While sitting on the balcony enjoying the beautiful weather and working, I suddenly came up with an idea. I wanted to do something different. I didn’t do this last summer nor the summer before. I decided that I wanted to send a message to every staff member to check in on them and their families and to wish them a great rest of the break before starting a new year in August. I mean there is no harm to wish them well and to show them that I am thinking about them. I wish I had a camera to see their reaction as I was very curious!
I started sending my messages a few nights ago. Each night I would send the same message to at least 10 staff members of mine but of course changed their names. The message was as simple as this: “Hi (name) How are you? Just wanted to check in. Hope you are enjoying your last stretch of your vacation and your family are all well. See you soon.” It was as simple as that. There was nothing to it right? As for my Arabic and Religion staff, I sent them each a voice note in Arabic saying the exact same thing I wrote in English. I had informed my principal that this is what I was doing and showed her the message and she loved it.
The reactions and messages I got were so worth it. They thanked me. Some were shocked and surprised and thought, Uh-oh my AP is messaging, whats up? Some thought that it was such a sweet gesture. Some replied, “Wow I never got this, thank you.” Their responses surely put a smile on my face.
If you know me, you know that my staff comes first. Their well being and happiness is what I truly care about. It is important for me that they know that I am always there to support them. I am so happy this idea popped into my head and I followed through with it. I have now sent out my message out to all my staff. I made sure to have a checklist to ensure that I left NO ONE out!
It’s the small things a leader can do to show their staff how much they are appreciated!
As a leader what have you done over the summer to show you appreciate your staff?
