LEARNING IS AN ACT OF HUMILITY
I have always asked questions.
I will work to understand a concept not simply to "get it right", but to understand why it is right.
As a professional, questions still guide me.
The set of questions below share my vision for learning and leadership.
Below I have provided the inspiration for my goals, as well as practices I have in meeting those goals.
I will work to understand a concept not simply to "get it right", but to understand why it is right.
As a professional, questions still guide me.
The set of questions below share my vision for learning and leadership.
Below I have provided the inspiration for my goals, as well as practices I have in meeting those goals.
Who do I want to be?
I can answer with clarity that my goal is to be a leader who will:
- Inspire through the relationships that are forged in the process of learning.
- listen to and consider another person’s perspective.
- identify and maximize potential learners and challenge them through targeted refection and learning goals.
Inspiration: I am inspired by the leadership work of Heifetz, Aguilar, and Brown. They continue to shape my thinking about how I wish to lead. These leaders exemplify and promote the importance of trusting relationships for personal professional success.
Practice: To self assess how congruent I am with the above goals, it is important to have a system. This system of self reflection allows me, each day to reflect on my ability to be who I aspire to be. This article summarizes a daily practice I employ to reflect on whether I am truly in line with the above-mentioned goals.
What do I hope to do?
My goal is to be a leader in education, in schools or out of schools, providing leadership and teacher training to groups and teams at the local, regional, and national level. In all that I do, I hope to not only authentically lead out of humility, but to encourage others to do the same. As a school leader, there are many quick fix ideas or programs you can implement with a faculty. But for transformative change to happen, I hope to consistently model and promote three ideas for teachers and learners:
- In all things, every day, there is great possibility and opportunity for growth and renewal.
- Inspiration: This TedTalk summarizes well the opportunity that risks and failure present. In addition, the work of Dweck, in regards to mindset deeply influences my approach to teaching and learning.
- Practice: I desire to build learning moments where instead of talking success, we talk failure. This would be modeling after the following example in medicine.
- Each person is gifted, uniquely and with purpose.
- Inspiration: Initially inspired by Gardner and now also linked to the development of tests such as the Meyers-Briggs, Enneagram, and Birkman. These tests can help teams and individuals better understand one another and their abilities.
- Practice: In leading teams, one goal is to allow more understanding between colleagues by using personality and learning inventories listed above. In addition, this article shares the practices I try to model in my daily leadership to address the strengths of each person on my team.
- A dynamic and life-giving team can be forged in trust and respect.
- Inspiration: The basics of effective teams shared in this article are critical. Working with a group like Project Arc
has been inspiring for me and my colleagues. In addition, using a protocol like Critical Friends can greatly impact the ability to give and receive feedback in teams. - Practice: Giving teams time to not only plan, but also to bond is paramount to team chemistry. I have made this a priority in my school, providing teams with dedicated time not only for curricular work, but simply to have fun and be together. When teams were not functioning well, it is important to mediate using a strategy like this.
- Inspiration: The basics of effective teams shared in this article are critical. Working with a group like Project Arc
How Will i reach My goals?
Reaching my goals starts with my commitment to personal growth. Training and growth can be fostered each year through attending professional learning conferences networking opportunities and actively leading and participating in professional learning communities. Self – Refection is a critical component of leading well. Developing an active practice of writing daily is critical. I would be remiss in not mentioning my goal to publish some of the work that grows out of my leadership and coaching practice. Mentorship is an avenue I hope to participate in. Finding a leader who wishes to mentor me actively will be instrumental in developing feedback loops that will equip me to grow.