Superintendent’s Corner … E+R=O
By Dr. John Sample
Proud Superintendent
Like most organizations and businesses, we value a positive culture and understand that our behavior contributes to the overall effectiveness of Merrill Area Public Schools. The way we communicate with students, parents, community members, and each other matters. The manner by which we conduct ourselves as professionals and role models has a tremendous impact on our students. We also know that universally employees are typically hired based on skill and fired based on behavior.
For several years we have embedded our practice of creating a positive culture and climate by practicing the principles of the Focus 3 Program. This partnership has instilled in us a simple, yet powerful equation for maximizing the performance of people: E+R=O. In simpler terms, Event plus Response equals Outcome.
Events that we encounter everyday are either predictable or unpredictable. It is our response to these events that will increase the likelihood of achieving a positive or negative outcome.
Take driving, for example. Experienced drivers come to expect many events that happen as no surprise. Drivers who tailgate, speed, fail to dim their lights, or fail to use their turn signals become expected encounters. We have no control over these events even though they could be considered predictable.
We do, however, have complete control over the way we respond to these events. We can respond by default which typically, if ever, produces a positive outcome. Or we can choose a disciplined response, designed to produce a favorable outcome.
A default response to another driver riding our bumper can range from hitting the brakes to not allowing the driver to pass to an inappropriate hand gesture in their direction. What is the outcome? Elevated heart rate, anger, not setting a good example for others in the vehicle, ruining an otherwise pleasant drive, etc. Default responses to events rarely have positive outcomes.
A disciplined response such as moving to the side of the road allowing that driver to pass has many positive outcomes. It hasn’t wrecked your mood, interfered with your emotions, or caused you to behave erratically. Your outcome is a positive one.
Choosing to respond to events with a disciplined response as opposed to a default response takes hard work and a great deal of practice. And during these times, default responses to events seem to be more visible because a disciplined response oftentimes is actually no response. Social media is a prime example. The sheer volume of default responses yielding no positive outcome is staggering. And most times, these default responses create an event for others to respond and the cycle continues to repeat itself resulting in outcomes that are anything but positive.
Discipline-driven leadership, culture, and behavior is such a priority in our district that each employee must successfully engage in the Focus 3 Virtual Trainings prior to the start of the school year. Every weekly bulletin includes strategies from Brian Kight which are designed to accelerate our path to our highest priorities. Building leadership teams have also engaged in “R Factor” professional development opportunities and are certified as trainers. We have also created our MAPS Culture Playbook as our philosophy and to share with potential new staff so they understand our expectations.
Positive culture and climate is not only critical for MAPS or while operating our motor vehicles on our roads. It benefits us and those around us across all environments and is especially effective in our family/home environments. In fact, many clients partnering with Focus 3 have adopted the same disciplines learned during the work day and applied these strategies with their family at home.
For more information, please search the internet for Focus 3 Podcasts. These podcasts feature Tim and Brian Kight and are free of charge for those seeking positive outcomes in their lives.
Thank you, be safe, and please be kind to one another.