As a self-proclaimed sports fanatic and wannabe athlete I have always been fascinated with the intersection between sports, education, and leadership. In my brief sports playing career, (you can learn a lot sitting on the bench!) I discovered that there are a lot of lessons learned on the field and in practice that crossover into real life. Things like teamwork and respect are a couple that come to mind right away, but there are many more.
As I dive a little deeper into this intersection of sports, education, and leadership, there’s one concept that I believe gets overlooked.
Know the rules.
All sports have rules that are enforced by officials. In our world, we have policies and procedures that serve as our rules. These rules govern what the players can and can not do. So do our policies.
Bill Belichick, arguably the best football coach of his time, has a unique approach to the rules. He has all of his players take a rules quiz at the beginning of each training camp, and players must pass this quiz before they can get on the field. For Coach Belichick, it’s all about knowing what you have to work with, and then figuring out innovative ways to operate within those parameters.
In a feature for Grantland, the reader is reminded of Belichick’s response to a reporter who asked him about the NFL’s rulebook: “We try to look at the rule book as a useful tool, something that can benefit us if we know what we have to work with, how to make the best of a situation based on the way the rules are written and try to maximize our opportunities there.”
Kobe Bryant, an NBA superstar and future Hall of Famer, took great pride in knowing the rules of his game as well. In this interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Bryant describes how he used the rulebook to his advantage.
I have four thoughts on the importance of knowing the rules:
1. Knowing the rules keeps us out of trouble. If you love your job as much as I do then you probably want to keep it. I’ve heard talk before that there are three things that can get an educator fired. I’m sure there are more than three, so make sure you know your district’s policies as best you can.
Know where to find your district’s policy manual. Is there a hard copy somewhere in your school? Is there a place to access your local policy manual online? Stay current with the School Board minutes to keep a pulse on what changes may be coming, and the reasons behind these changes.
Attend any professional development offered by your district’s legal office. Almost every time administrators have a professional development day in our district, there is an option to attend a session led by one of our school attorneys. As an assistant principal, for example, I always try to attend any professional development on updated discipline policies so that I know I am aligned with the expectations of the district.
Know your rules and policies so that you can stay out of trouble and be a present and engaged leader.
2. Knowing the rules allows us to operate efficiently and effectively. You’ve heard the old adage “work smarter, not harder.” I think this applies perfectly to knowing rules and policies. When you are current and knowledgeable you can think and act efficiently.
In a December rivalry game against the Denver Broncos in 2018, Oakland Raiders punt returner Dwayne Harris took advantage of a little-known rule to return a punt 99 yards for a touchdown. After the game, Harris told reporters, “A lot of people don’t know that if a punt team bats the ball before it goes into the end zone, if we pick it up and try to run with it and fumble, we still get the ball back. A lot of people just don’t know that rule.”
In that instance, Harris was able to operate at his highest level because of his knowledge of the rulebook.
In our buildings, we can operate at our highest level of efficiency and effectiveness when we know our rules and policies. One example that comes to mind is end of year testing. Always a stressful and tense time, testing days can go very smooth, or go very sour. When administrators and test coordinators work together, develop a plan, and communicate it with staff, everyone is on the same page and those tense days can go smooth for all.
I think of things like safety drills (fire, lockdown, tornado), student discipline conferences, and IEP meetings where it is critical to know the policies and procedures in order to be most efficient.
3. Keeping track of policy changes and discussions helps keeps you current. In a world where our rules seem to always be changing, it’s important to stay up to date on the latest discussions about policies that govern our work.
Twitter is a great source, and there are multiple accounts to follow to keep up with the ever-changing NC education policy landscape.
@BESTNCorg - A non-profit, non-partisan coalition of business leaders committed to improving North Carolina's education system through policy & advocacy.
#nced – this hashtag is used for education-related issues that affect North Carolinians.
@EducationNC – all things North Carolina education can be found here.
4. If you don’t know the policy, you have to know who to ask or where to find it. I should have started off with this, but I admittedly do not know every policy in the school district handbook. It’s cumbersome, and I doubt anybody has the policy manual memorized.
Therefore, it is critical to know where to look and who to call. If you have a Human Resources question, do you know the person or people in that department to call? What about maintenance? Or legal?
Whether we are discussing sports, education, or leadership, one thing is clear. To operate at our best, we have to know the rules.
Dr. Justin Marckel is the assistant principal of Southwest Elementary School in Clemmons, North Carolina. Justin can be found on Twitter @mr_marckel.
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