Building a Culture of Happiness

Matthew Ohlson

Anna Crawford, Principal of Wadsworth Elementary School


Teacher retention is a major issue in our field, costing the United States about $2 billion each year. Research also shows that teacher stability is crucial for building strong relationships between staff and students (LPI, 2016). With increased employee mobility and decreased retention rates in the teaching field, an emerging trend in school improvement is focusing on empowering school leaders to celebrate employee successes and build a culture of happiness to bring about improved outcomes.

Leading with Joy

What if we’ve had it wrong all along? We spend so much time chasing “happy.” We’ve been taught that happiness comes as we achieve success, and the truth is, it does.  With every new success comes happiness – the two are synonymous. But what about flipping the sequence and starting with happy? First comes happy – then comes success. This is the mantra of “leading with joy.”

Leading with joy requires a shift in thinking. Rather than focusing on the deficits, challenges and obstacles ahead, a culture of happiness spotlights the gains, strengths and opportunities. Leading with joy requires a shift in thinking. Rather than focusing on the deficits, challenges and obstacles ahead, a culture of happiness spotlights the gains, strengths and opportunities.

In recent studies, Harvard author and researcher Shawn Achor found that happiness improved organizational outcomes by 37 percent, increased productivity by 31 percent and increased accuracy on tasks by 19 percent.

Similar outcomes have been experienced by our “Leading with Joy” partner schools throughout Florida where a focus on positivity and celebrating successes has led to increased employee retention (14%), increased employee attendance (8%), increased positive media coverage (26%) and increased student attendance (11%).

Leading with joy is focused on celebrating the team — employees, players, colleagues — while also consistently examining the impact that the leadership team is having on leading (attendance, discipline, etc.) and lagging indicators (student achievement scores).

Best Practices for Leaders

The Parking Lot Rule

Before you leave the classroom or office each day, think of at least one way that you helped bring out the best in others or led your school or team toward established goals.  

The Influencers

Each week, send a positive email/text to at least one employee, colleague or teammate to thank them for their efforts and for making an impact. Be sure to focus on all school members including teachers, support staff, district staff and community stakeholders.

Weekly Success Meeting

Send a weekly calendar invite to all team members and ask them to respond to one of the following question,


  1. What was the best part of your week?  
  2. What was your biggest success?
  3. What brought you the most joy in your role?
  4. Name a student that you positively impacted and how
  5. Name a colleague that you positively impacted and how
This mindset reminds the team that each person plays a role in the overall organizational success. It also demonstrates to each member of your school community (teacher, staff, stakeholder) that they matter and they are valued.

Team Awesome

Using a shared bulletin board or online portal, create a forum for celebrating each other. Each member can nominate a colleague for leading, helping, serving or inspiring others in the organization. As leaders, consistently and publically celebrate the “Happy Habits” of your school community. In one school, a principal would celebrate the teachers with the most positive phone calls made to families. This allows teachers to feel valued for their efforts and encourages the replication of this positive practice by others throughout the staff.

Student  AND Teacher Awards

Dr. Earl Johnson of Flagler County Schools developed an innovative teacher retention strategy.  For each student award given throughout the year (academics, athletics, arts, service, etc.), students nominated a teacher who helped them achieve their success. Therefore, on awards night, groups of teachers and students were celebrated for their efforts.

TGIM

Rather than celebrating getting close to the weekend or helping teachers “ensure” the work week, start every Monday with a Monday Motivation email, message, text or shout-out over the intercom to remind each staff member that their work is meaningful and so important to the success of the school. When people feel empowered and supported, they are more likely to feel appreciated in their roles and stay at your school- both leading indicators of student achievement.

How to “Start with Happy”

Research supports that starting with happiness in the workplace results in a myriad of successes and happy employees who have the opportunity to reflect on their successes are more engaged and passionate about their work.  Feel free to share the ways that you are starting with happy and leading with joy. If you need help getting started, reach out to us and we can help. For school leaders, leading with joy is not only a commitment to your happiness today, but to your success as a leader and the overall success of your school community.


Location: Florida, USA

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