Teacher Leadership Mini-Series: F.E.E.D the Teacher Leader in You! Part #3: Elevate

Welcome to another week of inSpiration and thinking my friends! Are you ready to elevate yourself as a teacher leader? I know I am... and it's something I'm always looking to do. For me, I can't get enough of personal and professional growth. It's what keeps me both grounded yet motivated to reach for the stars. While some may tell me I take on too much and I need to learn "the balance," others say "let me join you!" I agree that I need to take some time for me and rest, no doubt, but I think if my aspirations are my weakest part of me, then, well, overall I'm doing just fine! 

I'm excited that in just two weeks my chapter of KDP will be hosting our Teacher Leadership Development Summit for the second time! Our theme this year is “Leaders are hungry... F.E.E.D the teacher leader in you!” Each week we have, and will continue to break down F.E.E.D and get excited to hear our amazing presenters and keynote speakers that will give us the fuel we need to confidently lead in our classrooms, schools, and beyond!

So far we talked about “F”- Foundations. Discovering our own definition for teacher leadership is the foundation for growing as a teacher leader, and embracing the role. We also discussed “E”- Engagement, and how it is all about what you make of it! How you stay engaged is up to you and what your areas of interest are. Engagement is key to feeling like you belong.

This week, let’s unpack the next “E”- Elevate. I am particularly excited to elevate my own teaching practice and my skills as a teacher leader. Like I mentioned before, the desire to elevate myself is the fuel that keeps me curious and wanting to learn more. As I meet other great educators and leaders (from all professions,) I feel I acquire skills I didn't have before, and I improve how I approach certain situations and complete tasks. As teacher leaders, we are always asking ourselves how we can elevate and improve our work, as well as our leadership style. There's no one "right" or "wrong" way to elevate and/or feel elevated. I find this is highly personal to the individual, and we all have to clutch what it is that motivates us, and not let it go. 

So you might be saying, this is all great but how do I elevate myself as a teacher leader? I personally feel that my greatest growth for myself as a leader has come from elevating others first. In the book Indelible Leadership by Michael Fullan, the author discusses how great leaders are measured by the success of those they helped develop into leaders. Great leaders are also dispensable. In other words, you know you've reached the point of being a great leader when those you work with don't need you anymore to lead in every step along the way. When we focus on helping others and giving them purpose, we automatically learn and see what we can do differently and what our strengths are. Meanwhile we are focused on the other person and we put less pressure on ourselves to reaching a certain goal by a certain time. Building relationships and trust elevates us with others. The journey there has many small lessons along the way we don’t want to miss! 

Another way we can elevate our practice is to submerge ourselves into a project or area of focus and give all we have to it. As a teacher leader, nothing says “I can lead” more than seeing an idea through to fruition. But the warning is this; we should celebrate our success and what we accomplish, but always feel the need for more. The roof should keep rising as we build the house. John Maxwell urges leaders to be growth oriented, not goal oriented, and to have goals so high that we most likely won’t achieve them fully, but we achieve many goals along the way. Think about that for a minute... many leaders think "as soon as I accomplish this goal, I'll be set." A good leader will follow the steps to complete a goal, but a great leader always has another one behind it to achieve. That’s when we are truly elevating ourselves teacher friends! 

Our work goes beyond our classrooms and school walls, and it’s ok to dream big. I think at times we let fear get in our way that our project or idea will expand so much that we can't control it. That's when you bring in other motivated leaders just like yourself. Trust me friends, you'll know who your key players are. I believe a leader is a magnet from (educational) nature that others feel drawn to, and want to be around. Leaders also can tell who is really with them on the idea and won't abandon ship midway. This loops back to elevating others first. Imagine if we all spent time elevating each other how far our projects or ideas would travel? The exchange would be priceless: the leader would elevate others, and they in turn would elevate one another and their leader! While some may fear about how large a project can scale, a teacher leader views that as an exciting opportunity to impact so many others. 

Let’s think this week how can we elevate our own work by elevating others, and not fear the process for ourselves as we continue to reach high and make a difference!

Final thoughts: Keep thinking about how you want to elevate yourself at this point in your career. It's never too early or too late to do this! Keep focusing on elevating others along with yourself, and focus on investing in them. People are indeed our greatest investment! Keep your reservations as a side thought as you dream big with your work. And finally, keep raising the bar as you achieve, there's no greater accomplishment than wanting more than what you just completed!