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In This Month's Edition
- Serving Others
- Serving the Profession
- How Can We Be of Support?
In Service to Others
November is the time of year when we remember the men and women who served our country and fought for our freedom, so we thought it only fitting to discuss the role service plays in schools.
"Servant Leadership always empathizes, always accepts the person, but sometimes refuses to accept some of the person's effort or performance as good enough." — Robert K. Greenleaf
When we worked as system leaders with our school administrators we served them by providing them information, professional development and support. What made our support special was we knew our administrators so well we could differentiate the work we did with them to meet their individual needs and to build their capacity. For example, one area where our leaders needed to grow was instructional leadership. In the beginning of this work we focused on the foundational aspects of instructional leadership; not unlike students our leaders grew in their abilities at different rates. This was when we knew we had to change our strategy and work with our administrators in small groups and individually. We invited administrators who were excelling in certain aspects of their instructional leadership to share their work with their colleagues. We provided them with opportunities to visit each other's schools. Administrators new to the role and division were provided mentorship and modelling of strategies was provided through professional learning. Division leaders visited schools regularly and conversations focused mainly on the instructional leadership practices they were using. All of these Servant Leadership strategies supported growth in all of our administrators and the positive impact on their staff and students was evidenced in a variety of our data sets.
Serving the Profession
Our children are truly our most precious resource, so as educators we have the HUGE responsibility of ensuring that they are prepared for a future we can not even predict. As leaders we have to ensure that our colleagues and coworkers are at their best for this immense responsibility.
In the book, "The Leader Who Had No Title," by Robin Sharma, the overall message is that we do not need a title to be a leader, we only need to do our very best at whatever career we are in. What really stood out while reading this book is that we often need others to help us see our potential, provide us with support and guidance and encourage us along the way. Basically, we need mentors. Many of us would have never considered going into many of the educational leadership positions we have held without having had the encouragement and mentorship of others. Of course mentorship can be formal and informal and both are very beneficial. Informal mentors are most often colleagues who we have formed strong relationships with, admire and value them in their role.
Formal mentorship is usually provided by senior leadership, or an educational or professional organization we belong to. These programs usually focus on providing a mentor to promote or implement:
- A trusting relationship
- Acting as a guide, model, and coach
- Involving the mentee in reflective questioning
- Leadership competencies
- Balancing challenge with support
- Fostering problem-solving
Having mentors is invaluable and being a mentor is invaluable. By being a mentor we are serving our profession and ensuring we are at our best for the children we serve.
How Can JAM Consulting Support You?
JAM Consulting is not about a one size fits all service. We work with school divisions and schools to get to the root of their individual needs through reflective dialogue, school reviews, data analysis, culture audits, classroom walkthroughs and more. We meet with teams to determine what supports and strategies will enable them to achieve their vision, purpose, core values and goals. We are student focused and have the expertise and experience to support you in achieving success for all students. Book a free online session at info@jamconsulting.ca, to meet with us to discuss how we can support you.
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