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INTRODUCTION

Why Messaging Matters

The art of communication is the language of leadership.

—James Humes

In a January 29, 2015, episode of Invisibilia, a National Public Radio podcast about the invisible forces that affect us without our awareness, reporters spoke about a phenomenon known as entanglement. The conversation began with a description of a physics experiment in which scientists were able to isolate atoms in separate locations, change the molecular structure, and manipulate the two separate atoms into becoming one atom, though still in separate locations (Miller & Spiegel, 2015).

That’s right: atoms contained in boxes four feet away from one another demonstrated simultaneous responses. These atoms are not mirror images of one another, however; they are one another—separate but one. This is entanglement. Charles Q. Choi (2015), in a Live Science article titled “Quantum Record! 3,000 Atoms Entangled in Bizarre State,” explains that scientists theorize entangled atoms may stay connected even if they are a universe apart.

Scientists are able to explain how to make this happen, but they still cannot explain why this is possible. So, why should you be fascinated with this idea of entanglement? Well, before I answer that question, let me describe another entanglement phenomenon. This may seem like common sense, but Invisibilia reporters also explain how psychologists have proven that a person’s environment influences his or her unconscious behavior—a kind of social entanglement (Miller & Spiegel, 2015).

In one example from the podcast, an unsuspecting individual enters an elevator with groups of people who exhibit predetermined movements (like facing the wrong direction or taking their hats off at the same time). Over and over again, and with multiple test cases, the individuals follow the movements of the group. Interestingly, they are not just responding to the group’s movements (unconsciously taking the same actions as the group), but they are also simultaneously following their actions.

For instance, an individual wearing a hat enters an elevator with a group of people wearing hats. Without any advance notice, the hatted folks reach up and remove their hats, and the unsuspecting individual follows suit—often without any hesitation and often at the very same time! What is the explanation for this phenomenon? Entanglement.

So why is entanglement important to educators or school leaders interested in messaging? In a world of easy access to information, the way we communicate is critically important. Our words—conversations, announcements, praise, criticism, celebration, and so on—frame the message others hear about you and your school. Messaging is the mindset that defines the way you communicate. It is the platform you use for promoting what others perceive and believe about you or your school. This messaging is entangled in everything you do and say. In some ways, experiments with entanglement confirm what we’ve always known: our surroundings influence us more than we often recognize. We may connect with one another in ways more mysterious than we’ve ever imagined. In other ways, entanglement opens our eyes to incredible possibilities in how we communicate and influence others.

Here’s a simple application. If you take the idea of entanglement to its logical conclusion, you must seriously grapple with the power of your position as a school leader and ask yourself some questions.

■ “What persons or ideas consistently surround me, and how do these affect who I am?”

■ “How do I purposely and intentionally influence my home, work, and surroundings to bring about the most positive outcomes possible?”

■ “How do I tailor messages within the school environment—to teachers, students, and the community—to reflect the true culture of the school?”

As school leaders, we cannot ignore how incredibly (and sometimes mysteriously) significant a part we each play in molding the school environment. We can accomplish this molding in many ways, but I can’t think of a more powerful way than messaging. The messages teachers, staff members, students, parents, and the community receive about your school culture shape their perception of the school, your leadership, and often their general opinion about education and schooling. As a school leader, it is your responsibility to positively influence the messages the school community consistently receives. You are part of a web of entangled messages and influences; how can you meaningfully play your part?

Entanglement has many implications. In the Invisibilia episode, scientists ask if it is possible for bits of ourselves to actually be present in the places or people with whom we are entangled—like the same atom present in two separate locations (Miller & Spiegel, 2015). Regardless of how strange or mind blowing those implications may be, one of the most powerful takeaways is simply that the people and places all around us are consciously and unconsciously entangled.

Ask yourself if you are intentional about the messaging you send about your school—both within the walls and to the community beyond them. What part do your messages play in building and supporting a positive school culture?

A Messaging Crisis

Many schools are facing a leadership crisis—not because there are no strong leaders in schools but because school leaders often do not connect with the most powerful learning moments happening in their schools, nor celebrate them. Most school leaders feel overwhelmed, overworked, and overcommitted. With the ever-increasing responsibilities of the school principal, it should be no surprise that in 2012, the Center for Public Education found that the average principal stays on the job for five years or fewer (Hull, 2012).

A school leader’s job often involves putting out situational fires, responding to urgent needs, or satisfying the requests of a multitude of stakeholders. It’s no wonder that school leaders must battle for time to enjoy the best parts of school—being with the students and teachers who experience amazing moments of learning and celebrating them.

Even as school leaders learn to prioritize time for the most meaningful moments of school, difficult or negative situations often make it into conversations, social media, or mainstream media. As a result, the public gains a mistaken perception that schools are generally failing.

In Richard DuFour’s (2015) book In Praise of American Educators, he explores this popular but misguided notion that schools are failing and cites a Gallup poll asking parents how they would grade American schools:

The majority of parents gave Ds or Fs to U.S. schools. But when these same parents were asked how they would grade their own local school, the overwhelming majority assigned As or Bs … slightly more than 1 percent have indicated the [local] school is failing. (DuFour, 2015, p. 18)

Why is there such disparity between the perceptions of schools at large and particular local schools? Part of the reason rests with how the media generally portrays schools negatively. Also the current political divide in the United States has created incentives for politicians or lobbyists to emphasize negatives that work to their political advantage. Regardless of the reason, these larger perceptions drive public opinion. Public opinion drives public policy. And public policy provides or doesn’t provide resources for our schools. Schools are providing amazing service to students, but that message is not always making it beyond the school or local community. What would happen if a movement began among school leaders to make messaging a higher priority? Imagine a different scenario for the larger perception of America’s schools.

■ What would happen if school leaders prioritized the incredible learning opportunities, the meaningful human connections, and the powerful engagement of their schools while strategically promoting, publishing, and celebrating those moments?

■ What would happen if school leaders across a community, state, nation, or the globe committed to the same goal of encouraging and sharing positive moments?

■ What would happen if you influenced the perceptions of your school or district based on overwhelming positive outcomes rather than negative, isolated incidents?

■ What would happen if you were able to brand your school or district, promote your successes, and build the public’s perception based on the good outcomes instead of the negative ones?

If you will ever be able to prioritize these positive moments and shift the direction of public policy in support of schools, you might start a national or global movement. But to do so, you must address two leadership issues.

1. You must prioritize and strategize time for doing what matters.

2. You must believe that messaging matters by understanding a comprehensive approach to building healthy school cultures and overwhelming others with the positive performances and celebrations of your students.

A New Era of Messaging

I wrote this book with the school principal in mind when I was a school principal. But the ideas in these pages can help all school leaders: superintendents, directors, instructional coaches, and teacher leaders. If you are reading this book because you simply want ideas for innovative communication tools, you may get more than you bargained for. My definition of messaging is much more extensive. This book is a comprehensive approach to building healthy schools that requires digging deeply into the motivations of your leadership, the value of listening to others, and the power of seeing your school through the eyes of others. It also involves building a collaborative community in which you consistently cultivate an environment of mutual respect, goal setting, and celebration. At the same time, this book is practical. I will share plenty of ideas on actions and tools you can begin to use immediately to improve your messaging.

After more than two decades as an educator and more than half those years in school administration, I’ve witnessed the positive and negative perceptions that school leaders can create among students, teachers, parents, community members, and colleagues. As a principal, blogger, author, podcaster, and speaker, I’ve also seen the powerful connections, growth, and energy of other leaders who have learned to maximize their communication platforms.

My own story is just one of many. I have taught in large and small schools. I began my career as a high school English teacher. I eventually began working on a master’s degree in school administration and became a high school assistant principal in a school with fourteen hundred students. During the writing and publication of this book, I was principal of Skiatook High School in a city north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. (As this book went to press, I transitioned to the position of executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Principals and Oklahoma Middle Level Educators Association.) With 750 students in grades 9–12 at Skiatook, messaging became an important part of my leadership. Each year we strategized with student leaders and teachers on mottos, announcements, and celebrations. We provided constant feedback on the wins we saw every day in student learning and activities. We worked hard to create a culture of collaboration, engagement, and positive entanglement. Skiatook has more than eight hundred parents who subscribe to weekly newsletters. It uses a variety of social media channels to promote a culture of learning and excellence. As a result, I like to describe the school community as raving fans of the school.

Over the years, I have spoken and presented to many groups of aspiring principals, school leaders, and student leaders. I also reach out to thousands of others around the globe through blogging, writing, podcasting, and posting on social media. Of all the interactions I have with others, the most common are those with my school community members and colleagues about the learning, activities, and celebrations happening in our school—not the drama, discipline, or difficulties. I believe this powerful form of messaging can benefit every school. That collaboration, relationship building, and celebration can be the norm for any school leader committed to the power of sending a message about school culture.

An Opportunity for Positive Entanglement

Today we have incredible capacity for building positive entanglements with members of our school community and celebrating our schools. Using social media, blogging, publishing, networking, and marketing are no longer tools or skills limited to corporate or business interests. Schools have amazing opportunities to leverage all these tools as well. But the journey begins by investing in your teachers, students, parents, and community through meaningful connections. That makes the message you have to deliver authentic and worth celebrating.

Perhaps you’ve already caught the wave of messaging power for your school. Or perhaps you are reading this book because you are interested in why messaging matters. Or maybe you want more strategies for improving your own communication influence. In the chapters that follow, you will find more than just tips on using digital tools. You will find strategies for effective communication, but more important, you’ll discover why messaging matters. When you make a commitment as chief communicator to your students, teachers, team members, and community, amazing things begin to happen.

■ Negative interactions can become the exception instead of the rule.

■ Students and team members engage more in what matters most.

■ Schools celebrate powerful learning opportunities instead of hiding them.

In addition, strong messaging allows your leadership influence to grow in the following ways. You will:

■ Communicate expectations in advance and increase your ability to navigate your entire school year before it begins

■ Deal with challenges in a positive way

■ Provide meaningful feedback to teachers

■ Enhance your school’s image with digital tools

■ Promote effective strategies that work

■ Improve student behavior and performance

If you’re going to maintain a positive perspective on school leadership that keeps you committed for the long term, you need motivation and strategies for improving the platform for your message. How can you make that happen? First, you create a positive culture through your entanglements. Second, you celebrate that positivity one message at a time.

How This Book Is Organized

I have divided this book into three parts to help you learn to maximize your messaging: (1) with teachers, (2) with students, and (3) with parents and the world. Each part contains a Now It’s Your Turn section that contains questions for reflection and taking action. You will also see suggestions for digital tools throughout with ideas for ways to create effective online platforms.

If you read no further than this introduction, let me leave you with this question: What kind of lasting impression do you want to impart to your students, teachers, parents, and the community from and about your school? My fear is that many principals become so distracted in the tasks of school management that they lose sight of the importance of taking back the conversations about their schools. What about you? If you are ready to take new steps toward building powerfully positive entanglements and persuasive messages in your leadership, then read ahead and let’s learn together how your messaging matters.

Now It’s Your Turn

• In what ways do you intentionally work to keep your environment positive?

• In what ways have you already embedded practices into your school for cultivating strong relationships and promoting positive happenings?

• What is one step you can take today toward improving the entanglement experiences of students and teachers in your building?