Over the past year, I have spent a lot of time thinking about my role, my strengths, my challenges and where I see my career going. The start of my leadership roles, senior leadership anyway, was only ever half-formed. I wasn’t able to see myself fully in the role because I was split between multiple roles. I was fortunate to have positive, strong and supportive mentorship during this period that helped maintain my sanity, but still did not allow me to see myself fully in any of the roles. This led to me having an uncertain response when asked, “What do you want to do?”
The past year has allowed me to fully see myself not only in my current role, but also to see myself taking on higher roles moving forward. These realizations came with a lot of reflection on who I see myself as and where I want to be professionally. The moment of clarity was realizing I want to be the one handing my kids their diplomas at the end of grade 12, I want to know I did everything possible to make their school experience not just good enough, but the best possible. I can only do that in a head of school role.
My next steps are still uncertain, but at least I am confident in the direction and can move forward. This means taking a leap into a new programme of study massively outside my comfort zone, accepting that wanting to progress not only as a leader, but also in leadership roles is okay, it’s not a compromise, it’s not power seeking, it’s not an ego exercise, it’s not letting go of my identity as an educator, but an extension and evolution of that identity.
Step 1: Know enough to know what I don’t know. Right now, that is how to lead a school at the highest level, which means stepping into the operational and business side of schools rather than the educational side.
Step 2:….
Learning to Lead 