"I thought I was just a lunch lady."

6 days in Gettysburg.
3 school district.
100 participants.
1 rain day.

Welcome to the Diamond6 summer workshops!

We're only halfway through June and we have already hosted 100 participants from three different school districts for our Gettysburg Leadership Workshops. 

This is truly our favorite time of year. 

Working with educators and school district staff is incredibly rewarding. 

Their energy, commitment, and desire to do right by their students and communities is inspiring, to say the least. 

In every group we hear lightbulb moments and insights that remind us why we do what we do. 

Here is one example....

One of the big messages we try to convey is that EVERYONE is a leader, no matter their title. 

At the end of the first day at Gettysburg last week a participant approached Jeff and said, 

"Until now I always thought of myself as just the lunch lady.....

....but now I realize that I'm a leader, and an important part of this team."

Yes, yes, YES!

If she doesn't lead her team to successfully get lunch prepared and served, thousands of students and staff won't eat lunch. 

For some kids this is their best meal of the day. 

Without a midday meal teachers can't teach, and students can't learn. 

The lunch lady is a leader and absolutely ESSENTIAL!

We have heard many different versions of the "I'm just a lunch lady" statement over the years. 

"I'm just a second grade teacher."
"I'm just a secretary."
"I'm just a new employee."

It's time to nix "just" from our vocabulary - for ourselves and for those we lead. 

The second grade teacher is a leader and role model to their students and fellow teachers. 

The secretary is leading their boss and the face of the office who often carries critical historical knowledge about the organization. 

The new employee leads their peers and brings a fresh perspective into the organization that can inspired important change. 

Do you use JUST to describe yourself sometimes?

I challenge you to drop that word and reframe your description. 

And when someone around you says, "I'm just a ......" stop them right away and tell them they are a leader and they are essential to the team!

By dropping this one little word we are reminded of our intrinsic value and the important role we play in accomplishing our organizations mission. 

Let us know your "just" description and how you're going to reframe it!

Building Trust Within Your Team

We've heard it again and again from our workshop participants.

And, the research supports it. 

Money is not enough to keep good employees working for you AND engaged in their work. 

Leaders are being challenged to get to know their employees needs, and meet them with creative solutions. 

The people who work for you want to be treated like humans, not like robots.

Life and work are now becoming closely intertwined, for better or worse.

This evolution is bringing even more needed attention to what employees really want, and need, to be successful at work. 

In the last few years flexible work hours and mix of in-person and work from home have become standard questions potential employees ask about. 

Social events are also increasingly important. Employees want to get to know each other and connect on a more personal level. Creating non-work related social events builds camaraderie and is supports team building. 

Creating a challenging work environment and helping employees find meaning and purpose in their work is also key to retention and engagement. 

But, if you don't do this ONE thing, you could lose it all. 

Building trust is a non-negotiable with your team. 

You must ACTIVELY work to earn their trust.

Lost their trust, and it's over. 

Several years ago Jeff referenced writer and theoretician on leadership, Bruce Avolio on this topic to address the question....

"How do I build trust within my team to accomplish our goals?"

In this blog post, outlined these five things that Avolio suggests:

- Deliver on all agreements
- Be clear and explicit about your expectations
- Take responsibility for your mistakes
- Whatever you say to inner circle will reach the outer circle
- Deal with the source of the problem, not the symptom

You can read Jeff's full explanation of these five tenets here.