Late-Lee when I’m out on the river or chilling in my pond, I’ve been thinking a lot about undercurrents like the ones you find in rivers and oceans.  You can’t see them, but they are lurking just below the surface. You will feel a silent pull that moves various things you can’t always see, but you definitely know they are there. If you’ve ever been swimming and felt something brush against your leg, you know exactly what I mean. Sometimes it’s seaweed. Sometimes it’s trash. But whatever it is, you didn’t see it coming, and it catches you off guard. If you are like me, you pray it isn’t a snake! 

School culture isn’t just about what’s seen. Sure, you can decorate bulletin boards, wear team shirts, and plan a monthly potluck. And to an outsider looking in, they might be mesmerized by the beauty of it all. And while all of that has its place, the deeper truth is this: culture is more about what’s felt than what’s posted. 

School culture has its own version of undercurrents. Maybe it’s unspoken frustrations. Perhaps it’s gossip passed in hallways or the infamous eye rolls in meetings. At times, it’s the tone behind the words that are shared in various contexts. It’s in the sound of the sighs expressed when unpopular information is communicated. It’s the quiet resistance. Much like the things floating beneath the surface of the water all of these things (and more) can catch even the best leader off guard. 

Teams blame it on leaders, but leaders can’t do it all, and this is especially true when it comes to culture. They can set the tone, model professionalism, celebrate the wins, and call out what’s not okay. But culture isn’t something leaders can dictate. It’s something that is co-created. Let me say that again…co-created! 

Teams have a responsibility in this creation too. If there’s an undercurrent of negativity, no amount of surface-level celebrations leaders try to implement is going to fix it.  Leaders can host “Jeans Day” every Friday, but if collaboration feels forced or colleagues feel isolated, the undercurrent still flows moving the negativity throughout the building. And eventually, it pulls people under. People leave.

Here’s the hard truth: leaders can’t force adults to be friends. They can’t even make them be nice. But they can expect professionalism. They can expect grace, kindness, and respect to be part of how the work gets done. Leaders do have a big stake in the creation. They must be available to their teams. They need to be approachable and open to ideas.

Great culture isn’t an event. It’s a daily decision by every person in the building to either fuel the undercurrent or help shift it. When members of any team starts saying, “Morale is low,” they need to follow it up with, “What can we do to improve it?” It’s not about pointing fingers at any one person. (My mom used to remind me that when you point a finger there are three pointing back at you.) It goes back to everyone making a daily decision to be co-creators!

In just a short couple of weeks, school doors will open to the many scholars educators are going to teach. Teachers have already begun decorating their rooms and preparing in a variety of ways for their arrival. There are still numerous smiles on the faces of teachers as they gear up for the new year. But the undercurrent is there lurking…waiting. I challenge each school team/leader to fully commit to preventing the inevitable shift in tides that occurs almost like clockwork (once the reality of the year has kicked in) from allowing undercurrent to become negative.

Be lifeguards for one another and throw out smiles and support like life preservers to ensure the school culture stays healthy and afloat. It takes everyone!

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