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“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – Andrew Carnegie

Last night I got home from school after a long day.  It was a great day with staff and students, my bucket was filled, but my body was tired.  Thankfully, I remembered that I had been thawing chicken drumsticks, and even my very picky eater would eat them if I made them “just right.”

“Just Right” is there a universal recipe that makes drumsticks “just right” for each person?  Honestly, I am not sure if there is a magic recipe, however, I do believe there are conditions we can create as leaders to ensure that all of our staff feel loved, valued and appreciated.

Loved

When staff feel loved, not the mushy huggy love, but rather the unconditional love. They should feel that their leader believes in them, will support them, and wants to know about them professionally and personally.  This kind of love boils down to connection. As humans, we all want to feel connected.  Employees who feel connected and cared for will pour their hearts into their work.  They know that they are an integral part of the team. As a school leader, I try my best to be present in the moment when I am speaking to staff members.  This means, not being distracted by my phone, emails, and more.  Each person deserves my undivided attention.

Valued

When we say someone is valued; it is synonymous with saying that they are cherished. Yes, I know it sounds super “schmoopy!” Honestly, I cannot think of one reason why someone would not want to be cherished.  Some of you might feel cherished in your current organization, and others might be wondering, what would that look like, feel like.

When staff members are cherished, there is a sense of comfort and a willingness for them to take risks and strive for that next level. Gratitude is an important part of helping staff feel valued.  Each week, I send out a weekly bulletin with the upcoming week’s calendar, reminders, the attitude of gratitude, and staff and student pictures.  The last two sections I mentioned are ways that I publically celebrate the incredible things that staff do during the week.

Appreciated

Showing our appreciation is all about recognizing the staff member’s worth and contributions.  As a leader, it can be hectic putting out fire after fire, making decisions, and moving to the next challenge.  The reality is that as leaders without our staff, it would be impossible to progress.  When there is a bit of downtime, or reflection time, sending an email, hand-written note, or text letting specific staff members know that they are appreciated.  It allows the employee to celebrate their success, and also fill the leader’s bucket.

Expressing gratitude and recognizing success, helps the leader to focus on the positives.  It is almost like Polyanna playing the “Glad Game,” the more good the leader is noticing, the more positive the leader will be, and happiness is infectious and will ripple through the organization! Ideally, the leader is sending 3-5 messages a week to various employees, highlighting the strengths with specific examples.

Getting back to the drumsticks, if I make them “just right” my entire family will sit down at the table and enjoy a delicious meal together, share stories from their day and laugh! Creating an environment that has a“family” feel and builds opportunities for staff to connect has been part of my work these last three years.

A few things I have done are: always having a candy bowl in my office. My staff is a chocolate staff, and I could easily name what each person prefers by now!  The candy bowl can be pricey depending on the size of your staff, but it also allows me to keep a pulse of the stress level (when they are stressed the candy disappears quickly), as well as an opportunity for me to connect with staff when they grab a treat.  At various points of the year, I will also include a basket of cuties for staff members on a healthy kick!

Another component is the environment, I changed my office to look more like a family room, I have a futon, a few chairs, a rug, and a coffee table.  When I changed my office, I noticed that the staff would come and hang out, whether or not I was in my office.  I loved walking past and hearing them laughing and connecting!

I also created a bigger space called “The Living Room,”  it has two sofas, T.V. trays, coffee tables, and a Keurig! The Living Room is a space for staff to connect and where we hold smaller group meetings. About once or twice a month I will bring in breakfast treats to have a “family meal” before school starts.

Creating a sense of family where everyone feels loved, valued and appreciated allows for our school to be “just right.” There is nothing better than hearing people sharing stories, connecting, and working towards a common purpose.

A Recipe for Your InstaPot