Reflecting on my leadership journey this summer has been invaluable in helping me conceptualize what leadership means to me and where I want to focus my time and energy to develop myself as a leader. Enrolling in the Summer School on Leadership Excellence through University of Alberta was a perfect way to prepare for a new leadership role. Through the program I have built my own confidence as a leader and engaged in professional dialogue and research which will serve me well in my upcoming principalship at A.B. Daley School this fall. I was honored to accept this position, and pleased to serve at the same school of which I have been assistant principal for the past four years. I was inspired to become a leader by watching those around me, but often see leadership as a role reserved for the most masterful of teachers rather than having a growth mindset about developing myself as a leader. New leaders need to allow themselves space to be vulnerable and struggle through the process in order to transform themselves into more effective and authentic leaders. In her qualitative research Brené Brown (2010) explores peoples’ perceptions of themselves and the stories of their own lives and highlighted links between being imperfect, connecting with others, letting go of “who you thought you should be” and essentially allowing yourself to be vulnerable in order to build connections and understanding. If connections and building relationships are one of the most desirable traits for strong leaders, then it can also stand to reason that becoming vulnerable in our roles and sharing our own areas of growth can have benefits in our professional lives as well. Through becoming aware of your own leadership identity you can also connect, inspire and motivate other leaders. According to Alberta Education’s (2018) newly revised Leadership Quality Standard (LQS) principals are also committing to developing leadership capacity. Our profession needs to model to students and staff that taking risks and having a growth mindset is a path to authentic learning. By modelling this for staff, but still maintaining high expectations, we create a culture that is open to possibilities and to developing skills rather than seeing areas of growth as weakness. Munro’s (2018) findings on developing leadership identity ran parallel to what Brown was saying in regards to exploring ourselves as a way to understand our leadership potential (personal communication). Munro shared that the only way to show your character was through your actions and narratives and that sharing who you are as a person includes your strengths and weaknesses. In doing so you are able to build connections and trust to create a safe space; all ways to create a positive and supportive school culture. Checking in with ourselves by asking, “How do we show up for the people we need to lead?” can be a powerful self-reflection tool when we find ourselves engaged in tasks or busy with administrative tasks that are not focused directly on developing teachers and student learning. Warm (2010) asserts that leadership is a journey which requires transformation in order to allow the leader to transform others (p. 82). Transformational leadership can be described by him as a “Heroes Journey” which involves three key steps. First, a “call to change” where the leader feels a separation or a pull to make a change, next, “answering of the call” or becoming authentic through the process of facing fears and challenges, and finally, “returning home” where the leader brings knowledge back and links the past experiences to the future and vision (p. 87) By viewing leadership as transformational, leaders are empowered to be authentic and vulnerable and view this as a normal part of the leadership development process. As new leaders, we often spend time questioning our own abilities and can get caught up in our areas of growth rather than focusing on what skills we have that brought us to leadership in the first place. This is a valuable connection for new administrators to make, linking our own identities and strengths and leveraging them when developing leadership capacity within our school community. Leadership roles are diverse and it is impossible to excel at all aspects or know all the answers even for the most experienced administrators. Our focus needs to be on cultivating optimal learning environments and developing our teachers. By embracing our leadership identities as they are in the moment and being open to transformation and embracing our vulnerabilities we are able to become more authentic and effective in our leadership roles and shine for those who are most important. References:
Alberta Education. (2018 February). Leadership Quality Standard. Retrieved from www.albertaed.com Brown, B. (2010, June). The power of vulnerability. Retrieved July 30, 2018, from https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability#t-464747 Warm, R. (2011) Leadership: A journey of transformation. In J.D. Barbour & G. Robinson Hickman (Eds.), Leadership for transformation (pp. 81 – 96). San Francisico, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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AuthorJolene Becker, Wife, Mother, Educator, Principal. My views are my own. Archives
November 2018
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