Pub. 4 2014-2015 Issue 1

22 A little more than 50 years ago, forest service smoke jumpers learned that in certain crucial circumstances the best way to save their lives was to do something outrageously contrary to their natural tendencies. In August of 1949, fifteen men parachuted into a mountainous area of Montana to put out a growing fire. Within minutes, the fire exploded out of control, spread- ing at 660 feet-per-minute and threatening to consume the fifteen firefighters. Fourteen of the men turned away from the fire and ran for the ridge. One did not. He turned toward the approaching inferno and set the grass in front of him on fire. As the grass finished burning, he yelled for his comrades to drop onto the resulting ashes to save their lives. In the end, he was the only survivor. Challenges such as board members with personal agen- das, who micro-mange, aren’t familiar with the school’s charter, expect their position on the board to be a status symbol, those who can’t distinguish between their role as a parent and board member are common among most boards. When you add limited time, resources, training, and a lack of vision or strategic plan coupled with angry parents, rogue colleagues, and bureaucratic red tape, it’s more than enough to make any administrator or board member want to abandon the fight for educational ex- cellence and run for the ridge. However, we can’t out- run these fires. With research showing that one in three educators report stress-related problems, people who run from the flames end up burned out and ultimately sacrifice educational excellence. When we retreat, we cross a line between simple stress and more serious burnout. In burnout, our relationships become increasingly depersonalized and we become chron- ically pessimistic. As we withdraw from our relationships and grow convinced of our own powerlessness, we enter a downward spiral of pessimism that can feel impossible to escape. Board members in burnout or approaching burn- out suffer depleted energy, lowered resistance to illness, increased absenteeism and decreased effectiveness. Conse- quently, everyone suffers when board members and other school administrators are trapped in this cycle of stress, withdrawal, and burnout. But not all are consumed in this cycle. Some cope well and remain resilient in the same environments that over- whelm others. We surveyed more than 400 educators, and discovered that nearly one in five have figured out how to approach even the toughest fires and quench them. It turns out that a significant key to coping with stress in school governance is akin to running toward the fire rather than running away. Specifically, the best way to fight the creeping depersonalization and pessimism that underlie burnout is to take active steps to address and resolve the problems that threaten to consume us. This path begins with investing time and effort to hold crucial conversations. In our research, we learned that administrators and board members can master the stress- ors in their environment by engaging more consistently and effectively in certain conversations that are common, impactful, and too often, undiscussable. When administrators and board members take the initia- tive to have skillful discussions with unsupportive board Charter School University sponsored by Zions Bank presents Speak Up or Burn Out: Five Crucial Conversations that Drive Educational Excellence BY DAVID MAXFIELD