Literary Leadership

I remember as a teenager that I dreamed of becoming a writer.  In school it was one of those areas where I thrived academically.  Math and analytical thinking were not my strong suit, where creative writing and language arts kept my attention and allowed me to confidently express myself. 

With a teenage bent for science fiction and storytelling I created several short stories and made plans to compile them into a novel.  I crafted characters and narratives that took me away from my day-to-day existence, and found joy in utilizing my novice approach to literature in filling spiral bound notebooks on a weekly basis.  Where some students found success on the playing field, I found victories in creative writing and poetry. 

As a junior in high school I encountered a teacher who inspired my passion and her support pushed me forward.  Looking back now, I know the power of encouragement when someone expresses his or her belief in you.  As a leader today, I am looking

for that raw talent and opportunities where I can inspire others to reach their potential.

In college I continued my writing and regularly scored high marks on my papers. Only once did I score a B, and even today that disappointment is still with me.  No doubt I was over confident in my ability and the professor used that grade to get my attention to try harder.  It worked.  I pressed to improve my craft and often penned more stories in and out of school and took solace in writing. 

It was at a dear friends wedding when I was 25 that I embraced my disappointment.  I had a personal goal of being a published author at this age. Looking back, I hadn’t done the focused work, made the connections, nor refined my craft to achieve this milestone.  What I had done was feel the sting of disappointment that would later be the catalyst to my continued writing. 

Within the past few years I used my passion for writing to inspire my team. In leadership it is incumbent on a leader to find an avenue where he or she can share a vision, align the team, and inspire the workforce in the process.  What I chose to do weekly with my writing was to take elements of pop culture, world events, leadership, and customer service to tell a story to motivate my team.  It was in this weekly exercise where my passion for writing found a real voice.  

What I had missed at 25 was the fact that my potential as a writer wasn’t fully realized.  My boyhood dreams of literary success hadn’t found a voice until I was able to align my passion for leadership with writing to inspire others.  It is humorous to me that is was also 25 years later that I actually wrote, published, and held a book of my own in my hands. 

By biggest joy as a writer came in finding out that what I had written was a help to others.  It is one thing to write a book, and another to write a book that inspires someone else as a result.   

As I submitted the manuscript for Charter School Leadership: Elements for School Success, (http://tinyurl.com/CharterBook) I thought about those teachers, professionals, and colleagues that pushed me to reach my writing potential.  It is a lesson that I take with me even today.  Find those people in your sphere of influence and encourage them to reach for their dreams and fulfill their potential.  Many times as leaders we are required to help others push past their fear so they can achieve their personal best. 

So as a leader, whether you are a writer or not, what are you doing to inspire your team and others around you?  What steps are you taking to not only challenge yourself, but those within your industry?   Your passion for the work at hand should also include spreading that enthusiasm to others while positively contributing to the betterment of your workplace and community. 

Leadership: Disconnect, Reflect and Reset

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” Peter F. Drucker

When is the last time you committed to blocking out some time on your calendar for planning and personal reflection?  When was the last time you stepped back from the day-to-day grind to process, “How am I doing as a leader?”

In your position, your team is relying on you and your expertise, passion, tenacity, and wisdom to lead the organization.  If you are not taking steps as a leader to create some downtime as a priority, be assured that your professional reserves will be depleted in a quest to meet your team’s growing expectations for your leadership. 

If you are new to your leadership position, or a seasoned veteran, be reminded of the fact that your position will take as much as you give it.  Your role will steal your lunches and afternoon breaks.  

Most evenings your job will have you arriving home late for dinner.  Depending on your personal boundaries, your role may also have you responding to emails after your children have gone to bed, or on a weekend before that planned family activity. 

It’s this continued cycle that drains your creativity and passion for the position.  If you are not careful, your time in this leadership role will be short lived. Burnout will be your fate. If this is your story, your leadership is unbalanced, and needs an immediate and intentional adjustment. 

Take one hour out of your week where you will not be disturbed.  Block out the hour on your calendar, turn off your phone, leave your email alone, and focus on your leadership.

•  Inform your team that this is a commitment you are making to improve.  Unless there is an emergency, no one should interrupt you.

•  Start by creating a thought list on areas you wish to improve in your leadership.  In subsequent weeks, tackle these topics individually and begin to make these areas habits.

• Set a time daily when you will “professionally turn off”.  Your family and friends need you and most likely want to spend time with you.  Competing with your leadership role for your personal time is not a healthy situation for all those involved.

• Start every morning with a stated goal of when you plan to leave the office. This helps establish a habit while providing you the opportunity to enjoy the rest of your life.

Your leadership will not change unless you are strategic and meaningful about creating time where you disconnect, reflect and reset. 

School Leadership & Grit

There are books, blogs, videos, tools, speakers, resources, seminars and conferences all dedicated to helping you understand, process, delineate, and achieve your leadership potential.

In some organizations there is one boss. These individuals are that one person who occupies the corner office and his or her wisdom is depended on daily to ensure that the ship runs smoothly.  They set the pace, control the message, and avoid the appearance of needing or depending on anyone.  These leaders earned the right to sit in the chair, make the rules, and be the boss.  This leadership model is still in effect in the corners of some industries.  These leaders don't share. Why should they?  They are allowed to rule and their kingdoms are in place to serve the mystique that is their leadership.

The world we live in today requires collaboration with people working together to solve complex issues.  These employers host big conversations to address details, events, and activities with the sole purpose of creating, solving, and sharing.  The idea that one person holds all the answers, has all the wisdom, and information is simply not true.  Businesses today value employees with the skills that include tenacity, dedication, and follow through: grit.

Great leaders today open themselves up to scrutiny and have a willingness to admit failure knowing that this leads to success.  These leaders value feedback and look for ways to engage the team in helping problem solve and find solutions to move the organization forward.  Being a vulnerable leader does not equal being a weak leader.   

So how do we move from the one leader at the top to a management model that welcomes that collaborative environment in the organization? It starts with a leader pushing for that collaboration with his or her team.  How do we help more employees embrace their valuable role on the team and instill that sense of purpose, drive, and determination?  Leaders set expectations in leading by example.  What employers want is a workforce with the character trait best described as grit.  

Schools are specifically targeting grit as an element where students should focus.  Studies have shown that students with grit have the ability to push through adversity with the goal of strengthening their character and resolve. That grit is an indicator of a students longterm success with their academic programming, and future success as an employee or employer.   

Taking grit and measuring it against leadership is a factor that will gain greater momentum as employers engage in the practice moving from a single leader to a collaborative workplace. Sure there has to be an ultimate authority in every organization, so establish a leadership vision that is inclusive so that many people have the ability to be involved so that leaders at all levels are empowered.  

As you interview your next line of leaders, set the resume aside and focus on a few questions that will reveal the candidates grit and determination.

1) Ask about a problem they solved - personal or professional - and the process they used.

2) Ask about a current project they are working on and the collaborative efforts they used with a team to complete the project.

3) Ask your candidate about their view of leadership.  Have them describe what it means and then listen for indicators of team building and those examples of collaboration.  

Our schools need leaders with grit, that believe in team work, and the ability to align the mission and vision around the set goals and objectives.  School leaders need to be people who trust and rely on others to accomplish greatness.  These are people who value the contribution of others knowing that greatness comes through teams and not lone rangers.  

Now how do we start to build grit in our students today?  That is another great topic for an upcoming blog.  

Essential Actions and Branding

What are those essential actions a school leader should take for building a brand of education excellence?

A school leader should focus on these three elements when considering what steps to take, how to include their team, and how to execute their vision for their district, school, or program.

Commitment:

The school leader needs to make a personal commitment to a single vision.  Does that vision contain three or four elements?  Break those down into understandable and relevant parts.  A leader must be able to articulate the vision, the purpose, and the proposed outcomes to align the team so that they know the endgame.  The leader needs to stay on task and not waiver on the vision.  If modifications, changes, or additions are added or taken away from the vision over time, the leader has an obligation to inform his team while staying committed to that vision for the district, school, or program.  His commitment to the process will dictate the eventual team alignment or not.  Wavering on the vision and your team will do the same.  

Conversation:

The leader has an obligation to meet with the team to share his vision, ask for feedback, check for understanding, and then set the expectation that this vision will guide all further meetings, discussions, planning, and development.  The team needs to know that their leader is open to feedback so that they have a chance to buy-in once they have shared.  The leader needs to embrace the fact that he plays a pivotal role on the team, and that his desired alignment for his team starts with his or her humility.  Cast the vision, check for feedback, and move forward.  The vision should be bold and require the commitment of everyone to make it happen.  

Continuity:

The leader will cast the vision, check for feedback, and move forward with the knowledge that not everyone will be on board.  The Leader has the obligation to spot check, visit, and monitor individual school sites, programs, and locations to ensure that what has been adopted is being lived out at these locations.  Leadership requires resolute commitment to the process even when being given push back from this group or another.  The leader will find his stride when he or she is able to articulate that feedback was welcomed and plans were made accordingly.  Team members feel, or take on a sense of pride, when they have played a part in the process.  The strongest vision is accomplished when a majority of the team is inspired to follow the leader in his or her quest for academic, school, and district excellence.  That continuity happens when a leader expects and then checks.  

It is time well spent when a leader aligns their vision around the elements of commitment, conversation, and continuity.  It makes a difference for the students they serve and the community they lead.