What's your WHY?
Friday 3 January 2020
As school leaders we must articulate our WHY.
The beginning of a new chronological year (for those who follow the Julian calendar) is a good time to review why we are doing what we are doing, and what we wish to achieve in the coming year (our new years' resolutions).
In his book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Simon Sinek talks about how successful individuals and organizations communicate. Instead of explaining what they do, they start with why they do it: what is our purpose? What drives us?
In this website I have written a number of pages (each of which are intended to be used as in-school mini-workshops with senior and middle leaders) which you may find helpful in articulating your why.
Passionate Leadership What, as a leader, are you passionate about? What drives you to get up in the morning and make a difference every day of your life as a leader? Is it a belief that every child can learn and will learn, or is it a concern for social justice and the optimism that we as leaders can make a difference to children's life chances? What is it that makes you so passionate about your role that you inspire all you come into contact with: staff, pupils and parents? Passion for a cause makes you a more impactful leader.
What's my big idea? The best leaders have a clear and compelling idea of how they are going to make a difference. They create a future that is different and better. You need a compelling idea of the future for four reasons: to set your agenda and take control of the direction your organisation is going in | to create a sense of priorities: what you will and will not do | to give hope and purpose - setting the direction for the team | to demonstrate that you are making a difference. So: What's your big idea? How are you going to make a difference? How do you communicate it?
Communicating my big idea Once you have your 'big idea' that answers the question 'where' your school organization is headed it is important to communicate it clearly to all. Why not use a schema used by journalists: What? What are you trying to achieve? How will things look different if you are successful? Why? Why is it important that you make this change? What problems are you trying to solve? When? When do you aim to achieve your 'big idea'?How will you measure success along the journey? Who? Who needs to help you in achieving your big idea? Who should be on the team? How? What are the risks you need to manage?
Happy New Year What are your big governing ideas - your Guiding Statements? Mission = Who are we? Vision = Where are we going? Culture = How do we do things?
In her blog, Catlin Tucker, provides the following reflective exercise which teachers can use to think about their passion and job
- Start with WHY you teach: What is it about your job that excites you? | What drives you to work with students? | Ultimately, what are you trying to achieve?
- HOW do you do what you do? How are you attempting to achieve your why? | What strategies do you use to manifest your why? | What do you do each day to stay focused on your why?
- WHAT do you do? When people ask you what you do, what do you say? | What are your various roles?
"This exercise is harder than it sounds. We all know on an unconscious level what excites, motivates, and drives us, but putting that into words is tough. Several months ago, I sketched out my own golden circle with my why in the middle, my hows in the center ring, and my whats in the outer circle. When I feel frustrated or disillusioned, I revisit my why. It reminds me why I am in education. It is grounding and inspiring."