The Leadership Change: From What You Do to Who You Are

On Thursday, the 5th of September, many members of ACCoS met to engage in two presentations by John Peachey and Chris Bradbeer, respectively, who invited us to reflect on the way we perceive and apply leadership and collaboration in our roles. I believe it is fair to say on behalf of all who attended that we were left challenged to consider how we conduct ourselves as professionals and gained a deeper understanding of the sort of mentality we should strive for concerning these areas.

In the first lecture, titled “We Are Sherpa”, John Peachey took a narrative approach, describing the life and challenges faced by many climbers who have attempted Mount Everest (successfully and not). The ambitions and risk-taking mindsets of these people were inspiring in their own right, as they pushed their physical and psychological boundaries with the full understanding that there would be no help if the slightest mistake lead to their downfall. The success of NZ mountaineer, Edmund Hillary was also explored; not only was his work ethic discussed, but the effective way he used the platform his success placed him on. His leadership in the community parallels with the rules of climbing a mountain: just making it to the top doesn’t count as success. You make it as a team, and the climb doesn’t count unless you make it back down. 

         

Even with the schools he opened, the people he inspired, and other positive outcomes that form his legacy, the key point of Peachey’s message was none of these would have happened if not for his Sherpa, Tenzing. Sherpa are the spiritual keepers of the mountain. Their job is to put their lives on the line so that others can have a moment of glory on the summit. They know the mountains better than anyone else and use their knowledge and ability to lift others into places they can succeed without the spotlight that the hero gets. While there are different leadership styles, and there certainly isn’t anything wrong with having your moment on the summit, as leaders, John’s encouragement is that we seek to be like the Sherpa: humble. Asking ‘how can I help you get there rather than ‘let me show you how it’s done’. A trusted guide.     

 

In a similar vein, Chris Bradbeer discussed the meaning and application of collaboration in the context of education and its significance to leaders. When involving ourselves in projects and initiatives, there are many blockers to successful collaboration, from differing opinions as to what constitutes as progress to the risk of escalated tension. Collectively, we defined collaboration with ideas such as appreciation for others, sharing ownership of ideas, and taking part in discussions. In order for any of these descriptions to be successful in action, the driving component is building trust among those involved; among other ways of building this, they can be well summed up by ensuring there is consistent and effective communication from leaders. This promotes strengthened relationships, which leads to more honest feedback, which results in better decisions made. In order to carry out effective collaboration, it isn’t so much an imperative that everyone agrees; but by taking these measures, you progress in creating an environment where there is an active willingness to support the group’s direction.

While these two seminars were conducted in different styles and focused around different topics, there was a complimentary quality in the way Peachey and Bradbeer encouraged us to be the most effective kind of leader. People lead in different ways, but the tools they presented had a common emphasis on the importance of empowering those that you interact with. By doing so, leadership changes from what you do to who you are.  

By Tim Bartja, In-School Leader, ANI

The Currencies of Wellbeing, Pt. 1: Speak Their Language

Core Education’s recently released ‘Ten Trends’ highlighted wellbeing as one of the rising focuses within the educational sphere. Identifying the current-ness of this topic in many workplace “ecosystems”, they’re quick to conclude that “there is currently no agreed international definition for wellbeing”. A colleague of mine captures this insight rather aptly, stating that “wellbeing is as wide as it is deep”, a sentiment which has been shared in earlier blogs.

Throughout this year, our community of learning has begun exploring wellbeing with the intention of ‘...promot(ing) student and staff wellbeing in the support of learning’. In order to provide structure for the many minds on this journey with us, my co-leader and I chose to draw on the work of Simon Sinek, an author, professor and leadership guru. We have focused in on his model the ‘Golden Circle’. This model is made up of three parts: why, how and what. The logic behind it suggests that, by starting with your why - your purpose - ensures greater investment in your how and what.

Though the nature of this has been slightly adapted, the heart remains. Alongside the leaders in our community, we have investigated two of the “golden circles” three components: why and what. Our intent is to now discover ‘how’ we can help both staff and students to improve their wellbeing, to flourish. Over the coming weeks, there will be a series of posts unpacking this final part. While pondering and planning the content within this series, an analogy began to emerge: currencies. Defined as a system of exchange, currency highlights the desired outcome of ‘how’, namely, the exchange of action for wellbeing.  With that in mind, let us begin.

Currency #1: Speak their Language

A common thread within wellbeing is relationships - those who we are involved with, support and are connected to. It’s not difficult to pinpoint people in your life, with whom you relate, that have positively influenced your wellbeing. Given the pivotal nature of people in our success and development, it makes sense to know them well and relate to them in a manner that helps us all to flourish. One way to achieve this is to speak their language. To help us explore the languages in which we speak, it is important to understand who a person is, which we will explore through the lens of ‘personalities’.

There are several prominent ‘personality frameworks’ which exist in our world.  Giving clarity to the complexity of human qualities, personality frameworks help to classify and quantify who we are. Understanding not only who you are, but who those around you are, provides you with the tools to effectively communicate, encourage and support them. Though I believe that a framework cannot capture the entirety of someone - as we are beautifully nuanced in our only-ness - I believe that it offers a common language to start a conversation around what we need to “be well”., to flourish

Though there are many frames we could choose from, today we will be exploring the work of Allison Mooney, a renowned speaker and personality expert. There are four personalities in Mooney’s framework: playful, peaceful, powerful, and precise. The motivations, strengths and needs differ between these personalities. Here is a brief peek into these profiles:

Playfuls - driven by their desire to have fun, these enthusiastic, funny and loud types thrive on socialisation, conversation and connection. With a gracious streak, playfuls enjoy the moment they’re in. To see them flourish, playfuls often need “attention, affection and approval”.

Powerfuls - naturally assertive, these decisive types find deep satisfaction in what they’ve accomplished and created. Often characterised by their strength and efficiency, they tirelessly work to achieve their goals as quickly as humanly possible. To see them flourish, powerfuls often need “credit, loyalty and appreciation”.

Precise - diligence and accuracy are the fruits of labour for these structured, ordered and organised types. Taking pride in the procedure or routines they’ve enacted with a self-sacrificial nature often places their work ahead of play until the job is completed to their standards. To see them flourish, precise types need “space, silence and sensitivity”.

Peacefuls - driven by their namesake, these patient, steady and forgiving types thrive on diplomacy and avoid conflict where possible. With natural inner strength and relatability to those around them, they find themselves easily fostering teamwork. To see them flourish, peacefuls often need “respect, value and harmony”.

Given the complexity of humans, people will rarely find themselves solely in one category. There will be qualities that each of us possesses which span the four profiles above, however, there will be one to two dominant types. Allison Mooney’s book “pressing the right buttons” provides a template that can be used to highlight one’s profile, however, most could place themselves somewhere within these four categories.

Even though similarities connect these different profiles, each of them, better yet each of us, operate and communicate in a unique way. Each of us flourishes in a unique way. Knowing the needs of these types, take a moment to examine the way you’ve been communicating with others and the way others have been communicating with you. Are you speaking the same language?

Henry Ford said that “coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is a success”. We’re all in this together and the nature of our career won’t let us escape our togetherness. But together, in and of itself won’t always suffice, especially if what we need to flourish isn’t being offered or communicated. So as we move forward, taking responsibility for this knowledge, let us revisit this question and attempt to make the answer a resounding yes - are you speaking the same language; their language?

The Currency of Wellbeing

Since the conception of Auckland Central’s ‘Community of School’, we’ve worked towards several initiatives with the intent of developing our community and improving outcomes for our learners. Given the progressive nature of education, the principals and leadership involved have fought to ensure our initiative focuses are not only relevant but innovative and at the fore of education. Halfway through twenty-eighteen, the principals of our twelve schools met and heard about some of the work Remuera Intermediate had been doing with the Resilience Institute, an organisation who provides high-quality training around resilience. The discussion which followed was a catalyst in forming the newest addition to our initiative’s roster; wellbeing.

Though wellbeing is as wide as it is deep and a single definition could not capture its entirety, it can be thought of as the state of being comfortable, healthy and happy; three states which influence an individuals capacity to thrive. The influence wellbeing holds directly for an individual and indirectly for an organisation, makes it a high priority for those who contribute to it which is certainly true for me. As one of the Wellbeing Agency initiative leaders, my role this year is to work alongside in-school leaders and staff members to support the various facets of staff and student wellbeing by investing in practices and ensuring that the experiences, voices, and visions of those involved are realised. In order to do this effectively, I am developing my understanding of what ‘wellbeing’ means and wished to share some thoughts around this.

As relevant as ‘understanding wellbeing’ is, it’s worth noting that most of us are aware of its importance. Why? Looking within ourselves and at those close to us, it’s easy to see that when we feel healthy and happy, this naturally influences our ability to work effectively and positively impact those around us, including our students. Wellbeing is perhaps the fastest growing, most pertinent factor to consider when improving our workplace. With this in mind, let us delve into what wellbeing is.

New Zealand’s Teaching Council conducted an interview with Professor Meihana Durie and psychologist, Jacqui Maguire, to “discuss and give advice on the importance of teachers taking care of themselves and each other, and keeping emotional intelligence in check”. Offering a Māori perspective on the matter, Durie suggests we view it through the lens of mana and mauri, a form of ‘vitality’. Placing this frame over the picture of wellbeing, Durie states that your vitality can be in a place of flourishing or languishing. This frame resonated within me. It moved from a balancing beam to a continuum and with it, offered a greater opportunity for teachers to fight for their wellbeing.

This fit within another conversation that I had recently with a doctorate student who is investigating the role of physical education in today’s society. Though we primarily discussed the physical aspect of wellness, his ideas translate into every area of wellbeing. Identifying the main difference between exercise and nutrition, he says is the accumulation or the lack thereof. Essentially, there are certain facets of both which accumulate and there are some that don’t. Wellbeing in its entirety is not a stagnant and lifeless form; it’s consistently being given to and taken from. Balancing this giving and taking could be likened to a bank account in the sense that certain activities or practices build our wellbeing, they accumulate. However, there are moments or interactions which withdraw from the same account, that impact our accumulation of health and happiness. For me, this thought surmises the role we play in contributing to our wellbeing, to ensure we’re flourishing.

Assessing your ‘wellbeing balance’ or your position on Durie’s continuum of vitality, how are things in this moment? Are you making regular deposits to your ‘wellbeing account’? Are you flourishing? Whether this reading finds you in a moment of lack or profit, I hope it has prompted you to think. Though only questions, not answers, have been given today; throughout this year, we aim to help provide a range of ‘currencies’ for you to explore and we can’t wait to enrich your life.