When I started thinking about Ron Clark's book, Move Your Bus, I knew I would run into problems. I figured it would be hard to pick short bursts from his writings to reflect on, and I was right. Let's start where Clark finishes this part of the book. And what I have seen is that, by making support for the Runners the foundation of how I lead, we have created a climate and culture at our Academy that is positive and refreshing... |
...[W]hen Runners are weighted down with the shame of their mistakes, they will never run as fast as they once did. It will weigh on them and hold them down. It will break their spirit. | Dear Runners, it is okay to allow yourself to make a mistake. Give yourself permission to forgive yourself and move on. You can't run with a mistake on your heart. Let it go. |
Now, in the business world we rarely focus on our Runners because they are doing a great job...It takes so little fuel to fire them up, and they tend to do their job so well that they don't require a lot of directional guidance from leadership...
[W]hen I could, I would remove certain things that I knew others could do for them...and as soon as you take something off the plate of a Runner, they will add something else back on...
They seemed to have more energy and a renewed vision. When I praised their efforts and congratulated them publicly, they beamed, and when I found resources and other materials that they needed, they were shocked and grateful...
As an administrator, there is nothing you can do that is more detrimental to the organization than kill the spirit of your Runners.