Episode: 415

Episode Title: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?

Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? Let’s talk about what that means, coming up next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 415 show:

You’re now in The Perna Syndicate—hello and welcome! All week, we’ve been talking about the mounting pressures that school leaders are experiencing. So what can we as individuals and communities do to support our schools and leaders? 

In my conversation with Dr. Bishop on this topic, he said something that really resonated. It’s simple: we have to ask ourselves if we want to be part of the problem—or part of the solution. 

Being part of the solution starts with the Golden Rule. In a stressful situation, we can all look inward first and ask ourselves if we are treating others as we’d like to be treated. Empathy allows us to recognize the validity of the pressures that other people are feeling, so we can treat them as such.

Being part of the solution also means that we seek to understand before being understood. Before we try to provide advice, we must step back and truly listen. Dr. Bishop urges all of us to block the inner voice thinking about what to say next, and instead truly be in the moment and hear what the other person is saying.

As the stresses of the past two years bleed into the future, visionary leadership in our education system has never been more difficult. We all have a stake in the future of education—and we can all be part of making it better. 

Let’s treat others as we’d like to be treated, build empathy, and seek to understand what others are experiencing. That’s how we become part of the solution.

Thanks for being part of The Perna Syndicate this week! As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts through a review on Amazon or at MarkCPerna.com. Take care and we’ll see you next week for more on The Perna Syndicate!