NLO Leadership Podcast
Insights and encouragements from the NLO executives
NLO Leadership Podcast
Protecting and Projecting the BCS Cuture
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In this episode, Mary, Pete and Sasho discuss the importance of protecting and projecting the culture of BCS.
Alright, well, welcome back to the NLO Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Tom Tony, here with Mary, Pete, and Sasho. And today we're gonna talk about the power of culture, why protecting and projecting the culture makes an organization stronger. So we know that in the in the course of the day-to-day, things can get hectic and we might be tempted sometimes to abandon cultural standards for the sake of just getting things done. And so protecting the culture is important, but also projecting the culture, meaning sharing that culture and living it out loud is also important. And the culture is the foundation of success. And so we're gonna talk a little bit today about culture, not so much the culture of VCS as I'd like to talk about how do we protect the culture and what is the power of culture ultimately in an organization. So let me begin with this question. Give me an example of something that you would say we really want this to be a key cultural aspect of this organization.
SPEAKER_05The first thing that comes to my mind is the judgment-free zone.
SPEAKER_03100%. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Just across the board and treating each other as coworkers with that with professional integrity and respect.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Um serving um would be another piece of the culture I think is really important as well, that falls right into that judgment-free zone. Just because that's what we are there. We're we're there to serve the kids. We're there to serve the families, but we're also there to serve one another.
SPEAKER_03So let's take those ideas. And uh in the next episode, we're gonna talk about culture. We're gonna talk about the air we breathe and we're gonna dig into the things that really matter to you guys in terms of what you want the culture to be. What I'd like to do is take that idea of judgment-free zone and serving and sort of put it through a test. So, what do we do when we either witness or we discover that that that cultural element is not being applied? Um, and what specifically do you think can happen to an organization if we choose to not follow? So, for example, if you would say judgment free zone is important to us, well, what does it look like a buckeye if we don't follow that? What is the power of that cultural piece?
SPEAKER_05You're gonna lose students.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Because they come, they come already, most of them, feeling at least literally.
SPEAKER_02That's what they are feeling is that they're judged at every stance. Um, they were basically judged out of where they were. There is no other word for it. That's the facts. And Wow.
SPEAKER_00Every st I can say this, every student that comes to us, because I read a lot of the um notes from the enrollment.
SPEAKER_01You read all of the notes from the enrollments.
SPEAKER_05He does. Pete and I still receive those notes. Right.
SPEAKER_00And it it does amaze me that, you know, we keep growing and the stories are the same. The in that and they are judged, they are put in a box, they are um labeled, all those terms you want to say, and in most cases wrongly. And so judgment free zone, while it may be one of our cultural or our culture basis, um, it has to happen because then we're no different than the rest if we allow that judgment of those students to continue to happen here. And I think what I love best is that our students once they understand they can be be themselves and and they're not going to be judged. Um, and I hope staff, you're witnessing this because we we hear that this is happening, the students actually start monitoring and policing themselves. And and when a new student comes in with an attitude or with in a with with a mindset, um the students actually say, you don't have to bring that here. You don't have to put that wall up, you're safe here. And so the students actually help the new students realize that the culture here is accepting of who you are, period.
SPEAKER_05And you know, that goes across to the staff too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Uh, because a lot of times they're coming from an environment that was less than ideal. And a lot of what we've built into our culture and climate was us saying, okay, we've had that done to us. We didn't like it, so we're not doing that. But amazing things happen when you're when every individual that walks through the door of a building feels seen, heard, and valued. And that's where the difference is made.
SPEAKER_03No, absolutely. So upholding, going to the specifics of that idea, we can begin to see sort of the principles of culture. And I'd love to lean into that together with you a little bit here. Um, like I say, in the future episodes, we'll kind of start talking through each of the cultural pieces that seem to be very intrinsic and important to you. What I'd love to do is kind of pull back a little bit now and let's talk a little bit more globally about just the power of culture. Why does culture matter so much? What does it do when we rally around it? What does it do when it erodes in an organization? What why does culture matter? And why does it matter that we know it and we follow it?
SPEAKER_02I would say this. Um, we each as an individual have our own culture. You know, that can be from our family, that can be from the community we grew in, et cetera, et cetera. And so thinking about staff that comes on board, that staff has come from a work culture environment that's foreign to ours. And whether a staff member realizes it or not, they bring that culture with them. They can bring that idea of what a person in leadership is supposed to behave like and how they're going to treat them. Uh, they could bring that with um my ideas of how I can help a student. I hope that they're not going to judge me for them the way they did at the school that I was at previously. We bring that culture, and that's where our our new hire day, that's where the few days that we have in the beginning of the school year, where we're getting new staff oriented, where we have our teacher support team that come in and meet with them, meeting with the people that you are interviewing with, going through that process to try to share the culture and now start to integrate you into the culture of the BCS environment is so critical and huge because we we have to remove those barriers because we we all know this. We've had staff members that have talked to us about how us approaching them just to say, hi, how are you? They automatically hit a wall of fear because they thought we were going to fire them. I think we've talked about it, but I'm going to talk about it again. We had a staff member that thought we were willing to send them on a flight and get them a hotel room at a professional development and and and invest, you know, in them coming to an event and learning and growing. Was all the purpose of being masked around we're gonna fire them and and allow them to sit alone so they could cry and not share. Wow, wow. And and but that's so heartbreaking because it's like holy cow. First off, who is that diabolical? Like, where were you?
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Well, and right it and to Sasha, to that point, um, looking at culture from 30,000 feet, um that person came from a culture that bred that feeling. Right. And so you you can go down two paths with culture good culture, bad culture. 100%, yeah. And depending on what direction you go, is going to have a huge impact on a person. Yeah. And so culture plays a huge, huge piece.
SPEAKER_05All I can think about is when I've had loved ones of staff members approach me and tell me they got that person back.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_05Just like we hear parents tell us they got their student back. We have staff members, family members telling us they got that person back. To me, that is just huge.
SPEAKER_03So by that, by that you mean sort of rescued out of who they have become. Now they're back to who they know them to be. Right. Right. Okay.
SPEAKER_05And I think that's the importance. Uh a big part of the importance of of culture here is we want people to know without a doubt that they're respected.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05At every level. And if if you don't have that, it's just a breakdown. It's a complete breakdown in in our ecosystem, I guess. Yeah, for lack of a better word. Yeah. Um, it's it's the air we breathe, it's the water we drink. Yeah. And um for me, it's a true belief in a system that works for everybody. And and and I I just have an overarching philosophy or or mindset that you win together, you lose together. And it's all in building relationships, it's all in just treating each other, you know, and seeing somebody and understanding somebody where they're coming from.
SPEAKER_00And that's that's the the example you just used, Mary. What's so amazing is in that example that person had a feeling and a belief. They were put into a culture that made them feel like they had to either change to exist or that the way they felt was wrong. And they had to feel like this. And so that's that's a perfect example of how culture can just destroy a person.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um, it is. And and the think about it like this, um with culture like in in in any environment. Some people talk about culture uh almost from the set mindset of do as I say, not as I do. And and the reality of it is, is that with the three of us, we work very, very hard with one another to make sure that we're never I I don't even have any other word for it. We're just not being like a a bad individual to one another, because that's that's not just from a personal standpoint. Just on a human level. On a human level and on a professional level, because it's like, you know, if we're if we're gonna be jerks to one another, how in how in the world are we going to help lead? And how are the how in the world are we gonna help like just project that with everyone else that they've you know what I mean? We we want them to care about these people, but we could care less about one another.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And and that, and that's the one thing that we always want everybody to know in in the genuine approach of everything that is here in this culture is that it is purposeful. It is thinking about individuals, and it's ultimately thinking about how we want to take care of one another and taking care of you know our our team and allowing our team then to take that culture and now start taking care of kids.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And you just can't you you can't say you want to do that and then just be a dirtbag to everybody.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02It's just it's it that that's counterintuitive in every way, shape, counterculture. It is. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03You know, a lot of times in organizations, there's this idea that culture is owned by the leaders, that the cultures are the ones who will are the the leaders are the ones who will set the culture. But the reality is, is culture is set by everyone in the organization. Culture is the result of how we treat each other and go about our day-to-day. So for you, I'd love to hear what is your expectation of the team being culture carriers? Like, how are they to carry themselves on the day-to-day where concerns the culture you desire at BCS?
SPEAKER_05Again, it's that it's free of judgment, of particularly the student, and it's treating each other with that in professional integrity and respect, but it's also in holding each other accountable and being able to have those conversations, even if sometimes they can be difficult, as long as they're held in a respectful manner. I have a a friend who doesn't call things confrontation, she calls them a carefrontation. And I think that's perfect. Um, because confrontation can be difficult or having difficult conversations, it's just not comfortable in any way. But I think as long as it's gotta do them with respect. Right.
SPEAKER_02Like conflict is not a negative. Conflict is a negative when we're looking at degrading one another and tearing one another down. But having a confrontational conversation, which is a carefrontational conversation out of respect, out of love, out of being able to help one another be better, where is the malice in that? Yeah. You know, that there isn't.
SPEAKER_05But we really want to mirror what what we'd want to see in society within these walls uh for the student, for well, for each other, of course. Because it obviously there's a reason why not many people leave Buckeye. Uh I I you know, and and that's it's facts.
SPEAKER_02It is. It's because I mean, it's an environment where you talked about family members talking about getting their their their spouse back, their, you know what I mean, their sister back. You name it, but we also have when our a lot of our staff goes and talks to board members.
SPEAKER_05Well, I had a staff member approach me and and now we've asked him to share on several occasions that star with us as an instructor and now as a principal that came to me and told me that uh equated his experience working within our organization is now, you know, they they'd gone from seeing the world in color to everything being in black and white, and now they're seeing the world in color again.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05That's just a huge shift and it's such a positive shift. How can you not want to keep that going?
SPEAKER_00And who would want to work in an environment where you're beat down constantly? Yeah. And so it it's it's kind of crazy, and it and it's an adage or a saying that's said all the time treat people the way you want to be treated. Yeah. And it, I mean, it's kind of almost, I'm not trying to make it simplified, but it's true. I mean, and and that's what we want people here to do, staff to staff, staff to students, students to students, our school to the community, is just treat people the way you want to be treated. Now, if you want to be treated mean and nasty, this isn't the place for you.
SPEAKER_05How many times, Pete, did I look at you throughout the course of a workday and say, is it really that hard? Is this really that hard? You have to work to be mean. I'm sorry, you do. It takes an awful lot of effort. And just why?
SPEAKER_03Well, you said something earlier, Mary. You said this is the air we breathe, right? Yeah. And uh, you know, this engagement that I'm involved in now with Buckeye in this this year, um, all the training we're going to be doing is called O2, where we talk about the oxygen, the air we breathe, right? And so those two O's mean observation and ownership. And so a part of what I hear you saying in the accountability piece is that as individual members of this organization, we're responsible for those two things. We're responsible to a observe the culture. So if we see something that is out of alignment with what we know the culture is to be, uh, we we got to keep our eyes open. We're watching for that, right? I'm looking for instances in which we're sort of breaching culture. Because the truth is, is that if we don't address that breach, culture will leak out. The culture we want will leak out and we'll drift and we'll become who we don't want to be. The second part of that though, then is ownership. If we see the leak, we gotta bring the patch, right? So, how do how do we bring that patch? It's gonna feel like maybe con care frontation, but we also have to sort of own that moment. It may not be me. I may observe someone else not observing the culture. And so it may not be I'm not the one not observing it, but now I own uh doing something about this. Because if I don't, it could leak, it could become contagious, become toxic, it could make our air toxic. And so we own that. And inside an organization, it genuinely is. Culture is genuinely the air that we all breathe. And so if you go to your point, Pete, do I want that air to be toxic? Do I want to breathe the kind of air that makes me sick because I'm not treating others the way I would want to be treated?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely not. I don't, I don't know.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so that O2 kind of idea there, observation. Um, I'm sure that you guys have observed over your years, and maybe even recently, uh, some things that have been counterculture. Uh, maybe you've heard stories. What are some examples that you can think of uh where someone did not follow the culture? We don't have to say names, right? Obviously, but uh where someone did not follow the culture, and it was very apparent to you wow, if if that's not addressed, if we don't circle back on that, that's that's gonna cause some issues down the road.
SPEAKER_02Oh man, Tom, you opened up a spaghetti batch. Um, you know, the one thing that we all care about more than anything is doing doing what's right and doing what's best. And we will we will be here with anyone and work with anyone and help anyone grow and and just be a part of the vision. But at the end of the day, if if you don't want to do that, um, you know, I'm sorry. We we can't we can't sacrifice all of these kids um for the sake of for the sake of you know how how we may personally feel for someone or or fall in love with their potential.
SPEAKER_03That's really good, Sasha. I love that phrase. So fall in love with their potential.
SPEAKER_05I was having a hard time putting it into words that that sums it up, right? Yeah. We're w we're here to support, we're we're here to help, but no, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00And I'll give you a pretty direct example. You can't have a person within the organization that says there's the new leaf organization way, but then there's my way. Yeah. Yeah, it doesn't work, doesn't it? I'm sorry. It is the new leaf organization way. And even if Pete Barkoviac said, but then there's my way, then I don't need to be here. 100%. I mean, that's that and and you just can't have that mindset that, you know, oh, I hear what you're saying, but I think I know what's best, or my way's the best. Yeah. Um and that that just can't be. And it's not that we're telling you you can't have an opinion or a thought. And we talked in the previous episodes of coming to us with ideas and with some examples or with some ways, you know, and it's one thing to think you're helping, or you know, wanting to help, and that and that's great. Um but to just directly uh undermine the essence of our existence, um, that's just not acceptable. And that culture, uh obviously that's not the culture we want. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05That's when that person needs to go build their own system. Right.
SPEAKER_02No, absolutely. You know, 'cause if you think about it. You're 100% right. They have to. Because, you know, you talked about cultures all of us, right? And and so with culture being all of us, the part of that is okay, if we are blazing a trail, right? If we showed up at the destination alone, what did we do right? Nothing. Because we're no, we're nobody is there to celebrate with us. Nobody came along the journey and was a part of the process. We just blazed a trail and looked behind us and said, all of these ideas were mine and they were the best ideas. And then no one came behind. Thank you. Holy crap. Where did I lose them? Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So this has been collaborative from the outset. Like the the entire the building of this has been collaborative and and and more and more like-minded individuals just continue to join. And I think it's something that educators kind of across the board have been craving is the changes that are made here. So yeah. And so and and it's all come from listening and doing something about what you hear.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So interesting, Pete. What you said there a second ago really resonated for me, especially in that you guys have now chimed in on that same way of thinking. And that is, I'll often say in an organization that people believe everyone reports to the CEO, right? That everyone answers to the CEO. Uh, but the way I like to say it is this that might be true structurally, but in the end, everybody reports to the culture. Everyone answers to the culture. Pete, you said it a second ago. If if the Pete Barkodiak way does not align with the NLO way, I'm the one that has to go, right? So in that sense, culture trumps everything. And we all report to it. So if we're not all upholding the culture, then that becomes the point at which we're, to your point, we go start our own organization, whatever we're gonna, but it's not gonna work here, right? Because we have without that cultural integrity, what will we become? What what could we provide? We we won't exist. Well, well, we could exist. Let me change that. We could exist, but not in the form we desire.
SPEAKER_02Right. Well, and how would how effective would we be if we all didn't talk about curriculum together and talk about how would it impact the organization as a whole? Seriously.
SPEAKER_05We wouldn't.
SPEAKER_02I screw you. This is just gonna be what it's gonna be, right? And then, oh wow, look, you know, all of these things that we did, now they're hurting kids. Oh, they're hurting staff. Nobody can really work together on this. Oh no, what do we do?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and while while while Pete, Mary, and Sasha may be in our own spaces, you know, most the majority of the time, we all communicate with each other about every single aspect of every the every little thing we touch in a day is discussed amongst us. And I that's what I mean by it's been collaborative. There's no one individual that is responsible for where we are today at all.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And it's the overarching culture that you're discussing, right? It's the overarching mission that you're talking about. It's not just your individual, this is my desire, what I want to do. It's what must we do and how must we act in a way unified to get this outcome. Um, how would you translate that idea to everyone? How would you encourage the team to say, here's why culture matters? Um, and there are many tethers to what that means. We'll talk about those in the future, but how here's why culture matters. And this is why it's really important that you observe it and you own it, that you protect it and you project it.
SPEAKER_02You know what's a crazy part about the culture we're talking about? Our school report cards. So pretty much every single one of our school report cards looks exactly the same. That's culture. That's everybody owning culture. That's not someone going rogue and doing it their way. I'm in my building and it's gonna be like this, and this is how my staff's gonna run. And it's no, we're we are a hive. We are all working together cohesively, sharing ideas, sharing resources, sharing improvements and and raising the quality of service together.
SPEAKER_05We we all meet, NLO meets regularly, executive leadership meets regularly, the principals meet regularly. Everybody, everybody across locations is is talking to each other, yeah. Right working together for for one goal.
SPEAKER_00And you know, we we've been two things come to mind for me. Um we have said that like eighty percent of our culture is non-negotiable, and twenty percent is kind of negotiable to give each building a little bit of identity to to meet the students where they're at. So when Sasha said, you know, our report cards, that is a reflection of us having that base core, and I used 80-20, I don't know what that percent is. Yeah, but you got to allow each building, as I think Mary has put it, um meet that core students where they're at, because each community is different. That's right. And so that's a culture piece that can't be lost because it can't be it's only this way, and we don't care what's going on with those kids here, here, here, and here and here. Um another thing, Sasha, you made me think about when you said you're you're on this journey and you're you know exploring and you're doing it your way, and you get to the end and you turn around and no one's with you. Well, obviously it wasn't one to follow. Um but on the flip side, we we were in a you talk, and we're going back to a future episode, talk about the trials and tribulations and the things we fought. Yeah. We were we were in a hearing with the state, and a person actually at the time it was said was kind of like a dig, like a like a could be a negative statement. And it was, I just don't understand what they do. They're they're just like Pied Pipers, people just follow them, you know, but we don't know why. Okay. Well, hearing what Sasha just said is I much rather be that person in this organ, and not me, but this organization leading to where when we get to the end, there's all kinds of people behind us.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because then we know we did it the right way. Yeah, and we're doing it the right way.
SPEAKER_03Follow you to success.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and so um and that and that person leading, yes, here at our level, the three of us, we're leading, our uh executive leadership teams leading, our principals are leading, our assistant principals are leading. But you know what? Each one of you are leading your group of people. So if you're a teacher, you have that group of students you're leading. Right. And so um that's that's what culture is about is also being consistent.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Well, and I think that's why you come back to this principle of it's the air we breathe. So if you look at it from a global perspective, uh, we talked about this in the leadership PD that we did did at the beginning of the year. We'll talk about in the PDs that are uh going to be going on throughout the year, uh, that there are different environments, subclimates that happen around the earth, right? So there's sub-Saharan, there's rainforest, there's um the cold climates of the Antarctic, um, and so on. There are only certain animals that can live in those climates. You know, a zebra is not gonna do really well on the North Pole, right? Penguins not gonna really do well in the middle of the Sahara Desert. Um, maybe for a while. But uh so the climates may be different. They may require some change and some shift to adapt to who we're serving in these different locations, for example. But at the end of the day, we're all breathing the same air. Like no matter where we are on the planet, we're breathing the same O2. And that's what we're looking for here at Buckeye is a protection of that O2. And if there's anything in our cult our world today that we talk about, it is the quality of the air we breathe, right? So, oh, like the climate change and all the things that swirl around that has to do with the quality of the air. And that I think is what is important for the team and for everyone to protect. Everyone reports to the air. Everyone answers for the quality of the air that's being breathed. And if we're breathing toxicity into the air, it's not just, it's affecting everyone, right? And not just affecting everyone, it's genuinely affecting this globe of Buckeye Community Schools to be able to do what it's meant to do and to adapt to the climates that the students need, we genuinely rob ourselves of that opportunity when we don't protect the culture. So, A, knowing what it is, which we'll talk about in a future episode and throughout the course of the year, um, but also adopting it, grabbing it, making it your own, owning it, and living it so that you're protecting that air, that air that everyone is breathing. That's where success comes from out of that, out of that culture. And I think you guys exemplify that so well. I mean, honestly, um, the opportunity I've had to be around you, spend time with you. It's such a consistent conversation. You're you're and it's not messaging. This is the the thing that I think really stands out to me for the three of you, especially, is I've been around a lot of executives, and executives typically know how to message, right? They know how, they know their talking points, how to sit, but it's because this is coming right from your heart. I mean, so often our conversations are coming right from your gut, and it's the same thing all the time. And that's what for me causes me to say that it's just genuine, it's real. And so that to me is fresh air. That's the air everyone can breathe, get behind, and sharing success. So when we arrive at the finish line feet, get down there, we're all breathing that air, right? And we got there because it was good air to breathe. That's what we want to protect the buckeye.
SPEAKER_04That's a little bit.
SPEAKER_05Thank you.