[00:00:00] Welcome to the Principal Patterson Podcast, where leadership meets excellence in education. I'm Chanavia Patterson, and I'm here to help you navigate the nuances of becoming a high performing school leader. Each week, we'll explore essential pillars of high performing schools, from climate and culture, teaching and learning, systems and operations, and even coaching and development.
Remember, everything that happens in our schools, Is leadership created or leadership allowed? Join me as we create schools of excellence, one principal at a time.
Hello everyone. And welcome back to the podcast. We are continuing our conversation on creating culture. Culture is our foundation of our schools. It impacts how our staff, our students. Even. Our parents. It impacts how they think, act and, [00:01:00] interact in our schools and with each other, every single day. Here's the kicker though.
Culture doesn't just happen. It has to be intentionally built, and consistently maintained. And if you don't define or protect your culture, it will define itself in often in ways that undermine. Your goals and your vision for your school. So today in this episode, I'm going to walk you through four essential steps to building a healthy sustainable school culture.
That's going to positively impact everything that you do in your school from the academic outcomes, to the staff morale, even student engagement, these four essential steps will help you shape the way your team, and students think, act and interact every single day. So, whether you're new to leadership or you've been leading for a few years, I'm going to give you some practical and some [00:02:00] actionable strategies that will help you to get started implementing today. Let's jump in with the very first step of designing your school's culture. So step one is all about design. Before we get too deep
let's define culture one more time because culture means something different to everyone. And I'm noticing that from speaking to principals and directors and superintendents across the country. When I ask people, what is their culture? Everyone has a different answer. And to put it in a nutshell, culture is how we want our teams and our students. To think. Act. And interact within the school.
These are the shared beliefs that we all uphold in the school, every interaction, every decision, every behavior stems from the culture. You create. Designing the culture means. He's getting really crystal clear on what you want those [00:03:00] thoughts actions and interactions to look like. The clearer you are, the easier it is to shape the school in a way that supports your vision. So let's first start with how your staff thinks. Now this isn't about their attitude necessarily. It's about the mindset that they bring to their work. Do you want them to think like collaborators. Or are there more so siloed and independent. Do you want them to prioritize problem solving. Or do you want them to focus on compliance. And sticking to the status quo. The way your staff thinks drives their actions.
Then there's how they act. So far as you have to assess. Okay. How do I want them to think about their mindset and their approach to the work that we do. Then is how do you want them to act? What behaviors do you want to see every single day? Maybe it is [00:04:00] collaboration. Maybe it is being more solution oriented. What actions aligned with the values you want your school to represent. And then when you think about how do you want your team to interact,
this applies to both the staff and the students. Do you want open communication? Do you want a sense of trust or maybe just the focus on accountability with compassion.
So the first step, whenever I'm doing a culture audit with the school. I have the team, the leadership team identify like, what are the three core values that will guide how your people think act and interact in the school. We can't rush this process. Um, a lot of schools bypass this I've noticed, they think is fluffy.
You know, when really core values will determine the culture. So take some time to think about. And make sure that these values are aligned with your school's mission like what are [00:05:00] the values that's going to guide how your people think, how they act, how they interact. Here are some questions you can use to get started. How do I want my teachers and students to approach challenges.
Like. There are schools where leaders are okay with the team bringing them all of their problems. And that they don't want them to make decisions on their own. For whatever reason, some feel like they don't have the experience. Yes, or the skill set yet? And then you have other schools. That's like, no. I want you to be solution oriented. Don't bring me a problem. Unless you already have thought through a solution and you just need my support with it. So you have to ask yourself, how do you want your teachers to approach challenges. How do you want the students to approach challenges in learning. The next question is, how should your staff collaborate and interact with one another.
We have to set that standard for what we want to see in our schools. What are the [00:06:00] behaviors that support that kind of learning environment that you want. What does it look like?
Once you've defined your values, then you can share them with The extended part of the team. Engage them in the conversation. And ask, how do we bring these values to life? What changes do we need to make to align everyone's thoughts and actions and interactions with these values.
Let me give you a real example. I was coaching. And a principal whose school was struggling with teacher retention and low student engagement like those were their two goals that they wanted me to support them with. Teacher retention, low student engagement. And after digging deep we realize that the root problem was their culture because all roles of leadership, lead to culture. There was. No intentional design in place. It was very reactive rather than proactive.
So we sat down with the leadership team and identify [00:07:00] their three key values, which ended up being collaboration, respect and innovation. Then they worked to define how they wanted those values to be reflected in the daily actions and interactions within the school. Like this is deep work that leadership teams have to do if they truly want to shift their culture.
So from there, we redesigned their professional development days to focus on those values. To focus on collaboration. Teacher began working in teams and sharing their strategies and problem solving together. Respect became a core expectation for how teachers interacted with one another, and with students. Innovation was introduced into their lesson planning, encouraging creativity in the classroom. Within months the school environment completely changed. Teacher retention improved, student engagement [00:08:00] increased and the overall school atmosphere became more healthy and collaborative.
So that's the first one is defining the culture. That is step one. We have to define and design. Your school's culture. Now let's move on to. Step two.
So now that we've designed the culture. Now it's time to deploy it. This is where many leaders get stuck because they have a vision in their head. That's one thing, but putting it into place is a whole another ball game. So deploying your culture means turning that vision into a set of behaviors that people can see feel and experience every single day. Here's something you may want to keep in mind, the way your teens and students act reflects the culture that you deploy. If you want a culture of accountability.
You have to create systems where [00:09:00] accountability is practiced every single day. If you want collaboration where you have to provide opportunities and incentives for collaboration to happen. This is about embedding the culture into the routines and systems of the school. One simple, but very powerful tool. Is this question .
If we do nothing else. We will.
What we'll go into the blank. If I asked. That question at your school. If we do nothing else. We will. Blank. This one statement helps clarify the core behavior that will define your culture. If your school can answer this question, consistently you're on your way to embedding the culture that you've designed.
Here's your first action step. I want you to sit down with your leadership team or the team that you support. And together I want you all to fill in the blank. If [00:10:00] we do nothing else, we will. Blank. This is a powerful exercise because it will help everyone prioritize the most important behavior or mindset that needs to happen.
School leaders, let me ask you a question. Are you dealing with any resistance from your staff members? Maybe it's pushback on new initiatives. Or you have some veteran teachers that don't want to get in alignment to your vision. Or there's some miscommunication on certain grade levels. Or maybe it's your leadership team that is in distress.
If it sounds familiar, you're not alone, because many school leaders are dealing with the same thing across the country. I've got great news for you. Registration is now open for my most requested workshop, Creating Culture Without Conflict. This workshop has helped many schools across the country transform their culture and now you can experience it too.
Registration is now open at [00:11:00] PrincipalPatterson. com slash workshop.
The second thing. Is to make sure that every teacher and staff member understands this statement. And it should guide their decisions and their actions. You see, culture is about changing behavior. Accountability is about changing behavior.
whether it's planning a lesson, managing the classroom, or working with colleagues. This statement should shape how they approach their work. If we do nothing else we will. blank.
So here's another example. I work with a school that wanted to shift. From a compliance, driven culture, to a more student center collaborative environment. There, if we do nothing else statement became. If we do nothing else, we will always put students first. And I know, this may sound very cliche because I've, [00:12:00] I've heard it before.
I've seen it before in other schools and districts. You know, we going to do what's best for kids student first. But it's said, but there's usually no action or behavior changed behind it. So but this statement at this particular school that I was supporting transformed the way teachers plant their lessons. It transformed the way they manage their classrooms because we kept it in the forefront. It transformed how they interacted with their students. It changed the way they thought about their role and the actions that they took every single day. Suddenly these teachers began collaborating a little more. Sharing resources and creating student focused learning environments. Because if we do nothing else, we always put students first that was their culture statement they wanted to implement.
the school saw an increase in student engagement as a result higher. Higher academic outcomes and a [00:13:00] more cohesive team overall. Amongst their staff. So once you have your statement, I want you to create opportunities for the staff and the students to practice. It. For example, if your core behavior is collaboration. Build in some regular collaboration time, whether is through team meetings.
Peer-to-peer coaching, group problem solving, solving sessions doesn't matter. You have to deploy the culture you you've defined. You have to deploy it out. It's about making sure that there are systems in place that will allow people to act in alignment to your vision. So that's step two.
Now let's talk about promoting the culture. So just to go back. The first step. Was to design the culture. The second step was to deploy the culture .
Step three is promote the culture. So once [00:14:00] you've designed it, you've deployed it. How do you ensure that it sticks? So this step is all about visibility buy-in and reinforcement promoting your culture means making it visible and everyone a role in living it out every single day.
Here's where culture becomes a shared responsibility. is not just the leadership's team job to uphold. The culture is not the app, man. Team's job to uphold the culture. It's not the front office team job to uphold. The culture is everyone's job. Promoting the culture is about making sure that your staff and your students are constantly. He reminded and I will add parents to. Because parents gotta be part of the culture as well.
That they are constantly he reminded of the behaviors and the mindsets that define your school. So first give your staff and students a [00:15:00] voice, of course, hold some regular feedback sessions where they can share how they feel about the culture. And how was being lived out. What's working? What's not? This creates a sense of ownership. And reinforces the idea that culture is something we all create together.
Make sure it's visible now, when I talk about making sure it's visible. I know you probably are. Thinking, um, posters on the wall or, um, You know, the. On the marquee, you know what our slogan and you know what we believe and things like that. And all of that is fine. But when I talk about making culture, visible, I'm talking about how are we reinforces how we want people to think, act and interact within the school. What do they see in you as their leader, because leadership is visible. It's visible. They should see it through you. By the way you think, by the way you act, [00:16:00] and by the way you interact with them.
So here's another example, um, working with the school and they really embraced. Grace promoting their culture. Like. Even as a visitor. I walked in and there, I knew from the front office staff, what the culture was at that school. They created a culture spotlight at every staff meeting. They highlighted staff members who were exhibiting their core values. They highlighted students that were exhibiting the core value and it wasn't just about recognition. It was about it reinforces how they want everyone to think. act. And interact. Over time, it just became a ripple effect with more staff aligning to the actions of the school's culture. So in addition to making your culture visible, imbed it in everyday practices. For example. If one of your core values is respect and you want to integrate that in how you give feedback. [00:17:00] Even during a staff evaluation or through student assessments, like, how are you showing. Knowing that core value of respect. Even when you have teachers that are resistant. How do we still show respect? If you say that is your core value in our culture is rooted in this. How are you making it visible?
How are you promoting that culture. The more, your culture shows up in your daily Routines. The more likely it is to stick.
All right. Next, move on to step number four. This is all about protecting your culture. So we define it and designed it. Right. Then we deployed it.
Then we promoted it. And now it's time to protect it. Protecting your culture is about maintaining consistency. And making sure that it doesn't unravel over time. Even with the best designed and [00:18:00] deployed culture, there are going to be some challenges. Whether it's new staff members coming on board. The external pressure. Shifting priorities from the district. Things are going to come up.
That's one a threaten your. Culture. That you've worked so hard to build is going. To happen. I'll always tell clients that I'll work with. Prepare for the pushback. We have to always prepare for the pushback. So as leaders, we have to protect our culture. By holding people accountable. When behaviors arise that go against your school culture.
They have to be addressed immediately. And this isn't about a punishment or a consequence like these are adults that we're dealing with is about course correction. So we have to train our leadership team and staff to act as guardians of the culture. We have to protect it.
I remember, um, One [00:19:00] year when I was a principal, we had an influx of new students. Influx of I mean, word was getting around about. At our school. And I was so proud of that. And I'll never forget . I held a new student assembly. And when I had that assembly, I invited. Some of our, uh, you know, our lifers, our kids. That had been at the school for a number of years. To come into that assembly as well. And I had the students talk to the new students. It is about what we believe and what we do at our school. I had them lead the culture session with the other students. Because I knew that in order to protect my culture.
It could not always come from me and my leadership team.
So they have to be clear your, your staff the students, what are the behaviors that are acceptable and which ones are not. And that's what I wanted my students to do specifically. My middle [00:20:00] school students. To talk to all these new middle schoolers. That were coming in like this, what we do here. This is what we do. This. What we don't do here. You know, because they had to protect the culture. And it got to the point where if students new students came in or. Uh, teachers were coming in and they weren't in alignment. Everyone else was looking at them like, whoa, that's not what we do here. Everyone had to protect the culture. So w you want to encourage them to step in when they see behaviors that are are not aligned to the school's value. So there are the few things that you could do.
Regular checking is of course, to monitor your culture. Um, whether it's through surveys, focus groups. Even informal conversations. Like I love focus groups. I had a principal advisory team where I had focus groups of teachers that will be my advisors. I was a very humble leader and I found that being humble and curious [00:21:00] and always allowing other people to pour into me and help me see what I didn't see help me hear
what I didn't hear. Helped maintain my strong culture when I was a principal. Keeping a pause on how people are feeling and acting. And then intervening when necessary.
Whenever you feel like your culture we're starting to shift. You have to take a pause. Pause and then make a plan. So another example of a school that I work with, uh, that we're working on rebuilding their culture of collaboration. They had a few key staff members that had to shift. Think that's. The appropriate way to say it.
They had to shift, they had to make a transition. Right? Um, and w because it was causing their culture to slip. The leadership team noticed that, uh, these were some. New hires and they were working in isolation, their behaviors. There were behaviors that were creeping in that didn't [00:22:00] align with the school's core value. And the principal acted quickly. Quickly. Um, to realign everyone on the school's vision. So they had to act quit and re-establish the expectation empower the staff to hold each other accountable. And the culture had to be protected. And they didn't lose progress. At all. It's like you address it and you keep going.
And I know sometimes that's uncomfortable for some people. And that's why being a community with other leaders getting coaching and training on a regular basis helps you sustain this.
So creating a culture of accountability is where all of your staff members feel empowered. To call out behaviors that don't align to the school's value. Like, do your teachers feel empowered enough to do that? Do your students feel empowered enough to do that.[00:23:00]
And there's ways that you can create these systems, without it being a disrespectful or, uh, embarrassing anyone on the team even if it's as simple as a culture committee. Someone that does the regular checking ins, and addresses challenges on a regular basis.
So there you have it. Those are the four steps that leaders must take in order to build a culture that's going to last. Building a healthy culture is how we want our teams and our students. And our parents to think, act, and interact. Create an environment where everyone knows what's expected and they feel connected to the shared vision. So let's recap those steps.
You must first design it. Be intentional about how you want people to think act and interact. Deploy it. Make sure your vision is. Is brought to life through daily behaviors. [00:24:00] Promote it Keep it visible, make sure everyone is responsible for upholding it. And then protect it. Maintain consistency and hold people accountable when needed.
If you're ready to go even deeper creating a school culture that sticks. I invite you to join me on Saturday, October 26 for my live virtual workshop creating culture without conflict. Your walk away with practical tools to not only design your culture, but ensure it's lived out and protected every single day. Visit principal patterson.com/workshop. To join us. I love to see you there. Thank you for joining me today.
And remember, great schools don't just happen they're built. One principle at a time.
Thank you for joining me today on the Principal Patterson [00:25:00] Podcast, where we create high performing schools, one principal at a time. Before we wrap up, I have one last favor to ask. If you found value in today's episode, I'd love for you to rate and review the podcast. Your feedback not only helps me continue delivering content that serves you, but it also helps other school leaders discover this podcast.
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