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There are many great middle school leaders that I have been fortunate to work with and get to know through my PLN. I have listened to them, shared ideas and gained many new strategies/ideas. I am grateful for our connections and I owe so much of my success to their support. As I reflect upon their work, while they have many differences they also have shared qualities as well. One characteristic they all shared is the great leaders recognize “it’s about others, not about themselves.”
You can call this servant leadership or simply refer to how they focus on others much more than themselves. Great leaders understand that to help drive a successful school, it always comes back to people and how can you influence their behavior, actions and beliefs. This means connecting with them, supporting their work and activities and finding ways to help them grow. This approach is the same mindset for students, staff and parents. This mindset puts a premium on making school a place that people enjoy coming to and celebrating the work together. They create a school culture that is demonstrated by healthy, positive relationships led by strong teacher leaders that empower students to be the difference. This only occurs because the leaders recognize the importance of developing other leaders and that only occurs with a focused vision on supporting and developing others. As Jimmy Casas shares, “In the end, your legacy won’t be about your success. It will be about your significance and the impact you made on every student, every day, and whether you were willing to do whatever it took to inspire them to be more than they ever thought possible.”
I look forward to hearing from you about your thoughts regarding the one common characteristic of middle level leaders. Comment below or reach out to me at leadlearnerperspectives@gmail.com
Learn
Engage
Adapt
Delegate
Empower
Reflect
Serve
