“Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” (Saint Francis of Assisi)
This winter there was a snowstorm resulting in a 50-car pileup on the Ohio turnpike, which included some fatalities and dozens of motorists stranded in the freezing weather.
Some administrators from a nearby school district didn’t just see the news and feel sorry for all of those people.
No, they saw an opportunity to make a bad situation a little bit better.
Clyde-Green Springs School Transportation Director (Bob Morris) and Athletics Director (Ryan Greenslade) got approval from Superintendent Lucas Messer to use buses to take warm food and drinks to the crash site. Then they transported stranded people to warm shelters.
It didn’t matter they were on winter break or that these people weren’t even students, taxpayers, or stakeholders. They didn’t say it was someone else’s problem. There was no agenda.
This was about seeing a need and finding a solution. This was about helping.
The best leaders keep their heads on a swivel looking for ways to make people or situations better. They’re proactive.
It’s easy to get buried in paperwork and administrative tasks. It seems that all we ever do as leaders is dot the i’s and cross the t’s. But leading is more than standard operating procedures and filling out reports.
Seeing this kind of example is a reminder that we must look outside the box. We’ll typically find what we’re looking for. If we look for ways to help, then we’re going to find needs that can be filled and problems that can be solved.
“This is just kind of what we do … anything we can do to step up and help”, said the Superintendent.
What will we do today to make a difference?
What will we do today to make situations and people better?