Connecting to a person's heart requires a strong, positive relationship. Relationships are intentional, they take effort to build, but that doesn't mean they can be faked. A leader must genuinely care about the people he or she leads to have the most success in building relationships. There is no shortcut here. All day every day leaders need to show they care by listening, asking about people's lives both in and out of school, remembering details that are important to people, celebrating success, offering support, and making time for people.
Just as important, leaders need to model the relationship-building actions they'd like their staff to use. Leaders need to be all in for whatever the school needs, willing to do any job because all jobs are important, and interacting with all students because they are ALL our students. Leaders need to hold expectations high for staff and even higher for themselves, share their goals and passions, take risks, admit mistakes, model growth, be human, and also be their best selves.
When staff can connect to their leader on a human level and they know their leader genuinely cares about them as people, they will be ready to learn from and with that leader in the name of what's best for kids.
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