“The difference between yesterday and tomorrow is us”. That phrase is often shared as a way to help someone be motivated to improve and give their best effort. In fact, I used that exact phrase in a recent blog post to help reflect how to help others by supporting them with what they need. But I want to take it one step further and reflect what I have learned and how I can use that to help move forward within my own role. As a result, in this blog post we will take a look at my reflections of the Leadership Essential Truths and how to move forward.
Over the last few years, the following aspects of leadership have been impactful and essential to help students and staff improve and strive towards excellence as a school community.
- 3 things people ask of their leaders:
- Can I trust you
- How will you help me
- Do you care about me
If leaders recognize the importance of developing trust within their people then they can collectively overcome any obstacle. Leaders need to continually listen to others’ viewpoints, involve them in decisions, remove barriers so they can improve and collectively work towards the same school vision with passion and purpose.
- 3 things leaders must address thru difficult conversations with employees include is the concern:
- An Ability issue
- An Attitude issue
- An Awareness issue
When there are challenges with staff, leaders must recognize the importance of having conversations with the individual. The conversation allows the leader to discover what the staff member needs as far as support, encouragement and feedback. It also allows the leader to recognize if the staff member needs support in teaching the specific content or instructional strategy or is the concern something that the individual is not aware of and we must help them recognize the impact. However, it could also be an attitude of concern where they have lost their way as far as passion or purpose related to their work. In this instance, we want to help coach them back to where they can be their best version of themselves.
- How leaders use their time impacts their effectiveness
Leaders know that there is the same amount of time for everyone within a day and within a week. The importance is how can a leader prioritize their time so they can focus on the work, not the management of the job. It’s what you prioritize doing that allows you to make a difference.
Ask yourself about priorities:
- What is required of you – as a leader what are things that only you can do for others?
- What gives the greatest return on use of time – where does your time and support of others provide the most improvement for the school by supporting others?
- What are items that others can do just as well as you? One of the most important aspects for leaders is developing others. To this end, you must recognize what can others do well that you can take off your plate so you can focus on prioritizing your work and they complete the tasks that help them grow as a leader.
- Be clear to your staff about priorities – this allows everyone to know your core values and have consistency within their day. This allows others to focus on connecting with students and improving within their work.
By understanding your priorities, you maximize time on work that improves teaching and learning, do necessary work as efficiently and quickly as possible and reduce the wasted efforts.
4. Keep Your Mindset focused on what matters most
There are many challenges that leaders face daily. It is not the physical demands by itself that make leadership hard, it is the emotional toll on leaders. To help keep your perspective and mindset focused on the positive, keep reminding yourself to focus on:
- What you can control
- What is within your influence
- What lies outside your control (this is one you don’t focus on)
This will allow leaders to help build positive culture and community. It allows the school community to focus on supporting one another, having a consistent purpose and leaders can model the way on a daily basis.
5. Self awareness as a leader is most important
Leaders recognize they need to develop others but it starts with first developing themselves. This involves:
- Leaders start with self (are you self aware of your gaps, strengths and blindspots).
- People see things from their perspective not yours, so are you finding time to listen to others and see their perspective to help find common ground.
- Do your actions as a leader match your words?
- Leaders lead with humility and seek growth.
6. Model the way
What leaders model for a school community impacts the culture; what people say and how they feel. Leaders can lead by example by the following methods:
- Are you modeling learning and sharing that with others?
- Do you model integrity in your interactions?
- Are you genuine and authentic in your interactions with others? This is a trust accelerator.
- Are you teachable where you are open to new ideas and change?
- Do you continue to focus on relationship building as that builds value in others and creates an inclusive environment.
Leaders must remember that creating positive change requires that we must be intentional with our efforts. This includes each person recognizing their essential truths within their work and then implementing those attributes within their roles. I hope this blog allows leaders to remember our purpose and perhaps, reflect and adjust our focus so we can be our best for others. It is never too late to change or adapt to create something better. We owe that to our students and staff that we serve. I encourage you to reflect and better understand how we each have opportunities to strive to get better and that includes learning from others but also supporting others. Comment below or reach out to me at leadlearnerperspectives@gmail.com
Learn
Engage
Adapt
Delegate
Empower
Reflect
Serve
Lead Learner Perspectives 