Compassion for Colleagues

The Importance of Relationships in School

As a newly appointed Vice Principal, one of the most important aspects I have learned from my principal preparation courses and experience has been relationships. Relationships with students, parents, fellow administrators, and most importantly our teacher colleagues. In order to be compassionate, we need to get to know our colleagues and connect. By developing these key relationships, we can be compassionate and supportive so all feel valued and an important member of our school community. Educators make a difference in the lives of our students, so it is important to build relationships with all staff; teachers, education assistants, early child educators, and fellow administration.

Graham Moore wrote a great article in SecEd, about this very same idea. He too discusses the most important factor to a positive school culture is relationships. He discusses four sub-cultures where relationships are imbedded within a school culture: how staff treat students, how students treat each other, how students treat staff and, how the staff treat each other.

Staff relationships can sometimes be a challenge within schools. Some connect easily and develop great friendships and some clash, which naturally happens in all environments. It becomes a greater challenge in schools, because we are a system educating children, so we want to establish positive behaviour we model to children. This challenges everyone to find ways to develop some level of a positive relationship.

Frequently, staff will come to me to discuss a challenge with a colleague. The head of our Human Resources department has stated that the majority of staff who had conflicts to the extent where the Conflict Resolution department had to intervene, are those who are struggling with personal challenges such as; marital problems or taking care of an elderly parent, this then manifests in their work place with other staff members. If we came from a place of understanding others instead of only thinking of ourselves and what we want, we can be more empathetic and compassionate towards our colleagues and thus build genuine connections and relationships. Moore (2016) states that the behaviour staff have among each other can then filter down towards how students are treated. He states, "... the way students are treated by staff is without doubt the single biggest factor contributing to the culture of a school." (Moore, 2016) He believes: "We need to create schools with one super-conscious culture, which puts human relationships at the very heart and epicentre of all focus. School leaders need to establish one common culture in which every human being within its community is valued regardless of age, ability and status." (Moore, 2016)

Here are 10 Ways to Bring More Compassion to the Workplace

1. Offer guidance to a co-worker

2. Get to know your colleagues

3. Lend a hand to someone who is under a tight deadline

4. Cultivate a collaborative environment

5. Acknowledge employees' strengths and positive attributes in front of others

6. Be an example of a compassionate leader

7. Check the motivation behind your decisions, your words, and your behavior

8. Organize team-building activities

9. Encourage employees to practice conscious communication

10. Design a compassion challenge to inspire daily acts of kindness

Taken from The Chopra Center by Tris Thorp

Further information can be found at:

https://chopra.com/articles/10-ways-to-bring-more-compassion-to-the-workplace