Elizabeth Dozier speaks at the IAR Fall Conference

The difference between success and failure and bringing change to your community can start with small steps and changes.

Elizabeth Dozier, principal of Chicago’s Fenger High School, shared her story of success and encouraged others to do the same at the IAR Fall Conference & Expo in Chicago Saturday.

Elizabeth Dozier meets with Illinois REALTORS®

In 2009, Dozier took on the daunting task of leading a high school plagued by violence, low graduation scores and poverty. Only 40 percent of freshmen were likely to graduate, the drop out rate was 20 percent and attendance hovered around 60 percent. In her first year, there were 300 arrests.

Flash forward to 2014 and the number of those likely to graduate is at 90 percent, the drop out rate is below 2 percent, attendance is now at 81 percent and student arrests are down 90 percent. The tools Dozier and her team used to turn the school around can also be used by others to bring change to their own communities.

Dozier outlined four standards for successfully making change that REALTORS® can use in their own lives and business:

  • Set a personal vision and plan. That sounds lofty but the reality is it really entails hands-on planning and working out the little details. Don’t fear failure and stop hitting the mental “snooze button” that prompts you to put things off and not get things done.
  • Guard your thoughts. Surround yourself with positive people who have similar goals in mind. Be careful about the language you use to describe situations because it can shape how you perceive an event or circumstance.
  • ACT – Don’t be risk averse. Be willing to take a chance to make a change.
  • Build a strong team to get the job done. Don’t try to do it on your own. You’ll have more success working together.

Thank you to PNC Mortgage for sponsoring Elizabeth Dozier’s session, “Game On! Finding the Power to Change Your Community.”