By Jon Castelhano, CIO Advisor
You have the best staff ever, great relationships, hard working, solid plan, and you see the great things they do on a daily basis. So is there a need to tell the world how great they are? I say yes. Sharing your staff with your district, community, and others helps build relationships. Communicating the accomplishments and hard work that is going on everyday in my department also helps generate conversation with stakeholders and allows an opportunity to hear their thoughts and ideas that provides another perspective. Here are a few ways that I like to share with others what is happening in the AJUSD Technology Department.
The Board
Sharing information with your school board should be top priority for any CIO/CTO/director. Support from the school board is necessary for just about everything that happens in a school district, and building a relationship with them is important. Often it is only the administration that has contact with board members, so sharing your staff and their accomplishments makes that connection. I understand every districts' procedures and communications with their board is different, but suggesting a little time at a board meeting to your superintendent may be a start.
Social Media
A little over a year ago I wrote about the "Social Hurricane" and how this medium of communication can be overwhelming, but worth the effort to get into the game. With little surprise, social media has continued to grow, and as a leader you can not ignore the importance of an online presence. The great thing about sites such as Facebook and Twitter is the ability to not only share what your staff is doing, but showcase what the entire district staff is up to. Many districts are still nervous about jumping into the social media scene, but this is where your influence as a CIO can lead from the middle. Take the time to research what other districts are doing and present examples to your administrative team. Discuss how social media will allow their schools to quickly disseminate information and promote just how great their staff is by sharing classroom and school events!
#1 Resource
Good leaders know how important their people are to a successful organization. Many leaders have stated in a variety of ways that people are a leader's number one resource. One principal that I work with—Larry LaPrise—has a gift for promoting his staff in a variety of ways. Mr. LaPrise is always speaking of his staff and their successes on his campus. He is very aware that employees often leave their jobs not because they aren't happy with their pay, but the lack of recognition. So get out there and talk up your staff today!
Jon Castelhano is director of technology for Apache Junction USD in Arizona. This blog is cross posted on his blog, This and That.
