David Shimer

Every school day is filled with unexpected glitches and hiccups. The best leaders respond with poise, perseverance, and a positive attitude. The school assembly went longer than expected, and now the lunch schedule is a mess. A student threw up in the hallway, and the custodian is at lunch. Two subs didn’t show up, and 50 students need supervision. A parent’s car died in the carpool line and created a traffic jam. A teacher forgot to submit her professional leave form. If you are a school administrator, you have probably never had a day go exactly as planned. Something always happens. The best leaders understand this. They don’t allow every glitch to become a crisis, and they certainly don’t let a few unexpected problems ruin their day. They prioritize what matters, solve what they can, and take the rest in stride. Because when the leader gets stressed, everyone else feels it. But the opposite is also true. When leaders respond to the challenges of the day with grace, perspective, and a positive attitude, they set the tone for everyone around them. They reassure their staff and model a constructive way to deal with adversity. Being “positive” doesn’t mean pretending every day is a great day. We all have rough days. It means keeping things in perspective. It means refusing to let the frustrations of the day determine the energy we bring to the people around us. And it means remembering that we can still choose to make a difference—even when the day doesn’t cooperate. Tomorrow, we won’t be able to control the weather. We can’t control the attitudes of every student. We can’t control the number of annoying emails that flood our inbox. But we can control the number of times we smile. We can control the number of high fives we give. We can control how we respond when something goes wrong. And we can control the energy we bring to work. So rock on… Danny