The era of teachers as independent contractors is over. Historically, it was easier for teachers to “do their own things” when they could go into their own classroom, close the door, and just teach what and how they wanted. Of course, this doesn’t serve students nearly as well as when teachers work in teams.
Teachers are now commonly placed on teams with individuals in their buildings and districts, tasked with working together towards crafting ever-improving experiences for their students. Often called “Professional Learning Communities” or “Professional Learning Teams,” these squads of teachers gather during apportioned time to achieve their goal. Beyond these, schools are rife with committees, informal groups, and level teams that make it nearly inevitable for an education professional to avoid working collaboratively with others.
Effective teachers regularly ask themselves, “How can I be the best for my students?” And one of the corollary questions teachers should be asking themselves is, “How can I be the best for my team?”
Don’t Make It Competitive
When you’re working with others, don’t try to be the best ON the team. Try to be the best FOR the team. It’s not about standing out, taking the lead, or making sure your way is the “right way” that wins the day. Instead, it’s about playing a role that helps everyone win. Remember that it’s when the team wins that students are best served.
So here are a few simple things to consider:
• Think about how you can do the most faithful job with your role. How would you define your role on the team? Carefully consider what is expected, and how you can fulfill those expectations in the most professional, caring, and effective manner possible.
• Think about how you can bring out the best in others. Don’t just stop with thinking about yourself. Look at the others on your team. What are they good at? How can you and everyone else learn from them? Think about how your own interactions can help to bring out these attributes from others, rather than force feeding your agenda and shutting others out.
• Keep an open mind about what you can takeaway. You may be a talented, confident teacher, but you aren’t perfect. View your colleagues as individuals whose own talents and experiences can sharpen you.
• Lead by example. You might not be the designated leader on the team, but your interactions help to establish a norm for everyone. Conducting yourself in a way that brings out the best in the team will help to establish a baseline for everyone else.
• Ask for feedback. It can be effective to pause once in a while and ask your teammates, “Hey, what’s it like being on this team/committee/group with me?” This helps us stay reflective and could point out features of our interactions that need development.
As teachers, it’s not like you’re competing with one another for some prize, an end-of-year bonus, or a promotion. Competition between educators is counterproductive to generating the best ideas a team may be capable of.
Team Education
Education, in a way, is like one big team. We all — teachers, students, parents, administrators, communities — are “in it together” to equip the next generation with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed. Education is not a zero-sum game where the winner takes all. Education is a team game we either all win or all lose.
As a teacher, you’re playing your part on the “team education” by making the most impactful experiences for your students. When working with colleagues, it only make sense that everyone enjoys that more impactful experience if we meaningfully interact to sharpen one another.
So the next time you are tasked with working with colleagues, ask yourself, “How can I be the best FOR my team?”