Latest / ✨️Aligned and Thriving: For Teachers🌿 / 🙏Ask & Answer: Problem + Solution Mindset 🧠

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🙏Ask & Answer: Problem + Solution Mindset 🧠 · ✨️Aligned and Thriving: For Teachers🌿

• 0:05
  Hey guys, and welcome back to another episode of Aligned and
• 0:08
  Thriving. Welcome back to the podcast.
• 0:11
  Today I want to chat to you about something that I think all
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  of us, especially in schools and teams, have experienced at some
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  point. Now, this topic was actually
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  brought to you by one of our listeners.
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  They messaged in and asked for an episode about it.
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  So that's exactly what we are doing.
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  An episode about something that can be a little bit frustrating
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  but is so important if we want to create a positive and
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  effective workplace. And that is, don't go to
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  leadership or other staff with a problem without also bringing a
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  solution. Sounds really simple, right?
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  But seriously, how many times have you been hit with a problem
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  just like a complaint? And then you think, OK, So what
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  exactly do you want me to do about that?
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  You know the vibe. I mean, people come in, their
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  eyes are wide and they're telling you all the things that
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  are wrong, but they have no idea what to do next.
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  Like no suggestions, no ideas. They just verbally dump the
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  problem on you and expect you to just solve it for them.
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  And honestly, it's exhausting. And it can just be super
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  frustrating because we are all human.
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  How many times do I have to say that on these podcasts?
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  But we are human beings. We all have jobs to do.
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  We all have our own lives to live.
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  We are, we have our own needs, our own wants, just like
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  everybody else. Why?
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  Why do we then need all of your problems?
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  OK, if you want your meetings to be at a particular time, that's
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  that's great. But instead of just saying, oh,
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  I hate this time, well, why don't you go and tell the person
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  and come up with some suggestions of when you want the
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  meetings and why that time would work for you better like come
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  with a reason, come with a plan. Because if you don't, then what
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  is someone? Like, say it's someone in
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  leadership, what are they supposed to do?
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  Just wave the magic wand and make all of your wishes come
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  true? Tada, you may have everything
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  you want and so can everyone else.
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  I mean, does that happen in the real world?
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  I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but no.
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  This approach is not about being harsh or dismissive, but it's
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  about building a culture where everyone helps to carry the
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  load. That's what an effective team
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  looks like. It's called distributed
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  leadership. Everyone helps out, everyone
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  contributes to solutions, and everyone feels part of something
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  bigger. Some of the best schools that I
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  have worked in and the ones that just flow beautifully, they all
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  have this kind of culture. The culture where everyone
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  pitches in, shares ideas, and just supports each other.
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  And it's what honestly makes the difference between a place where
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  people thrive and one where people are literally just
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  surviving. OK.
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  And I have worked in every type of system within our state, and
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  I have worked in a variety of schooling environments, from low
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  socioeconomic to a higher socioeconomic.
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  So I have done the things. I've done primary, I've done
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  high school, I've got all of the comparisons for you.
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  But what I'm saying is within every educational facility,
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  there is a team of people in there, OK?
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  And the way that they work best is if you have that idea of
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  everyone is part of the team, we are all responsible, we are all
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  working together. This is a team because team
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  together everyone achieves more is true.
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  Again, there's no eye in team. No there isn't.
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  Yes, I am someone who's been on leadership teams before, but I
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  never view myself as someone who is above a teacher.
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  No, we are a team. I am at the shoulder with you
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  all the time. I am experiencing things with
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  you. I am there to work with you and
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  support you. So please don't think that
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  everyone in those types of positions are going to be, I
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  mean, some of them will act like they are better than you, but
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  I'm not one of those people. Oh, I said I don't, I don't
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  think I am. And those who work with me and
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  know me, I hope I don't come across that way.
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  I try to be that person who is there to support and care and,
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  and work with you, but it is really hard to work with people
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  if they're just coming at you with problems and don't come
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  with any solutions. And that can happen in any
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  workplace. You know, the people that are
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  just going to turn up and complain and they don't have any
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  ideas on how to fix it. They just want you to fix it.
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  What do you want me to do about that?
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  Hey, you want, you want me to run that staff meeting?
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  Well, how am I supposed to do that?
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  When do I have time to plan that?
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  Maybe we could talk about it together in a nicer manner and
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  make the plan together. It just it doesn't.
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  And I'm being honest. Like it's easy to get really
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  caught up and be the person that just complaints.
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  But let's not get caught up in that.
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  And let's not be the person who brings the toxic energy, the
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  negativity, the no solutions. Let's not be that person.
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  We need to be the kind of person that helps people.
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  That type of toxic energy doesn't help anyone.
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  Not you, not your colleagues, and certainly not your
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  leadership team. We've talked about toxic energy
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  before and how it drains the whole team and it makes
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  everything harder. And this is one of those
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  situations if you want to be part of the solution, not the
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  problem. The mindset shift there is huge.
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  So how do you actually bring solutions and not just problems?
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  Let me give you some ideas. So tip #1 pause and reflect
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  before you speak. Now I feel like I'm talking to
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  myself here because I really need to bite my tongue
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  sometimes. So pause and reflect before you
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  actually speak. Before you go and run to
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  leadership or your team with a problem, stop and ask yourself
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  what's the problem? Why is it a problem?
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  What have I, what have I already done to fix said problem, and
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  what could I do to improve it. If you really can't come up with
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  any ideas, try brainstorming with a few people first if you
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  need to, even if they're not perfect solutions, just come up
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  with a couple of ideas that the goal is just to show that you're
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  actually trying and you're thinking and you're willing to
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  help. Tip #2 Bring options, not just
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  complaints. When you're talking about the
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  issue, come prepared with some options.
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  So for example, the meeting time is really tricky for me because
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  of X. Would there be any chance of
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  considering Y or Z instead? Or the current system that we
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  have for tracking attendance is really confusing.
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  Could we maybe try A or B to simplify it?
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  Like if you're offering options, you're showing your leadership
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  team and the rest of your team members that you're engaged and
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  you're proactive. You're not just passive and
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  skating along or reactive. Tip #3 take ownership wherever
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  you can. So if there's something that you
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  could do yourself to help to help solve the problem, say so,
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  take ownership. It's really powerful.
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  For example, Oh, I noticed the communication around that
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  event's been really unclear. I'm really happy to draught a
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  new template and just send it through for the newsletter if
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  that helps. Just small little things like
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  that can make a massive difference in team dynamics.
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  It's the same as like putting your hand up to cover a Judy
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  when we've rocked up and gone, Oh no, we didn't cover that
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  Judy. Well, instead of turning around
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  and going, well, I'm not doing it.
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  You'd be like, oh, I'll do it today, but would anyone mind?
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  Maybe I could do a swap like something like that?
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  We'll be more than happy to help if you're coming with a
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  solution. Tip #4 remember the big picture.
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  We're all human, OK? This is really easy to forget
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  sometimes. That's why I keep, like, hopping
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  on about it. But your leaders, your
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  colleagues, like, they're all human too.
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  They have good days, they have bad days.
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  They juggle multiple demands just like you.
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  Showing empathy and understanding goes a long way.
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  OK, If anyone can come to the table with that mindset, like oh
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  I'm here to help, not just to complain.
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  Everything just gets so much better.
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  I know. Again, talking from my own
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  experience and perspective. There has honestly been some
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  mornings where I have already like been up since 3:00 AM in
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  the morning because a child has woken up and refused to go back
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  to bed. So I'm dealing with tiredness.
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  I have forgotten to eat breakfast because I was in such
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  a rush to get everything organised because I was having
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  to deal with said child and trying to get said other child
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  dressed and ready and in the car whilst the other child is trying
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  to wrestle other child. Whilst trying to also make
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  everyone's lunches and get everyone out the door and into
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  the car. And then once you're in the car,
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  forgetting to get lunch. So having to stop on the way to
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  buy lunches because you've missed the window for ordering
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  lunches or you've forgotten that you couldn't order lunches that
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  day. So you're going to have to sort
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  that out on the way to work, plus get because you forgot to
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  fill your car up. Then you really need to get a
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  coffee because you've also had no breakfast, but it's too late
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  for you to get a coffee. So then you need to get to work
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  and you need to unpack the car, get said children into an office
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  space or a quiet space and get them quiet and probably make
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  sure that they've eaten something or been medicated like
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  one of my children. Follow through with all of that
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  procedure and then try and figure out if you've got time to
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  make yourself a coffee before you need to go outside for
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  morning duty. And then someone turns up with a
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  problem. Wow, I've literally just gotten
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  to work and if you looked at my frazzled face, you could
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  probably see that I may not have had the best of mornings.
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  Or if you could hear my children yelling at each other in my
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  office space, then you would probably take a few steps back
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  and try and come up with an answer before you ask me a
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  question. Which I know sounds hard
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  sometimes, but maybe that's not the time that you come and tell
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  someone something that's probably that.
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  If it's really urgent, that's different.
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  But that maybe that's that time where you pause and reflect.
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  Is this something that I really need to deal with now or could
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  it wait? I might talk to her later.
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  It seems that she's a little bit frazzled.
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  Or maybe just say, are you OK? Is there anything I could do to
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  help? Yes please.
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  I've had no breakfast. Could you please go check the
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  fridge for some yoghurt or something?
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  Just the little things. This is why I've told you so
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  many times that we are all human.
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  That's literally just an average morning in my household.
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  No, it does. It does get better.
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  I'm not saying my kids are like that all the time, but just
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  remember that we are all human and we all have lives outside of
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  that space. You may not have kids, you may
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  have a partner, you may live with friends, you may live with
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  your dog. I've worked with someone whose
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  dog got ran over on the way to work, so they had to then go
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  home because their neighbour had rung and they were hysterical.
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  And it's like, that's OK, I'll cover your class.
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  You go do what you need to do. You need to take your dog to the
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  vet. Like pets are family too and I
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  get that. We don't forget that for people.
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  So Please remember again we are human beings too so remember the
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  big picture. This coming with that mindset
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  that we are here to help and not just to complain.
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  Tip #5 Communicate clearly and respectfully so how you present
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  your concern matters. So stay calm, be respectful and
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  constructive. Avoid the blame game and lots of
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  negativity. Try and frame your issue with
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  curiosity. Like oh, I'm wondering if we
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  could try or my wondering is this, this, this, or I've
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  noticed this challenge and I'm thinking that these might be
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  some suggestions that we could improve it.
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  This invites some responses and collaboration rather than people
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  getting up and defensive about it.
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  So try wording it that way. I want to be clear, this isn't
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  about pretending that everything's perfect or ignoring
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  real problems. Far from it.
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  Problems exist and they all need to be addressed, but how we
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  address them makes all the difference.
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  So if you just bring the problem and expect someone else to just
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  fix it for you, you're helping to create burnout, whether it's
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  for yourself or for someone else.
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  It's it's a frustration. It's it's creating that culture
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  of blame. But if you come with solutions,
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  even just small ones, and a willingness to work together to
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  help build a train A-Team, that's stronger, more connected,
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  and more effective. Because the truth is there's no
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  leader and no colleague has time to be your full time problem
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  solver. We all have our plates full
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  already. And that's why that model of
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  distributed leadership is so powerful.
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  Because when everyone's sharing the responsibility for solving
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  challenges well, the whole team wins.
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  So if you're someone who tends to bring those big problems
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  without solutions, that's OK, We all slip up.
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  I mean, I've done it before too guilty.
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  But the key is awareness. Start to notice your habits.
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  Start to challenge yourself to try a different approach next
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  time and and try this instead. The next time you are about to
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  complain, pause and ask yourself, what could I suggest
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  instead? How could I help fix this?
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  You might surprise yourself, but before I finish today, I want to
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  leave you with some journal prompts to help you reflect on
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  how you approach problems and solutions within your team.
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  So if you've got some time to sit down and think about it, I
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  think it'd be really good to help you and developing your
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  mindset as well. So how do I usually respond when
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  I encounter a problem at work? Do I focus on the problem or
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  finding solutions #2 Can I recall a time when I brought a
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  problem and a solution to my team?
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  How did that change the outcome #3 What fears or barriers stop
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  me from proposing solutions? Instead of just complaining #4
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  How can I practise distributed leadership in my current role,
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  even in small ways #5 who are my teammates or leaders that I can
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  collaborate with to brainstorm solutions rather than just voice
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  problems? Number six, what is one problem
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  I'm currently facing that I can reframe by brainstorming at
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  least two possible solutions before I go and raise it?
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  So have a think about those things and have some time to
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  reflect building a positive team culture.
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  It takes time and effort from all of us, but when we all come
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  ready to contribute solutions, support one another, and take
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  ownership, the whole workplace becomes a better place just for
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  everyone. So again, guys, thanks for
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  listening and for being a part of this journey with me.
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  If you've found this episode to be helpful, don't forget to like
• 16:27
  it. Share it with a friend or a
• 16:29
  colleague. Share it with your leadership
• 16:30
  team if you think they might need to hear this message as
• 16:33
  well. But if you are wanting to talk
• 16:37
  more about these things or suggest anything that you want
• 16:41
  me to talk about on the podcast in relation to teaching or your
• 16:43
  mindset or self care, any of those things, please feel free
• 16:47
  to send me Adm on Facebook or Instagram.
• 16:49
  Just search aligned and thriving for teachers and you'll find me.
• 16:53
  I would love to know more of what you want to listen to What
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  what are you finding more helpful?
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  CC, this is me coming to you with a problem.
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  My problem is I want to know more of what you want to know.
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  So what's my solution? Asking you guys.
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  Tell me. Tell me what it is you want me
• 17:10
  to talk about. Send me a message.
• 17:12
  Tell me what it is. I'd love to know.
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  I love talking. I hope you've got that message.
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  But until next time guys, keep showing up, keep solving and
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  keep leading with your heart because remember, you are
• 17:27
  amazing and you are doing an amazing job wherever you are.
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  So until next time, I'll talk to you soon.
• 17:32
  Bye.