Are you dog tired?

Leaders make hundreds of decisions daily that impact lives. Depending on the nature of their work, it can be very intense for them, testing strength physically, emotionally, and mentally. Many times leaders put in long days, and adding all of this together can be exhausting.

As a leader, you try to keep the spirits up and to motivate others. Leaders listen to concerns and do their best at finding solutions. But we all have been there. There is always some negativity out there. You have that one person who chooses the pathway of “Oscar the Grouch.”

I had an Oscar. We are friends today, even after our experience of making changes. It is a process of building up relationships and getting to know the personality of those you are working with to help. I do not recommend this particular approach unless you want to use my story as an example to all staff to lighten the mood to discuss climate and culture.

“Good morning, Janet.”

“I don’t know what is good about it.”

“Are you tired today?”

“I am! I am tired every day when I leave here and every day when I come. These kids and stuff around here wears me out!”

“Well, I think I know why you are tired.”

“Why do you think I am tired?”

“I think you are dog tired because you bark all day. Try smiling and giving positives. See if that makes a difference. Glad you are here today! Smile; it is a beautiful day!

We both smiled, and this broke the ice to begin to clear the path for change. I have changed the name, but I know she would not have cared if I used her real name.

Your passion and heart lead you to follow a path of service to others. The journey is filled with many opportunities for growth, challenges, rewards, success, and achievement. If your actions and steps along the path created inspiration for others to believe, dream, learn, laugh, love, and become more, you have accomplished what lead you to start this path. “Oscar the Grouch” needs a reminder of the value of their “why” to the “what” they do each day! They genuinely want to make a difference. A little support gets them on the right path.

We can all have our moments of being “dog tired” at our job and home. It is good to remind ourselves when we model negativity in our day, it carries over just as much, if not more, than our positive outlooks. Complaining being short and tones in our speech send messages out often unintentionally to signal it is okay to act this way.

Clear communication, establishing a transparent positive culture, and building trust for each other, will provide the pathway to growth opportunities. Your culture and climate are essential as you move forward to improve. “ In short, culture is how we behave, and climate is how we feel. Culture is the way we do things around here, and climate is the way we feel around here.”-Second Edition Transforming School Culture, Anthony Muhammad (Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015, p.10)

Improvement Solutions

• Improve areas identified
• Mission statement established all members believe and follow
• Partnerships with all stakeholders for valuable input
• Accountability assigned for action steps
• Timelines established for goals

Impact your team today!

As you ponder the thoughts of being “dog tired” let me remind you of a few things.

• You survived a global pandemic
• You made quick decisions to change in order to react to this global crisis
• Every day is another day you helped others face issues to overcome
• You have and are supporting others in difficult times
• You are doing a great job!

Action Plan

• Clarify your vision
• Commit to positive thoughts
• Be consistent on your focus of performance
• Strengthen your confidence and support this in others
• Control responses in all situations (verbal, written, body language)
• Be the solution daily! (If not you then who?)