• Welcome to our board meeting! With all the competing interests there are in a person’s life, we appreciate you take time to attend and engage in our meetings.
• The 2017-18 school year has begun! Thank you to each Sweetwater employee for ensuring our students have a great start! This means teachers, counselors, administrators, office staff, paraprofessionals, custodial and maintenance staff, transportation and nutritional services staff, and all the rest of the district offices that support each school behind the scenes. It truly takes all of us to make this happen!
• We are proud to report that Sweetwater was selected as one of USA’s Top 10 School Districts on Social Media, and what makes them stand out online. Box Clever Education recognizes “how much time and effort goes into curating content and creating a presence on social media. To have an effective communication strategy, you need to post consistently, have genuine conversations with your followers, and provide valuable and informative content.” Sweetwater’s effort just go noticed nationally! So, of the 13,500 school districts they reviewed, we made it in the TOP 10! Thanks to the Grants & Communication department that post memories of graduation ceremonies, athletic achievements, academic achievements, staff and student accomplishments, and much, much more. We use four social media platforms to communicate all the great things going on to staff, students, parents, and community: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. We have 2,392 followers on FB; 3,406 followers on Twitter; 12,831 views of Sweetwater videos in the last two years and 128 subscribers; 165 followers on Instagram. The first thing Box Clever noticed was the cover photo we use for FB and Twitter. It’s an image of all our mascots together. They also noticed we share excellent photos on Instagram “with consistent filtering and hastags.” We were also recognized for the “engaging video content” on YouTube, FB, and Twitter. Go Sweetwater!
• In tonight’s message, I want to share what I learned from the Success section of the Union-Tribune a few Sundays ago. The article was entitled, Signs of Greatness, 10 Things that Show an Organization Gets it Right. It’s written by John Brandon, a contributing editor for INC.com. Greatness is hard to define and even harder to attain! Yet, we all seem to know greatness when we see it!
• When a company or organization stands out, you know because there are certain traits and attributes you can identify.
• John Brandon says you can look for these signs by listening closely to what employees say in a meeting or when they gather for lunch.
• Here are 10 signs that things are going really well…what do you think?

• 1. Everyone is having fun!
     • Brandon says this is the entry point for greatness. You want to be there. You feel encouraged and motivated. It’s a great place to be. Without a sense of fun and creativity, achieving any level of greatness is much more challenging. To be great, you have to be a beacon of fun!  We all can think of a favorite school where we have worked, I can bet that having fun was a big part of why you liked being there.
  2. No one is pedantic!
     • He shared that after 26 years working in multiple organizations, the one thing that seems to kill all progress and creativity is a heaping dose of pedantry. This is where everyone acts like they know everything, when they are devoted to rules and overly fastidious. Instead, when the organization is filled with open-minded people who want to learn new things, it becomes a great place.
  3. Empathy abounds!
     • Empathy, we know, is the ability to see another point of view. When everyone seems to have that ability, that organization is going to excel.

We all need each other to help us grow and empathy is the engine for that.

Empathy is in short supply, and so is greatness.

• 1. Expectations are crystal clear!
     • Who in this room has ever had a boss who never bothered to explain what we you were doing or why and became critical when we didn’t do what they wanted? We all want to know why – we all want to know the vision – where we’re going – and why we are doing what we’re doing. If that’s crystal clear, then it creates a great organization because the entire organization becomes unified. Goals are meant to be shared and not a well-kept secret.
  2. Grace is prevalent!
     • What if you know where you’re going as an organization, but you don’t quite get there? How do we respond as an organization when we just don’t meet our goals? This is where grace comes in. Showing grace during times like this is what makes an organization even greater. Grace is being free to try new things and fail at times – that is what makes people work hard and stick around. A culture of criticism kills momentum. A culture of grace, encouragement, understanding, and excitement will turn any organization into a giant!
  3. Roles are clearly defined!
     • Employees need to feel empowered, and that’s where clear roles come into play. A role is a reason. It’s a way to define why that employee is even in the organization and the scope of their involvement. Being clear about roles helps make expectations crystal clear. Are you very clear about your role in your school or department?
  4. Everyone sees and rewards hard work!
     • We are improving each year in how we recognize employees. Our Sweetwater Stars has yielded great dividends this year. When we acknowledge each other in a real way that shows appreciation in the accomplishments of others, people feel pretty darn good. Frequent pats on the back goes a long way! Let’s keep that going. It’s one way to help us move toward greatness. I encourage you to take the time to nominate someone in your work environment that deserves that pat on the back!
  5. Every employee is happy!
     • Here’s a great way to mark happiness at work: employees suited to their roles, they are challenged, placed in the proper department, encouraged constantly to achieve great things and know the expectations. A happy group of employees creates a dynamic environment. Happy – engaged – motivated employees!
  6. Mentoring is more important than performance!
     • Most of us will figure it out and do great work! But mentoring is what great organizations do to get there. Great organizations know how to hand down tacit knowledge. Great employees know how to mentor one another. They are highly motivated to train others because they know that’s what creates greatness. And a great organization is one where the most important knowledge is handed down from one employee to the next in a way that is built on the foundation of individual relationships. Mentoring works!
  7. There’s a great leader!
     • Behind every great organization, every district, every school, every department, every classroom is a great leader. The leader who leads the great organization practices all these traits/attributes and demonstrates what it means to show empathy, recognize hard work and promote mentoring. When the leader does this, greatness will happen.

It starts with the leader – it starts with me and it starts with YOU!

·         We can move towards greatness as an organization when we are the best at what each of us is doing right now!

·         “When you are living the best version of yourself, we inspire others to live the best versions of themselves.” Steve Maraboli

We want everyone in Sweetwater to be a leader!

    So, let’s be that great organization together!