My wife Cherice is a speech therapist in the school district where we live… here in Midlothian Texas. When she is scheduled to do therapy with a student, she will usually go down to their classroom and pull the student out of class.
She has made the observation that the teachers that are loud, have loud classrooms and the teachers who are more soft-spoken and quiet, have quiet classrooms.
The teacher who yells “OKAY… EVERYONE…QUIET…GET TO YOUR SEATS AND START DOING WORK” will actually create a louder environment and the students will be louder.
On the flip side, the teacher who says, in barely above a whisper, “okay… everyone… quiet… get to your seats and start doing your work” creates a quieter environment, and in turn, quieter students.
When looking through the lens of leadership, I found this intriguing.
Here is my takeaway: Teams/classes take on the characteristics of the leader. When a leader is arrogant, the team will probably mirror that swagger and arrogance.
If the leader is calm, the team will in many ways mirror that calmness.
That is not to say that a humble or high strung individual in the above examples will cease to be humble or high strung.
But the sum of the parts will usually mirror the leader.
This should make us evaluate how we act, how we treat people, our demeanor, and what ‘vibe’ we give off.
Because whatever it is, your team will take on those characteristics.
Are you negative?
Do you have more of a critical spirit or critical eye?
Are you apathetic?
Are you passionate about your people?
Are you disengaged?
Are you progressive?
Are you stuck?
Are you a problem solver?
Are you a complainer?
Do you give or take energy?
Do you inspire?
Are you…
What kind of ‘classroom’ culture are you creating?
