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As schools move to attract and retain more high-quality teachers, engaging staff in their careers is just as critical as engaging students in their learning.

But how do you keep staff engaged when stress levels are at record highs, or students are chronically absent, or discipline issues are causing undue classroom disruptions? The list of reasons that your teachers and staff are seemingly distracted and disengaged in their craft is long and difficult to systematically tackle.

If you caught our recent podcast interview, you know that George Couros and I spent a lot of time talking about what schools get wrong when it comes to staff engagement.

As the author of The Innovator’s Mindset and, more recently, co-author of What Makes a Great Principal, George has been on a mission of sorts to help school leaders find ways to inspire and empower teachers and staff.

Why?

Because the research shows that engaged educators represent the shortest distance between a student and their vast academic and career potential.

When policy-makers and others debate staff engagement, the conversation almost always turns to pay. Teachers and other school staff are chronically underpaid — that’s hardly a matter of debate.

But, as George and others point out, pay isn’t something most school leaders can do much about. What school leaders can — 100% should — do is look for ways to support career growth, delegate decision-making, increase responsibility and show their teams that their passion, their commitment and their hard work is valued, appreciated and, assuming their willing and ready to contribute to the mission, guaranteed to be put to good use in their school communities.

So, where do you start?

During our talk, George suggested three questions every school leader should ask in an effort to get teachers and staff more engaged in their work.

#1 What are your ideas?
There is a seemingly unwritten rule in a lot of schools: “Administrators tell and teachers and staff do.” But that isn’t a sign of a healthy or productive work culture, says Couros. He recalls a moment from his own career when a principal asked him, a seventh-grade teacher, for advice on technology purchases. Technology wasn’t his speciality, or even an area he knew much about. But, because he was given the responsibility, he researched the topic, shared his thoughts and quickly saw his ideas take hold. The experience helped Couros step outside his comfort zone, expand his sphere of influence in the school system and, perhaps most important, it made him accountable to his teaching partners. “If they didn’t like what I did, I was sitting there with them,” he said. “It came down to me.”

#2 What are your questions?
Teachers and staff are opinionated people. In most cases, they spent years conducting research, studying student behavior and achievement and honing their craft. Despite vast institutional knowledge, they don’t always feel comfortable or invited to ask questions. Maybe they’ve been made to feel like asking a question is a sign of professional weakness, or maybe they feel like their voices, for whatever reason, won’t be heard. So, they keep their mouths shut. As a result, your school or organization misses a critical and timely opportunity to adjust or improve its practices or policies in favor of a more efficient or effective solution. While a lot of schools conduct staff engagement surveys, anonymous question-asking, while good for generalized feedback, isn’t typically good at empowering staff, says Couros. Consider meeting individually with your team members and asking for their feedback. Create a safe space and demonstrate ways in which their questions are fueling important changes in the school or the broader school system.

#3 What are the things you are struggling with?
Just because you think you explained something effectively, or a new idea was clear, doesn’t mean your team sees it that way. In addition to asking generally what questions people have, make it a point to ask them what they’re struggling with. Find out where they need help or support. Is it a lack of time, a need for additional teaching resources, a better framework for parent meetings? Just as you encourage your staff to ask questions, you should ask them: How can I help? Having identified specific areas of attention, you can put your time and effort into identifying specific resources and being an advocate for your team and their professional needs, and not a mouthpiece for “the system.”

Want to empower your teachers and staff to be at their best this school year?

Here are two ways The RocketPD Learning Community can help you dig deeper on this topic today:

  1. Watch my interview with author George Couros on The RocketPD Podcast.
  2. Consider joining George for a group he’s pulling together, as part of a special cohort-based learning opportunity later in the year.

Get The Ultimate Guide to Staff Engagement

*When you sign up for our guide, we’ll also subscribe you to our RocketPD Community Newsletter, a monthly curated selection of education news & headlines, with a focus on teacher & staff engagement. Don’t want to receive the newsletter? Unsubscribe at any time.

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