With an ambitious September behind me, I reflect on this week, amazed by the lessons I've learned, this week alone. This post is a reflection on five lessons I've learned this week.
Notice the link between leadership, learning, and gratitude?
LESSON 1:
Keep my eyes wide open for who (adults and/or kids) who need help and how I can help.
There's nothing quite like serving on a team that gets to learn from, lean on, listen you, and make meaningful contributions in service to the diverse needs of adolescents. Together, we helped one family, of one adolescent, who needed our help. What a way to end a week!
LESSON 2:
Don’t be afraid to make a mistake, admit when you’re wrong, and show vulnerability in leaning a new and better way.
I made an error in judgment, that wasn’t fatal, and was recognized and addressed with me by a colleague. We talked it through, and without assigning blame or making excuses, I listened, and sought perspective on how to take steps to address my error. Acting on what I learned, I improved the situation, helped others, and got a little bit better myself.
LESSON 3:
Make time and space to learn from what happens in the space between teacher preparation and student responsiveness and how a skilled teacher uses this signal to be a better teacher.
Knowing how busy my schedule had become this week, I made sure to make time for what matters most. Visiting classrooms, I gained perspective and insight on how thoughtfully teachers connect with students and develop questioning techniques. The result was space for student voice, classroom culture, and follow-up questions, from students, to students.
LESSON 4:
Seize every opportunity to bring people together to learn from one another.
On multiple occasions, I saw the positive impact that one professional can have on another. This reminded me that "a boss" telling an expected outcome versus "a colleague" modeling yield two very different results. One is compliance. The other is collective efficacy.
LESSON 5:
Get to know your people and differentiate your approach, depending on the circumstances, styles, and strengths of the individual.
Each team member receives, processes, and internalizes feedback in his/her unique way. Offering feedback accordingly opens us up to building trust, to coach and to be coached. For some, offering advice and granting the autonomy to test it out is enough. Others benefit from side-by-side support. And many benefit from a gradual release model, with check-ins along the way.
What leadership lesson did you learn this week? How does it connect to gratitude?