Positive Professionalism

As I am getting acclimated to my new leadership role, I have encountered the reoccurring theme of professionalism.  Now I know that one may say professionalism is a good thing!  It's an absolute necessity if your organization is going to drive change and have an impact on the lives of children.  I agree.  However, what I've seen is the opposite end of the spectrum where professionalism equals abrasive and and absence of that collaborative spirit!  No, I'm not suggesting that your teammates and coworkers should be your friends, but I am suggesting that there is something in between best friends and professional relationships.
That funny space in between can be nurtured through opportunities to build trust that do not rely on high impact outcomes right away.  I think that there should be small intentional steps in place at the departmental,or grade level that can support the growth of trust between educators.  For example, yearly tasks that ask teams to develop their own departmental or grade level specific mission and vision statements that directly tie into the school/district mission and vision statements.  Another task for teams is to create the remediation plan for students at their grade level with each team member serving as a point person for each aspect of the plan.  The team will present their proposal to the admin team and work through the issues of their plan together.  At the end of the year, the team presents their findings to their principal and admin team for review.
These steps could actually help to create a space of trust early on, so that during the year when the teams have to plan, conduct parent conferences, and tackle other projects that pop up during the year, they've already established a sufficient amount of trust.  Hopefully, this trust will lead to a more positive and professional culture.