Friday Distraction: Ode to Joy

If you're a soccer dad - like me - or a soccer mom - like my wife, you'll appreciate this video.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: Shifting the Monkey ... by Todd Whitaker

Don’t you hate it when bloggers start off a post with a cliche’ or tired, overused phrase?  


Sorry.


I’m starting that way today.


Get ready for the tired phrase ….


If you read only one book about human resources / people management this year [that was it] read Todd Whitaker’s Shifting the Monkey: The Art of Protecting Good People From Liars, Criers, and Other Slackers.  


I’ve written many book reviews over the years but I’ve never used the “if you read only one” line before.  However, this book earns the cliche’.  In simple, easy to understand principles and examples Whitaker will change the way you manage people.  His basic principle is this - place responsibility (the monkey) where it belongs - on the back of the responsible party and don’t allow the responsible party to move his monkey onto someone else’s back.  In Whitaker’s words, “Shifting the monkey may sound like a zoo keeper’s technique, but it’s actually a powerful way to look at leading and living” (page 7).


Throughout the book Whitaker urges leaders to do three things 1) Treat everyone well, 2) Make decisions based on your best people and, 3) Protect your good people first.  To do these things the good leader must learn “to recognize the out-of-place monkey’s and then shift them back to their right owners” page 28.  The entire book is full of examples of wrongly-placed monkeys and tips on putting them where they belong - squarely on the backs of your slackers, latecomers, and other poor performers.


In chapter 7 Whitaker identifies some common monkeys and is particularly helpful to the school based leader.  His examples brought to mind several former principals I had served under as well as instances when I had been guilty handing out monkeys. Todd gave me permission to talk about my favorite monkeys in more detail.  See if you recognize any of them.  


The Blanket Monkey -
“ We use the Blanket Monkey when we want to avoid dealing with someone directly - like the employee who never arrives at the meeting on time, or turns in sloppy paperwork, or doesn’t turn it in at all.  Instead of dealing with these people individually, we try to correct the problem by addressing an entire group and putting the monkey on everyone’s back.”


The Rule Monkey -
“The Rule Monkey … the leader creates a new policy that makes more work for those who did nothing wrong.” “Leaders who use the Rule Monkey are under the impression that you can control a person’s behavior with rules.”  


The Avoidance Monkey -
“Leaders who use the Avoidance Monkey think they can manage without engaging in any potentially challenging situations.”
  

The Yelling Monkey -
“The Yelling Monkey is used by leaders who deal with everyone and everything by force: by trying to be loud and obnoxious.”


The Blame Monkey -
The Blame Monkey is used by leaders who operate as if nothing is ever their fault; all problems are laid at someone else’s feet.  


The Pouting Monkey -
“People who use the Pouting Monkey become aloof or withdrawn in a silent expression of resentment when they’re upset about something.” 


The Arguing Monkey -
“The Arguing Monkey is handed out by people who are great at arguing.  They love to confront others, take exception to just about anything, and flat-out contradict others.”


Whitaker gives readers tips on how to deal with each one of these monkeys - and the ones that didn’t make my list - but you’ll have to buy the book to see his solutions - this is only a review after all.  A great resource for school and business leaders.  I highly recommend that you add Shifting to your summer reading list.  


The link below will take you to the print and Kindle versions of the book on Amazon*





* Disclosure - I was not paid for this review - I purchased my copy of the book - however, I will receive a small commission if you purchase a copy using the link provided above.  

After State Test Movies -or- 5 Ways to Combat the End of the Year

 

It’s officially mid-May and that means some teachers are ready to be done with school for the year.  You can see it on their faces when they walk in the building in the morning.  Hidden behind venti Starbucks cups they grumble as they shoot you the evil eye on their way to the classroom.  

Once there they fire up the DVD player, turn off the lights and hope for the best.   Students come -students go. Play - pause -stop …. play - pause - stop.  They doze in their over-sized office chair brought in from home.  Any student brave enough to speak is sent to the office for ‘class disruption.’

At night they practice telling their spouses how movies like ‘2012,’ ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘The Princess Bride’ fit into the curriculum.   They write objectives like, “Students will compare and contrast the picture of medieval life as portrayed in the film [film sounds better than movie] ‘The Princess Bride’ with the actual portrait of life studied in Unit 3.”

They make sure every student has written the objective at the top of their paper just in case an administrator walks in.   The papers will never be collected.

Tough situation and not an easy fix.  Especially since it's (almost) understandable.  In our world of high stakes testing the end of the curriculum and the end of the year do not coincide.  

So what to do?

1) Express to your teachers from day one that your expectation and belief is that everyday is an instructional day.  That includes the days before and after breaks, half days, spirit days, adjusted dismissal days, and everyday after the test.

2) Continue observations - formal and informal - through the last day of school.  Have your APs do the same.  Follow-up with written summaries and use the observations for evaluative purposes.  Write documenting and summary letters when needed.  Document conversations with emails.

3) Walk the halls and put an end to lessons that do not meet your standards.  Be diplomatic but have the tough conversations.  “Dr. Smith, I noticed your students watching an animated film today - can you tell me what your instructional objects were?” -Listen to response - “Huh, doesn’t sound very rigorous - Remember the expectation here at Suburban High School is that students will receive quality instruction through the end of the year.”

4) Explain the bigger picture.  Low engagement activities - like watching films - increase opportunity for student misconduct.  I often think, who’s to blame in those instances, the student or the teacher?

5) If someone really is retiring at the end of the year - help them to exit the profession gracefully.  There are some slight-of-hand type things your HR department can do if someone needs the last few weeks of school off but we won’t tell you (or the teacher) unless you ask.  


Photo credit - Brett O'Connor, "negatendo," CCL