The document provides advice and encouragement for school principals on building relationships, communicating effectively, embracing change, and focusing on service to students, staff, and the community. It emphasizes the importance of listening to others' perspectives, addressing concerns promptly and directly, and leading through challenging times with optimism, empathy, and care for all stakeholders. Leading through relationships, clear vision and goals, responsiveness, and quality programs builds trust and confidence in the school.

1. Putting the “R” in PR
Make relationships matter in your
school and community
Brian Woodland
www.peelschools.org
www.linkedin.com/in/BrianWoodland
hashtag: #leadingwoodland

2. “
“ Management deals with the
here and now. Leadership
looks beyond the present to
imagine what could be.
- Jim Clemmer, Leader's Digest

4. Are you having real fun at work?
How about pin the…

7. Praise where it is due…
Thank you for your
exceptional daily work to
serve students—and your
personal leadership!

9. The doors we open and close each day
decide the lives we live
Flora Whittemore

11. You are the
instructional
leader. Period.

12. Oh..and also do...
• the bus schedule, the supervision schedule, the
faith accommodation request, arrange the school
council meeting, host the FI night, arrange for
FDK, get a SHSM, get the special education data
right, don’t have a budget rollover, talk to the FM
about the new doors, plan the school anniversary,
talk to the trustee, call the superintendent about
the call to the trustee, get the newsletter out,
update the website, talk to sobbing staff member,
call HR about sobbing staff member, talk to kid
who bit friend-again, call parents of biter and
bitten, prepare for Tony’s visit, update SSP....

14. And in the middle of all that?
• the school council chair wants to put buying
phonics books on the agenda
•27 parents want full withdrawal from music as a
faith accommodation
•There is a parent at the front concerned about
bullying. Again.
•A community group wants to know why elders
can’t wait for grandchildren inside the school in
the winter
•A group of students are angry about lack of
recycling
•And so on and so on and so on

15. Half of preschooler parents believe their kids are above average. The
number jumps to a dazzling 72% for parents of teens.
Source: Macleans

16. “
“ Leadership and learning
are indispensable to
each other.
- JFK

19. • The communication department’s work is
focused on service to schools and their staff
Janet McDougald
Chair of the Board
Peel District School Board

20. By using powerful language, positive
communication style, and non-verbal
expressiveness, leaders breathe life into
a vision.
The Leadership Challenge

23. “
“ Changing the attitude and behaviour of
people is very, very hard to accomplish. You
can't simply give a couple of speeches or
write a new credo. If employees don't see
the key changes in what you say and do
and in your behaviours and mannerisms, it's
hard to change the culture.
- Thomas J. Neff and James M. Citrin,
You’re in Charge—Now What?

24. “
“ Leadership is
action, not position.
- Donald H. McGannon

27. You need to work at building relationships
to cut through the clutter, make change
happen, and build real team commitment

29. “
“ Commitment unlocks the
doors of imagination, allows
vision, and gives us the ‘right
stuff’ to turn our dreams into
reality - James Womack

30. What we will do together...
• a bit about change-and us
• the basics of good PR
• Why you worry too much about
media
•Why service matters

32. What we will do together...
•A bit about change—and us

33. We need a common understanding
of what “change” means…

35. A bit about change—and us
• how do “we” feel about change?
• how do “they” feel about change?
• what do we do?

37. How do “we” feel about change?
• yes, thank you!
• we love the challenge, the excitement
• it’s a rush!

38. Our theme song about change…

40. The truth is... we
just want people
to trust in our
fabulousness!

42. How do “they” feel about change?
• no, thank you
• I said no
• I mean no.

43. “Their” theme
song about
change?

44. Quick quiz:
What percentage of your time—and that
of the senior leaders in your district—is
devoted to creating a shared and
outwardly focussed long-term view of the
future?
The average time amongst senior
executives is around __ per cent?

45. Answer: 3%
Source: The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and
Barry Posner

47. “
“ People don’t resist
change. They resist
being changed!
- Peter Senge

48. Top 5 barriers to change (idea-killers)
1. We’ve never done it before
2. We tried that once and it failed
3. We don’t have enough money
4. It is the wrong time of year
5. Can we talk about it more?

51. “
“ Change is hard because people
overestimate the value of what
they have—and underestimate
the value of what they may gain
by giving that up.
- James Belasco

52. “
“ If there is hope in the
future there is power
in the present.
- John Maxwell

54. “
“ Hope is the great
activator.
- Zig Ziglar

55. 145,000 students: One picture of the future
Getting to the heart of the matter
• be passionate about what you believe
• be the ongoing advocate
• be willing talk the talk
• be prepared to take the high road
• use your communication prowess
•lead the conversation about learning

57. “
“ Hope is the
foundational quality of
all change.
- Alfred Adam

58. If only every idea—no matter how un-
sellable—was this easy to sell to make
happen

60. We believe our communication skills will
prevail, but some ideas aren’t sellable…

62. There are good ways and bad ways
to make change happen...

64. What we will do together...
• the basics of good PR

66. Good PR starts with relationships, with
the public, one-to-one

68. People are looking for,
craving, this…

71. “
“ Preserve and use the
human moment.
- Crazy Busy

73. All they need is love...
Listen. Really, listen! I need to know
that you're hearing what I'm saying.
From my perspective, it's all about
me. So don't just follow a canned
script—show what you get by
reacting to my real needs and by
asking the right questions.
The ten demandments

76. The BIG picture
What public relations can’t do--NSPRA
The 90-7-3 rule
•90% of reputation is based on quality service
•7% on listening
•3% on telling

79. The BIG picture
It’s a simple rule to get good PR--
Always do a good job!

82. What we will do together...
•Why you worry too much about
media

84. Phi Delta Kappa says schools with high
confidence ratings:
•have clear goals, and they communicate these goals clearly within
the school and to the community
•have high quality curriculum and extracurricular programs - they
are seen to have “extras” over and above what the “average”
school offers
•are safe and orderly
•have significant parent and community involvement
•exhibit openness, warmth and caring
•systematically do “need sensing” to find out what parents and
others in the community want from schools
•work hard at building and retaining public confidence

86. Hierarchy of Effective Communications
1. One-to-one, face-to-face
2. Small group discussion/meeting
3. Speaking before a large group
4. Phone conversation
5. Handwritten, personal note
6. Typewritten, personal letter not generated by computer
7. Computer generated or word-processing-generated “personal letter”
8. Mass-produced, non-personal letter
9. Brochure or pamphlet sent out as a “direct mail” piece
10. Article in organizational newsletter, magazine, tabloid
11. News carried in popular press
12. Advertising in newspapers, radio, TV, magazines, posters
13. Other less effective forms of communication (billboards, skywriters, etc.)

87. 90-7-3
90 per cent of readers—30 seconds
7 per cent –3 minutes
3 per cent—30 minutes

88. Quick Tip
The 30 minute person is your
relative!

89. You want your
days to be this…

91. But sometimes
they are more this…

93. Or even this…

95. Sometimes you feel like you are being
administered a personal stress test!

97. Even brutally honest feedback makes us
better—to a point…

99. Remember—we are actually with you at
greatest times of stress—and we won’t
mention the brushstrokes!

100. “
“ Leaders learn by leading, and they
learn best by leading in the face of
obstacles. As weather shapes
mountains, problems shape
leaders.
- Warren Bennis

102. “
“ Questions wake people up. They
prompt new ideas. They show people
new places, new ways of doing things.
They help us admit that we don’t have
all the answers. They help us become
confident communicators
- Leading With
Questions

103. Let your smile be your….

104. And watch your words
•Journalism
•Gotcha Journalism

105. Don’t let the wrong words form a
barrier to getting great ideas through
in a “presentation”

109. “Is your item for information,
dialogue or discussion...”

110. What we will do together...
•Why service matters

111. More not-so-great news
It is most often the employee's
response to negative incidents,
not the incidents themselves, that
lead to customer dissatisfaction.

112. Each customer interaction can be
either magic or tragic
How to Talk to Customers
Diane Berenbaum & Tom Larkin

114. Your reputation will self-destruct in
5 seconds...
Get the first five seconds right—our genes train us to distinguish
between safe opportunities and dangerous situations—these sensing
devices are at full stretch when customers move toward a potential
service encounter.
The Buzz, David Freemantle

115. The “Gayla” rule..
• You get five minutes to impress…
Do you have them at
hello?

118. Yes—it is actually my department…
“Never lose a guest. Whoever receives a
complaint will own it, resolve it to the
guest’s satisfaction and record it.”
The Ritz-Carlton Basics, #13
Do you have them at
hello?

119. Quick question?
Is it fair to compare a luxury hotel chain
with an under-funded school system?
Do you have them at
hello?

120. And a quick moment of self-
reflection..
• When it comes to your PERSONAL
service…
Do you have them at
hello?

121. Would your dictionary definition of
you include words like “positive”,
“kind”, “nice", or are you…

124. “
“ To work in the world lovingly
means that we are defining what
we will be for—rather than
reacting to what we are against.
- Christine Baldwin

126. “
“ Change the world—one conversation at
a time… It is not enough to be willing to
speak. The time has come for you to
speak. Your time of holding back, of
guarding you private thoughts, is over.
Your function in life is to make a
declarative statement.
- Susan Scott

129. Come to the edge…

130. We can't, we can't, we are afraid.

131. Come to the edge…

132. We can't, we will fall.

133. Come to the edge…

134. And they came, and Life pushed them

135. And they flew
Guillaume Apollinaire

136. A last word…
Never forget that even the smallest
acts of kindness by each of us can
have a major impact on the lives of
the children we serve…