174. A Culture of Urgency: Recognizing the Patterns

Leaders have lots of amazing ideas. 

And sometimes, those ideas can turn into multiple priorities. This is absolutely normal. 

But when there’s a new idea, a new priority, every month, week, or day, it’s exhausting and confusing for the whole school.

As the focus shifts constantly from one urgent matter to the next, everything becomes a priority. In a culture like this, the team learns that when everything is a priority, nothing is actually a priority.

They may delay starting a project or put in low effort in the beginning, because they know the leader is apt to chang their mind.

Not only can this result in low morale and frustration on the part of both leadership and the team, it poaches employees’ buy-in, ownership, and innovation.

Short-term focus and inconsistent prioritization are two symptoms of a culture of urgency in a school.

Operating within a culture of urgency is such a difficult and stifling experience, so I’m dedicating the next two Schools of Excellence Podcast episodes to the topic.

This week, I’m discussing how you can recognize the patterns of a culture of urgency within your own school.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Three key symptoms to help you diagnose a culture of urgency
• Ten ways a culture of urgency negatively impacts a school and its leaders, staff, and families
• One critical skill for leaders to learn that can help create a sense of deliberateness and calm
• A valuable tool for understanding the core tension within your center

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

 P.S. When you’re facing dozens of competing priorities, an outside perspective can help you focus on the next best steps to move you closer to your goals. Let’s work together in a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive during this busy time. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If your school is experiencing high turnover, burnout, and stress, you may have a culture of urgency. The Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program provides proven, ongoing support as you get to the root of the problem. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, resources, and access to a thriving community that will help you work towards building a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.