What's next?

Professional Masters Educational Leadership

I am the kind of person who likes taking risks, most of the time I get fearful, but I don’t know how I find the way to succeed. Enrolling in an educational leadership course has been one of the greatest adventures I have taken. Believe me! In spite of all the multiple readings and cases I have explored and the practices I have done during this course, I learnt that I will never be a complete leader. In fact nobody can be. Thus, I have decided to display a set of resources that surely will help me to continue growing. Additionally, I would dare to say that leading in education is not very different from leading in any other field. That is why I will talk about leadership in a general way.

 I hope you find these resources as relevant as I did.

1. Sensemaking

1.1 As a leader I have to at least know where I am situated. Reading this article, I discovered that talking with everybody is crucial to understand a problem and map a solution. Also I am sure this will give me tips to find my way to connect with people I lead successfully.

• The price of an incomplete leader by Debora Ancona, Thomas W. Malone, Wanda J. Orlikowski, and Peter M. Senge I understand that there is not an infallible leader who knows everything. Leaders need to leverage different strategies to achieve a goal, every step must be linked to another like a chain. Leaders are not born, they are made according to every circumstance and they have strengths and weaknesses, that is why a leader has to work collaboratively to give and receive help.

1.2 I think  that to continue growing as a leader, I need to be able to understand what is going on around me and make adjustments to keep up with  changes. So I see this article as a relevant source to understand the importance of adaptation.

• The work of leadership.pdf (msu.edu) By Hefetz and Laurie. Identifying the adaptive challenge helps companies to see that doing the same to solve different problems does not work, leaders are encouraged to learn quickly and adapt to everyday situations, people and needs.  

1.3) Sensemaking  for me does not only involve knowing my context but also myself and how I connect with others. This post offers 7 short tips that will help me to sustain lasting success. For that, I need to leverage communication, learn about myself, develop empathy, engage  and collaborate with others, be visionary and organize things based on urgency.

• The seven habits of highly effective people by Franklin Covey. leader s nowaday are not required to be complete because that is not possible since situations tend to change every second; rather they should be equipped with tools that help them cope with situations in collaborations with others. For that, it is recommended to acquire habits that will trace their leadership course.

2. Show who I am

 2.1) I have  become aware of the importance of presence, showing the world who I am and that they can trust me. However, this is something I want to improve since I still feel at the bottom.

• 14 ways to develop a stronger leadership presence. by Forbes Coaches Council. Being  a leader implies acting differently from managers, it means, a leader helps others to succeed, create self-awareness, and have others to trust him/her. True leaders motivate their team to achieve a goal while learning on the job, so his article offers 14 ways to help grow your leadership presence. 

2.2) This text makes me remember a lesson in one of my courses in my master degree in education at Michigan State University and it is Culturally learning responsive or pedagogy. I see learning about these three essential elements as a path for a responsive educator.

• Three essential elements in educational leadership by Linsey Knerl. Educational leadership as any other type of leadership implies people working together toward a common goal, in education leaders should continue learning about the way they lead, be prepared in an ecosystem that lets them practice real world dilemmas, and be aware of the cultural and educational differences. These aspects of educational leadership are achieved by addressing three essential elements: longlife learning, world of experiences and inclusivity.

2.3) Knowing my action logic has been a great outcome since it guides my actions in determined situations, also it will help me understand and make modifications as I move from one within different contexts.

•  Seven Transformations of Leadership by David Rooke and William R. Torbert.  explains what types of things make leaders different, it goes beyond their personality or their management style. It is their action logic what matters–the way they approach changes, and understanding those changes is crucial. Understanding one's action logic will transform one’s capability and companies.

3. Confidence

3.1) When it comes to situations I am just getting familiar with,  being confident is kind of tricky for me. So, I  found some advice that will help me in the following article.

• How to be confident in life: 18 powerful ways | Tony Robbins. Learning confidence will not solve all someone’s problem but will provide guides on how to deal with situations that will somewhat be a little uncomfortable. The first step consisted of willingness and finding strategies that help you to move on. This learning is connected to the self; love, emotional control, growth mindset and many other strategies.

3.2) Great part of my confidence has been built after succeeding at something. Failure has taken me down sometimes, but I have understood that bad experiences are there to help me grow as well. Here are some tips that will help reinforce my confidence.

• 3 tips to boost your confidence by Amy Adkings | TED Talk. Confidence can be both something we are born with or we can build from experiences, being defeated is not an option, it is a matter of try, try, try, and keep trying until you hit the nail on the head.

4. Expressing ideas

4.1) It is easy for me to get lost in the weeds when expressing my ideas, but this is a great video that has provided me with great tips to transmit my ideas.

•  How to have a crucial conversation (Video) by PJ Weiland. Having a conversation with anybody is such an important part in any environment. For that, it is necessary to be aware of what is being said and keep on track on the conversation theme, this video presents different strategies I might use to have a fruitful conversation.

4.2) I know that leadership in the 21st century implies different abilities, such as effective communication. I speak both Spanish and English however I sometimes find it difficult to explain my ideas clearly, so this article provided me with useful tips I can apply especially when communicating in  English.

• Seven way leaders express their opinions without being opinionated by Avery Blank. Expressing ideas is somewhat challenging so Blank gives  leaders, both women and men, thoughtful advice about how to express themselves. Leaders must speak first to set the tone but also led others speak.Wwhen speaking, it is crucial to support ideas with cases to persuasive the reader, be concrete and avoid being authoritarian, in the same way you listen also ask questions but be sure to listen genuinely, and see the person when speaking.

4.3) Learning about educational technology has led me to gain insight for communicating ideas. Also I have  found some information in this article that makes me reflect on the way I convey information. 

• Effective communication: how to convey a message effectively. Educators, vendors, entrepreneurs and everybody must learn effective ways of communication whether they try to convey a message or convince someone to accept something. Flipwet offers techniques that will help you handle better communication, they include being brief, coherence, credibility, complicit among others.

5. Practice leadership skills.

5.1) This reading taught me to differentiate among the work of leaders and managers. I had the notion that the leader was the person in charge of doing everything but not. If I want to be a great leader I have to be visionary and  understand that it is not about me but about us.

• What leaders really do by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L Laurie: Leaders align and motivate people,   and set resources, and are visionary while managers do the work differently; they control,  set local directions and engage with managerial tasks. 

5.2) I think that I have experienced leadership practices from people in my workplace. I have practiced that in physical environments and some times digitally. Now I think it is time to move to other spheres of leadership practices such as digital and see how I keep building my path.

• Efficient leadership in the digital era By Charlene Li. (Video) Here is an idea that contrasts the way executives led in the past and how it is done in the digital era. Just like parents trust their children as they move to adulthood, seemingly companies should empower, trust and make employees confident that they will do the right job. It is not an option to uphold information, it is fine that all stakeholders have access to it. Leading in the digital landscape helps leaders engage with culture of change, practice followership, and make decisions meaningfully.

5.3) I have a strong ability to establish social relationships, this has helped me to connect with others easily. However, I certainly need to find ways to broaden my net, connect with others that do not necessarily share my interest but are somewhat connected to my field. For that I recommend listening to Menon. 

•  How to Improve Your Leadership Skills by Alexandra Yan. There are different leaders with different skills but it is not a secret that they need to keep working on their abilities, it implies the following; be critical, take initiative, step out of your comfort zone, amongst others. Soft skills are essential when leading a team or a company as part of its leader should be a good listener, raise empathy, and understand the people around him/her.

  6. Networks

6.1)  Living in the comfort zone is not an option for me If I want to lead people successfully. I can’t deny that I feel scared about the unknown but that’s what makes it exciting as well. Here is a nice talk that helps me.

• The secret of opportunities: the person you haven’t met yet. By Tania Menon. A good way to build a solid network is by leaving the comfort zone. People who keep doing the same all time will surely stank in the same spot, we need to talk to the person we like and the one we don’t, use different engine searchers, go to a caffe an meet someone new instead inviting someone, then make filters according to immediate need and reach out who is needed. When people are tied to the ones they know and aren't open to choices,  there is a price to pay.

6.2) Professional Networks have been a great way for me to tackle basic activities, especially when working with charitable organizations. I can apply the same strategy in educational technology, it is just a matter of making it stronger because I have to confess that now it is weak. Here is a source that would work for me.

• How to build and maintain a professional network by Dawn Rosenberg. Building a network is important to advance your career, you might construct it with people you know but also with unknown ones. It helps you in many ways; like for example, advising you about a project. A professional network is not a thing you can undust when you need it, you should keep it alive by reaching out to each connection frequently through any means and by any reason.

6.3) In one of my CEP courses I had the opportunity to explore the Professional Learning Network. I used digital media as a way of affinity spaces where I connected with users who shared my interests and I  learned something new; in fact I  learnt how to draw face parts like eyes, ears, mouth. As a teacher, I used PLN to gather information for assignments and teaching practices but I have to confess that I have been more like a passive receiver  than active. 

• Professional Learning Networks Designed for Teacher Learning. By Torrey Trust. This article speaks about what PLN is and how teachers and anybody can leverage social media not only for professional growth but also for hobbies or learning things they have always wanted to learn. It also displays a review of popular PLN, key topics teachers keep discussing things that motivates a learning community to explore and learn.