Showing gratitude is a win-win.  Harvard research shows that just thinking thoughts of gratitude makes you measurably happier, regardless of whether or not you act on them.  Setting time to think or write thoughts to yourself about the gratitude you feel has positive effects on your general outlook in your life, and also on the relationships you have.  So if you go out and share your thoughts, notes, letters, or posts about the gratitude you feel, then that feeling becomes contagious and everyone wins.

I am truly grateful for so many things that I am fortunate to have in my life - my family, my friends, and my dog to name a few - and there are so many ways to show them my appreciation.  But how do we show that gratitude professionally?  I know how to show my wife and my kids and my parents appreciation, what is the right way to show that to people we work with?

This question popped into my mind while reading a book recently- How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. ...

A mentor once asked me, "Tom, are you playing chess or checkers with your team?"

Clearly he was challenging me to think about my strategy to grow my team and the business. I wasn't really sure of his metaphor so I started researching and thinking about his question. What are the actual the differences between the two board games?  To someone with a painstakingly low SAT score like myself, the answer is simple: Chess is  simply “harder.”  It requires more knowledge, thought and strategy (please don’t tell that to any professional checkers players). Checkers has fewer rules and is so easy to explain. When it comes down to it, the only identical trait they share is the size of the playing board.

Most people will last anywhere between three hours and three weeks when it comes to implementing new behaviors in their lives. Most quit because they do not see the results. Growth happens on the inside before it will show on the outside. Basically, just because you do not see it, doesn’t mean it is not working. 

Becoming a stronger, more effective leader takes time. John Maxwell’s third law of leadership from his 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, the Law of Process, states that leadership evolves daily, not in a day.

As a leadership coach, speaker and trainer, I am privileged to interact with hundreds of organizational leaders each year. There are many who believe that because they attend a conference, read a book, or participate in one of our leadership calls that they are now a leader.

Successful leaders are indeed learners but the learning process is ongoing - a result of self-discipline and perseverance. As said by John Maxwell, “Microwave leaders do not have any staying pow...

Hello {{first_name}},

I know you get WAY TOO MANY emails each day. I know because I have been in your shoes the last two years being the interim principal for six different schools. Your list of emails is like....

SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, parent complaint, teacher need, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM....

If you are looking for help with how to manage your emails I added a lesson I did years ago on how to STEP READING YOUR EMAILS (link at the end). 

I appreciate you being on our School Leadership Community list and I hope that anything we send you find valuable and can help you today or tomorrow. 

Knowing you get SO MANY Emails I wanted you to know that every day of the week you can go to any of our Social Media pages and get quality resources to improve all aspects of your school and life. 

Bookmark this resource page and subscribe to the social media page that best meets your needs. We are about to hit our 200th Podcast Episode and have over 100,000 downloads. 

Every day I post a short video highli...

Just because the goal to raise student achievement is clear in your head, does not mean it’s clear to your team.

Here are three questions your instructional leadership team and teachers must know the answer to.

Download a copy of my book and read chapter two, Quality of Student Work for more resources

https://www.leaders-building-leaders.com/10Indicators

Don’t BE SELFISH as a leader….

Lead your team through this easy accountability strategy and raise their performance and build a more cohesive team.

Worried about keeping your top talent?

Desire to build on the talent you have?

This research article was shared with me from a mentor on why organization’s are losing their top talent.

In this quick lesson I share multiple solutions for any leader to begin building their High Performance Culture.

Click Here to Download the Article

Raising Your Awareness,

Dr. Tom

I believe that problems shape our leadership soul.

Solving them is what we are paid for as school leaders.

However, if you desire to solve the root cause of the problem, you need to implement this strategy first.

You have less than four seconds to make a first impression.

Utilize these four questions and listening strategy to find common ground with those you serve!

You’ll see great results and deeper relationships as a result.

Looking to accelerate your communication? Looking to feel more confident with your communication? 
Aim to communicate with clarity so your team executed at the highest level? 

I encourage you to join our Master Communication Course. Sixteen (16) lessons on the practices and principles of effective communication. 

Click Here to learn more.

I believe what is appreciated appreciates. And in turn, was is depreciated, depreciates. 

Here is what I mean. 

One of the services my company provides is facilitating climate surveys and exit interviews for  schools.

I was reading through the notes from one school and saw this response from a departing teacher.   

“When I turned in my resignation letter no one from the administrative team came to talk to me. I felt devalued as an employee.”  

It made me think about my practices as a school leader. 

How do I treat people? Do they feel appreciated around me? Or depreciated? 

I know that I have definitely avoided many rooms and halls of staff who turned in their resignation or who have been told they are not coming back.  

I am definitely guilty of not engaging some staff. 

I come up with excuses in my head. They don't want to talk to me. I am just glad they came today...terrible right?

But then I started to notice somethings about the school building. 

Shelves were bare that ...