In a one-on-one meeting today, one of my colleagues said, “I’d like you to hold me accountable for ____________.”  Then we discussed her request and why she made it in the first place.  We did some preliminary problem solving.  And then I left the meeting and made a note in my calendar to check in with her about the topic in a future meeting.

A school or organization’s culture is really humming along when leadership and followership dissolve into something more like partnership.  As the nominal leader in this situation, I felt great about discovering where to focus my energy and attentional filters as they relate to this colleague.  By helping me to focus, she helped me to help her, which is what I want to do more than anything else for the people with whom I work.  Therefore, she helped me.