As a educational leader I find myself in a variety of contexts and engaging with a variety of personalities. To me this is a post of “obvious” but from a range of experiences in the last few weeks, maybe what is obvious to me, is not obvious too all? How we behave (proactively and reactively) defines how others view and engage with us but also define the culturally acceptable behaviours those around us have for each other.

Reactive modelling as mocked in the video is about being self-aware, we all have “moments” it just part of being human. It’s how we treat those around us during the moments and our daily routines that define our team culture. What real leadership is about, is proactive modelling through your daily routine. Your day to day behaviour and engagement with others will have a bigger impact on your team/school than any professional learning you ever deliver.

Examples of proactive modelling you should put in your weekly calendar:

• Intentionally engage in learning focused conversations publicly, let everyone see what a positive and solutions focused learning conversation looks like
• Every email you send should model professional and collegial communication, a significant majority of teachers email is rubbish and negative in tone, show them what a positive email looks like.
• Make transparent decisions, you want others to learn the process as much as the outcome
• Ask intelligent and solutions focused questions in meetings, set the tone for the type of questions you want to see
• Plan not to dominate the floor, empower others to lead in your presence, especially when you are seen as the subject matter expect
• Only use inclusive language

Examples of reactive negative modelling to specifically avoid:

• Talking negatively about students in professional spaces
• Responding to aggressive emails, just click delete
• Talking about interpersonal issues between teachers publically, do it privately
• Having a bad day, stay home or stay quiet
• Talking down to others, everyone deserves dignity and respect

How you behave is what others expect from you, behave like a clown and expect to be treated like a clown. Is it really this hard?