There are a lot of pieces of leadership roles that require in-depth knowledge. Beyond a working knowledge, it requires developing an understanding that can not only be demonstrated, but more importantly communicated. Having changed schools and moving to completely new technology systems I am finding myself scrambling up a very steep learning curve. It is the kind of learning I am usually comfortable with, but now it means the time I spend learning in the weeds takes me away from day-to-day operational and bigger picture strategic tasks that the role requires. In a teaching role it is easy to learn new systems by diving in, trying something, refining, re-designing and trying again. Students are endlessly patient in this cycle. I can’t expect colleagues to be patient and there are some aspects of the role that require me to have a working knowledge now and not in 1, 2 or 3 weeks. I am enjoying the pressure that comes with this, it definitely narrows my focus more than it would in a teaching role.
Today was good, I took a risk and started reaching out to have conversations with faculty and to my surprise there was a very good response in a short period of time. I get to start having these conversations tomorrow and having been ticking through questions that might help me guide the process. Similar to above, for the conversations to be valuable for colleagues and me I can’t be haphazardly asking questions, I need to have consistent prompts that can help create a full picture of the school, rather than unconnected anecdotes that do little to guide my thinking.
Learning to Lead 