It’s the Little Things… Lots of Them!

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I have the privilege of working with a school superintendent (Dr. Casey Kosiorek) and his team on advancing the culture in their school district. I wish all of our grandkids could be in that school system, (Hilton in Rochester, NY).

His top team came to my Harvard class as a group. It took them seven hours to drive home from Harvard Square after the class, and they strategized how they could apply what they learned the entire return trip. It’s been a little over a year, and they are really gaining momentum. Their mantra is “welcoming and affirming, curious and not judgmental.” The district’s high school principal noted that many students referred to this mantra as they signed each other’s yearbooks. That’s when you know values are having an impact.

I had a chance to check in with the Super the other day to see how things were going. One of the elements we reinforce, (see our IcE10 framework), is to be People First, along with customer obsessed (in this case students/parents). The premise behind this element is that leaders do everything they can to take away barriers/friction and add tools that help people do great, daily work. Casey told me a story about walking through one of the schools and randomly stopping into a classroom to ask a teacher how things were going. The staff member expressed disappointment in not being able to get a piece of equipment he really needed to work. Without getting into all the details, the important thing is that Casey engaged the principal of that school to get the matter resolved that night. When the teacher arrived into his classroom the following morning , the equipment had been fixed and was ready for use. This is perhaps a “small thing,” but a very BIG thing from a culture perspective. That story will positively reverberate throughout the district. Way to go Casey, and all who came together to make that teacher’s (and all staff member’s) jobs easier.

Great cultures are made up of literally thousands of small wins, and positive storytelling that affirms desired action. Like we say, it's that easy and that hard. Thanks to Casey and his team for inspiring me. (And ideally many other school districts and organizations).

Thank Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: Sometimes a culture shift sounds monumental and feels like a daunting peak to climb, however it’s just one small step forward after another that can make an impossible summit all of a sudden reachable. Casey and his team are a shining example.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

It’s the Little Things… Lots of Them!

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