LEADERSHIP COACHING: TIME FOR A CHANGE?
Over the last few weeks I've spoken to several educators who are thinking about leaving their current position. It is hard to believe, especially since it is August, with schools having already started again or about to start. Personally, it is hard for me to see good people who are struggling. Only a couple mentioned their safety being the primary reason for them contemplating leaving. A couple of them talked about how they didn't feel valued and appreciated while some indicated they no longer felt challenged. Some said they were just ready for a change, exhausted by the events of 2020 and ready for 2021. But it was the ones who mentioned how they are unhappy in their current role that made me sad because I know that schools and we as a profession cannot afford to lose good people. I get that feeling. Many of us have been there and quite frankly, we will be there again. Of course, I am always flattered anytime someone seeks my advice on something that could potentially be a life-changing decision. For those who have held a single job or position for as long as you can remember, I am genuinely happy for you as long as you love what you do and couldn’t envision doing anything else. For these individuals, they are struggling with the very question many of us have contemplated ourselves……Is it time for a change? When I was asked this question by each of these individuals, I responded in the same manner I would respond to those who I support today in my work as a leadership coach. A few of the questions are below:
When you think about leaving, what are the reasons that come to mind?
What type of work makes you the happiest?
Do you ever think about the reason(s) why you feel the way you feel and what is causing it?
How does your family feel about the prospect of you leaving?
What risks do you think there would be by seeking a new position
Are there any internal candidates for the new position you are seeking?
How do you think you would respond if you didn’t get the position?
What do you think your new team would bring to you that your current team doesn’t provide?
How do you feel each day (including weekends) when you walk into work?
Have you accomplished everything you set out to do? If not, why not?
Are you ready to face the type of scrutiny and gossip that sometimes comes with leaving your current job for a new position?
Are you ready to commit the time it will take to make the type of impact your new school community deserves?
Every two weeks I share 1 Reflection, 2 Ideas, and 1 Resource for you to consider that I hope will encourage you to explore new and better practices in your daily work. My aspirations are to support you and others in developing your skills and shifting your thinking so you will invest in your own development and maybe, just maybe I can inspire you to want to live your excellence so you can bring your best self to school every day!
Live your excellence…
Jimmy
TIME FOR A CHANGE?: 121
1 REFLECTION:
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."
-- Steve Jobs
2 IDEAS:
If you are one who is currently struggling with leaving a particular job, school or district, take time to consider these comments, questions and responses I have shared with others over the years. I don’t profess to think that by doing so it will bring anymore clarity to your situation, but hopefully it will cause you to pause and reflect in a manner that brings you peace of mind and helps you avoid the pitfalls I have seen those I care about experience from time and time.
Top 8 Rules of Engagement:
We should never begin “looking” until we have given our boss, principal or superintendent the respect and courtesy she/he deserves by letting her/him know. In my opinion, by not doing so, it reflects poorly on our character and could cause others to question our integrity and lead to issues of mistrust should they hear from someone else that you are looking to leave.
If we are unhappy with our current situation, we should ask ourselves - Have we given our supervisor an opportunity to know how we feel? Inherently by doing so we also give her/him an opportunity to “fix it.” It’s not ours to judge whether or not we think it will do any good. The responsibility is ours to provide the same opportunity that we would want others to give us...a chance to address someone’s concern.
There will come a time when we recognize that someone we work with or for does not have a skill set as high as ours. The question we should ask ourselves is what are we doing to help her/him get better? Great leaders help others around them elevate their own performance and in many cases, they allow others around them to help them get better as well.
Not every boss, principal/superintendent, etc. is going to let us do all of the things we would like to do as a classroom teacher or principal. I often will hear others tell me their supervisor won’t let them do what they want or feel they need to do. My response? You can choose to do nothing, thereby guaranteeing the status quo remains in place or you can do all you can do to surround yourself with others who share the same passion and work together to try and influence change in a positive way regardless of the skill set of the leader. Either way, it’s a choice.
Don’t take a new position if you know it’s not the right time for the sole reason you think it’s the opportunity of a lifetime and you can’t let it pass. Let me say this. I have seen many “once in a lifetime-opportunities” come around again. Stay patient and weigh all the benefits and disadvantages of such a move. Never accept a job in the moment it is offered that is based solely on emotion.
If what is holding you back is you are afraid you will miss your students, guess what? You will! However, you will quickly learn that kids everywhere regardless of race or socioeconomic class, need positive adults in their lives to support, encourage, challenge, inspire and love them. In a child’s world their issues are real regardless of what we believe to be the level of importance in our minds.
Be careful what you wish for. For those who have never worked in another school or district it can be easy to perceive that things will be so much better somewhere else. This calls for a period of reflection, but maybe not in the way you think I am suggesting. What I mean is that we should always reflect on our own attitudes and behaviors and try to determine what role we play in our own dissatisfaction of our current situation.
Always reach out to others to help you gain a broader perspective in terms of motivation and fears. In my opinion, we all have them. It’s okay to admit you do.
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Sometimes professionally it feels right, but personally something seems amiss and other times vice versa. If a new challenge is what you desire, I would argue for that for many of us, those challenges already exist in our current roles. No, better yet, those challenges exist for all of us. A colleague once shared with me that our working lives should be more like running a marathon than a sprint. Not only do I agree with him, but what I have learned over the years is that success is in the journey regardless of where it takes us. If you are wondering, “Is it time for a change?” and “What will happen if it doesn’t work out?” I would argue that there really is no risk for those who have a high skill set because if things don’t turn out the way you hoped, you will still have other options because of that skill set. If you are contemplating leaving because you believe you may have found the perfect fit, remember that for some, they have the ability to turn their new environment into a perfect fit because the best people know how to “fit in” no matter where they go. Is it time for a change? It is if it no longer feels right or you are not happy. Trust me. You will know it when the time comes. Either way, it’s our choice in how we navigate our current circumstances that ultimately will determine how our journey ends or for that matter, begins anew.
Just be sure to let your boss know how you are feeling. They deserve to hear it from you first.
1 RESOURCE