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Are we taking life too seriously and failing to see the joy of it all?

I witnessed something amazing, that made my heart soar. My entire staff laughing and having a good time. We always have a two-day Inservice for our staff before school starts. I wanted our focus this year to go in the direction of support for our students who experience trauma. I knew this could be a very heavy subject to discuss, so it was vital to keep it light and fun. We participated in ACEs training (Adverse Childhood Experiences), on day one and on the second day we invited a speaker. Our speaker shared social-emotional points with the staff in a humorous way. We laughed a lot, made fun of ourselves, and enjoyed each other’s company one more day before the students arrived. It was wonderful to have some fun after the year we had. This will be a great start to the school year!

It is easy to get caught up in our jobs. The start of a new school year brings a lot of stress and work. We want the start of the year to be perfect in everyway possible. Our efforts to make this possible requires much work. In all this chaos, we sometimes forget to laugh and have fun. Sure, every teacher enjoys setting up for a new year, with a new group of kids. It’s what we do! With that being said, there is still stress. One of the best ways to reduce stress is laughter. This is what I witnessed on the second Inservice day for my staff, stress dissipating.   

Emotions were high last year and there are still some uncertainties on the direction this pandemic will take which makes me worry for my people. One important part of a leader’s role is to ensure the people we lead are ok. This requires us to check-in with them often. For those leaders with a large staff, this can take some time to get through all of them. One way to achieve this is have small conversations more often. This is one of my current goals this year. Scheduling a visit time during the day and stop in with a set group each week just for a chat. These conversations are an important step in building trust, as well as checking in on your people. Do they have everything they need? Are they dealing with any issues that you can talk through with them?   There are always opportunities to connect with your people and do a quick assessment of their stress levels and address any needs they may have.

It is important for the leaders of an organization to manage their stress levels as well. In previous posts, we discussed using positive self-talk. For some it may sound odd, like I am asking you to sit and talk to yourself. We must celebrate our win every day. Taking the time to intentionally point out to ourselves when we hit the mark will keep us happy and on point each day. Managing our stress should also be a physical step. Movement is vital to our mental health, and that is why it is so important to get up and move about your space and the spaces of your people. When you are out among your people, you a taking care of yourself and them. We should also have fun at work and with the people in our organizations. Our guest speaker brought this to my staff last week. It is ok to joke around, and I found in most effective if I am the focus of the joke. Our roles in leadership can be like riding a rollercoaster. Sure, it can be scary at times, but it also can be moments of fun. So, when life or work gets crazy, hold your arms up as if you are riding a rollercoaster and say woo-hoo to yourself and just enjoy the ride life has to offer.

When is there an opportunity in your day to check in with your people?

What are you doing to manage your stress levels?

Where is there an opportunity to lighten the mood and laugh?

I hope you have a chance to laugh today at yourself or a current situation. Life is not always funny, but if you look for the moments of joy you will find them. Have a great week as you look for moments that make you smile or laugh. Thanks for checking out this week’s post, please leave any comments below.

Steven C. Bucks- Leading Conversations