#leadwild not lead mild; How management almost overtook leadership this week. by Catina Haugen

Jon Corippo inspired the start: #leadwild not lead mild

Jason Markey cemented the rest with a single supportive Vox.

I have high expectations for myself.  I work hard.  Some days, I make my work look easy.  I am fallible, wrong at times, and have much to learn.  And I am good at what I do.  I bring value to students' experience every day, and I support teachers up to their potential and beyond.

This week, I allowed management missteps to cloud my leadership.  I wallowed in my own errors and failed to rise above and LEAD. Who is to blame?  At whom should we point a finger?

It doesn't matter.
Point at me.

What matters is how I (we) move forward.  What do I do when I get mired in management when my eye should be on the prize which is LEADERSHIP. I think it's a common pitfall for admin.  The management/leadership balance is always delicate.  Rather than try to maintain a balance, this week has taught me, it's more important to manage our reaction to management's pull rather than try to pit one against the other.

I did not manage management well this week.  I allowed myself to get sucked into petty decision-making, scheduling and communication errors when I should have looked to the vision.  What do students need?  How do I fit that need? Then I would have overcome management and remained fixed on leadership.

I lost my way. Who is our worst critic?  Yep, it's me.  It's you.

So management is a part of our job.
Got it.

When it threatens to degrade the REAL WORK of school, I need to get uber focused, laser like centered and do the work.  Then move on.

That's what management is. The what, why, who, how... but it can never overtake the WHY.
Why?
It's all about student SUCCESS.  It's all about students WANTING to be at school.  It's all about students feeling SUPPORTED by the adults around them.  It's all about LEARNING.

I'm on board for that.  I can give time to schedules, staffing, grounds and maintenance but MY REAL JOB is about students, their well being, their growth. 

It's #leadwild, not mild.  That's LEADERSHIP.


Cross posted from catinahaugen.wordpress.com