9 minute read
Three Brave Leaders
We asked three school leaders to participate in this exercise and include their reflections in the following examples. As you read their stories, think about how these leaders’ actions contribute to building braver, more courageous cultures.
The first leader, Christina Meister, principal of Grace Hill Elementary School in Rogers, Arkansas, shares the following about her reflection.
As I reflect about the moments that have and continue to define my leadership, there are so many, and you are right—they are everywhere. My leadership is defined by how I choose to spend my time at school. For instance, do I spend my time behind my desk or out in the building? It is defined by the moments I interact with teachers, with students, with parents. My leadership is defined by how I demonstrate my core values and address beliefs and behaviors by both adults and students not aligned with those values. Artifacts such as our master schedule, professional development agendas, and the meeting notes about our conversations show evidence of my leadership. The moments I must make quick yes or no decisions or just decisions, in general, contribute as well. The good thing is that I also have the opportunity to continue to shape and define my leadership so that the times I make mistakes, the times I say “no” when maybe I should have said “yes,” or the times I got more passionately heated than I should have, can be molded and shaped through a lens of more experiences and clearer focus. The moments that define who I am as a leader take place over time. While some of these moments might be pivotal and memorable, most are the ordinary, day-to-day moments that just begin to slowly shape, mold, and define me and what type of leader I will ultimately be known as. I hope that my core values are at the heart of each of those moments and that when I retire, those that worked alongside me know what it is I stood for, what it is I passionately was committed to, and they can say she made a positive difference in the lives of kids. (C. Meister, personal communication, January 18, 2021)
See figure 1.2 (page 16) for a summary of her three interactions.
Principal Meister’s three interactions and her reflection on what they demonstrate about her leadership and how they help define it
Interaction one:
Interaction with guiding coalition members about student-achievement data My behavior demonstrates a commitment to student learning and collaborative conversations. It also shows my support of the professional learning community (PLC) process and that I value conversations around data.
What did this behavior demonstrate about my leadership?
Interaction two:
Conversation with another principal regarding student-achievement data My behavior demonstrates how personally I take it when data are slow to improve. It also shows I tend to see the deficits about where our school is before I can see the growth.
Interaction three:
Observation and follow-up conversation with a teacher My behavior demonstrates a focus on student learning, student needs, teacher growth and development, and teacher support.
What did this behavior demonstrate about my leadership?
What did this behavior demonstrate about my leadership?
FIGURE 1.2: Principal Meister’s three interactions.
The second leader, Bob Sonju, principal of Washington Fields Intermediate School in Washington, Utah, shares the following about his reflection.
When I think of leadership, of course, I naturally begin to think of purpose, vision, and other elements regarding the big picture and how leaders increase the effectiveness of an organization. Terms like shared leadership, school culture, and daily climate seem to always be at the forefront of my thoughts. But I have to be honest, when you posed the question about “moments that define my leadership,” I had to think about my last moments that took place today and begin to reframe my thinking about leadership. Although purpose, vision, shared leadership, and other big-picture items are important to leadership, I’ve learned that leadership is difficult to sum up in terms like these. I believe that leadership is a culmination of the many moments that are presented to us each day. As I consider my last three interactions, I believe they are a glimpse into my thinking
regarding leadership. I truly believe that a person’s leadership style is most accurately defined not by the big, stunning display. Instead, those minute-to-minute moments that occur more accurately describe what it is that we most value in our leadership. (B. Sonju, personal communication, January 11, 2021)
See figure 1.3 for a summary of his three interactions.
Principal Sonju’s last three interactions and his reflection on what they demonstrate about his leadership and how they help define it
Interaction one:
An interaction with a student who had made not the best choice he could have I remember immediately feeling empathy (as I made a few marginal choices growing up) and thinking to myself, “I get it; I’ve been there. I want to find out your thought process and figure out how to help you learn from this moment.” So, I guess I would sum up my leadership style in this particular moment as empathy, understanding, and helping.
Interaction two:
Immediate involvement with a teacher evaluation Throughout the review, my cell phone was repeatedly notifying me of the multiple texts and calls I was missing. Along with this, my closed glass door only served as a transparent barrier for three separate people who walked by and gave me the “I need to visit with you immediately” look with the accompanying hand gesture. There were times during the evaluation when my attention would drift to wondering about the calls I had missed or what challenges I had in store with the “I need to talk to you” employees. As I drifted between the evaluation discussion with one of my valued educators and all of the items that seemed to be stacking up, I thought, “This moment is important to this educator, so it needs to be important to me.” Regardless of the distractions, this colleague needs and deserves my full attention. I finished the evaluation with my very best, singular focus on my colleague’s thoughts and ideas. The teacher deserved this. So the leadership style learned from this? People are important and need to feel valued; I need to make sure that I stay true to this principle.
What did this behavior demonstrate about my leadership?
What did this behavior demonstrate about my leadership?
FIGURE 1.3: Principal Sonju’s three interactions.
continued
Interaction three:
With a district specialist about an initiative While reading my emails at the end of a long day, I started to respond to an email when one of the district specialists came in unannounced. Although I hoped this would be a short conversation, I quickly realized it would not be. The specialist wanted to share updates regarding a district initiative. The initiative has been a great one for our school, but the timing of this unannounced visit was cutting into the myriad of items I had left to do before closing the door for the evening. I immediately announced how great it was to see him and how excited I was to hear about the update. Along with this, I also mentioned that I had just ten minutes for the update, and if we didn’t finish, I’d love to make an appointment to hear more. I believe I demonstrated that time is valuable and that setting parameters or boundaries helps manage the day.
What did this behavior demonstrate about my leadership?
The third leader, Donna Arsenault, principal of Edith Cavell School (K–8) in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, shares the following observations about her reflection.
Sometimes, I wonder how I ever got here. Am I leading? Are these people looking at me, Donna Arsenault, for guidance? I ask myself every day, “Am I doing a good job? Am I doing enough for my staff, for our students?” I tell myself the whole imposter syndrome must be real because I pinch myself sometimes thinking, “You can’t be the one who these people see as their ‘leader!’” And then suddenly, someone says something to me, and I see how and why they see me as a leader. That is a pretty good feeling.
I have always been a sincere person. I show my emotions on my sleeve. I believe that has been both a curse and a blessing throughout my career. I believe showing vulnerability is not a curse. It demonstrates that you are human, that you are honest, that you care, and that you are “one of them.”
I asked my vice principal if she could think of a moment that defines my leadership because I just don’t see it in me! Without hesitation, she gave me three. (D. Arsenault, personal communication, January 8, 2021)
See figure 1.4 for a summary of her three interactions.
Principal Arsenault’s interactions (as her vice principal describes) and her vice principal’s reflection on what they demonstrate about the principal’s leadership and how they help define it
Interaction one:
How you make it your mission to get every student in the classroom an iPad You sought out community business support to ensure our students all received an iPad. You called on members of the community, hosted a town hall, and asked for support for our students. You are incredibly passionate and dedicated to getting technology in the classroom to prepare students for online learning and ensure students can utilize technology in various capacities. The grant our school received helped with achieving this, but you didn’t stop there. You reached out to others by sharing our story and provided even more support.
Interaction two:
Your leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic You created more space and opportunities to meet as a staff informally. For example, you hosted Monday morning greetings with all staff to ensure everyone was returning to school each week understanding the health and safety measures that we were taking during the COVID-19 pandemic. You also checked in with staff and reassured them that we were all OK. Your encouragement to staff at our Monday morning faculty get-togethers just before the holidays was incredible. Morale was low at that time, and you put on your brave face and spoke to the staff very frankly and positively. I think being a leader through the pandemic can come with its own set of challenges, but you have steered our ship fiercely.
Interaction three:
At the beginning of the year, when you fought for the extra teachers and classes You asked to meet with district staff to discuss the need for additional teachers and smaller classes to accommodate student needs. You knew that there were policies and budget formulas that determined full-time equivalent staff; however, you wanted this to be reconsidered to meet the needs of our school. You know the challenges our teachers and students face very well and understand what they need. Your leadership shone through. You advocated for what we deserved. You also were not afraid to show your vulnerability.
