Ray Tiller

Toxic staff culture

... produced by poor leadership

- manipulative

- fails to facilitate

growth

- neglectful of people’s needs &

sensitivities

- Self seeking

- abusive

... stifles creative dynamic in the school ...

Free & vibrant staff culture... produced by good

leadership- humble

- responsive to people’s needs &

sensitivities - facilitates growth of individuals’ gifts

- Collaborative &

conciliatory- respectful & nurturing

... facilitates creative dynamic in the school ...

1. We are all “volunteers” to the service of our school’s mission before we are paid employees.

2. Everybody should feel valued,

equipped & empowered - not trapped

under someone else’s leadership.

What are the symptoms of staff culture that is becoming toxic, unsafe, or abusive??

Fear of speaking

upUndercurrent of murmuring

Middle level leaders don’t

lead

People give up on creative

initiative

Lack of life, vision,

enthusiasm

Loss of embrace of mission & core values

Fear of speaking

upUndercurrent of murmuring

Middle level leaders don’t

lead

People give up on creative

initiative

Lack of life, vision,

enthusiasm

Loss of embrace of mission & core values ...

do the ki

ds

get?

And

what ...

What causes a leader to become “abusive”?

Wrong modelling of leadership by other leaders

Founding ownership – “this is my kingdom/ organization – everything depends on me”

A narcissistic personality

An identity weakness – an orphan spirit?

.... and positions of power can change us!!

More credit + more blame = “it’s all about me”

The “toxic tandem” – people give more attention to those over them than to those under them.

When in power, there is pressure on me to:• become more conscious of myself than others• think that the rules don’t apply to me• become disinhibited in expressing socially

destructive feelings such as anger, arrogant disagreement, etc.**

a ****** s

sh **A lesson from Jesus Christ ... And there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them and those who exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger and he who governs as he that who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he that sits at the table? Yet, I am among you as the One who serves.

Luke 22:24-27 

Leader &

his/her vision

MinionsMinions

MinionsMinions

“… the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them …”

The vision & mission come from the top & all of the “minions” are simply responsible to carry out the leader’s vision

Destroys initiative

It is so different when we are not trying to build our own “kingdoms”.

.... When we work humbly together, there are no “subjects”, ... It is about recognizing the gifts in one another. It is about freely submitting to one another and the willingness to listen and to be convinced if that is necessary. It is all about love and relationships.

What stays and what nobody ever will be able to take away from anyone is that which we have done for- and what we have invested in other people. That is good fruit, which will stay.

- Author unknown

Diakonos Doulos

The waiter: “My only purpose for being here is your wellbeing & benefit.”

The “love slave”: I have given up my personal ambition & career, to give my all to serve and bless you.

Doing it the humble leadership waya. A radical servant-leadership

attitude:

Permission

Courage Courage – I am prepared to raise my concern with you

Permission – I give you permission to criticise my actions

b. The permission – courage pair

Doing it the humble leadership way

c. Make it safe for people to express concern & dissonance

Even if it gets

to this???Validate

concernsAvoid emotional reaction

No reprisals

Avoid self-

justification

Doing it the humble leadership way

d. Deal with concern & dissonance constructively

REALLY value

criticism

Help them to make

criticism

CONSTRUCTIVE

Teach fair fight rules

Doing it the humble leadership way

e. Leaders’ Quarantine

Hear the concern

without interruption

Quarantine personal

offence & insecurities

Confront offences with

dignity a few days

later

Process personal offence

& insecurity privately

Deal with the issue professionally

Doing it the humble leadership way

e. Parliamentary “Skunkworks”

Raise issues in

writing & with notice

Address issue to domain

leader

No complaint without

a suggested solution

A parliamentary style meeting with fixed times &

protocols, & controlled by the “speaker”

Committee-style decision for action & report back

– a formal way to deodorise the little “stinkers” before they foul the air of your school culture.

Doing it the humble leadership way

f. Check yourself out with a 360 review

Humble/ servant leadership

To what extent do you feel that I am sincerely committed to the welfare and success of the people I lead and/or the benefit of our organization. Or do you feel I am more interested in getting my own way, or making myself look good?

Integrity & trust

To what extent do people feel safe under my leadership? Or are they fearful of my actions or intentions? Do you trust me, are there any times that you have felt betrayed by me or suspicious of me, or felt that I have ulterior motives?

Willingness to learn, grow & change

To what degree do you feel that I seek opportunities to learn, grow & change through my experiences? Do you think I seek and use feedback and learn from my mistakes? Do you feel I am open to and properly responsive to constructive criticism?

Doing it the humble leadership way

f. Check yourself out with a 360 review

Courage To what extent do you think I have the courage to take risks? Do you feel I am prepared to confront issues rather than just sweep things under the carpet?

Insight To what extent do you think I am insightful? Do you feel I am skilful at picking up and understanding the real underlying issues? Or are there times when I just don’t seem to “get it”?

Professional skill & respect

How well do you & others regard my level of professionalism and skills in the areas in which I give leadership?

Doing it the humble leadership way

f. Check yourself out with a 360 review

Is committed to making a difference

To what extent do you feel that I am committed to improve the achievement of our mission? Or do you feel I am just accepting our weaknesses & limitations because I don’t have the energy or courage to make changes?

Brings out the best in people

To what extent does my leadership evoke the best efforts, contributions, cooperation and enthusiasm in those I lead?

Doing it the humble leadership way

Building a civilized workplace and surviving one that isn’t

How to be the best and learn from the worst

Dr Robert Sutton – Sanford University professor of Management Science and Engineering, Organizational Behavior by courtesy

Some helpful reference books - business

Recognizing & Escaping Spiritual manipulation and False Spiritual Authority ...

How to break free from Bad Church Experiences

Some helpful reference books - spiritual

1. Fear of speaking up – it is not safe to dissent or express concern. So I just shut up.

2. Undercurrent of murmuring (people express their concerns horizontally rather than vertically).

3. Middle level leaders don’t lead – tend to just execute the orders of the boss.

4. People give up on creative initiative & new ideas. 5. A general sense that “people are just doing their

job”, not full of life, vision, enthusiasm.6. Loss of the embrace of core values in the

organization.

Workshop Task #1

Rate your workplace (1 = very bad; 10 = excellent) on each of these “symptoms” of an unsafe or “abused” workplace environment. Discuss with one or two others why you have made these ratings.

Workshop Task #2

Our staff leadership culture has a profound effect on our capacity to build a school culture to carry the mission of the school in its effect on our students. Discuss with one or two others the effects on your school culture and what could be done to improve it.

1. Discuss the positive and negative effects of the things you noted in Task #1 on your school’s capacity to fulfil its mission.

2. What changes or improvements could be made in your workplace culture to ensure you meet your school’s mission better?

Workshop Task #3Your own leadership skills and attitudes will be critical to your capacity to best fulfil your role as an educational leader.

1. Take a few minutes to privately reflect on the 360 degree review tool (just Section A). Make your ratings quickly, then record 2 -3 aspects of your leadership you would like to improve.

2. Discuss your thoughts with one or two others.

3. If there is time available, repeat the exercise for Section B.

The purpose of this task is to help you to examine your leadership and plan improvement.