leadership philosophy &
educational philosophy
Read on to learn about how I lead and view leadership as well as my educational philosophy. You can also download a copy by clicking on the PDF document to the right.
Leadership Philosophy
My leadership philosophy encompasses the 5 most identified elements an effective leader must possess. Each is essential in leading all entrusted to me to the fullest.
relational
I make the decision to be in relationship with everyone I encounter on a regular basis. It requires a surrender to feel empathy for other people. This yields very practical benefits. Engaged employees are more productive and more likely to remain loyal to an organization. By being a relational leader, I empower others. I see the strengths and weaknesses of each member of my team and work to build on their strengths and improve weaknesses. The professional and personal growth of others is important to me as a relational leader. As an ethical leader that values honesty over everything in relationships, I always aim to set a good example. Finally, as a relational leader, I value the process, encouraging reflection and collaboration to be the best version of ourselves.
humor-based
It is important to me to cultivate a working environment in which people feel joyful and at ease. I love any environment in which laughter plays an important role. That’s not to say I don’t take challenges seriously. On the contrary. My team can only thrive if I approach problems with the understanding that they need to be addressed. And, when these challenges present themselves, I find ways to prevent unnecessary stress from creeping in. Leading with a sense of humor and levity always helps. When my team members see that I don’t allow problems to worry me, they’ll also be less worried. Workplace laughter allows anyone to connect, improves communication and, for me, shows that I’m human, too, and not merely looking at the bottom line. Humor also softens the mood in even the tensest of rooms, dissipating tension to move on to productivity. Humor is one of my innate abilities and comes out naturally in everything I do.
co-creator
One way to ensure that I remain strong in my leadership and vision, while also being agile enough to hear and incorporate the ideas of others, is to be a co-creator leader. I enjoy laying out the vision of what I am trying to accomplish and to create consistent exercises for my team to make the vision come to reality by coming to their own conclusions on how to get there along with my guidance. Consistency is key. I have to be sure to act, lead, decide, and work in a consistent and timely fashion. When possible, I love to act in real time, provide real-time feedback, and show how the organizations expectations have been met. As a co-creator leader, it means I can surround myself with an amazing team who makes up for my weaknesses.
solutions-oriented
All leaders encounter challenges. I am almost enthusiastic about them. I don’t focus on the problems. Instead, I see challenges as new opportunities to develop unique solutions. I also understand that being forced to develop new solutions helps me and my team members cultivate new skills that will be applicable down the road. By being solution oriented, it supports leaders by increasing employees’ decision-making and judgment abilities. The process creates a culture of motivation, focusing on what is working and how to continue the progress. As a solution-focused leader, it is easy to develop committees, teams, and leaders into experts in productivity.
positive future vision
I believe in the unlimited potential of every individual. I am optimistic about everyone’s potential and am constantly on the lookout for qualities and traits team members wish to cultivate in themselves and others. Leading with an optimistic and positive vision of the future improves chances of leading a successful team. Focusing on everyone’s innate potential gives more opportunities to leverage the unique talents of employees. I believe that not only myself but everyone around me has the ability to succeed.
I use a mix of these in every situation I encounter because no situation or person is the same.
Educational Philosophy
My educational philosophy is a composition of my many years of teaching, training, and learning. Being on all sides has given me a well-rounded approach to education.
all can learn
I believe that all students can learn no matter what the age, grade, level, or subject. It takes positivity, relationships, trust, knowledge, and a bit of humor to achieve, but it is achievable none-the-less.
safe learning environments
Learning environments should be creative and positive so that it helps students feel safe enough to take risks and express themselves. Learning never occurs in negative, cold, or bland spaces.
growth mindset
Having a growth mindset is one of the keys to being open to new ideas and concepts outside one’s scope of knowledge. Using this in education means that not every student is the same so sometimes you have to learn new ways of teaching to get learning to occur.
whole student teaching
Everyone on the education team plays an essential role in helping students reach their full potential. Educators must consistently keep students healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged, and ready to learn.
professional growth
Students cannot be whole unless educators are whole. In the ever-changing world of new information, ways to teach, and technology, teachers must continue to participate in professional development AND work to implement what they learn into their classrooms.
we can't do it alone
Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) are fundamental to the success of teachers. Educators need to be supported and feel supported. Together, sharing ideas and brainstorming solutions in our common environments, we all can do better together than just on our own.
physical knowledge
This isn’t about what we know in our brains about education, it’s about knowing how the body works when learning. All educators should know how the brain reacts to new information and what it needs to retain it. All learners need oxygen and glucose to the brain to save new information. We need to get students up and moving to get them the glucose and oxygen they need to learn.
i'm not always the best teacher
Sometimes, students can teach each other better than I can. As educators, that means we need to get students working with each other more. Students can work together to retell each other what the teacher is working to get them to learn. This is a great tool to use to make sure that all students are involved in the learning process.
engagement is key
If educators can’t get engagement to happen, it’s most likely they aren’t going to get learning to occur either. I believe in structuring for engagement in a cooperative way in every single lesson. By doing this, the daydreamers, doodlers, introverts, low achievers, and even non-speakers (lessons are taught in a different language) are required to be a part of the lesson. They are now responsible for their learning, retaining the content, and having fun while doing it!
I use all of these together in every situation I encounter because no situation or person is the same.