Getting into the back-to-school
preparation means nothing if ourselves and our teammates are not in the right mindset. But how do we ensure our teams are ready to take on the school year, including the chaos that is inevitable with school start-up? Learn from the Past but Move on From It: It is really easy to get hung up on what happened in the previous school year, especially if some things didn’t go well. Although it is valuable to reflect on the past; we often get hung up on it as if it is still happening in real time. The past should simply be a learning lesson for the present. Reflect with your team on what you learned and how you will implement what you learned moving forward. Be aware if you have teammates that can’t seem to let the past go, and make sure to reinforce being in the “here and now”. We can make ourselves miserable harping on the past, and none of us have time for that! Lower Your Expectations: Many of us are over achievers and want our school start up to be smooth with no bumps in the road. Let’s be honest here, when has that ever truly happened? We end up causing ourselves unnecessary stress by expecting perfection instead of anticipating things won’t be perfect from the start but will be addressed accordingly when issues arise. Focus on what needs to happen for the school year to start off right versus what you want to happen in an ideal world; communicate these expectations with your team, so they are on the same page. tip two Don’t Overload Your Team With Training and Information: Logistically, it often makes sense to tackle everything your team needs to be trained on tip three tip one
at the beginning of the school year, because we want to start off on the right foot. However, think how overwhelming all this information can be in addition to the natural anxieties many school nutrition professionals face when starting a new school year. Pinpoint what information is absolutely necessary for them to start the school year and what can be saved for a later day (because professional development shouldn’t be a one time event!). Also identify what can be turned into a resource instead of a training (ie: creating documents explaining processes and procedures that they can refer to if and when the appropriate scenario arises). Remember, people can only retain so much information before they start to zone out or shut down, so make sure you focus on what really matters at this point in the year! Start the Year with Intention: As humans, we live enough of our lives on autopilot, but our programs and students deserve us to be present and intentional. It’s easy to have the mindset, “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”, but sometimes this mindset leads us to go through the motions without having a defined north star for the year. This doesn’t mean you should overhaul the department with change each year, but it does mean you should really pinpoint what the focus of the new school year will be. Is it to add more scratch cooking? To focus on team building? To become more sustainable? The sky’s the limit! I highly recommend creating a theme that will represent what you want the school year to encompass; make it catchy and easy to remember as your department’s north star! Give Yourself and Those Around You Grace: It is natural to set your expectations high for the new school year; you are ready to make tip five tip four
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