In leadership you spend your time serving others. We often get to the end of a day and realize we haven't taken time to focus on our own needs and professional growth. Leaders similar to athletes, must put in the time to strengthen their skill. Most leadership models stress working smarter, meaning that the little time we have to grow our skills needs to be focused and intentional. Here are some areas that will help you work smarter as you continue to grow professionally.
Create your own professional development plan. You know what skill set or information you need to more development towards. Create a plan for how, when, and where you will accomplish this plan. In doing this, you are able to reflect on areas of need and create a pathway to make these skills your strength.
Seek out a mentor to help you become a better leader. We all need someone to share ideas with, someone we can trust to ask "dumb" questions to without being judged. There is truly no better model for growth than engaging with someone who will embrace you, and help you gain the skills you need to excel in your profession.
Ask for feedback from your supervisors. Growth happens from reflecting on our practice as leaders. Ask specific questions to get important feedback that you can use to work on your skills. Go beyond asking how they think you are doing, ask for feedback on decisions, interactions, and goals. Learn from mistakes by asking for guidance on what could have been done differently. This is a sign of strength, not weakness.
The last area is to read books about leaders. Yes, I said read books, ebook count. Reading must be a part of your development plan. Create a book study with your staff, or peers, or even using Twitter as a source for discussion.
Planning is a natural part of what we do as educational leaders, don't forge to plan for continued growth and success for yourself.
Great books to read on leadership:
Boundaries for Leaders, by Cloud
The Secret Solution: How One Principal Discovered The Path to Success, by Whitaker
Taking People with You, The only Way to Make Big things Happen, by Novak
