Tag: leadership

How leaders move from good to great

Every educator that goes into the field of education has the aspiration to make a difference. I truly believe this concept. However, over time many educators become stagnant, settle for what has worked in the past and fall back to average. This is not anyone’s fault – it is the result of being in a challenging field that is constantly changing, having many demands put on their plate and trying to find a balance between their work and personal life. In fact, many educators may reach a plateau after years 2-3 in the profession where they no longer have the same goals as they once did. They settle for “what is working” and forget to continually strive for growth.

As a leader, our role includes supporting others, providing feedback and helping to develop excellence in each student and employee. To do this, leaders must be intentional with their work and understand it is not about the leader per say, but about how they can develop others and help them to maximize their role as an educator. When each employee is focused on growth and moves their growth “from their own Point A to Point B”, then leaders have created the conditions where the employees are focused on excellence and students are thriving as learners. As we take a deeper look into leadership, the following aspects are what separate those leaders that are growing in their work versus those that show up and just do the job. In other words, what “characteristics help leaders move from good to great”. The following attributes are common in educators that are growing in their roles and continue to have positive impact upon others:

  1. Passion 

Passion. This trait may be the most important for any educator to have in their career. If someone has the passion to continue to learn the strategies, read new research and reflect upon their work then they will grow over time.  You can spot someone who has passion as they care more, give more effort and work harder than others.  That is passion and it can be found in any career but in education if you have a passionate leader then you will find someone who makes others better and continually improves in their craft. They bring it daily and their positivity and drive is contagious.  A passionate leader magnifies their impact by how they make others better which then multiples their influence within a school organization.

  1. Connect with others 

Leaders who grow into impactful and great leaders recognize the importance of connecting with others. They recognize that they do not know it all – they are vulnerable and have a willingness to admit that they can learn from others. The mantra “focus on doing the right work, not doing things right” reflects these leaders as part of doing the right things is connecting with other like minded educators. This stretches their thinking, allows shared ideas and provides different perspectives which challenges their status quo. This is how someone grows over time – by learning with and from others.

  1. Seek Feedback and Reflect

As leaders progress in their careers many work hard, in fact they work extremely hard. They also have a desire to get better.   However, just because someone works hard does not mean they will improve. In fact, if someone works hard in isolation in many instances it may lead to frustration and burn out as there is no support, feedback and encouragement. It is vital that educators do seek feedback and reflect – both individually but also with the help from others. This is why being connected to other like minded leaders is so important. When we seek feedback from those we serve, it helps us to see our blindspots. But just as important, it allows us to validate the importance of others and helps the individual to recognize how they can make those they serve better. This amplifies the impact of an leader.  The reflection is a necessity for any growth to occur as it allows someone to see what went well, how to adjust and areas of strengths but also areas of deficit.  This awareness allows more intentional work to occur that over time will lead to greater impact.

  1. Staying Humble

As leaders improve and increase their significance, it is vital they stay Humble. This allows the individual to remember:

  • They do not know it all and must be a lifelong learner.
  • See others as someone they can learn from. 
  • Be open to new ideas that may lead to greater impact.
  • Treat everyone they meet with respect and see their impact as an educator as a “10”.
  • As Author Jon Gordon shares, being humble “doesn’t mean you think less of yourself, it means you think of yourself less.”  In other words, it helps the person to remember that true leadership is about impact upon others.
  1. Focus 

Any leader will have setbacks or tough moments. It is important for leaders to have a Focus as that allows them to tune out the negatives and stay positive in those instances. In fact, leaders learn the most from times when there are setbacks as they reflect and adjust their work.  There will be negative people out there who do not like change or asked to do something different for the betterment of kids. This is when leaders must tune out the distractions and stay focused on the right work of developing self that allows them to develop others. This can only happen when there is a focus to the work that revolves around Core Values, emphasis placed on significance of moments/experiences rather than being right and creating the conditions for positive change.  

True leadership occurs by intentional efforts when leaders work extremely hard to to improve their own learning and that leads to an improved school organization. By reflecting upon your impact as a leader and how you develop others, then you can gain more insight on how you can move from good to great as a leader.  It is never too late to change or adapt to create something better.  We owe that to our students and staff that we serve.

Comment below or reach out to me at leadlearnerperspectives@gmail.com

Learn 

  Engage 

    Adapt 

       Delegate 

         Empower 

           Reflect  

             Serve 

Navigating Change

Leading in today’s schools is a challenging task for many reasons. One area is the rate of change happening in society and also upon schools.  As John C. Maxwell has shared, “Change is inevitable. Growth is Optional.”  To that end, we want to visit further how leaders can grow with their influence and help their school organization improve as well.  In this sense, when we talk about change within a school system we are referring to the leaders leading a specific initiative designed to improve the school system. This could be a new curriculum resource, a new schedule, implementing graduation requirements etc…  During this time there are things that leaders should continually do on a daily basis and also things specific to the change process with the initiative that they should consider as well.  We will reflect on both.

Items leaders should continually do during a change process:

  1. Remember your “WHY”

I have learned not to get caught up in the never ending workload, stress, external demands upon our time and frustrations that may dominate my thoughts. Yes, hard work is needed and there are times I get frustrated. However, I strive to focus on the right work which is helping others feel valued and supporting their work.   It’s important to continue to make positive connections, challenge the status quo and communicate effectively to all stakeholders.  If you make decisions from your “why” and use your core principles to guide your behaviors, then you will be supporting efforts to help others which is our purpose.

  1. Be Firm with your Principles, Flexible with your Practices

Consistency is paramount when it comes to leading others.  If people know your core values and what you expect, they will do their best to meet those expectations.  To lead in an era of change in our society while supporting people so they have balance within their lives, leaders need to be “firm with their principles, flexible with their practices.”  This allows consistency in decisions but also allows leaders to adapt to meet the unique needs of staff and students. 

  1. Display the right attitude (Mindset)

As a leader, you must be comfortable with criticism that others will launch at you.  The key is to focus on your “mindset” and continue to be positive and build  your school’s culture. During turbulent times, people will look to their leaders for guidance, how to respond and reassurance that everything will be okay. Leaders recognize the importance of being authentic with staff and students but also being the calm, steady leader at the helm of the school ship.

  1. Connect back to the heart

Leaders express pride in their school and leadership is truly a “Labor of Love”. There will be many challenges but we must remember that we are working with people and if we  treat each staff member like a “10” then they themselves will believe in themselves and help contribute to the work and be happier as well. To this end, you must value people, magnify their strengths and develop a culture of “people – not programs”.

Expect the best in others by:

  • Show them you believe in themselves
  • Be clear about your expectations
  • Give Feedback
  • Personalize recognition 
  • Get close to people – get to know their strengths 

Items that leaders need to do specific to the change itself

As any change process is being considered, it is important that leaders consider the following:

  1. Rate of change
  2. Size of the change
  3. Impact of the change 
  4. How it will be measured 

Understanding these variables will allow leaders to identify who needs to be involved in the change process. There should be stakeholders involved before the change is implemented so there is proper planning and understanding of the potential impacts.  This allows the group to see potential blindspots and navigate around challenges.  The stakeholders should include staff, students and families so there is a well understood purpose behind the change.  

As leaders facilitate the change process they need to also share with stakeholders the following areas to effectively implement the change.

  1. Provide a picture of what the change will look like 
  2. Provide the path or steps of change
  3. Remind others of their purpose as educators or as students within the change process or as family members 
  4. Share each person’s part to contribute in the change

Any change process will have setbacks or challenges.  Typically, the change is hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle and best at the end.  Keep in mind that any change is not a single event but rather a process.  It is important to help stakeholders remember that “Secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” (Socrates). Communication must be adapted to meet the needs of others and it also needs to be clear and consistent messaging.  Leaders must be purposeful with their communication, and timely in their delivery. If people are busy but yet we want them to read our communication, then consider making your communication:

  • Concise 
  • Connect back to the work of the school system
  • Provide platforms for feedback 

The communication to stakeholders also should include:

  1. Clear goals
  2. Celebrating small wins
  3. Give support and resources for those implementing the change
  4. Keep big picture in mind and remind everyone it comes back to people

Leaders must remember that creating positive change requires that we must be intentional with our efforts.  This includes each person recognizing their pathway within their work and then understanding how to move forward in their roles.  I hope this blog allows leaders to remember our purpose in the change process 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