A Risk, A Life Change, A New Adventure....
This year, I had leadership lessons come into my life unknowingly. Now in reflection I am able to see how these lessons have impacted me and my views as a leader. In March 2010, I was faced with the reality that I might lose my job with the school district in Prince George as the threat of school closures fell on everyone. My husband and I decided to start looking for jobs out of the province of British Columbia in order to keep our options open. My husband came across a great opportunity in Grande Prairie, Alberta and so we were left with the decision to stay or move. This was a difficult decision for me as I would be giving up a full time continuing contract. Additionally, I would be moving away from my family, which I am so very close with. We decided to sell our house and move to Grande Prairie. The Leadership lesson I learned was in risk taking. I know that as a leader it is important to take risks in order to move forward, whether it may be as a staff or in your personal life. When the moving day came, we had many helpers which made the task of packing, loading and driving alot easier. This lesson shows that in most cases two heads are better than one. The final lesson of my new life and adventure was that of courage and acceptance. I needed to be courageous and know that my husband and I were making a decision that would impact our lives drastically but that it was a positive decision despite the worries that my arise. I needed to have acceptance of the the outcomes that arose as this was a choice we made. As a leader having the courage to do what is necessary and having acceptance in what comes makes an effective leader. I feel that I have grown since leaving Prince George and will continue to grow with further reflection.
I agree that facing the uncertainty of your teaching position with "risk taking" was an act of self-leadership! And it does take courage every day to make the most of the decisions you've made. Like Terry's example of life learning about leadership, your "big adventure" will anchor your understanding of leadership definitions and concepts as we move forward with the readings.
ReplyDeleteThe Road Not Taken by Robert Frost has always been my guiding poem because I can always look back and say "ohh my! So glad I did that" or I can look back and say "Goodness, why did I do that?" Either way, the poem fits!
ReplyDeleteTwo roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
I have always liked Robert Frost poem " The Road Not Taken". As a leader, I have had to take risks. What is most satisfying about risk taking is seeing the results that come from it and knowing that you have made all the difference. In my capacity as a Vice Principal, I have always challenged my staff to take the road less travelled so that they can continually find new ways to engage their children in class.
ReplyDelete