Dr. Davila: Voices of Leaders

 Dr. Davila will be talking about being a material leader and listening to your voice from within. 

Listeners can find a link to his article titled Leadership Voices on YouTube, Facebook, and Buzzsprout as well as the link below. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JZHZj4ZY-6W37axC_a9x7Fch3utAHEav/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=114539196425473710011&rtpof=true&sd=true

Thanks for listening. If you would like to share your thoughts or topic ideas, or would like to be a guest, you can find Educational Relevance on Facebook, YouTube or email us at oliviaw1201@educationalrelevance.org, brwright44@gmail,com or mark@educationalrelevance.org.

Transcript

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 0:00

Hello. Welcome to Educational Relevance, A platform for experienced educators to share proven successful strategies to educate today's students. And My name is Brian Wright. I am a Adjunct professor at Concordia University in Mewa, Wisconsin. Good morning. I'm here with mark Macbeth, who is a, a change agent in education an accomplished author. And what we're doing and what we reason we started educational relevance is because we wanted to make sure we added tools to young. Educator and leaders' toolboxes so they can utilize these tools to help be successful in working with our young people today. With that being said, I wanna make sure I say welcome again. I'm gonna turn this over to my friend and colleague, mark Macbeth. Mark, Good morning.

Track 1: 0:44

morning. Thank. Thanks, Brian. Hey I'm, I'm excited about the, the speaker when, when you introduced him to, to me kind of through some concepts on online. I got, I got excited. Leadership's a main topic of his Ben educator for. For what, 37 years? 38 years, something like that. Spanish teacher ESL, assistant principal, principal. I mean, just the experience as executive director. He's been a consultant. So we, we are excited. He, he's a published author works at the university as well. And, and consultants. So with that I'd like to introduce Frank and I sorry if I, I don't pronounce it right, but Frank,

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 1:26

well, good morning. Good morning. My name is Frank Avila. Thank you, mark and Brian. I appreciate my being here with you guys today. It's certainly is a. A very powerful topic leadership. And you know, when I think of leadership mark or Brian, sometimes we tend to elevate leaders to a high level of standards. And, and we fail to keep in mind that they hold the same characteristics as any, as any other human being. And by that I mean that you know, leaders generally possess a high degree of resiliency and also ego and courage and confidence. And certainly determination and self-esteem, also they also deal with a multitude of routine experiences on a personal and professional

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 2:05

You can hear you.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 2:06

For example, they may express And joy, anxiety, and other human emotions. I've got friends who are principals and they have Children, they go home and change diapers, at night. So a wide range. And sometimes we put leaders in a pedestal and we get that, you know, they're just not the rest of us. But then what I wanted to do is distinguish between material leaders because material leaders are able to navigate through situations without setting enough any undue alarms. And by that, I. They learn behavior that comes from, from hard knocks, but also they were able to pause reflect on situations. And they also realize that, you know, leadership doesn't come with a built in GPS. We, they try to craft whatever work style they have you know, to make sure that it works and it fits because we also as leaders wanna bring in the marginalized students and and families because we want'em all to be part of the operational. System. And so leadership is, you know, leaders, they have to recharge themselves either through help of colleagues or by studying or by listening to these kinds of podcasts and so forth. Because when you, when you people say, you know, leaders are going on a true north path. If we look at true north, you know, that's gonna be filled with hills and valleys and streams and rivers and so forth. In other words, a lot of obstacles. we have to find a way to make sure that we are able to traverse all that. And also we've had a lot of leaders who've had bad experiences and so that doesn't mean that they're bad leader, that just simply to go back and retool. that's why we have some toolkits because we wanna make sure that they're able to move forward. You know, when I worked in Dallas Public Schools, mark. I had a regional deputy superintendents and one particular one, we met with his principals and I was there at the meeting and he looked around at the principals and he yelled at him and said, people, if you look behind you and no one is following, then you're not leading. And I thought about that and I said, well, that's kinda harsh. then at the same time, it is very true statement. And that kind of begs the question by leadership, you know, are we born leaders or we become successful leader because of experiences and so forth. And, and I think many times as principals, we have opportunities to work with our students to make'EM leaders and also with our teachers to make them leaders. I remember as a, for example, when I was a 16-year-old teenager, I was driving a two and a half ton truck out on the cotton fields. And I would wake up at four 30 in the morning and fill a 1550 gallon barrel of water with water and then buy blocks of ice to put in the water in the barrel. And then, that kind of gave me a an appreciation of responsibility because my dad put me in charge of, you know, picking up the labor on, on, on, driving around the truck. And then later on as a military officer, I I had had more formal leadership opportunities. And so it's a combination of the two. get experience as leaders, as a different individuals and so as different ages, but then also we have opportunity to, learn leadership through actual experiences. And I think that's, we, that's what we do. And so it's a high, high profile position. And the other distinguished thing I'd like to add is that there's a difference between leadership and manager and I. Are very good managers because we can certainly make sure the lights are on and the bill's paid and everything's running smooth, like a well oil machine. But then when you talk about leadership, you know, a leader is, is that and more because when you talk about a leader, they have to be intuitive. And by that I mean they have to know what's happening or not happen to anticipate any pitfalls. They also have to be a listener and lead with a heart and the mind. And also as a leaders, you're responsible for a variety of humans around you. know, big and small. because these guys, these people are depending on you as a leader promote their interests and to protect them and to care about them and to build a solid foundation. So that's certainly one thing that I'd like to, know, emphasize that as a leadership, we do more than just being a manager. We certainly have to work with people and understand who they are. One, one of the things that reminds me is my leadership is the multitude of voices that we

Track 1: 6:41

Yeah,

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 6:41

that we have.

Track 1: 6:42

so.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 6:42

For example, we can have one that I call a voice from, from within. And by this I mean we all walk around and sometimes we walk around the building or walk around classrooms and so forth, and we're talking to ourselves, we're listening to what we're observing, and we're taking mental notes. So there's a voice of within that is driving who we are. And it's guiding us and it's helping us map out who we are and what we're doing. It also helps map out our life and career. And sometimes, you know, we tend to set aside the inner voice because we want to go with what somebody else told us. And so we have to be very mindful to keep our inner voice active because if we don't, it's gonna be, become a voice that we just set aside. We don't use it. We depend on others, and we don't, then we're not authentic. I don't dunno if that makes sense or not, but that, that voicemail contain is extremely powerful and very helpful to all of, all of us. And then there's some other voices that I'd like to, you know, also talk about. One is the, we all know leaders that sometimes they come off not knowing enough, not having enough information. that's the voice of, I call the uninformed voice because they don't, they didn't do the homework. So therefore they don't have the credibility because they didn't labor doing the research, the data, and also the other information. So when we, when we dismiss this important voice, you know, our efforts sometimes met with critique and doubt because people will say, well, they don't know what they're talking about. then, and maybe so the other voice that I think we tend to ignore is what I call the voice of influence. Because many times when we say something, people are listening, you know, whether we think they are or not. And so we have an opportunity every time we voice something make sure that that voice resonates with the reasoning and clarity and informed choices, also with respect. And students, parents, and teachers and so forth, they're all to hear what we have to say. So that's an opportunity for us to influence the work around us

Track 1: 8:50

Yeah, so let me ask you a deeper question on that, Frank. So one of the things that you know, my area of, of, of expertise is sometimes turning around underperforming schools. So I write a little bit about, you know the, the superhero type of mentality that's gotta take place a little bit during that. You can't live in that superhero. But but I always say that the, you gotta have the confidence. You gotta know who you are. What your role is, and then you always have to convey that. How does somebody do that when they're in uncomfortable situations? How do they have that positive voice, you know the internal voice? How do they have that, that, that voice of influence when they're in uncomfortable environments for them?

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 9:37

You know that, that's a great question and a to. Been, you know, having that quiet and forceful voice because sometimes we as leaders and parents, we think that when we're leaders, we have to really be

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 9:51

I can edit.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 9:51

We have to be loud, and we have to, everybody listen to us. But at the same times, we can have a quiet voice. other words, we can be a listener. And so when we're in situations such as you mentioned, and that confident voice that we have to have the voice exudes confidence around you because people will. Gravitate an individual who knows who they think knows where they're going they don't know where they're going, then they're gonna back off. And also I think Mark being a listener many times I don't know if you've noticed, there are people sometimes when we talk to and, and we think they're listening, but they're actually looking elsewhere or looking at their phone or doing something else. So when people realize that we're not really genuinely interested in what they're doing. they decided to pull away. And so I think that's another way that we can sort of draw them back in and, and also be able to make ourselves understood and heard by being a good listener. And, and also I think it's okay to be critical, but it's not okay to be

Track 1: 10:56

Yeah. Or demeaning or anything like that, right.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 10:59

It's active demeaning because I think many times when we try to correct the situation or move something we. Begin to either point fingers or we begin to say This is what's wrong, but we never say we've been doing this correctly. We just need to adjust and modify. Does that kind of ex explain a little bit of what

Track 1: 11:17

Yeah, exactly. I, I, I, I like that a lot. I think, I think the the idea that listening can fill that gap, right? I mean, if I'm in an uncomfortable environment, if I stop and listen and then reflect on what I'm listening to, then I now have a voice.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 11:39

Yes. You know there's, in preparation for this, for this piece, I, I've talked to different people. One that I've talked to was a, lady by the name of, of Pam Oliva, and she does integrative care director and coach with communication and so forth. And, and she was saying that 55% of the communication is body language, so that's over 50% also. Then 38% is tone and then 7% words, exactly what you're saying. When we speak or when we communicate, if our body language not there. If we're not comfortable, if we're doing something else, working on something else while someone is trying to talk to us, they're gonna notice that and they're gonna back off. And also, you know, we have to probably understand that you know, we have have to have total presence. And, and I think when we talk about that total presence, I'm thinking about how we can really. I understand that if we have somebody looking at us and talking to us, because we want them to respect us, but you also wanna respect them.

Track 1: 12:41

Right. Yeah. Not looking across the room. I think I read something. Maybe you, you may have written that, or you're not looking across the room for somebody else's conversation. You're totally engaged in whatever conversation you're, you're with, with eye contact.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 12:58

Absolutely. Absolutely.

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 13:00

If, if I may I'm hearing what you're talking about. I'm gonna ask a couple of questions if I may, and Mark, I wanna piggyback what you're talking about when you're discussing. I'm gonna talk about the voice from within and you what you said, Frank. And, and first of, I make sure I say to everyone, Frank is a, a hero of mine. Frank is one of my, my, my, he's a little pop to me. He's, he's the guy who I try to emulate and model some of the things that he's doing in, in education, what he's done. Frank, you know, I'm always talking about a believer in code. How do you play? How can you work? And code is what people have, educational philosophy people believe in and what they stand by. How would you put your voices from within and how can you relate the voices from within what you're talking about, you're talking about people setting up an educational code.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 13:46

You know, Brian, I think about a self-identity

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 13:48

I.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 13:48

many times we operate under what someone else thinks we should be, rather than exploring exactly who we think we are and who we are. And I think if we. for example, if, you know, if we have a particular situation that comes up we try to solve it based on what someone else did and I think for example, Brian, when we look at school districts and they try to bring in a program from another part of the country apply it in our that particular district, it doesn't work well because it doesn't resonate, because it's not ours, it's somebody else's. And I think same thing with an individual as a, the code. If you don't have a code, then, then who are you? Who do you say you are? Because if you can't identify yourself, then how can someone else identify who you are? And so that goes back exactly to what you're saying, that we have to have that kind of a level of understanding of, of ourselves, if that makes sense.

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 14:46

First of all, it does make sense. I'm gonna say thank you. But then I'm gonna ask a second question. this is something that you mentioned earlier. You mentioned no, you are a military officer, you also have a doctorate. And then, and then say, my question is in the, in the military, have a hierarchy.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 15:02

Correct.

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 15:02

How do you, how did the hierarchy that you developed being an officer in the military help resonate when you were a leader and a principal in a school? And did you enforce a hierarchy because you mentioned motivating people to follow and leading behind you. How did those two things relate so that you become a, a better administrator as a result?

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 15:23

You know, it's, that's a good question because in military, the hierarchy sometimes you don't, you don't question what they ask you to do. You just do it because you have to follow protocols and so forth. But at the same time, you want to be able to find a way to make your, your voice heard, even in whatever situation, whether the military or not. And I think I found out, Brian, and when you get into the. School business as a leader. Yeah, you do have, there is a, a hierarchy as well because you have the superintendent and the district and then the, all the other pieces in between. then, but at the same time, you have a lot of autonomy because of the building. If let's say you're building principal, that building belong to you, I. You're have to orchestrate it, what's happening within that The other people, one may come in now and then, but they don't have a full compliment what's really going on. And I think that's what I learned a transition from to a leadership in a school building. a school building. It's, it's more complex because the military, you're only talking about set of people, those who are military mindsets. have to do certain things because they're set in motion and they're setting, have parameters in school buildings, You have parents that go all over the place. You have teachers that are all over the place and students. And then also you also have a lot of activities you have to put together. for example, I remember when I was a principal put a teacher on leave. that particular teacher sued me and, you know, we had a, a good outcome for myself. But you have to step up sometimes and do things that and I think that's probably what a military did to me was that I had some boundaries. You know, this is what we have to do, these are the expectations. I think that how that was helpful. And then at the same time, on the other hand, I had another teacher that we talked and she eventually decided she needed to get out of the teaching profession and thanked me because she wanted to, she just didn't have the courage. make, to do it on our own. So we have those kinds of human interactions as a public school leader you don't have the military because we in military, sometimes you're not given a choice or you don't have options in schools, you have multitude of options, and particularly nowadays with some of the board members and some of the parents that are very, have a strong voice and strong opinions and perceptions.

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 17:51

Hey, thanks Frank. I appreciate it.

Track 1: 17:54

So thank you very much Frank for sharing our leadership voices. I, I found that to be extremely powerful and reflective for me. One of the things I, I ask Brian, is if you're coaching somebody, another school administrator. What did you take away from Voices today that you can now apply to helping another principal?

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 18:21

Frank and Dr. Dr. D said, and Dr. Frank as as, as what we're talking about is twofold. One I'd like the, the voice from within is so, like Mark said is so powerful. that is something that is true. I think we do have to do that. And you're right, vanity does play a role. what we're trying to accomplish, and people gotta understand. We always say, Jim Collin say, face the brutal facts. Facing the brutal facts means you gotta make sure you, you put your ego aside and do what's best for children. and with that being said Frank, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna give you the last word on this program today. whAt, how do you think we can take the voices you talked about the uninformed voice of influence and how we can share this with our, our, our people who listening to our audience today.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 19:03

You know, Brian, in this particular in our history in the United States and the schools and so forth diversity and divisions and also the culturally relevancy and then equity and all that, that seems to be very important to me. For example, I mean, we have our own heritage as individuals. Each one of us is different because we have our family experiences and then we with people that have other experiences sometimes they can clash, it be based on traditions or customs or religion or politics or whatever. So we have to be mindful how we use that culturally relevant voice. also sometimes living in two worlds, we have students and parents. That come to from another country, and then they're emerging bilingual. By that I mean they're learning English, so they'll be bilingual when they become English fluent. And so we have to have that the fact that they live in two worlds. We have to understand that particular, you know, that essence. And, and I see that as an asset. people see that as a, as a deficit. And I wanna remind people, you know, when you have people that are bilingual or trilingual, even more, that's an asset. Don't treat that as being something negative. And because of when you work with students and if you can learn at least a few expressions of their language, will draw them in and that'll tell them that you value who they are. So that's value, I think is at the end, would be something that I would certainly promote.

squadcaster-75f4--ib-_3_11-29-2023_110851: 20:31

Thank you, Frank. I really appreciate it. Mark thank you again for helping us out and this, this informative session. wanna say thank everyone and let's have a, a great day. Thank you. Thank you everybody, and have a good day.

squadcaster-j37h_1_11-29-2023_100852: 20:44

Thank you.