RANIA EL-SIOUFI AGENDA Communication & Leadership How - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

RANIA EL-SIOUFI

AGENDA  Communication & Leadership  How Communication Works  Internal School Relationships  External School Relationships  Communication strategies for Challenging Situations  Successful Principal-Board Communication  The Stress of Communication

General Objective of the Presentation At the end of the session participants:  Will have an heightened awareness of the important role effective communication plays in the success of a school  Utilize at least three strategies to improve the communication at their school  Develop a communication matrix  Display greater tolerance and patience when communicating

COMMUNICATION AND LEADERSHIP Managing communications effectively is a key leadership skill, and thus taking time to review your communications strategy and performance will be time well spent. Many problems in and out of school can be directly traced to:  whether information was communicated  how it was communicated  who communicated it.

THE PRINCIPAL’S ROLE Communication is a management function, not a set of techniques  Being a role model and championing for good communication  Words from leaders matching actions Commitment to two-way communication   Face-to-face communication  Bad news being communicated as effectively as good news Be forthright but tactful   Diversify communication 1. Your body language, moods and actions = powerful messages 2.Confidence is essential 3.Failure to complete or carry out a routine task suggests the routine is not important and will undermine your credibility. 4.Remaining approachable while being regarded as a professional leader 5.Remember you are now a public figure

SCHOOL COMMUNICATION WEB MOE & ACCREDITATION PRINCIPAL SCHOOL BOARD TEACHER STUDENT COMMUNITY

BRAINSTORM! Communications Overview Consider: Media N T At the end of the day list everyone you T e a A M o w R s S s S T Audience e w E M s e s u k o r F n e m e l p e r c e o communicated with during the day, t a d e o m v i l r F i i H i t r b e o a l m n l a a t t l y r l o g l e y c l for no matter how short a time. Your r e Students results may be surprising. Schedule Responsible Cost Leadership Team Schedule Responsible Cost Teachers Schedule Responsible Cost Parents Schedule Responsible Cost Office staff Schedule Responsible Cost Caretaker/Security Schedule Responsible Cost Board Members Schedule Responsible Cost

 What is Communication  The Communication Process”  Messenger  Message  Medium Feedback   Non-Verbal Communication  Situation

COMMUNICATION  The process of successfully transferring information from one entity to another  Exchange of thoughts, messages or information by speech, signals, writing or behavior  The art and technique of using verbal or non verbal strategies effectively to impart information or ideas.  What is Communication  The Communication Process

COMMUNICATION IN SCHOOLS School Leaders should: o never leave the business of communication to chance o constantly seek new ways to raise their communication awareness o develop their skills to become models for effective communication o learn effective listening and responding techniques  What is Communication  The Communication Process

10 COMMANDMENTS OF COMMUNICATION 1. “Speak” to people . 6. Be genuinely interested in people . There is nothing as nice as a You can like everybody if you try. cheerful word of greeting. 7. Be generous with praise and 2. Smile at people . cautious with criticism. It takes 72 muscles to frown; 14 to smile. 8. Be considerate of the feelings of others . 3. Call people by name. It will be appreciated. The sweetest music is the sound of one’s own name. 9. Be thoughtful of the opinion of others. 4. Be friendly and helpful. 10. Be alert to give service . 5. Be cordial. What counts most in life is what we do for others.  What is Communication  The Communication Process

COMMUNICATION AND ATTITUDE One can change the direction of communication if one changes one’s attitude. There is no one attitude that is the 'right' one to have, though being direct and clear certainly helps. Rights come with responsibility.

ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS SENDER / MESSENGER / SPEAKER MESSAGE / IDEA / SPEECH CHANNEL / MEDIUM RECEIVER / AUDIENCE FEEDBACK SITUATION

PROFILE OF THE EFFECTIVE MESSENGER  ARTICULATE  KNOWLEDGEABLE  CONFIDENT  FLEXIBLE  CREATIVE  AWARE/ADAPTABLE  PROTOCOL-SENSITIVE

PROFILE OF THE MESSAGE APPROPRIATELY TITLED OR INTRODUCED BETTER IF CONCISE AND MUST BE APPROPRIATE FOR PRECISE TARGET (Register and Tone) MUST START AND END ON A POSITIVE NOTE (Sandwich Technique)

MEDIUM

BRAINSTORM! Stakeholder Engagement Examples Partnership Participation Consultation Push Communication Pull Communication

HIERARCHY OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION MEDIA One-to-one/face-to-face Small group meetings Speaking before a large group Phone conversations Handwritten personal notes Typewritten personal notes Computer-generated personal letters Mass-produced non-personal letters Brochures Articles in newsletters News in press

TECHNOLOGY AS A MEDIUM

PROFILE OF THE LISTENER/RECEIVER  LISTENING ≠ HEARING  READING ≠ UNDERSTANDING  SENDER MUST SOMETIMES BECOME LISTENER / RECEIVER  READ WITH AN OPEN MIND: Forget Preconceptions  THE BAGGAGE AT THE DOOR!  LISTENING CAREFULLY / READING OBJECTIVELY IS A SIGN OF RESPECT  CHECK LISTEN

ACTIVE LISTENING Listen Check Respond Non-verbal Signals o Paraphrase or o Be candid, open, and Summarize to check honest in your response. o Smile for understanding o Assert your opinions o Eye Contact • Your point is… respectfully. o Posture • Your concern is… o Treat the other person in a o Avoiding Distraction way that you think he or she • You're asking… would want to be treated.

DISCRETION Discretion in Communication Schools require employees to use discretion Written communications such as email are particularly vulnerable to improper and unauthorized distribution, because they are so easy to forward to others. Judgment in Communication The school also expects them to be able to take the decision that they feel is the right one, which is called acting according to their discretion .

NON-VERBAL FEEDBACK NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE GESTURES SPEECH EXPRESSION MOVEMENT BODY SILENCE FACIAL

 Teacher-Student  Teacher-Teacher  Staff-Administration

IN-SCHOOL COMMUNICATION: WITH WHO & WHY Communication Protocols  Student level  Teacher level  Department level  Admin level  School level

EFFECTIVE HIERARCHY  Paper  Practice  Being informed vs. micromanaging

ADJUSTING THE TEMPERATURE Setting Expectations  Using your Cs – Compassion, Consistency, Communication, Creativity, Collaboration  Being an example  Teaching moments Adopt a listening approach for:  ‘sounds’ of learning at your school such as evidence of curiosity, inquiry, earnest endeavour, shared thinking and collaboration and teacher facilitation  ‘sounds’ of teachers’ shared approach to teaching such as team teaching, collaborative planning, questioning and supporting Adopt an analytical ear for the ‘sounds’:  you want to hear but are absent  you hear but would prefer not to hear. Add all these sounds to your knowledge bank about the school and use them at appropriate times to make progress on development.

TEACHER STUDENT  Vertical communication (subordinates and superiors)  Boundaries must be CLEARLY defined  Chain of command must be respected  Must leave room for dialogue and/or negotiation if necessary  Teachers do not have to use “big sticks”  Relationships are not defined by behavior or performance

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH CHILDREN LISTEN actively (the most basic of all the skills) Address the Child Holistically Be Strengths-Based

TEACHER TEACHER  Horizontal communication (peer to peer)  Rules of protocol may be relaxed  Respect for the individual must always be displayed  Understand that roles are intertwined (others depend on you for their work to be done effectively)  Make sure that message is clearly articulated

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES • A climate of support and respect • A cycle of feedback • Identification & commitment to common learning standards • Common lessons and assessments • Capacity of staff & increased teacher efficacy • Caring and positive relationships among staff and students

STAFF ADMINISTRATION ¤ Vertical communication (subordinates and superiors) ¤ Requires rules of protocol to be observed ¤ Chain of command must be respected ¤ Delegation, duty and execution are critical ¤ Must leave room for dialogue and/or negotiation if necessary ¤ Difference between leaders and dictators

 Community  Board-Staff  Parent-School