Vulnerability
I have been discussion vulnerability a lot lately. In other words not faking it. I have written in these posts before just how much I hate the phrase, “Fake it till you make it.” Sorry to break it to those so called leaders who I hear saying this – it cannot be done. This is where vulnerability comes in. Great leaders are vulnerable and don’t mind modeling when they don’t know how to do something or don’t know the answer. I have added “being vulnerable” to my core values. Just what does it mean to be vulnerable? For me it is about letting others see the real me. It is being and showing who I am, what I know, and what I don’t know. Way back in the early days of my teaching career I had professors and others that would say, “Don’t ever let your students know you don’t know an answer.” Stupid advice! Once again, you can’t fake it…your students will know. And, let me tell you, some of the greatest lessons and days in class were when something happened in a lab and the students would ask why and I would have to say, “I have no clue.” Then we would proceed to discovering the answer together. It was incredible.
So, don’t underestimate vulnerability as an important leadership trait. Being vulnerable helps us develop trust and true connections with those we serve. We become more approachable when we are willing to share our own struggles and challenges. What steps are you taking to cultivate vulnerability within yourself and your organizations?
Being Reflective
Self-awareness requires reflection. I am a very reflective person and believe in providing space for those I serve to do that reflection. Today I was doing professional development for Charlotte County Public Schools at the 2023 Summer Education Summit in Punta Gorda, Florida. In this morning’s session entitled “Self Care for Educators” I did an activity with temporary tattoos. One of the participants made a profound statement about where she placed her tattoo – at the base of her neck (see photo). She said, “I placed it there because the only way I can see it is in a reflection and this reminds me that to be self aware I need to be reflective.” Drop the microphone! 🎤 We then discussed that reflection involves taking a step back and examining one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions in order to gain a deeper understanding of oneself.
Furthermore, reflection can help us identify patterns and habits that may be holding us back or causing us problems. It can also help us recognize our strengths and values, which can guide us in making important decisions and pursuing our goals. Reflection is all about learning. We must curate the actions in our past to move into the future. Are you taking time to reflect?
Surface Level Career Versus Deep Level Career
You all know I am the farm kid that loves rock music. You also know I love studying rock musicians, their art, and their leadership. This past week I had the chance to hear the awesome Shannon Gunz, of Sirius XM Octane, interview Josh Katz from the band, Badflower. The interview took place at Welcome To Rockville held May 18-21, 2023 in Daytona, Florida at Daytona International Speedway. He made an interesting distinction about coming out of the pandemic and wanting to make sure he was still cultivating an environment where people thrive, innovation flourishes and progress is achieved. He talked about his message feeling different. Another profound statement he made was about the distinction between a surface level career versus something really deep. Josh wanted to make sure the art that the band was turning out and the message was impactful (deep). This caused me to spend time pondering this shallow versus deep career.
As a person who has spent my entire life in the education arena, I’ve been blessed to be in a deep career. I believe having a deep career means that we are passionate about our work and deeply invested in it. We have a sense of purpose and fulfillment in our job beyond just earning a paycheck. Really, the deepness takes it beyond a job. On the other hand, a surface-level career is one that may provide financial stability but lacks personal fulfillment or passion. It’s important to find a balance that allows us to feel both satisfied in your career and financially stable. I appreciated Josh discussing wanting to make sure that their work took them into the deep career realm. How about you? Are you doing something really deep?
Making Things Work
At my son’s graduation from Murray State University yesterday, President Dr. Robert Jackson made the comment, “Many things work to make things work.” Very true! He was referring to the graduation ceremony as well as the process of a student coming to Murray State as a freshman and graduating four years later ready to take on the world. There are often multiple factors or elements that contribute to making something successful or effective. This also suggests that there is not just one single solution, but rather a combination of different components that work together to achieve the desired outcome. Great leaders focus on the key inputs of organizations and make sure they are delivered at the right quality and at the right time.
Effective organizations rely on a combination of different processes/components rather than a single solution to achieve success. Those organizations, like Murray State University, understand that complex problems require a holistic approach and they are able to leverage the strengths of their team and resources to achieve their goals.
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An Adventure Of Our Own Making
It can be a motivational or empowering sentiment, suggesting that we have the freedom and agency to pursue our dreams and explore new possibilities. I also loved the phrase from Padraig Cavender to Megs and George Devonshire, “It’s an adventure of our own making” in Once Upon A Wardrobe, by Patti Callahan Henry. Padraig made this comment as they were visiting castle ruins in Ireland. George, who was eight years old and dying of a heart condition, wanted to see this as his only Christmas present request. Padraig showed up at George and Megs’ house on Christmas Eve Eve (I love that Patti gave Christmas Eve an Eve in this novel) and told them to get their stuff and get ready to leave. Megs left their parents, who were not home, a note and off they went – on an adventure of their own making. I am doing some work for the Smithsonian this week in Washington D.C. and I got to thinking about how great of places all the Smithsonian units are for allowing us to make our own adventures. Especially for our students, having all these archives is incredible. And, with thousands and thousands of the archives on line now, ALL students can have an adventure in learning. I love adventures and we need to encourage our young people be adventuresome.
The phrase “It’s an adventure of our own making” implies a few other things to me, such as:
- that we have the power to create our own unique experiences in life.
- that we have control over our own destiny.
- that we can shape our lives through the choices we make and the actions we take.
We need to help young people to take healthy adventures by leading by example. We need to encourage others and ourselves to try new things. We can develop a sense of adventure while also prioritizing our well-being. We can navigate new experiences by setting goals, managing risks, and learning from any challenges we encounter.
Every Human Interaction Is Eternally Important
I have spent this entire week working in schools with teacher leadership academies or facilitating strategic planning. Spending time with everyone in a school setting is incredible. I absolutely love the interactions I have now in the work I do, but I do miss the daily interaction with students I had in the classroom as a teacher. Yesterday, I was reminded of this by the phrase, “Megs, every human interaction Is eternally important.” This comment from C.S. Lewis to Megs Devonshire in the historical fiction novel, Once Upon A Wardrobe, by Patti Callahan Henry made me reflect on just how important every interaction really is; even if just a smile or simple hello. The word “every” is very important in this phrase. Those interactions can truly make or break someone. This phrase reminded me, and I hope it does you too, of the value and significance of human connection and the impact it can have on our lives and the lives of those around us.
When I was in the classroom as a teacher I would shake every scholar’s hand before they entered the classroom. This was an important ritual that was extremely important and meaningful to both my students and myself. This interaction allowed me to really know the student in the context of that moment. You can learn a lot about a person when you shake their hand. Particularly if you have a meaningful relationship with that person and interact with them every day. The phrase “every human interaction is eternally important” suggests that each interaction we have with others is significant and has a lasting impact. In Once Upon A Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis was emphasizing to Meg, the importance of our relationships and connections with others, and encourages us to approach each interaction with care and consideration. Focusing on building genuine connections and being present in the moment can lead to more fulfilling relationships and experiences.
Viewing Students Through An Asset Model Lens
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to facilitate a leadership retreat for Silver Creek School Corporation here in Indiana as they begin a year-long strategic planning process. It was a very inspiring day, and I was reminded of just how complex education is. Every child we serve comes with different experiences and different aspirations. It is our job to make sure each of personal journeys can be pursued and is successful. Each individual should be able to pursue their journey without interference or obstruction. We need to recognize and build upon the unique strengths and talents that each student possesses.
Our students are filled with aspirations, goals, dreams and desires – we should facilitate and learn from these. Our students are rich with experiences and should be viewed through the lens of an asset model instead of a deficit model. By using an asset model, educators can create a positive and empowering learning environment that encourages students to reach their full potential. This approach involves identifying and nurturing the skills, interests, and talents of each student and providing them with opportunities to develop and succeed. Viewing students through an asset model lens helps to create a more inclusive and equitable education system that values diversity and promotes success for all students.
Improving Our Time
I am reading the incredible book, A Man of Iron. The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland by Troy Senik right now. I am confident there will be many blog posts prompted by this book. This post is about a comment Senik made early in the book as he was describing Cleveland’s journey as a child and young man. He wrote, “If we want to become great in our future lives we must improve our time in school.” He also said, “We must improve our time as children.” This observation that we must improve our time really jumped out at me. As father of a son who graduates from college this spring it has been awesome to watch him grow, develop, and improve. It has also been my job to not be a main character, that’s his role, but a side character in this journey. It has been such an honor to be a supporting actor in his journey. Funny, I hadn’t really thought of it, but my wife and I’s job has been to provide the experiences for him to improve. Additionally, my son has done a great job of improving his time.
Back to “We must improve our time as children.” Whether as parents or educators, we must improve time by helping children learn new skills, pursue their interests, and develop healthy habits, so that they can become well-rounded and successful individuals later on. Furthermore, we need to focus on our education, social skills, and emotional growth during the formative years so that children can face the challenges of adulthood with confidence and resilience. Bottom-line: the time spent during childhood has an important impact on our future. Every path matters – so we have an obligation to do everything we can to help our our children navigate, both with guidance and providing experiences as supporting actors.
Learning Vs Being Right
We live, work, and play in such complex institutional and cultural environments today. Therefore, we must be adaptive individual learners, as well as, learning organizations. Mary Catherine Bateson taught us that openness to learning and changing is more important than what one knows at any given point. Openness to learning and willingness to adjust are important qualities. Learning is more important and being right. Learning is a perspective as much as it is a practice. We need to be nurture and encourage an attitude of learning. We must seek out ideas, information, and approaches so we can learn from others, including those whose views diverge from ours.
There are really three pieces to great leadership:
- Curiosity
- Growth Mindset
- Openness
If we go back to the teaching of Bateson, we find openness as an essential trait. If we have an appreciation of diverse perspectives and a willingness to try new things, we can better navigate daily challenges and discover novel solutions. Openness allows ideas to merge and develop by valuing diversity of thinking. Unfortunately, school taught us (and is still doing this) that we need to always be right. But, that binary way of thinking keeps us from considering that there might be a right answer, especially when we are on uncharted ground.
Christmas Playfulness
How are you doing with your playfulness? On this Christmas morning I am thinking about how we learn through our bodies. The somatic side of learning if you will. Watching kids play with toys on Christmas is amazing. Wait a minute; watching adults play with their kid’s toys on Christmas is amazing. With play we get participation and full engagement. Play inspires curiosity. Curiosity in turn opens the door for exploration, experimentation, and more learning. What if we intentionally focused on learning, leading, and living through play? For adults and children alike, play makes use of all our different senses – visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Our bodies store so much of our information and when we become active, our learning becomes sticky.
I love to use playing as a part of the leadership development work I do. Play fosters our curiosity and strengthens our childlike spirit to transform the way we show up as a conscious leader. Play reduces resistance and pushback because people are relaxed. When we let our guard down, all learning happens more easily. Playing also brings low-stress social interaction. Playing is how we connect. Play stimulates our imagination, helping us adapt and solve problems. Play gives us an opportunity to refresh, rejuvenate, and revitalize. When was the last time you played?
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