Mar 16

Growth Plans: From compliance to commitment

Back in 2015, Alberta Education, through a very collaborative process, established a policy on Teacher Growth, Supervision and Evaluation. It was very forward thinking by eliminating cyclical teacher evaluations and replacing those evaluations with a focus on growth. It is not that all evaluations were unnecessary (there are still four reasons to initiate an evaluation) but the assumption of competence of teachers holding professional/permanent status led to a shift in continuous improvement and growth of practice.

In the leadership class I teach, that shift from cyclical evaluations to assumed competence and a focus on growth was widely unknown. Sadly, most of the teachers in the class had no knowledge of the importance of this shift in policy. Without proper explanation and poor implementation at various levels, growth plans were seen as merely compliance documents. You get it done by the end of September and maybe, you get it reviewed at the end of the year. In between, there is little action toward the goals developed.

I don’t think it is fair to be harsh on systems or leaders or teachers for allowing this process to become a mere check in the box activity for many, but I think based on my experience, it needs to be reviewed and focused on going forward. Time, which seems to be in short supply in the education system, needs to be allocated to make this a truly growth experience for teachers and leaders. More on that later!

One of my upcoming assignments for this leadership cohort is to provide me with their own leadership growth plan. To assist in this task, I requested copies of their current growth plan to allow me to provide some feedback. Being brutally honest (and I shared this with the cohort), the majority of the plans were compliance in nature. Goals were typically weak, strategies were mostly events and success indicators/measures were rarely focused on personal professional growth.

 What ensued was a great conversation on the importance of growth plans and some strategies for moving them from compliance to commitment documents. Here are a few suggestions that came out of the discussion:

  • Growth plans take time both for the teacher writing and the leader reviewing. While the growth plans may need to be “completed” for the end of September, it should probably start as a draft to be developed over a longer period of time.
  • Growth plans always must begin with self-reflection around the quality standards. “Where am I successful and where might I need growth?” are essential questions to guide the growth plan process and “How does my growth plan align with my team, school or system goals?” This is not to take the autonomy away from individuals but link to available resources.
  • Growth plans must always be conversational. Leaders need to ask the right questions in the initial meeting and follow up meetings to guide the growth discussion. Ask questions that cause the individual to be reflective on her own practice.
  • Strategies are not events. They need to be more specific to the goal at hand.
  • While all growth should positively impact students, success indicators should focus primarily on the improvement of the teacher. What does success look like from the individual’s perspective and not on outcomes of students? I like to ask those I’m coaching, “What does it look like when you get there?” Start with end in mind and then link your success indicators back to your strategies and then back to your goal.
  • Growth plans must be living documents and so are short (no more than three goals) and to the point. The individual teacher should review them often since, this is about her own growth. As a professional, you should drive the process.
  • Coaching or supervision should be ongoing throughout the year. Leaders should align their “walkthrough” practices to the areas of growth desired by the teacher. Follow up conversations or feedback sessions are then focused on the growth desired by the teacher.

The growth plan process takes time to be effective, but it is necessary to ensure continuous improvement and the professionalism of all educators. System leaders need to begin having more conversations around what their school leaders are doing around growth plans. Start the dialogue at both the system and school level. The importance of the growth plan cannot be lost and in fact needs to be strengthened.

Feb 25

Indigenous Languages

Last week, I had the honour of addressing the staff and Board of Directors of Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council Education Authority at their second annual convention. One of the key points in my presentation was that the Cree language must be the first priority of the Education Authority. Part of their mission statement reads:

“Our strength is in the richness of our land and the uniqueness of our language, history, identity and ways of being. Working closely with members of the community, we are committed to ensuring traditional teachings are nurtured so that students know and have pride in who they are.” 

We know that language is deeply connected to culture and tradition. Once a language is lost, so is culture and tradition. The example I used was from my own family. My maternal grandparents were fluent in Ukrainian, and we followed many of those traditions especially around holiday times. However, my grandparents did not speak the language to their children and so none of the five spoke the language. The traditions that I so fondly remember as a child were never taken up by any of my mother’s family and now are lost forever in my time.

In Canada, the province of Quebec fights hard to maintain their French language. While many in western Canada do not appreciate the stance of the Quebec government and her people, it is easily explainable…lose the language and you lose the culture. Language fosters a sense of belonging and a connection to one’s roots. It strengthens the ties between generations and is an integral part of a community’s cultural identity.

Indigenous people have struggled to maintain their language and way of life through the impacts of racist Canadian policy and residential schools. So much of their history revolves around others attempting to limit or more accurately eliminate their language, culture and traditions. It is essential for Indigenous languages to not only survive but thrive to ensure traditional knowledge is passed on through generations. Their culture, traditional stories, folklore, rituals, and wisdom deserve to be heard, shared and lived through their language.

We live in an “either/or” world and our politicians continue to promote that divide. You are often expected to be only conservative or liberal, management or union, French or English or for or against. Yet, a better society requires an acceptance of an “and/both” reality. Indigenous people can live speaking their own language AND… They can follow their traditional ways of knowing AND…  

It is disheartening when we affirm those who know more than one language but not if it is an Indigenous language. Studies suggest that bilingualism or multilingualism, including proficiency in an Indigenous language, can have cognitive and educational advantages. It enhances cognitive flexibility, problem-solving skills, and cultural awareness.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognizes the right of Indigenous peoples to maintain, control, protect, and develop their cultural heritage, including their languages. Preserving Indigenous languages is a matter of upholding human rights and respecting cultural autonomy of Indigenous communities. Given Canada’s horrific treatment of Indigenous peoples and as part of the ongoing support of the Truth and Reconciliation process, every effort should be made to revitalize and promote Indigenous languages. The preservation of these languages contributes to a more diverse, inclusive, and culturally rich society, and in Canada…we desperately need that!

Feb 19

Taking care of the adults!

Over the past decade, we’ve made some great strides in uncovering and bringing to light the issue of mental health and well being. It is becoming increasingly okay to openly admit mental health struggles faced not only by children but adults alike. We are not there yet, but at least we are beginning to address the situation with some open and honest dialogue.

The teaching profession is not immune to this crisis. Classrooms are more diverse than ever before. The educational, behavioural, physical, social and emotional needs of students are both increasing in rate and complexity. Beyond the care givers at home (who are sometimes absent), the teacher and support staff are the most influential in providing a safe and caring environment and in assisting students becoming resilient and adaptable adults. It makes sense then, common sense (which seems to be severely lacking in the world) that teachers’ social and emotional well being is targeted and supported too!

If we want students to grow in their educational studies and be mentally healthy and strong, then we need to make sure we look after the adults who are with them most of their waking hours. The obvious reason to focus on the well being of the adults in schools is their overall effectiveness. Teacher well being and feeling supported, valued and understood leads to increased teacher efficacy. When you believe that you can make a difference, you usually do!

Teachers who demonstrate strong mental health and well-being provide excellent role modelling to their students. They are able to demonstrate effective interpersonal skills, coping strategies and model resilience and adaptability. They are able to foster effective relationships with their students, fellow staff and parents/guardians which assists in creating a more positive culture both inside the classroom and in the school as a whole.

But here is another reason it is essential to support the educators in the school…they stay! Teacher organizations have long commented on the growing number of educators who leave the profession within the first five years. Without job satisfaction and the feeling of being supported, the retention of educators is becoming more difficult. With burnout rates rising and medical leaves increasing, the profession is at an all-time crisis.

Taking care of the adults requires a three-pronged approach. Individuals must make their own well-being a priority to begin the process. Taking care of oneself through proper diet, exercise, and lifestyle is never selfish and in fact is a must do. While some may only need a realignment in their own care, it is typically not enough to overcome the multitude of stress factors in the education workplace. School systems must also make student and staff wellness a priority. This is not an easy task for school systems to do, since funding is usually piecemeal, limited or non-existent. However, wellness must start with engaging those professionals that do the work in the schools. I’ve witnessed some highly successful wellness initiatives, and they all began with asking the right questions to the right people. And, while it started as an initiative, it just became part of the culture of the system.

Finally, governments have to understand the importance of the mental health and well-being of educators. Recently, the government of Prince Edward Island in the Education Mandate Letter placed the importance (on the need) for professional development (in social-emotional learning for adults at all levels). Working with Dr. David Tranter and “The Third Path” (a resource provided by Nelson Canada) the province is committed to supporting teachers in their own well being. What a novel idea…investing in the adults to support the children in the schools!

Educators cannot do it on their own. It takes a systemic approach both at the division and provincial levels. Taking care of the adults is an investment in the children in our schools.

Jan 20

Continuing the learning!

Last week, I wrote a blog post entitled “Always be a learner!” It referenced some of my own learning, especially as a young administrator, but also talked about the importance of organization learning. I want to remain with the theme of personal learning but specifically look at (1) Learning from anyone and (2) The discomfort of learning.

Great leaders learn from everyone. They understand that there is no hierarchy in the learning journey. Everyone has lessons that can be taught, some good and some are bad, but learning is always the preferred outcome. I was fortunate to have a dream team when I was a superintendent. While I knew I had some specific strong leadership skills, I relied on them to make our team whole. Their expertise, their ability to approach problems differently than I did allowed for significant growth in my own leadership. But any decent leader should understand that you surround yourself with better and brighter.

Too often we look to the so-called experts in the field to only guide our learning. While that is not necessarily wrong, it is narrowminded and potentially a missed opportunity! I still go back to the lessons I learned on humility, service and sacrifice from our custodian when I was superintendent. She taught so many lessons without ever “teaching” to those around her willing to learn. I now watch with much joy at life through the eyes of our grandchildren. They teach me everyday about curiosity and wonder. Children have many lessons to give to adults if we would just be willing to listen and learn. Regardless, learning from anyone is necessary for all great leaders!

Learning is messy! It takes time and to learn you must be willing to enter into the realm of discomfort. Why do most people hesitate to learn something new? Learning something new takes a person from competence to incompetence and from comfort to discomfort. People don’t like to feel this way and we are so averse to “failure” that people tend to stay in their comfortable status quo. Success and failure are not as opposite as one would like to think.

We do not expect children/students to “get it right” on the first try and we see their learning as a journey of failures and successes. But, for adults, that just seems too unnatural. Yet, that is the only way deep learning occurs; through steps and missteps. Discomfort (with support) is fully required for growth and learning.

Adam Grant in his book, “Hidden Potential” says the following:

“Becoming a creature of discomfort can unlock hidden potential in many different types of learning. Summoning the nerve to face discomfort is a character skill- an especially important form of determination. It takes three kinds of courage: to abandon your tried-and-true methods, to put yourself in the ring before you feel ready, and to make more mistakes than others make attempts. The best way to accelerate growth is to embrace, seek and amplify discomfort.”

Great leaders are great learners. They are learner ready in all situations and welcome the vulnerability of discomfort.

Jan 13

Always be a learner!

I started my administration career back in 1991. I was 29 years old, had just completed my master’s degree and I was brash as hell. I moved from a strictly high school setting to a K-12 environment and from a middle to upper class socially economic school to a community facing significant poverty issues. Success had followed me around pretty well throughout my life, so I figured my learnedness seemed adequate to be a good educational leader. I wasn’t unsuccessful at that time, but I think had I started from a learning perspective rather than a learned perspective, I would have enjoyed even more gains. There were a couple of times in my career when I got stuck and satisfied with simply being learned. Fortunately, I was surrounded by some great people who helped me transition from a slightly arrogant learned leader to a committed learning leader.

I’m not sure when I came across this statement from Eric Hoffer, but it became one of my driving forces as a leader.

The changes in society in the 62 years of my life have been extreme. When I look back at my classroom of 1985 and the classrooms of today, those changes are magnified. Being learned as an educator or leader of even an average citizen is insufficient. Experts in any field become obsolete without a continual commitment to learning. You cannot continue to do the same thing, the same way and expect to get any better results. That ship will eventually sail.

Most of my work now as a retired superintendent and an education consultant is with school boards and divisions. My excitement comes from working with these school boards who have made the leap to becoming a learning organization. They’ve ignored the rhetoric told to them by many provincial organizations that they are so good and valuable and instead have focused on how they can improve their governance function and ultimately serve students better. The arrogance of being learned is being aptly replaced by a learner mentality. These are the boards who if not now, will eventually become high functioning, while others, who are content with simply being learned will remain replaceable and irrelevant.

My own learning has been impacted through this work too! This week I was asked to facilitate a conversation around consent agendas and also offer a couple of new workshops on governance principles and board norms. A cursory understanding of these topics is unacceptable to offer robust workshops and so I too, needed to delve into the learning arena.

Learning should be for everyone and quite honestly it is available for most. Bringing in a consultant like me is just one option. There are books to read and study guides to follow. There are programs to watch and podcasts (my new favourite) to listen to. Regardless of the mode of learning, we all must get on that journey. Teach and you will learn…learn and you will teach. It is that simple!

Jan 06

You can’t be a jerk!

The other day in an interview I was giving, I was asked to give someone just going into leadership a piece of wisdom. While effective leadership can never be boiled down to one or two traits, there are certainly some non-negotiables. Fostering effective relationships with your staff is one of those non-negotiables. A person may possess some great management skills but without relational abilities, effective leadership is fleeting at best. Simply put, you can’t be the best version of leadership by being a jerk.

The unfortunate part in today’s society is that we have so many “leaders” especially in the political arenas that contradict that sentiment. While they may be “deemed leaders” the more important question is “Are they effective?” I would hesitate to agree that because they’ve simply been elected, they are effective. Instead, I might suggest that our overall leadership pool in politics is especially shallow and sometimes there just isn’t any desirable choice.

The bottom line is that great leaders are great people. They foster strong relationships with their people by acting with fairness, kindness, and empathy. Integrity is always used as a descriptor of the great leader. Wow…wouldn’t that be something if our politicians exercised integrity? Their transparency, honesty and vulnerability build trust from the inside out. And trust is essential!

Today’s organizations especially in the field of education must be adaptive. Changing societies, diverse populations and global connections are forcing educational staff to do things differently in order to address the needs to the 21st century learner. With the status quo being unacceptable going forward, leaders are being asked to transform systems, schools and classrooms. Demanding change may bring compliance, but it is commitment that great leaders desire. Transformative change can only come about when strong trusting relationships are in place, and it always starts with the leader.

When you look at the visual above (courtesy of Franklin Covey), the behaviours of high trust leaders are established through a concentrated effort of building effective relationships. No where is being a jerk a trust building behaviour!

In Patrick Lencioni’s book, “The Five Dysfunctions of Team” the absence of trust is the base level dysfunction. Without trust you cannot go any further as a team. Often those who are not relational have this belief that fostering effective relationships is contrary to making tough decisions or having difficult conversations. I refer back to Lencioni’s work in that the second dysfunction is a fear of conflict. When trust is established and relationships are strong, conflict can naturally occur. Conflict isn’t about personal attacks (that’s what a jerk does), but about debating ideas, brainstorming solutions and challenging perspectives. But conflict, is always done in a respectful manner.

Leaders, in all avenues of society, need to fully understand the importance of building those strong relationships in their organizations. Being a jerk may get you elected but it certainly won’t create a leadership legacy!

Jan 01

Some hopes for 2024!

It is interesting that once you get out of a habit, it is hard to get back into it. Such is with my writing! When I was a superintendent, Sunday was an essential workday for me and that was when I typically wrote my blog posts. Now retired, or semi retired as some would say, I have all the time in the world to write (between grandkids, golf in the summer, hockey in the winter and the odd contract) and yet I find it difficult to commit the time to sit down and draft some words. I know that many superintendents blog now, but I highlight two that I most enjoy, Chris Kennedy https://cultureofyes.ca/ and Dave Eberwein https://thepowerofwhy.ca/ I have known both Chris and Dave for years now through ERDI and admire their leadership and writing. While both write through an educational lens, they both bring their personal experiences to their blogs. So, my first hope is to get back on a schedule and write again…regularly and as you can probably tell, work on my website so my blog is a little easier to navigate and read. Honestly, I am not as young as the picture on the site, but I cannot seem to change it!!!

My next hope is around the teaching profession. While I know that we are in the midst of a healthcare crisis, I do not think that most understand the perils occurring in our educational system throughout Canada. It would be easy to simply blame governments, but that would be only a part of the problem. Their mandate is only for four years or until the next election and systemic change requires laser focus and consistent support for longer periods of time. The continual shift from left to right in the political world does nothing to assist the system. And even when there is some consistency in power, the ideals of the party are generally so out of touch with the needs of the classroom because their goal is less about improvement of the system and more about getting re-elected. My next hope, therefore, is that governments start to define education as an investment in the future and not simply an expense line in the budget.

While teaching has never received its due respect, the lack of respect by the general population and especially parents is becoming unbearable for many young and veteran teachers. The old saying, “Those who can do and those who can’t teach” is so out of touch with reality. Regardless of class size (and it continues to increase), teachers today are facing the most diverse populations ever with little to no support from the home. Do not get me wrong there are some great and supportive parents out there but there are also those who feel so entitled and look down at the teaching profession, believing their child is never wrong and others who just do not have the skills to adequately parent. You do not need to have too many of those types of parents to make the job extra frustrating. It is hard enough to deal with 20-40 different personalities in the classroom let alone the parents who may hindering from home. So, my hope here is that society in general does a hard pivot and begins to respect not only teachers but the education system as well.

A commitment to developing leadership is my next hope for 2024. We need fearless leadership in our schools, our systems and around our board tables. In the past couple of years, I have worked with close to 20% of the boards in Alberta and NWT and I always ask, “How are you promoting innovation?” While it may be a too often used phrase, “We need to prepare students for their future and not our past” it is so relevant. Leaders cannot be content maintaining the status quo as that in essence is falling behind. Our students deserve better! I have the pleasure of working with current or aspiring leaders from five Catholic school divisions around the Edmonton area and I remind them that continuous improvement and ultimately school and/or systemic change requires bold (and subtle) leadership. It cannot be left to chance and so leadership development/mentoring must always be a high priority in school systems and the corporate sector.

I’m going to stop there for today as it is only January 1st, and I don’t want to run out of material. Best wishes to all in this new year of 2024.

Jul 30

And/Both not Either/Or

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve written a couple of blog posts that to many may sound contradictory: Kindness in Leadership and Fearless Leadership. The fact is great leaders should be both kind and fearless. They are not opposites and realistically compliment each other well. Empathy is a trait of the kind and fearless leader. So are the traits of compassion, courage, adaptability, collaboration and vision.

My point for writing this blog is to show that we too often in this world want to make decisions based on an either/or model. If I’m right, you are wrong, if you say down, I say up. There is a belief that there is only one winner and while that may be true in sports or other competitions, relationships and how we live generally should never be boiled down to a simple right or wrong scenario. Strong convictions should not mean that a person can’t be tolerant. We can be strong and vulnerable at the same time.

The issue my own country is facing and I would suggest even more evident south of the border is people refuse to welcome an and/both mentality. Both right and left wingers push their agenda to the farthest points of their spectrums. They have ceased to or even desire to find any middle ground. It is simply either/or, take it or leave it.

While we can blame this partly on radical politicians, most of us are part of the problem too! We can’t vote for this person (even though she is the best candidate) because she belongs to that party. We need to reestablish more centralistic thinking and governance. The divisive environment we have allowed to be created will further erode our ability to think critically and solve real future problems. Without the ability to see both sides of any issue, we forget that there may be another better solution beyond our own mindset.

Why is good leadership so damn hard…because it is counter cultural. It is looking for compromise, for best solutions and all of the alternatives. It is not defined by any particular party mentality but rather what is best for the whole organization/population.

Leaders, kind and fearless embody the both/and approach. It is truly the only way forward!

Jul 23

Fearless Leadership

Canada has one of the best education systems in the world. This is especially true when you consider that the majority of students are educated in public schools, the vast diversity within our classrooms and the highly inclusive environment we continually cultivate. Most countries marvel at the results we consistently get year in and year out. We have and continue to be good! But is good really good enough to support an education system where innovation is prioritized, and students are being fully prepared for and ever changing and literally unknown future? Sadly, and not to be disrespectful to all of the hard working and dedicated educators and leaders out there, I do not think so.

We are at a standstill. We have good schools but not great! We have good systems but not great! Unfortunately (and maybe not through our own doing) we have fallen into complacency and decided to tinker rather than blow up. We play it safe instead of being bold and while it is good for some students, our present systems are not great for all. Incidentally, that is what we are called to do, be great for ALL students.

So, who starts this fearless leadership required to jumpstart the innovation really required for today’s students? It would be nice if it began with our governments but, that is rarely their mandate. True innovation always comes with an implementation dip and with most election cycles being a mere four years, the opportunity to go against the grain of the norm (which is what innovation requires) is likely unrealistic. Plus, governments in power speak and do what is most beneficial for their own supporters and regardless of what side of the coin the political party, rocking the boat is not a wise political move. While historically some politicians have been fearless, a ruling party’s most important goal after an election is to get re-elected. My statement is not to be insulting but rather to demonstrate perspective on how governments are usually not the ones to take on the role of fearless leadership.

School boards have some similar challenges since they too, are on a four-year cycle and their funding comes almost exclusively from government. However, even with those constraints I believe that school boards can lean more toward fearless leadership through one of their four modes of governance, namely innovative. Through their governance lens, which is where high functioning boards reside, creating an innovative environment is part of fearless leadership. Painting a preferred future and then allocating the appropriate resources in order to ensure that students are best prepared for this changing world is fearless. It is easy for boards to state that they want strong literacy and numeracy results but that is only minimal at best. Students who demonstrate strong literacy and numeracy results are at the ground floor. Our society requires so much more from our education system to deal with current and future world problems. Boards have an obligation to create an innovative environment where we go far beyond the reading, writing and arithmetic!

While the environment to promote innovation must be established by school boards, it is the senior and school leaders who must actualize fearless leadership.

Fearless leadership is about the courage to take risks, to challenge the status quo and to make decisions that may not be popular but are right! It is about taking a leap of faith. It is about bursting out of a cocoon to really see what the possibilities are out there. So many of the structures we have in schools/systems today are the same as we had since formal education was introduced. Why?

The pandemic shook us out of many of our past practices due to necessity but what if we decided to not return to the comforts of how we have always done it? We need leaders who are confident in their own abilities and possess a forward-thinking vision. Fearless leaders must be resilient because the general public is going to call them out over and over again because change is difficult. Change takes us out of our comfort zone, and this is one of the reasons it is so difficult to enact.

And money, cannot be the reason leaders do not make that jump. There will never be enough money says the fearful leader. But fearless leaders look at the resources available and make decisions necessary to innovate rather than promote and protect the safe! I am not suggesting that government funding is sufficient but maybe we need to allocate our resources differently to innovate!

Leadership success is not attainable for everyone because it is really difficult to achieve. The attributes required by today’s leaders are not in the box of traits most people have in their own toolkit. But now, more than ever before and especially in education, we need authentic and fearless leaders. We need leaders who cross the chasm in a giant leap, confident that the other side will provide greater opportunities for students and lead to achieve an improved global state of affairs. We need thinkers and problem solvers and collaborators and creative geniuses and compassionate souls and all of those competencies that go far beyond literacy and numeracy. And we cannot get there without fearless leaders in our systems and in our schools.  

Jul 17

Kindness in leadership

Earlier this year, I attended the Central Alberta Teachers’ Convention on behalf of Nelson. I was pleasantly surprised when one of my former teachers, Laurie McIntosh (@lauriesmcintosh) stopped by the booth to say hello. I was then humbled when I dropped by her sessions, and she kindly recognized and affirmed me in for my actions as her former superintendent. She reminds me often of the impact of three words I spoke to her many years ago, “Just be mom!”

Few reading this blog would not know instantly who Laurie is but for those who don’t…she is one of the best kindergarten teachers I’ve ever known, she is the co-author of “Teachers These Days,” and she is the queen of kindness both within her classroom, school and community.

While grateful for her words and more specifically about the content of her presentation, it struck me that we often don’t connect kindness as an invaluable leadership quality. It is too often misinterpreted as simply being “soft” and more of a hinderance than an asset in leadership. How far from the truth!

In Alberta (and likely many other areas in the world), the first competency in the teaching, leadership and superintendent leadership quality standards is building or fostering effective relationships. And while it may not necessarily state “kindness” in the indicators, I would suggest that strong and trusting relationships can never be fully developed without some sort of kindness quotient.  

Kindness is a powerful and effective leadership skill, that involves showing compassion, empathy, and understanding towards others. It allows for the creation of positive and inclusive work environments. Even in the best collaborative teams, there is always some sort of hierarchy and with kindness, strong relationships are developed between leaders and their team members.

Genuine care and consideration help to create an environment where individuals feel valued, respected, and motivated. Heightened trust is established which promotes more open communication ultimately giving a stronger sense of voice to team members. The role modelling of kindness in leadership fosters a commitment to intellectual conflict which is essential in strong collaborative teams.

Kindness in leadership doesn’t mean not making people accountable or not making tough decisions. In fact, leaders who understand that decisions made around discipline or termination are done through the highest acts of kindness. It should never be easy to discipline or terminate an employee and kind leaders understand that better than most.

Kindness is key as a leadership skill because of all the potential benefits. Fostering strong relationships, building trust and developing open and honest forums for conversation and ideas are just a few. The impact of a leader’s kindness builds and sustains a positive work culture which benefits all organizations.