A bunch of artifacts, but no reflections attached to them...until I participated in Part 2 of the Leadership development course in my school board. During this course, emphasis was placed on creating/revisiting/re-imagining a portfolio connected to our leadership journey. We were provided with ideas and emphasis was placed on engaging with an idea in a way that worked for each individual. That is when I decided to ditch the binder of artifacts and create what I have here today:
A blog where I reflect on leadership opportunities/experiences as they connect to the Catholic Leadership Framework and the goals of my school board.
My participation in leading school/board/provincial initiatives is great and I can list all kinds of things I have done and been part of BUT thinking about what I learned from those experiences and how they help my leadership journey are the gold nuggets for me.
Let me provide an example of how I reflect on what I have done and how I learn more about my leadership style, capacity, and continued growth.
Artifact of Leadership
After I completed the Part 2 leadership course, I was invited back to speak to Part 2 participants about my Leadership Portfolio - my blog and why I decided to use this format to track my leadership journey. The presentation I provided to the participants is a leadership artifact for me. I was invited to speak to a group of people about something I was doing - a great example of me stepping up to try something new, scaffold the process for others, to lead them to try something new, and a way to gain confidence in my leadership ability/skills.
Connection to my Board's Goals and the Catholic Leadership Framework
For me, it was pretty awesome to be invited to speak to participants of the Leadership course about my portfolio. Someone thought it would be great for me to do this and I did it!! I could now list this experience as an artifact of me "leading". Well, so what?
"Leadership is the exercise of influence on organizational members and diverse stakeholders toward the identification and achievement of the organization’s vision and goals." - this is listed at the top of the Catholic Leadership Framework document.
This is the part of my process where I reflect on what I did and how I was able to positively influence my colleagues towards my board's goals with respect to leadership development. Speaking to the course participants about my portfolio choice, my process, and the benefits to my leadership and learning provided them with "real life" application and one more option for them to consider as they journey toward leadership. My presentation to the participants of the course aligned with the goals of the district with respect to their leadership development strategy and provided me with an opportunity lead.
I will get to my learning after I make a connection to the Catholic Leadership Framework.
With respect to the Leadership Framework, I could make a number of connections but for the purposes of this blog post, I am going to focus on the 'Building Relationships and Developing People' pillar.
When I look at the leadership indicators under the 'building relationships' pillar, my presentation connects with the following:
- encourage staff to reflect on what they are trying to achieve and how they are doing it
- lead discussion about the merits of current and alternative practices
- facilitate an opportunity for staff to learn from each other
- suggest new ideas for learning
- encourage staff to develop and review their own goals for professional growth and the relationship of those goals to board goals and priorities
- encourage staff to try new practices that are consistent with both their interests and board goals
- demonstrate the importance of continuous learning through visible engagement in my own professional learning
- exemplify, through my actions, the board’s core values and its desired practices
For me, making connections to the Framework provides an awareness of how my experiences align with the what is expected from Catholic leaders in Ontario. As I make connections to the Framework I also become more familiar with the indicators so I can consider incorporating them in the work that I do.
The Learning
I've identified a leadership activity that I lead/engaged in and reflected on how it connects to Board goals and the Catholic Leadership Framework. So, what have I learned from reflecting on my experience??
- I can present my work to others and the more I do, the greater my confidence to speak to groups will grow. This is important for me because I believe it is an important skill as I work on positively influencing the people I work with to do great work.
- Leaders in my school board value my work and believe others can benefit from it. The relationships I establish with people in my district are important for my learning and hopefully for their learning as well.
- I am in alignment with my Board's goals and the indicators listed in the Catholic Leadership Framework. It is important for me to innovate and take risks by trying new things but it is also important that I am working towards a collective goal to improve staff and student achievement.
- I have things to work on. I need to continue to engage in leadership activities, reflect on what I did well and what I need to improve on. I speak about my lived experience but how can I improve on my communication skills to better deliver my message??
This is it, folks. This blog is how I process my leadership experiences. It's all about reflecting, connecting, and learning. The artifacts are just a small part for me. I mean, it is important to refer to the ACTIVITIES I engage in to demonstrate that I am putting in the work BUT the real work for me involves the REFLECTION on the ACTIVITIES and the LEARNING that comes from them.
Do you have a leadership portfolio? How are you learning more about you as a leader? I'd love to hear from you about your process!
