your strength, may you step into your shine, and let's build our champions up. Have a great weekend.