Key points:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) calculated loss of global economic output will total $28 trillion between 2020 and 2025 as a result of the COVID-19 virus impacting businesses and education. Our schools are still pivoting to serve students and families who are discovering life in the space of no longer and not yet.
The pandemic has changed us all.
However, success in education is about developing people, at all levels.
Although we don't know exactly what the future holds, we can recognize that leaders who make a difference see opportunities in challenges. We can rely on applying this paradigm to our educational systems.
This raises questions: How do educational leaders continue to improve our schools to recognize unique opportunities and needs at the forefront? What situations can provide adaptive capacity to education?
Upon reflection, with a 20-year career as an educator and academic, I affirm a simple answer: collaboration and mentoring. This requires knowledge, commitment and humility from all of us.
Setting the stage for innovation
Schools shape everyone and memories last a lifetime.
We recognize how strong school leadership means we are exploring and adapting with others for a better future, and that includes valuing the collective diversity of ideas to lay the foundation for innovation in educational spaces.
After all, to lead effectively, we must create and honor safe spaces for collaboration. Because when it comes to spaces with uncertainty and great challenges, people are often reluctant to express thoughts or possible actions. We must suspend judgment to learn more from the people around us.
Ultimately, the more often educational leaders anticipate and promote change and input, the more effective the results will be, bringing out the best in our teachers' skills and talents.
Avoiding fool's gold
With practices that make a difference, teachers (and students) want to “listen, learn, and lead” from authentic leaders who care about uplifting others and excelling in uncertain spaces. Although 83 percent of organizations Say Developing Future Leaders, Mentoring Crucial, Research Shows only 5 percent of organizations have Leadership development programs at all levels. (Kizer, 2023). The job of leaders is not to keep resources or power for themselves, but to share and give them away.
Now, more than ever, educational leaders must highlight and affirm teachers' talents and abilities to deliver more than they thought was possible. The classroom is a space where teachers know that “one size does not fit all” and where they need the support of leaders and the community to adapt the curriculum.
A 13th century scholar, Rumi, stated that “fool's gold exists because there is real gold.” This sentiment could address leadership in education. We must differentiate between effective leadership and ineffective leadership. Authentic leaders demonstrate self-awareness and competence in that all members are included to act with purpose and empowerment.
Mentoring is an important strategy for allowing people to connect and reflect, and works as a two-way street for colleagues to support each other. Genuine acts of care and collaboration, such as a handwritten note of encouragement or visits with colleagues, are other ways to lift a person's spirits. In other words, leaders recognize unique opportunities to connect and advance people.
And leaders know that to achieve meaningful change, it takes more than one person to reach the next level.
Humility wins, paradoxically
To shed some more light on the collaboration, I'd like to share one more important piece of fascinating information.
In education, as in life, we must take the time to find each person's strengths. Because? Because there is nothing more rewarding than helping others discover their unique strengths. The CliftonStrengths assessment is a resource to discover what your (or someone else's) greatest strengths are that set you apart from others. It is important to take advantage of each person's strengths, so that the sum is greater than the parts!
In this space of no longer and not yet, honest discussions are necessary to explore where others are along the journey. Career paths differ and there are different seasons in our careers. Most notably, in a study where mentors underrated their skills, these humble mentors received the highest ratings from the mentees (Johnson, 2016, p. 68). Lesson learned: The best leaders were those who had self-awareness and humility. These guides offered the highest quality relationships and the most effective facilitation of a person's development.
Finding hope and purpose within ourselves
Harvard Business School states, “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and ensuring that impact lasts in your absence.” Collective vision sustains the dream of flourishing individuals and communities, as we need both for society to function well.
In particular, leadership success includes mobilizing colleagues to believe in and achieve your goals. Ultimately, each person has a role to play in helping to play big in times of uncertainty.
We must begin to see our educators as our community leaders, something they already are in many ways. Remember John Maxwell's (2008) words that “we should never work alone. I know it sounds overly simple, but it is truly the secret to developing others. Whenever you do something that you want to pass on to others, take someone with you” (p.16). Granted, involving others is how to convey important information and practices. Strong relationships and common experiences create winning teams. Plus, committed teams go places no one has been before.
In conclusion, educators should have more collaborative support and leadership opportunities, as they are the experts on what works (or doesn't) in this fast-paced world. Success will come. When we cross a worthy goal, the anguish fades. Deep inner satisfaction replaces times of difficulty, because we have made the world a better place. Educators know a simple truth: when we lead others, we make it easier for others to find hope and purpose within themselves.
Because without hope we would not find the courage we need when we fight in the space of not anymore and not yet.
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