10 Mar Capturing Collective Genius
It’s so exciting taking on your first Principalship! Whether it’s for a local school or you’ve moved overseas to take on an international school leadership role, you’re brimming with noble goals to achieve and prepared to do whatever it takes to get the job done. You’re putting in long hours because you’re determined to make a positive difference in the lives of your students and your teachers.
But wow! You’ve been asking yourself some deep questions lately. How can I get everyone on board with the school’s vision? How can I keep my teachers inspired and motivated? How can I support my teachers to meet the needs of all learners? How can I implement change effectively? How can I help those teachers who are stuck in the past? How can I keep up with new educational trends and innovations? How can I focus on what really matters? What do I prioritize as most important to improve student learning? How can I think strategically and plan for the future of learning at our school? My international education masters degree didn’t prepare me for all these practical questions. OMG. Now you can’t get to sleep!
When I was a new principal I gave myself an initial period to get to know the school and the staff and then I honed in on developing more leaders. I observed and selected teachers who were exceptional teachers, had a spark of genius and were always enthusiastic, positive, pro-active and prepared to take a chance. Then I developed several new leadership and innovation teams. Looking back I can see there is a direct relationship between leadership, innovation and change. And …. It’s a great plan for success!
Actually, I’ve unleashed Collective Genius in every Principal and Head of School Position that I’ve held and I have to tell you, it really works!
Developing high performing teams with members who bounce ideas off each other, who take a shared responsibility, who are prepared to fail but not give up, who value diversity, who love learning together and who think outside the box is the way to go!
If you really want to make changes into international education, or even at a local level, why not bring your leadership team along to the next ‘Leadership for the 21st Century’ workshop? You’ll learn heaps about yourselves and each other. You’ll learn new 21st Century leadership skills. You’ll also learn about planning for the future of learning at your school with a 2020 and 2025 lens. You’ll learn how to manage change effectively as a team. You’ll learn how to simplify and strategize to manage your personal and collective time well and you’ll learn how to achieve the most important priorities to improve your students’ learning. In fact, you’ll be an awesome 21st Century School Leader.
I’m looking forward to meeting you! Contact me here if you have any questions.
