God is in control, not you. For some, that sounds terrifying – to not be in control. But this is actually freeing. Even when you make a misstep, God is still in control, and your misstep doesn’t get to define you or your future.
Today, I invite you to write about the missteps you’ve let define you and what a future looks like when those missteps are no longer in control.
What personal characteristics do you need to display to be a person who makes people want to up their game?
Write about those characteristics and how you’re already embodying them. You already are a person who makes people want to up their game. This exercise is just trying to help you see that for yourself.
I don’t mean educators should beg for life coaching from their institutions.
I mean educators should have life coaching as part of their contracts. As a benefit of employment. As an option of services they can use for their own personal growth and well-being.
And I mean all educators – teachers, administrators, staff – anyone who bears some responsibility for educating learners is an educator.
Education leaders (because every educator is a leader) at every level, pk teachers to university presidents, are burned out. Educating the nation under normal circumstances is herculean. Doing so during a pandemic becomes nearly impossible. Most districts and institutions offer a variety of development opportunities for educators. These opportunities largely provide training on how to develop protocols and pedagogies, but focus less on how to see students as people or how to develop personally. Many education leaders feel they must spend their time managing processes and meeting mandates more than developing people and themselves, which leaves them discouraged. These feelings lead to burnout and a vicious cycle of throwing solutions at the wrong problems.
According to the Institute of Coaching (n.d.), the benefits of coaching in organizations include the following: increased employee engagement and performance, development of personal responsibility, and demonstrated organizational commitment to employee growth. Van Oosten (2013) adds that coaching “amplifies leader work engagement and career satisfaction,” (Conclusions) honing in, specifically, on the benefit coaching relationships have for leaders. Furthermore, the occurrence of a coaching ripple effect explains that people connected to leaders who receive coaching also experience “positive increases in wellbeing” (O’Connor & Cavanagh, 2014). Coaching provides benefits for both the educators receiving coaching and the people who interact with them, like students, colleagues, family members, and beyond.
Educators understand the benefit in coaching. We coach our students all the time. We even coach each other.
I am.
Are you an educator seeking to do the following?
If that sounds like you, then, sign up for a complimentary 1:1 session with me to see what coaching is all about.
And talk with your colleagues, institutions, and districts about coaching. I offer coaching to individuals, but my goal is to offer coaching through institutions, so every educator can access the coaching they deserve.
Phew!
The school year is over for many of us educators, and it was a rough one. I’m just wondering how you’re doing.
I normally only ask you to do one thing per post, but today I’m asking you to do three things.
Thing 1: Follow THIS LINK to respond to a survey I created to learn more about how educators are doing, what’s going well, what isn’t, and what you want for the future of education.
Thing 2: Post a comment to share how you’re doing. Doing so will help you process your own state, help others feel seen, and provide encouragement. We all could use a bit of all of those things right about now.
Thing 3: Take some time for yourself. You deserve it.
Today’s journaling prompt follows.
What adventure do you want to go on this week? What character traits do you need to exhibit to make the most of your adventure?
Please feel free to share your adventures in the comments!
Today, your journaling prompt is to write down 20 (yes, 20!) positive things about yourself.
Post your 3 favorites in the comments section.
Today’s journaling prompt is to write down all of the rooms you want to be in and what impact you’ll make once you’re in them.
As LELA House’s coach and mentor, I am humbled by my calling to lead LELA House community members toward becoming who God created them to be, and I take the responsibility seriously. I thought I’d share with you some of my leadership philosophy, so you can understand who I am as we partner together.
Leaders are learners. Effective leaders seek ways to expand their knowledge and improve themselves. They recognize both what they know and what they don’t; then they stretch themselves to find new levels of mastery and productive methods to fill the gaps. Leaders recognize everyone has something to teach, including the people they serve; and everyone has something to learn, including themselves. They see every situation as an opportunity to learn.
Leaders are servants. Effective leaders listen, learn, and encourage. They learn who their community members are as individuals and a collective, how they operate, what they want in all areas of life; and then they strive to empower people to become all they want to become. Leaders accept people for who they are but work to help them become who they have the potential to be. Leaders build up, rather than tear down.
Leaders are visionaries. Effective leaders see beyond what is in front of them to potential and possibility. They recognize strengths and weaknesses, starting with their own, and create opportunities for people to operate in their strengths, pairing up people with varying strengths, so that the whole can be stronger than the individuals. Leaders understand the path forward is not always clear and see mistakes and failures as opportunities to learn and grow.
Leaders are trustworthy. Effective leaders recognize that people will not follow anyone they do not trust. Leaders must be genuine and let their community members see them and know them. People will follow someone who is real and flawed before they will follow someone who wears a façade of perfection. Leaders have difficult conversations, and they own their decisions, doing what is right, not necessarily what is popular.
Leaders are flexible. Effective leaders understand how to work from any position – from the front, from behind, from alongside – because different situations and different individuals require various types of leadership. Leaders can course correct mid-path to meet the demands of varied situations.
Leaders are humble. Effective leaders realize they do not have all of the answers and that they shouldn’t have all of the answers. Community members that are engaged, challenged, and growing push their creativity and their impact further. Leaders understand how to follow. They are collaborators, not dictators.
If my philosophy resonates with you, click to learn how we can work together to help you discover your unique design, become critically engaged, and transform your community.
When you are in God’s will and moving according to His plan, your success is inevitable. Success may not look like what you envisioned, and it may not come as soon as you would like. But know success is on its way.
Today, write about how you would live your life if you believed your success was inevitable. Then go and do thou likewise. 🙂
What are you working on right now that doesn’t seem to make sense but also seems aligned with what God has whispered to your heart?
Write about that today. Include one step you can take to make forward progress and one thing you can do to encourage yourself.
You’ve got this!