Redding School District

It was a beautiful spring morning at Sequoia.  Since I was at school early, as usual, I left my office and decided to walk about to see what was happening.  I grabbed my large Shell gas station coffee and headed out of my office towards the building door.  I had just strolled outside when I was joined by the morning patrol person that I hadn’t met. 

“Good Morning, Mr. Adams!” he said cheerfully.  “I’m Smokey, and I’m the morning safety patrol.   I just thought I would say hello and introduce myself.  Welcome to Sequoia and I can’t wait to get to know you more.”

Smokey was an older man with ordinary features.  He wore a hat with Navy insignias and his graying hair told of someone with years of history.  Though his appearance seemed ordinary, his sincerity and warmth were noticeable immediately.

As we walked along we talked about many subjects but none was more important than how Smokey reacted to every student, staff member, or human that crossed our path that morning.  He would always choose to give something of himself to everyone that we passed.  If nothing more than a kind word or a simple smile.  It was the reactions of each person we interacted with that caught my heart.  Every single person looked up from whatever their thoughts were and said good morning and sported a smile.  Even when we interacted with students that needed to move back to a supervised area they did it with a smile because it was Smokey with whom they respected.

When you are the assistant principal at a middle school with 1100 students, you become particularly adept at finding and pointing out what’s “wrong” with student’s behavior.  You begin to see it everywhere and you can fall into the trap of thinking that it is everywhere.  Smokey made a big impression on me that day and many other days in his 22-year career with Redding School District.  He might be the platinum example of what it looks like to see the good around you, acknowledge that good, and then how to add value to make it just a little better along the way. Smokey might be a great role model for anyone who wants to make a difference in his or her work.  This isn’t to say that Smokey didn’t hold kids accountable, but his wisdom was always accepted and his relationships were deep with those he met. 

Over the years I have learned from many people that truth is something that holds the test of time.   Smokey was one of them that taught me about what leaders do.  Smokey was a leader because he understood and acted out qualities that make you a leader.  First, that everyone makes a difference every day in his or her work.  Nobody can prevent you from choosing to be exceptional.  When I was a busboy at Perko’s restaurant in 1982, I took pride in cleaning the bathrooms and helping the people that I worked with serve our customers.  I did it because it made me feel good.  I was trying to make a difference in my work life and as I now know, I was a leader.  I am sure, it was that prideful work that helped me become the manager three years later. Second, that success is built on relationships.  We are all successful when we recognize that no matter what we do it involves interacting with human beings and making sure that we are adding positive value to those that we mingle with.  It is this continual looking for ways to add value to others that makes a great difference in our work and personal lives.  Abraham Lincoln said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.”