District Administration - September 2007 - (Page 70)

SUPERVISOR’S OPINION • Eamonn O’Donovan Dealing with Difﬁcult People They can help clarify your mission. E ARL WATKINS ENTERED THE Jackson (Miss.) Public Schools as superintendent to sobering feedback from the public. Less-than-happy parents and business partners had concerns. Parents reported that school folks didn’t really listen to them. Seeing opportunity where others saw a can of worms, he initiated a sustained eﬀort to orient all 58 of the Jackson schools and its central oﬃce to the idea that customer service is worthy the administrator to move to a solution. and can build support for student learn- • Express empathy for the ideas shared. ing. The district started at ground zero to You don’t have to agree. build a culture of courtesy and respect in • Avoid a standoﬀ. Move around obstacles the daily operations of its schools. Starting to focus on what you can do. modestly, the staﬀ conducted workshops • Suggest solutions and aﬃrm the steps on positive interactions with the public, you will take. and a standard positive greeting was estab- • Follow through on what you agreed. lished in all school oﬃces. The district also reached out to the Lucy Hansford, communications spe- community and employees by providing cialist in the Jackson schools, has been opportunities to meet with district admininstrumental in this ongoing campaign istrative staﬀ and school board members. to help district employees become more For example, in “Super Size Your Lunch,” responsive to the community. She realized employee groups meet with school board that community members with less-than- members for informal lunch discussions. sunny dispositions or unrealistic demands could put administrators in tough situaRESOURCES tions. Feedback cards for the community Publisher of useful books for educators at each school, titled “Your Opinion Matwww.eyeoneducation.com ters,” indicated that administrators had to Advice on dealing with people in the convince parents that they listened. If your school develops a reputation for putting students ﬁrst, situations will be easier to handle. This campaign has had a positive impact. Bus drivers, custodians, oﬃce staﬀ, business staﬀ, and teachers have been trained and understand the message that Jackson Public Schools are service oriented. In dealing with angry parents, Hansford suggests that administrators display a positive attitude, admit mistakes, and commit to student success. Delicate Balance It was this last point that hit home for me. School principals conduct a delicate dance between the demands of parents, the concerns of teachers, and the dictates of the central oﬃce. It is hard to keep all of these interest groups happy. However, the behavior of diﬃcult people, whether they are parents, teachers or community members, must be addressed, as to ignore it is to give it de facto acceptance. As a school principal, I negotiated this dance by developing a very clear sense of mission. It boiled down to one nonnegotiable fact—students come ﬁrst, and their individual success and achievement is the bottom line. As a principal, it’s important to share this core belief with staﬀ and teachers. As your actions demonstrate this core belief, there is a greater likelihood that your school will be more child centered. If your school develops a reputation for putting students ﬁrst, situations will be easier to handle. Diﬃcult people—whether they are parents or staﬀ—may disagree about particular points in a dispute, but you can likely ﬁnd a solution to move forward if you can agree that all have a common interest: the welfare of the student. DA Eamonn O’Donovan is director of middle school support at Capistrano Uniﬁed School District in California. District Administration Strategies for Difﬁcult People In response, Hansford hosted training sessions titled “Seven Habits of CustomerService-Focused Administrators.” In related training sessions, she also shared strategies for dealing with diﬃcult, demanding, or vociferous people. Some cornerstones of her advice to administrators include: workplace humanresources.about.com/od/ workrelationships/a/difﬁcultpeople Tips for dealing with difﬁcult people www.itstime.com Jackson Public Schools www.jackson.k12.ms.us Fred Pryor Seminars www.pryor.com • Let people have their say without interruption. This venting is necessary to allow 70 September 2007 Advice for dealing with difﬁcult people www.psychologytoday.com/articles/ pto-20060925-000001.html http://www.eyeoneducation.com http://humanresources.about.com/od/workrelationships/a/difficultpeople http://www.itstime.com http://www.jackson.k12.ms.us http://www.pryor.com http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20060925-000001.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2007

Cover Contents Editor’s Letter Letters News Update Curriculum Update Inside the Law District Profile Administrator Profile District Buying Power 2007 X-Factor Student Achievement Awards 2007 We've Got Mail Supporting New Teachers How Well Does This Web Site Work? New Products Problem Solution Computer Literature Research Corner Online Edge Supervisor’s Opinion Speaking Out Calendar of Events Understanding the Times

District Administration - September 2007

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