This New Year, go "South"

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For much of my career in education, I strived to be as task-oriented as possible. Teachers and principals know, there is always something we can be doing to make a difference to one more student. I always made sure I was doing that "something." If I wasn't working on a task, I was wasting valuable time.

That said, one of my most successful New Year's Resolutions pushed me to quit thinking this way. An NSRF Critical Friends activity called "Compass Points" taught me that strong educators, strong leaders, and strong people possess qualities of the four different directions on a compass. While we usually have one dominant direction, it is important to value the strengths of people who come from different directions, and to push ourselves to exhibit the traits of each direction. When I did this activity, I recognized that the traits of the "south" may have been those that I demonstrated least.

According to the NSRF descriptors, south is the direction of "caring," and a southerner "wants everyone's feelings to be considered and their voices to be heard before acting." While I always viewed myself as one who valued the voice of others, as well as their feelings, I am confident that this is not how I came across when I was overly task-oriented.



My success in becoming more of a south came from making a dedicated effort to listen. I didn't just listen when I was in a meeting and knew the voice of others would add expertise to a task; I listened because, when I did, the interesting people I worked with opened my mind and made me more knowledgable, and even worldly...and I didn't even need to leave Missouri! When I ran into people, I began seeking to know more about their tasks, their days, and their lives. Almost always, even if they weren't prepared for a real conversation, others happily engaged.

Now, I feel like the southern direction is the one to which I most closely relate. My day would be incomplete without healthy conversation...and importantly, I don't feel like I have let anyone down by being a little less task-oriented. It's very possible to be caring and to get things done at the same time. This new year, if you're looking for a way to positively affect your work environment, take a step towards the south. You won't regret it!


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