Reflective Leadership

Nick Watson
CAGS 670
Paul Ezen
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Reflecting:
In first hearing about the expectations of this current course, I found myself delighted

with the opportunity to truly self reflect upon my growth, my experiences and the need to keep

learning. My reflection regarding my experiences within my teaching career truly goes hand in

hand with my involvement within this CAGS Program. I pursued this opportunity during my

second year teaching. However, my experiences which had led me to pursue a career in teaching

had also heightened my awareness regarding the importance of Capacity Building. This

importance in conjunction with meaningful growth directly relates to the change that you bring

to the table, the results from that change and continuous professional learning based off of those

results. Lastly, when understanding the importance of vulnerability and humility, all of the

above can truly serve as an organic and evolutionary experience.

I entered teaching from a very different place than many who choose to enter the teaching

profession right away. I didn’t find teaching, teaching really found me. As many people do after

finishing their undergraduate degree, I struggled to find my place in the world. I ended up

working for the chocolate company that my family ran at the time and it was through this

experience that I learned so much about myself and what I needed. As I worked our retail

locations, connected with customers and developed leadership skills, I soon found myself

opening a new location within the Back Bay of Boston. This is where I decided to pursue my

Masters degree. As I continued to build those interpersonal and intangible skills, I found that my

true calling was to work with people, make connections and continue to learn in order to make

meaningful connections that brought results. In the case of the stores, those connections were

customer relations that would turn into a consistent consumer stream of revenue. However, as I

continued through the Masters program and found myself Student Teaching, I realized that many
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of the same intangible skills that I had used to build up a customer base could be used to build up

social capital with both students and colleagues alike. This realization is where I continue to

grow from even today.

In being myself, I found that humility comes naturally, which in turn shows a

vulnerability that can put many individuals at ease. This comfort, even though I don’t

necessarily feel it within myself, does bring results with both the relationships I have found

myself making with both colleagues and students, or the layers of growth I continue to add to my

role as a lead learning. Furthermore, being both a lead learner and a lifelong learner is where I

continuously try to focus my attention. I am always intrigued and was taught from a very young

age that you are never too old to learn. This lesson repeats itself constantly in my head. What

better place to continuously learn and be a student, than in school. Except now I get paid to learn

and teach others how to learn.

As I continue to self reflect and grow, I also continue to grow professionally. It is not

until I self reflect within an assignment like this, that I realize that maybe, just maybe, I am seen

as a teacher leader. When colleagues can come to me with the comfort and ease of batting

around different ideas, and I feel as though they think my opinions matter, that can mean a lot. I

still continue to have trouble realizing that my opinions do matter and have the “why would they

listen to me” run through my head. However, I think having that thought present can keep a

leader humble and grounded. All I can say for certain is that I love what I do, and am excited to

continue and grow for years to come.

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Complexities of Leadership and Creativity

Curiosity of the world around us has been one of the main causes of innovation.

However, to be an innovative thinker is one thing, but to be an innovative leader is quite another.

The video clip we viewed during our first meeting really spelled out the specific patterns

innovative leaders showcase, which sets them apart from the rest of the pack. Constantly

questioning the status quo, observing aspects of the world around them and always thinking

outside of the box are the qualities that truly se these people apart. However, thinking about

innovative ideas is one thing, but to get them moving and become a tangible piece of our world

is a completely different topic.

As the video pointed out, in many cases, innovative leaders are extremely good at coming

up with the ideas, but when it comes to executing the idea, this is where they fall short. They

seem to understand this reality and welcome collaboration. A team of innovators seems to be the

golden ticket to actually bringing these ideas to fruition. Furthermore, within these team

settings, there exist not only innovative ideas, but innovative ways to get these things

accomplished. Through understanding everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, everyone has a

stake in the final outcome. However, in order to establish this culture and these routines, we first

must look at the drivers that can either bring or hault progress and innovation.

To look at the legitimacy of the Right and Wrong Drivers that Fullan mentions, first we

have to look at the goal. What does our end game look like? In many ways, that end games

centers around the establishment of intrinsic value and motivation around learning. If we were to

focus that value and motivation around teaching, we would automatically stray away from the
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student centered mentality that is essential to power our educational system. Furthermore, by

looking at this intrinsic value and motivation, as leaders, we have to ask ourselves, how do we

help to bring that out of the people around us? How do we instill a voice and inspiration in our

staff and students? In short, as leaders, we have to challenge the status quo, we have to observe,

experiment and build an environment where innovation can be fostered. As Fullan mentions, if

we should focus on drivers such as collaborative work, pedagogy, systemness and capacity

building for results we will be looking at the whole picture. However, if we focus on

individuality and certain aspects that may or may not affect the whole, we are then, as Fullan

mentions, piecemealing aspects together. Technology is, in my opinion, one of the biggest

misconceptions as a positive driver of change. It is seen as the be all end all, however, if the

positive drivers are not focused on, such as collaboration, focus on pedagogy, capacity building

and the overall systemic link between these factors, then the supplemental tools that are

implemented to enhance said drivers will not work at all, or only temporarily.

Capacity Building is an extremely important component to fulfilling the goal of

innovation. This element, if done in a functional and organic way, has the calculated potential of

bringing a cohesive, collaborative and overall innovative environment to the school as a whole.

Furthermore, the excitement that this environment can bring to a team can be contagious. This

viral aspect can be at the very heart of the intrinsic motivation that you are trying to achieve in

the first place. However, the only way to achieve this goal is to build a culture that is based on a

clear, measurable and achievable goal. The only way to do this is to have buy in from all

stakeholders. How do you get buy in? First, you make stakeholders, especially those who the

vision will rely on, part of the creation of said vision. Having the culture center around a
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collaborative approach to the overall vision of the school as a whole will create buy in, but also

trickle down to students. In the end, it comes down to creating numerous opportunities for lead

learners to actually learn and from each other and self reflective on past practice to enhance

future practice.

The individualistic versus collaborative topic can possibly be seen as generational.

Teachers who have been in the field from multiple decades can possibly be seen as the more

likely candidates to naturally be more individualistic. Whereas teachers who are new to the field

may have a more collaborative background and nature. These two poles seem to be derived from

the environment in which they were first nurtured within. This does not mean where they grew

up, but if we look at the first four years of life as the formative years and the first four years of

teaching as our formative teaching years, I believe the analogy could be made that whatever the

environment was like during those formative years of teaching may impact an educator in terms

of where they fall on said spectrum.

Moving educators along that spectrum takes concession, compromise and a display of

calculated vulnerability, most importantly, from the leaders. These concessions and overall

display of humility reaches a certain aspect of people that allow them to be a bit more open to

change. We all are aware that teachers are creatures of habit, so introducing change requires a

soft touch with a clear vision regarding where you want to end. The factors which truly motivate

movement consist of a clear and precise vision, honest, open and frequent opportunities to take

risks, obtain and provide feedback. These factors coupled with a servant leadership approach

from said leaders, will hopefully build capacity, motivate stakeholders and lubricate the spectrum

just enough to where it is a bit easier to move.

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As previously discussed, innovation comes from challenging and questioning the status

quo. Furthermore, the realization that our educational institutions are not run by external

elements but the realization that we are in the field of building human capacity. As this

realization comes into focus, we realize that in order to increase our effect size, we first must

rally around common goals and causes. Throughout the history of humanity, we have seen

evidence of this collaborative nature. Why do we sometimes forget it’s power when we focus on

our schools? Why do we tend to focus on the external factors that include standardized tests?

As leaders, we must take this humanity into account. The human factor is not about numbers

and results, but more about making connections, building relationships and fulfilling a goal as a

team. If relationships, meaningful relationships are built early on with both faculty and students,

then the vision will be attainable and results will be evident.

The most prominent issues raised as we reviewed the We Survey Comparative

data centered around the counterproductivity of a top down approach and the establishment of a

positive, honest and open culture within a school environment. The culture and environment

established trickles down to faculty and definitely trickles down to students. Thus you have a

negative effect on both the faculty and student body. When faculty do not feel supported, or feel

unclear and like they cannot ask questions or actually challenge the status quo, the feeling of “I

don’t care...I’m just here for a paycheck” can become the relevant mantra. This can then be seen

within the feelings of the students as well. This is when you realize that establishing that

intrinsic value and motivation has failed. However, when these negative results occur, in many

instances, it can be connected to the lack of understanding regarding the value of self-reflection

and overall honesty and humility. These three characteristics, when brought to the surface can
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instill positivity, the willingness to experiment, question, collaborate and innovate. Furthermore,

these influences have the possibility to create a true culture of learning and growth.

Vulnerability of a Leader

Taking risks, failing, recovering and do it all over again is not easy. I have found that it

is often a bit more easy, or I suppose easier to take the hit, if transparency and vulnerabilities are

established early on. The nest example I can offer is how I approach a classroom of students. In

order for a fostering and nurturing risk taking environment, I first must put myself out on the

line. Being up front with them from day one and letting them know that I am going to make

mistakes and I am going to try new things with all of them, does seem to put students as ease. It

also seems to be a very new feeling for a lot of these kids, because the culture of “I am the

teacher and you are the student, and I am never wrong” has been present within our educational

community for a very long time. However, in order to grow, we first must learn from our

failures. We can only learn if we take risks. So, hard hard is this for me? I think it is easier

exposing this vulnerability to a class of students than to my own peers, but I am continuously

working on it.

Exhibiting the innovator’s mindset can be quite challenging for some. However, as I read

through what George Couros identifies as the “8 Characteristics of the Innovator’s Mindset”, I

realized many of these characteristics are already things I continuously do. As I have previously

discussed, my background is not in education, but the business world. Furthermore, in order to

successfully participate within the competition of the business world, particularly retail,

innovation is not only a great idea, but a necessity. One needs to be able to empathize with
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customers, relate to their experiences when entering your business, then as these actions take

place, observe what may work and what may not work. Furthermore, based on the empathy and

observations, you are continuously working to improve their experiences from the knowledge

you gain regarding your clientele. I am currently within my 4th year of teaching and there have

been numerous times within the classroom when I have realized that the same mindset I used

while managing our chocolate stores are being utilized to make breakthroughs with my students.

Education is never static, it is an evermoving river of experiences. When an educator can create

an experience that allows students to relate content and skills to their own lives, a truly

innovative experience has been created. I enter my school everyday with this thought in mind.

Furthermore, by trying to incorporate relevant tools i.e. social media apps, that are currently

being used by my students, this offers an additional innovative channel to propel our students to

take ownership of their education. The ownership and student driven approach, in itself, is an

extremely innovative and challenging idea for many educators. However, just like a successful

business, everyone needs to do their part to help it surpass the competition.

Looking into the Future

As I look at this question and really think about the next three to five years, I feel that this

is the most difficult question I have been asked. It seems like for the last twenty years there has

been a goal and agenda, in terms of education. Maybe this is a reflection of our society mixed

with my own expectations and that of those closest to me, but the expected agenda was always to

go to college, get a good job, have a family, buy a house etc. Now that I have accomplished all

of those things, I find myself going back to what has been the biggest part of my life when I

leave home. That has always been school. I find it so ironic that I found a career I love around
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education. I do not know what exactly I am trying to say and how this involves the next three to

five years, but in some capacity it does. So...as a leader where do I see myself in the next three

to five years? I can see an endless amount of possibilities.

As I look passed August and towards the end of our Practicum I find it very important for

me, personally, to stay within the position I am in. This is only my fourth year teaching. I feel

that in order to be an effective leader I first must have a well rounded and experienced

perspective from the “trenches”. One of the most important lessons I have ever learned is that to

be an effective leader you need to know how to clean the toilets, sweep and mop the floors and

understand all of the roles within an organization. I see myself saying in a teaching position for

the next three to five years. However, opportunities can present themselves organically and I am

not ruling out the possibility of entering a formal leadership role, such as Assistant Principal or

Principal. The factors for this move need to align and I need to feel good about it. I am honestly

not looking at the next steps as “Well now I am a certified Principal, so I am going to look for a

different position”. I need to feel ready for that leap, and right now I do not. However, in terms

of a personal vision, I wanted to make the proper strategic moves to allow those doors to open if

it is, in fact, the right time. Currently and for the immediate future, I see myself as a teacher

leader more than anything.

During the duration of this Cohort, I have learned how to look at our educational world

through a different lense. The tools and perspectives I have learned throughout the Cohort,

coupled with my experience in business/management, has proven to be extremely valuable when

looking at all factors and functions of the educational landscape. It has helped me to think

outside of the box and, in turn, apply it to inside the box. As a teacher leader my goal is to
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continuously evoke and inspire adaptability, risk taking and questioning the status quo.

Additionally, supporting my fellow colleagues, even if it is just lending a listening ear, can instill

trust and support which will then lend itself to positive and validating interactions between

additionally colleagues and students. Furthermore, it is the practice of the aforementioned that

will prove to be a powerful tool when we, collectively, challenge the status quo and move from

standardized to personalized learning opportunities. We have to live and understand life to teach

lives. As a teacher leader, offering support and forging meaningful relationships with all

colleagues, including administrators, can be a powerful tool. I think some of us often forget that

our administrators are our colleagues as well. Educators are not standardized robots, but

fluctuating human beings. We need to look at education in this way.

Looking into the future, there are many different scenarios that I run through. Speaking

about professional growth, I have begun to play more and more with the idea of pursuing my

doctorate. This will probably be within the realm of educational leadership, but I have not ruled

out the possibility of a more subject specific concentration i.e. sociology, anthropology etc. As I

think about pursuing this goal, I am also toying with the idea of teaching in higher education.

However, if I do not pursue teaching in higher education, I would like to purse an AP or

Principal position, with eventual progression to Superintendent. As I mentioned before, the

development of these goals needs to happen organically. I want to make sure I am ready to jump

up to the next level. If I make this leap prematurely, I know I will struggle more than what is

naturally expected when taking on a new role. I still have a lot to learn and growth,

self-reflection and humility will always be strong tools within my life both personally and

professionally. Knowing myself is knowing that when opportunities present themselves, and all
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seem serendipitous, these opportunities are meant to be. If I did not have evidence to support

this, I would not be writing this today.