Leadership Coaches (Aleasha, Jennifer, Kelly) will always remind you that your strengths are not always good-- that all of our strengths have two sides to them, the moments when they help, and the moments when they can get in the way. Much of the work I've enjoyed in executive coaching has been around unpacking when something felt hard and identifying the strength of mine that was getting in the way. My top five strengths from Clifton Strengths Finder are Futuristic, Strategic, Ideate, Optimistic, Achiever. These strengths are not well suited to sitting back and resisting action, or for maintaining the status quo. I learned this year how I needed to navigate a "lame duck" year as Principal.
For most of my career, I have found success in building, in re-inventing and trying new things. I certainly did that every day as a teacher, I never even kept a syllabus from the year before because I knew things would be different the next year (new technology, new kids, new media, new perspectives). And in the International Center and as Principal, I was always at the helm of pointing the ship in new directions, in trying things out, in being, as Susie Caldwell says, brave over perfect.
Once it became common knowledge that this school year would be my last, my normal "building" mode, had to be quickly adjusted. In short order I learned that my capacity to encourage folks to "try it out" or "see if maybe next year we can. . . " suddenly had ZERO sway. Any decision I made was up for negotiation with others ("since she won't be here")-- not because people were trying to go around me, but they were being pragmatic, and (especially in the COVID context of education) suffice it to say, things are tough these days.
So instead of shiny new programs or initiatives, I had to shift my energy and focus. Coach extraordinaire, Jennifer, helped (and kept helping me see) I could beat my head against the wall trying to do things that the system would continue to reject, or shift where I put my energy. (Turns out turning the energy off for the year was not desirable -- or feasible for me!) With Jennifer, I framed an action plan for the year that was a blend of professional and personal. What did I want to accomplish with respect to my relationships at the school? What did I want to take with me, so to speak? How did I want to feel at the end of the year?
I wanted to use more time to support people who were early in their journeys as educational leaders, people I love and admire-- and to support great ideas and make space for other people be the spokespeople for the great ideas. I also knew that I had to lean into my own learning, so I signed up for another type of coaching experience for burnt out high achieving women, and it was transformational. I joined in community and fellowship (weekly on zoom) with three other amazing women who were on the same year-long transition to being a head of school. I started to learn how to box, how to tile a floor, and kept weaving. I spent more time with my family and friends.
While it was a hard year professionally in many ways, it was also a really a good year. I leaned about ways I can feel complete and can direct my strengths (even outside of the professional space!). We hear about balance all the time, but in slowing down my drive at work this year, I was able to learn more about listening, about the value of a pause and reflection. And, while this work started as a coping strategy for a lame duck year, like all good applied learning, it changed me. I am entering my new role a different leader than I would have if I had started a year ago.
For most of my career, I have found success in building, in re-inventing and trying new things. I certainly did that every day as a teacher, I never even kept a syllabus from the year before because I knew things would be different the next year (new technology, new kids, new media, new perspectives). And in the International Center and as Principal, I was always at the helm of pointing the ship in new directions, in trying things out, in being, as Susie Caldwell says, brave over perfect.
Once it became common knowledge that this school year would be my last, my normal "building" mode, had to be quickly adjusted. In short order I learned that my capacity to encourage folks to "try it out" or "see if maybe next year we can. . . " suddenly had ZERO sway. Any decision I made was up for negotiation with others ("since she won't be here")-- not because people were trying to go around me, but they were being pragmatic, and (especially in the COVID context of education) suffice it to say, things are tough these days.
So instead of shiny new programs or initiatives, I had to shift my energy and focus. Coach extraordinaire, Jennifer, helped (and kept helping me see) I could beat my head against the wall trying to do things that the system would continue to reject, or shift where I put my energy. (Turns out turning the energy off for the year was not desirable -- or feasible for me!) With Jennifer, I framed an action plan for the year that was a blend of professional and personal. What did I want to accomplish with respect to my relationships at the school? What did I want to take with me, so to speak? How did I want to feel at the end of the year?
I wanted to use more time to support people who were early in their journeys as educational leaders, people I love and admire-- and to support great ideas and make space for other people be the spokespeople for the great ideas. I also knew that I had to lean into my own learning, so I signed up for another type of coaching experience for burnt out high achieving women, and it was transformational. I joined in community and fellowship (weekly on zoom) with three other amazing women who were on the same year-long transition to being a head of school. I started to learn how to box, how to tile a floor, and kept weaving. I spent more time with my family and friends.
While it was a hard year professionally in many ways, it was also a really a good year. I leaned about ways I can feel complete and can direct my strengths (even outside of the professional space!). We hear about balance all the time, but in slowing down my drive at work this year, I was able to learn more about listening, about the value of a pause and reflection. And, while this work started as a coping strategy for a lame duck year, like all good applied learning, it changed me. I am entering my new role a different leader than I would have if I had started a year ago.