Can you be a better leader if you bring your work and your life together? The answer is a resounding YES! In his NAIS Annual Conference workshop entitled Leadership Lessons from the Seat of My Bicycle, George Swain of NYSAIS shared the lessons he learned from being an endurance rider and how he weaves his love of riding into his work life and into his leadership style.
In broad strokes, the leadership lessons George learned: Set high goals * Pace Yourself * Sweat the small stuff * Solve problems by not trying to solve them * Delegate * Pursue your passion
In broad strokes, the leadership lessons George learned: Set high goals * Pace Yourself * Sweat the small stuff * Solve problems by not trying to solve them * Delegate * Pursue your passion
However, it's the last goal of "Pursue your Passion" that I want to focus on here.
George asked us to reflect on 3 simple questions:
* What is the thing in your life that you currently do, that's not work?
* What did you used to do that you no longer do, but miss?
* What do you wish to do, that you've put off?"
"If not now, when? We are our biggest enemy. Interrupt the narrative."
In the pair-share I met an educator who'd always wanted to learn to play the guitar. Despite the presentation, she still couldn't seem to see a way to make this happen and talked about how she had kids and just no time, maybe later in life. Needless to say our other partner and I couldn't let that be how she walked out of that room. I shared with her how I have a couple of colleagues, with children, who have learned to play an instrument at this point in their life and made time in the mornings to practice their art prior to going off to teach for the day. With some storytelling and some strong encouragement from us, she seemed a little more willing to consider that she shouldn't put off pursuing this interest any longer. Of course, it is also important for me to turn the mirror on myself and ask, what do I wish to do that I've put off due to a plethora of excuses..... finding time to play volleyball again, learning sign language, learning how to swim, learning to play an instrument (I'd even start with learning to read music), take another dance class (it's been about a decade since the last one).
In the end, George reminded us that you do not have to put your passions on hold just because the job of being an educator is, at times, all consuming. You just need to find a way to bring your whole authentic self into your job, make time for those things in your life that make you you and find ways to bring you passions to work. A good reminder for us all.
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