How are you building your leadership capacity?

How do you lead during a crisis? Build capacity. (Part II) by Donna Micheaux

In my recent blog, How do you lead during a crisis? Build Capacity, I introduced Glazer’s four elements for building leadership capacity: Spiritual, Intellectual, Physical and Emotional.  I recently spoke with several front line leaders about their real-life experiences applying the four elements to build their leadership capacity during the nation’s recent crises.  I was inspired and encouraged by their resilience, resolve and commitment to continue to lead and learn during these extraordinary times.  

Here I share a few of their responses in the hopes that they will inspire your own reflections and new ideas.

Spiritual capacity: What matters most to you? 

• “My primary goal is to stay collectively engaged with our students and their families. We center our efforts on the 2 C’s: Connections and Care.  I believe it is important to connect with students, families and each other by whatever means necessary, including phone calls, emails and drive-by home visits.  I also believe we need to go above and beyond to show our care during this period of struggle. Staff and community members are currently feeding over 14 families and we’ve collected over 4k for our students and families, many of whom are undocumented and unemployed.”

• “I want to make sure we balance the academic and wellness needs of our students. Our distance learning plans provide students with a daily predictable schedule, access to direct instruction, and connection to a caring adult advisor to make sure their social needs are met. I also considered the needs of our teachers, who will be caring for our students and fulfilling their teaching responsibilities while simultaneously caring for their own children and loved ones as they work from home. During teacher office hours, I often hop in to see how they are feeling and to determine what we can do to better support them. I find that they are more comfortable sharing one-on-one as opposed to during a large staff meeting. As a parent educator, I take this time to also share my personal experiences and remind teachers that relationships are our superpower, and that we have to use that to our advantage.”

• “It is important that my teachers and staff members feel 100% supported by me as their leader. I listen when they are frustrated, allow them a safe space to vent, remind them that I don’t expect perfection, and I constantly reassure them that everything will work out in the end. I begin our weekly Zoom faculty meetings with a “power of positivity” time. This sharing sets the tone for our interactions and gives staff an opportunity to breathe and reflect on what is going well.”

Intellectual capacity: What more do you need to learn about leading in a crisis? 

• “I need to know more about how to help my staff, students, and families process the grief that we are all experiencing. I am really focused on learning more about the whole child, social emotional learning, and equity challenges that already existed, but are now exacerbated by the pandemic.”

•  “I realize now that providing all of my students with devices was only the tip of the iceberg. I need to learn strategies to address and support students who now have devices, but are not connecting, students who have dropped off or dropped out, students who are spending their day caring for others, families with multiple children and one device, and the many inequities in the home that impact learning.”

• “I am eager to learn more about the future of education. I often talk with leaders outside of the field of education, including bankers, business leaders, and other professionals, about their views and perspectives on the future of education. I think having different perspectives will help us to envision a more innovative future. I realize that we are all in this together and that we must work together to create the ‘new normal.’”

• “I am interested in learning more about what really matters to our students, families, and communities. I regularly engage with them, via phone calls, Zoom meetings, and formal and informal surveys. I am now much more aware of how important it is to hear and address their needs and concerns and to figure out ways to help them become co-teachers who can partner with us to help educate students while they are at home.”

Physical capacity: What are you doing to maintain good health and well-being? 

• “I engage in mindfulness. I know that taking care of yourself first is the best investment you will ever make. I encourage others who may need to start off small to take small steps. For example, try bringing 10% more awareness:
• Drink 10% more water today than you did yesterday.
• Plan to go to sleep to get 10% more rest tonight than you did yesterday.
• Plan to get 10% more movement today than you did yesterday.”
• “I take fresh air walks 3-4 times a week and set alarms to build in breaks throughout the day for meditation, exercise, stretching, breathing, just getting up and moving and my all-time favorite, blasting one of my favorite songs and just dancing it out, Grey’s Anatomy style. I also participate in free live dance parties, amazing pop and classical music concerts, and am considering taking a master class focused on dance, photography, writing, or whatever else piques my interest.”

• “I am taking full advantage of this opportunity to learn more about my role as a principal and the education profession as a whole. I regularly participate in webinars, read professional journals, listen to TED Talks, and am currently enrolled in the state-sponsored continuing education program for principals and other district leaders. Fortunately, all of these learning opportunities have incorporated a focus on the impact of COVID-19 on our role as school leaders.”

Emotional capacity: How are you managing your reactions when you communicate to others about the crisis?

• “As a new school leader in this unique situation, I have to be strategic, provide structure, and show confidence when communicating with staff. I am especially aware of my facial expressions and body language and use them to convince staff that I know what I am talking about.” I also know that I have to balance being confident with being transparent during these challenging times. I am always honest when communicating facts, but also share my uncertainty when I don’t know the answer.”

• “During the current pandemic, one of the most important things I think I can do as a leader is to be the calm for my teachers, staff members, parents and students. Despite how frustrated, exhausted, or stressed I am, my staff members should never feel or see this. If I fall apart, what will happen to my staff? If I give up or lose hope, how can I expect them to remain hopeful? If my staff doesn’t have confidence in me as the leader, then I have failed them in some way. I must be the calm and the strength for my team in this time of crisis.”

• “I manage my emotions by always bringing my staff back to our main focus, our vision, and our why: our students. I remind them and myself that regardless of the struggle, we are making student-centered decisions, always doing what is in their best interest. By keeping our students and their needs – whether it is meals, shelter, devices, or additional instructional support – at the center of our efforts, it helps us to push through difficult decisions and challenging times.”

What are you doing to build your leadership capacity?

Glazer points out that all leaders, even great leaders, must constantly work on improving their leadership. Whether you choose to build your leadership capacity by focusing on one or all of the elements described above, you are not only improving yourself as a leader, you will elevate others to do the same. Where will you start and how will it inspire others?

1. What matters most to you? 
2. What more do you need to learn about leading in a crisis?
3. What are you doing to maintain good health and well-being during this crisis?
4. How are you managing your reactions when you communicate to others about the crisis

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

Donna Micheaux (dwmicheaux@comcast.net) is president of Micheaux Educational Consulting and a senior consultant for Learning Forward