Random Thoughts Thursday Part 19

What's an extrovert to do?

Recently, my school created the opportunity for everyone on staff to write notes to everyone else in the school as a Thanksgiving project. Students also had the chance to write their own notes to add. At the end of a couple weeks, envelopes with notes from colleagues and students were distributed to all the staff to read through and treasure. At first, I was really nervous about this idea because it brought back painful memories of "popularity contest"-type activities from my childhood. I was worried that some of our staff members might get overlooked.

No Invisible People

You know what I mean about those "invisible people" who make the "up front" people's jobs manageable? Our security guards, groundskeepers, and custodial staff are indispensable, and yet sometimes I feel it can be a thankless job. A few weeks ago, our main cleaning lady, who has worked in our school for over 20 years, got seriously ill, and a lot of us teachers had to pitch in and tidy up a bit more. We DEFINITELY felt the difference in her absence. Armed with a sheer determination that no one on our team felt neglected, I spent about three hours after work one day writing some heartfelt words to everyone I work with. To my absolute delight, I was not the only teacher who wore out their hand while writing for everyone, and at the end of the project, I was pleased that no one went away empty-handed. In fact, envelopes were overflowing.

Positive Work Places are Built on Purpose

Yes, I know I am completely spoiled in my job, but I also wanted to share that this kind of thing doesn't happen by accident. We live in a world where lots of corporations try to create "team-building" events to help their employees work well together. I used to work for some large companies and saw some of these activities firsthand. While I know that a lot of money was spent on these things and people had a great time, I don't believe that it actually brought people closer. It felt more like individuals enjoying some activities, eating, and awkwardly trying to make small talk. What was the difference between where I used to work and where I am now?

Size

The first obvious difference was the size of the businesses. I used to work for a company with thousands of employees. Now I work in a school with less than 100. When you literally know everyone in the building and their families, it really makes a difference in your work performance. Being a small fish in a big pond made it difficult to stay motivated to give my all because no one really knew me or relied on me for much. I did enjoy my job and did the best that I could with it, but at the time, what I did was just a tiny piece of a much larger puzzle. Being in a small community means everyone has a role to play, and if one person is out sick, we ALL feel it because we have to pull that extra weight. I actually like this. I like that we depend on each other, help each other... we NEED each other. I think everyone wants to feel needed and valued, and this makes a huge difference in staying connected.

Connection

Our school does an amazing job of staying connected as a "family." In addition to the work chats that we need to check for relevant information, we have optional group chats that are just for chatting after work to share fun things that happen in our lives. I know it is an introvert's nightmare and an extrovert's dream, and it seems to work out that the introverts do skip this chat, but the extroverts often share a lot of those late-night inspirations with the rest of the team in more formal ways once past the brain-storming stage. With solid ideas in place, those opting out of the social chat usually jump right in and help make our new additions feasible.

Extended Community

Our school hosts events to include friends and families of students and staff. We enjoy getting to know not just our students but their parents, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors, and their whole circle of people. Everyone is welcome to visit our school. Tomorrow we are having our second talent show this year. We usually do this very casual show once a month where teachers provide board games for the students to play while they take turns performing any talent they would like to share. Most sing or play instruments, but we have had some dancers, comedians and some magicians perform too. Food is provided the whole evening, so there is no rush to get home, and kids, staff, and parents hang out until around 8 o'clock on a Friday after school, just having a good time. When it is all said and done, everyone who stays until the end pitches in and cleans up. We have this routine down like clockwork. We pick a couple upbeat songs, and within a few minutes, our cafeteria is cleaned up and ready for the Monday school day. Our school makes huge efforts to reach out to our community and just share some joy with those around us. There will be festivals, sporting events, concerts, a school play, TWO chess tournaments this year (I'm upping my game), and many other activities where we can just have a fun time as a team to really get to know each other.

Humble Leadership

There are so many things I could list about what makes a great work environment, but I think the most important element is the leadership team. I am SO glad to work for the bosses that I have. I think their humility is what makes our school such a success. They have authority over many decisions in the school, but they are right there in the thick of it with us, covering classes, working late hours, and helping with every aspect that schools need to thrive. It is so easy to work for someone who is working for you and with you. It is a joy to try to find more ways to HELP in our school because everyone is trying to do their best to make things great for our kids.

I wish I could have written this blog post a bit better and taken time to edit it properly, but at this particular time I have been quite busy at my job. Unfortunately, a friend of mine, one of my colleagues, is having some health issues and needs to be on bedrest for an unknown length of time. She is a wonderful English teacher. Two people on our leadership team picked up two of her classes, and I am teaching her 11th grade students literature. SO... in the past couple of days, I have had to catch up on the reading the students had done so I could teach it properly, and then, because I am me, I had to make a few quiz games to just add some flavor to our class discussions. That is why this post is coming out later than usual. But my work also provided me with some nice random thoughts that might be helpful to some business managers in our chess community here. Or maybe some employees reading this might have some ideas about how to improve your work environment as well. Perhaps you already work at a great place. If so, tell me about what you love about your job in the comment section. I would love to hear about it. I can learn from you too!

Enjoy your work day!
Cheers!