Fireside Chats
Fireside Chat In My Office
I realize that all the credit for the idea of fireside chats goes to Franklin Delano Roosevelt but I want to share with you something that started spontaneously at our school and has turned into an important part of our culture. Just as FDR used the chats to bring awareness to the American public. We use these to bring awareness about our world as a turnaround academy. These fireside chats started as a group of teachers mingling in my office after school, particularly on nights when there was an hour or two gap between school letting out and an athletic event. Most principals use this time for catching up on paperwork or the likes – not me!
We use the time for our staff to get together in my office to vent, share ideas, make me aware of issues, laugh, and even cry. Honestly, many great ideas, procedures, and programs we now have in place came from these fireside chats. Interestingly enough we called them fireside chats without a fire. Then word got out about our fireside chats and some students bought me a small electric fireplace for my office. This has become one of my most valued possessions in my office. You can see it in the picture – look close under the white board or you might miss it.
In the great book, TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments, Douglas Conant discusses the interruptions that leaders face interacting with their staff are actually moments that give the opportunity for awareness and leading in the largest of proportions. Amazingly I had a lengthy fireside chat with some teachers today and also amazingly I got an email from an assistant principal of a school in our network of schools that had started “campfires” after hearing a presentation I made on our fireside chats. I really believe the email exchange between us does the best job of describing the thoughts I would like to present in this post.
FDR Fireside Chat
So, here it is:
I wanted to share how much I appreciated “Camp Fire”. The advice/counsel that I was given will definitely help me grow in my position. I left those moments with a sense that not only am I valued as an employee but as an individual. I guess that’s what happens when we take the time to validate a student’s concerns/feelings. Thanks again and I look forward to an amazing year!
Hope you had a great first few weeks of school! Thanks again for sharing your ideas that support and value our people!
Campfire
Byron
Seriously, how cool is this! So next time you think you are wasting time talking with the people you lead, remember these could be the moments where the greatest leadership opportunities lie!
Byron's Babbles 
[…] and personally. I shared with the group something that happened organically that we called Fireside Chats when I was principal of Emmerich Manual High School. It was one of my favorite parts of the day and […]
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[…] I was leading the turnaround of schools. Almost every day someone was crying. I mention this in Fireside Chats. For those teachers, and myself, it truly had the affect Frankl spoke of. That time spent crying […]
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