This blog and our company are all about communication skills. And one of the most important elements of communication is gratitude. So, here we go. Time for a little gratitude.
My colleagues and I know good teaching when we see it. Not only do we teach communication skills every day. But we have a lot of “academia” in our corporate DNA. We understand the industry, and the skills necessary for success.
So, it seems like a really good idea to end this week and start off a holiday weekend with a shout out to the teachers in our world. Why? Because I can’t imagine a harder environment to be a teacher. Think about the questions that have been in front of teachers and administrators all summer. Are we going to teach in person, or remotely? Not sure. How will we handle the asynchronous elements? Not sure. If we are going back in person, how do we keep everyone safe? Not sure. And whatever plans we put in place, be prepared for them to change completely at any time. The list of unknowns was (and still is) really long.
Pretty hard to plan anything under those circumstances.
And on top of that, teachers have their own lives, their own families, and in many cases, their own kids who are also students. Talk about a full plate of issues.
The last several months have shown how important the school system is to the fabric of our society. Not only does the school system teach our children. But so many households are built upon the schedules of their children’s school schedules. When school schedules change suddenly, or when school fundamentally changes in a moment’s notice (like it did in March) the entire structure of the household is thrown into chaos.
The point here is that our teachers not only teach our children. Without ever stepping foot inside our homes, our children’s teachers are an essential component of every one of our households.
I know full well that there is a wide array of experiences happening right now. Some people are happy with their school system. Others less so. I get it. The school experience is a largely local experience in this country. (We could write volumes on that issue alone.) Some teachers are almost certainly performing at a higher level than others, just like in any industry. There are good and bad engineers, good and bad accountants, and good and bad teachers. But by and large, in my experience, the people who choose to enter the teaching profession do so for amazing reasons, and put their heart and soul into their craft.
So, the next chance you get, send a word of gratitude to the teachers in your life. Because they are operating under extreme circumstances right now. And no one has ever gone wrong extending a hand, or offering a word of gratitude to another human being.
Gratitude is at the heart of great communication. So let’s start our holiday weekend off on the right note.
Have a great day.
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Does your team:
– Overwhelm the audience with too much detail?
– Make things too complicated?
– Fail to ask for what they want or need?
Does your organization:
– Waste time because of poor internal communication?
– Take too long to make decisions?
– Struggle to clarify and frame discussions?
Do your leaders:
– Exhibit poor executive presence?
– Lean on incomplete communication skills?
– Fail to align the organization?
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