School #leadership & the importance of effective & clear communication:

Communication is the backbone of a successful organization. Schools and school districts are no exception. Having said that, communication breakdowns tend to occur frequently and often. The result of these communication breakdowns can cause frustration, resentment and mass confusion if not addressed.

But, there a few things to keep in mind when communicating:

What we say and what is heard aren't always the same thing. This isn't really anyone's fault, it's just a result of working with folks who've all had different life experiences and we must recognize and address this well-known fact.

And the reality is, we educators have a ton right in front of us every single day, and without clear communication, we all will struggle with knowing on what we should be focusing.

Also, any time you find yourself writing an email, speaking to a group of educators, or leading professional development or a faculty meeting, we must always keep these three question in mind:

Because we all know that communicating effectively will help us to avoid situations that don't go as planned:

And always remember this simple thing... we have two ears and only one mouth for a reason.

Lastly, we'd rather over-communicate than under-communicate because in the absence of clear and effective communication, people will start to make their own stories up about what should have been communicated and those stories might not be the stories you want being communicated...

Step up and take back control of the mic!