My Journey as an Educator Food Story

Alright Hoosier Academies Focused Leader Academy members—you inspired me! I have read all four of Dr. Ernest’s blog posts about your amazing experiences during your most recent Focused Leader Academy meeting. For anyone reading this post, not involved in Focused Leader Academy, let me tell you a little bit about this wonderful group!

The Focused Leader Academy (FLA) is an employee development and engagement program. The idea is that great minds and great motives still matter. Teachers with school leadership aspirations have the opportunity to become part of a cohort which will take part in monthly leadership training and be part of supervised leadership projects of the school. This link includes additional information: http://tinyurl.com/zos3jp6

These amazing educators, not only meet on Saturdays, work on outside projects to better our school, but they also do all of this while working with a caseload of students.  You are all AMAZING! I have to give an extra shout out to the Interventionist Team members that I work directly with that participate in the Focused Leader Academy; Brenda Culbertson, Kristen Bauer, Lisa Schneider, and Kris Phillips. I proud to say that by the end of this year, out of the ten members of the Interventionist Team, seven of the members will have gone through the Focused Leader Academy program! The skills that they have acquired through this program have contributed immensely to our team! I always look forward to hearing about Focused Leader Academy meetings and projects from my office mate, Jena Davis and the other Interventionist team members!

Dr. Ernest wrote a series of four blog posts that explain the amazing, recent experiences of the Focused Leader Academy group. You can read each of the blog posts by clicking on the links below:

Feeding Leadership

Leadership Breakfast Story

Telling Your Leadership Story

Leadership Story Reflections

The most recent Focused Leader Academy meeting focused on telling a story through food. This led into further conversations about each Focused Leader Academy member telling a story through food about their leadership journey.  As I mentioned above, after reading these blog posts, I began reflecting and thinking about my journey as an educator thus far and how I could tell my story through using food. Here goes nothing!

I am going to describe a meal that represents my journey up to this current point in time as an educator. My first item to describe my journey as an educator would be bread and oil. The oil would have some spices in it to add flavor! The reason that I would choose bread and oil to represent my journey as an educator is because bread is a staple of many meals. The bread is representative of my teacher preparation courses in college. As educators, we all have our basic foundations as an educator rooted in the courses that we took in college to prepare us for teaching. I chose oil with some spices to represent passion! I know that when I became an educator, I had a great deal of passion and enthusiasm. I truly feel that I still have that same passion and enthusiasm today.

The next item that I would include in my meal that represents my journey as an educator would be a grilled cheeseburger. I know this item seems a little different, but stick with me and I’ll explain! When I think of a grilled cheeseburger, I think of tailgating at football games. I grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, home of the University of Iowa. I LOVE where I grew up and have many great memories! We don’t have professional sports teams in Iowa, so if you’re from Iowa City, you’re a HUGE Iowa Hawkeye fan! I went to many Hawkeye sporting events growing up and I loved it! To this day, even though I’ve almost lived longer in Indiana than I lived in Iowa, I am still a Hawkeye fan. My husband has done his best to convert me to a Hoosier fan, but whenever the Hoosiers play the Hawkeyes, we are a house divided! Now, you may be asking, “How does this relate to creating a food story about my journey as an educator?” Let me answer that now! When I think of a grilled cheeseburger, I think of tailgating at a football game. When you’re tailgating, everyone is having a good time, eating food, talking with one another, and getting ready to root for the team. Tailgating to me represents having fun, talking with different people, and just an overall positive energy. When I think about my journey as an educator, I think about my core values. I value communication, relationships, teamwork, and hard work. I think about my core values in relation to tailgating and a sporting event in general. I have stood by these core values and applied them throughout my journey as an educator.

Another item as part of a meal to describe my journey as an educator would be a chocolate lava cake. Just visualize that in your head right now—delectable chocolate sauce pouring out of chocolate cake. Double the chocolate—yummy! I choose this dessert to represent my journey as an educator because with a chocolate lava cake, on the outside you think it’s just cake. Then, when you use your spoon or fork to take a bite, the chocolate sauce in there is an added bonus! I have been pushed and challenged in my current position. I’m doing things that I didn’t know I had in me. I have learned a great deal about myself and have continued to build confidence over the years. Just like the lava cake, I knew I would have a “sweet” journey as educator, but I didn’t anticipate being in the role that I am currently in right now. My role right now is represented by the surprise in the middle of the chocolate lava cake.

The beverage that would be served with this meal would be a Diet Coke. First and foremost, this drink has caffeine in it, and when you get involved in the field of education, you’re going to need caffeine! The other reason that I chose Diet Coke was for all of the bubbles in Diet Coke due to being a carbonated beverage. Each one of those bubbles is representative of the people that I have come across in my journey as an educator. I truly believe that each person I come in contact with in my journey as an educator are people that I can learn from (good and bad)! I am constantly learning something new each and every day and that is what makes being an educator so exciting.

What foods would you use to tell the story of your  journey?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hoosier Staff Members Inspire!

Recently, Hoosier qualified and applied for School Improvement Grant funds from the Indiana Department of Education. A portion of the funds are being used to provide stipends for School Improvement Team members. In order to be a part of the School Improvement Team, interested staff filled out an application. On the application staff filled out general information and responded to the following questions: 1. Why do you want to be a member of the School Improvement Team? 2. What technical/leadership skills would you bring to the team? There are seven spots that are open on the School Improvement Team and 22 staff members applied to be a part of this team! As I read through the responses to the questions that are listed above, I am truly encouraged and inspired by the responses!  Being a “Priority School” is tough stuff to say the least, but it is truly inspiring to read through these responses and feel how passionate staff members are about our school and how much they want Hoosier to be successful! These responses in the School Improvement Team application are a testament to first of all, the dedicated staff at Hoosier and secondly, to the positive culture that is being built. Dr. Ernest has been invaluable in paving the way and working to build a positive culture at Hoosier! Dr. Ernest has invested time in building leaders from within our school and has encouraged teachers to get involved in order to contribute to the success of Hoosier. As indicated by the responses on the application,  Hoosier staff want to be a part of the decision-making process. Hoosier staff want our school to be successful. Hoosier staff want to contribute to creating a positive school culture. Hoosier staff believe in what we’re doing. Hoosier staff believe that we can be successful and thrive. I know that whenever I need some inspiration, I will look back at the responses on this application!

Included below are just a few excerpts from the School Improvement Team application that I wanted to share.

“First and foremost, I want to be a member of the School Improvement Team because I truly believe in our program and the ability we possess to reach families in need of a quality education that also fits their personal lifestyle.”

“I have been with Hoosier for 5 years. This is more than just a job for me. I really care about Hoosier and want to see it succeed.”

“I would like to be a member of the School Improvement Team to assist Hoosier Academy in reaching its highest potential.”

“I want to be a member of the school improvement team because I want to help the leaders of Hoosier Academy move forward into a new era of learning and teaching.”

“We have worked hard to build a solid program for students and while it is not perfected yet, we’ve come such a long way. I would be honored to take part it creating our plan to continue to improve and serve the needs of our students.”

“I believe in the Mission and Vision of Hoosier Academy to put students first. The School Improvement Team would be a great opportunity to build upon these beliefs and allow our school to grow together as a team to achieve our goals. I want this school to be a place that students love to attend virtually or in-person; as well as allowing them to graduate from Hoosier Academy and continue to further their education.

How the World Sees You (Part 3: Your Anthem: The Tagline for Your Personality)

In Part 3 of How the World Sees You, Sally Hogshead takes you through the process of creating your own Anthem.

“Successful brands distinguish themselves from the competition, often with only a mere sliver of a competitive difference. Similarly, we will distill your personality’s key defining qualities into just a few words, summarizing your key benefits.”

I created my anthem by utilizing the following steps:

1. Pick one adjective (how you are different)
2. Pick one noun (what you do best)
3. Bring the words together to create your anthem.

After creating my Anthem, I put it through these tests.

1. “If you need someone who delivers (fill in your Anthem), I can help.”
2. “Even when things get tough, I promise to give (fill in your Anthem).”
3. “If you’re like me, you want someone to can give (fill in your Anthem).”

My Anthem: Levelheaded tenacity

I chose the words for my Anthem very carefully. I took the key traits from my Primary and Secondary Advantages (Trust and Prestige) in order to compose my Anthem.

 

 

My Anthem encompasses who I am and how I add value!

As I finish reading the book How the World Sees You, I look back at my goals and think about why our Head of Schools specifically chose this book for me. At the conclusion of this book, I feel that I have a different perspective about how I communicate and how I add distinct value. I have struggled with confidence throughout my journey as an educator and I feel that this book has helped me to look at who I am, what sets me apart from others and, how I want people to see me.  I have a better understanding of how others perceive me based on the patterns of signals and cues that I use to communicate. After learning more about my Advantages and how I am most fascinating to others, I need to put myself in situations that allow me to utilize my Advantages in order to contribute to the success of our team. Before reading this book, I felt I had good understanding of who I am and how I contribute to a team, but I feel that I can be more confident in who I am and communicate in ways that will fascinate. I am on the path to becoming more of who I am!

“Struggling to improve your areas of averageness can only take you so far–and it can cost you years of wasted effort and opportunity…Instead of trying to “fix” the parts of yourself that are a commodity, you can achieve more by just feeding that tiny but extraordinary streak.  Don’t change who you are, become more of who you are.”

In Appendix D of How the World Sees You, twelve inspirations from the book are included. These inspirations are the perfect end to the book! Reflect on these inspirations and share them with others, I know I plan on doing just that!

Inspirations:

12. The greatest value you can add is to become more of yourself.
On some level, we all have a fear of being fascinating. When you rise above the fear, you rise above the fray.

11. You won’t make a difference being quiet or loud. You make a difference by being heard.
No matter what your natural communication style, you must learn how it’s being perceived by others. In order to communicate, you must learn how you communicate.

10. To be more successful, don’t change who you are. Become more of it.
When you live according to your own highest value, you become your most fascinating—and most valuable.

9. Stand out, or don’t bother.
Understand how the world sees you, and you will discover your most valuable differences. Leverage these differences to avoid commoditization.

8. Clients don’t hire you because you’re balanced. They hire you because you’re extraordinary in some way.
You can either be balanced vanilla, or extraordinary pistachio.

7. You’ll never rise to the top by being all things to all people.
If you can’t improve someone’s perception of you, or at the very least maintain it, then reconsider whether you should be engaging them in the first place. Stop exhausting yourself trying to be all things to all people.

6. 100% yourself is greater than 100% perfect.
The more you can amplify your natural Advantages, the more likely you are to be heard and remembered.

5. You don’t learn to be fascinating. You unlearn boring.
Being yourself is not a struggle. In fact, it makes you more relaxed and at ease.

4. You don’t have to find the light. You are the light.
On the day you were born, you already knew how to fascinate. Fascination is an instinctive form of connection.

3. Your personality is the greatest differentiator you have.
People can copy your product, your pricing, your actions, your recipe or program or formula. But they can never replicate who you are.

2. The way to empower someone is to show them their value.
Once someone understands how they naturally add value, they blossom. They become more confident, more persuasive, and more influential.

1. The world is not changed by people who sort of care.
Sort of caring will get you run over by someone who actually does care. Sort of caring is the on-ramp to obsolescence– a road that starts comfortably enough, but soon leads to the lonesomeness of obscurity. The world is changed by people who passionately, relentlessly care– sometimes, unreasonably so.

 

How the World Sees You (Part 2: The Fascination Advantage System)

Part 2 of How the World Sees You focuses on the seven Fascination Advantages and how each of these Advantages has a distinct way of adding value. Once you know your advantages, you can see why you thrive in certain roles, but not in others; you can understand why you find yourself at ease in certain group situations, while struggling to add value to others. In Part 1 of the book I learned about the importance of understanding how you add value in order to build confidence, which is an area that I expressed as an area in need of additional support. In Part 2 of the book I learned more about my specific Advantages and how I contribute to a team. I feel it’s important to note that there is not one Advantage that’s better than another. All seven Advantages are a part of our personalities and we can use any of the seven Advantages depending on the situation. Our primary and secondary Advantages indicate who we are at our best and how we communicate the most effortlessly. As I was reading about my primary and secondary Advantages, I truly felt that the descriptors of these Advantages portray who I am and how I can add value. The quote below resonated with me and brings to light the importance of knowing our Advantages and what sets us apart.

“In a distracted competitive, and commoditized world, people don’t have time to read a long resume, or sit through a lengthy pitch. The want you to cut to the chase. Give them the bottom line. Tell them how you are going to add value, right from the start. Make it easy for them to understand.”

My primary Advantage is Trust and my secondary Advantage is Prestige. My personality Archetype is composed of the top two Advantages that I am most likely to use in my communication. I am “The Diplomat.”

Archetype = Primary Advantage + Secondary Advantage

The Diplomat’s Top 5 Adjectives

1. Levelheaded
2. Subtle
3. Capable
4. Impeccable
5. Prudent

As I read through Part 2 of the book I learned about my archetype,”The Diplomat”, how the world sees “The Diplomat”, what other archetypes can optimize “The Diplomat”, and how others work with “The Diplomat.” After reading Part 2 I am beginning to think about the various languages of Fascination and what “languages” others use to communicate. I even had my husband take the Fascination Advantage Assessment and we had a great conversation about our Advantages. My husband was excited to share this with others at his workplace!

Below is a great image that summarizes each of the Advantages!

“Understanding your co-workers and employees will allow you to predict how they are most likely to interpret and apply your communication.”

Part 2 of the book also discusses “Double Trouble” and what it means when you start using one Advantage to an exaggerated degree.

“When you rely too much on one Advantage, your personality becomes one-dimensional, and rather than fascinate others, you can potentially turn them off.”

There are pitfalls to every Advantage. In “Double Trouble” mode, your normal range of communication disappears, and you start using one Advantage to an exaggerated degree. For example, my primary Advantage is trust. Trust can become overly predictable, or even locked in a rut. In this situation, a Trust personality becomes “The Old Guard” (Trust + Trust). It’s important to be aware of these blind spots because they can build negative impressions.

Takeaways from Part 2

• I have an understanding of each of the seven Advantages and how understanding my primary and secondary Advantages will help to build my confidence and help me to understand how I add value.
• I have an understanding of how different Advantages add value to a team. When interviewing candidates to be apart of our team I need to think about what our team needs. A piece of Part 2 in the book focused upon how many times, when conducting interviews, you end up hiring an individual that you personally “click” with. Just because you personally “click” with the candidate doesn’t mean that they are the right person for the team. We need to think about what the team needs. Maybe the team needs a person that you don’t necessarily “click” with but can add value. I need to think about this during the hiring process and make sure that this is discussed with the interview team.
• I have an understanding about how to increase the advantages of the team.

“Once you identify the Advantages that your team is using, you can help each person succeed by dialing up their existing traits. Rather than training people to follow a formula (and trying to force-fit them into a mold), you can support them in adding value in the way that is most effective and natural for them.”

Part 2 of the book is the section that I will reference the most when having conversations with others about their Advantages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Does the World See You? Part 1

Our Head of schools, Dr. Byron Ernest, has chosen a book for members of the administrative team to read and reflect upon. Dr. Ernest discusses this process and what events led up to Dr. Ernest selecting specific books for the administrative team in his blog post:  https://byronernest.wordpress.com/2015/12/07/good-leaderbad-leader/ The books that were chosen for each of us relate back to our goal areas that we met with Dr. Ernest to discuss. Dr. Ernest asked each of us to keep in mind why he selected the book that he did for us to read. As I finished reading Part 1 of the book, How the World Sees You, by Sally Hogshead the reasons why Dr. Ernest chose this book for me are becoming evident.

Listed below are the goals that I wrote about in my reflection to Dr. Ernest:

3 Goal Areas

1. Something I need support with is building my confidence as a leader. I have always struggled with my confidence and I have always been very critical of myself. I think confidence is something that builds over time and that my confidence has grown considerably in my current role, but there is still growth that needs to occur. You always do a great job with providing me with encouragement and letting me know that you trust what I do, so please continue to do that.

(Confidence)

2. I feel that I communicate very well in writing because when I write I have time to think, reflect, process, and edit my thoughts. I feel that I need to work on articulating my thoughts better verbally, for example when I present. I have always struggled with speaking in a group setting because I feel this is an area where I am not naturally gifted. This really stems from the first area that I would like to work on, confidence.

(Verbal articulation)

3. I am an individual that doesn’t like conflict and I am definitely a people-pleaser. I need to work on speaking up when I don’t agree with something and understand that conflict doesn’t necessarily need to have negative connotations. Everyone will never agree with every decision that is made, and it’s okay to question why decisions are being made and offer thoughts/constructive criticism.

(Expressing thoughts/opinion)

4. I reflect on a daily basis on my drive home from work. I actually don’t mind my drive to and from school because it provides me with time to reflect on the day. I would like to work on getting my thoughts in writing and possibly starting a blog or utilize some sort of medium as a tool for reflection. I believe that good leaders constantly reflect and I need to be more purposeful and get my thoughts in writing when I reflect.

(Reflection)

As I begin to delve into the book, I have been highlighting many amazing quotes to ponder. I tweeted many of the quotes from the book that stood out the most to me! A couple of quotes that resonated with me in particular were,

“You will never rise to your greatest potential by being all things to all people.”

“You are perfect for certain things. You are wrong for others. You do not have to be perfect for everything.”

In my mind, I have many thoughts as to what being a good leader entails. I feel that there are some qualities that I simply do not possess. After reading Part 1 of this book, I’m beginning to gain a new perspective. As the quotes above state, you can’t be perfect at everything. It’s not about blending in like a chameleon and being someone you’re not, it’s about successfully differentiating yourself. Differentiating yourself allows you to highlight the singular traits you already have within.

One of my goals areas is to build confidence in my current role. I believe that Dr. Ernest is sending me the message that I have strengths (Advantages), and rather than point out traits that I do not possess as a leader, I need to focus on my Advantages. My Advantages are what differentiates me and how I add value. I need to focus on my Advantages and how I am uniquely suited to tackle certain types of situations.

After taking the Fascination Advantage Assessment, I have found which two Advantages are my most attractive and professional traits.

As I continue to read this book I hope to learn more about my Advantages and how to add more of my highest distinct value to contribute to the success of Hoosier Academies.

“How the World Sees You”

I am about to begin the book, “How the World Sees You” by Sally Hogshead.  This book was recommended to me by our Head of Schools after the administrative team was asked to select three critical areas for improvement and growth. After meeting with our Head of Schools in regards to the three critical areas I wrote about in my reflection, this book was recommended. The quote on the inside cover resonates with me and it reads, “To become more successful, you do not have to change who you are–you have to become more of who you are.” As I begin to read this book, I will keep this quote in my mind and reflect on what I learn. Before beginning to read this book I had the opportunity to take the Fascination Advantage online assessment. After taking the assessment a report was generated that included information about the cue and signals that I intentionally or unintentionally send to the world, and the pros and cons of each.

After taking the Fascination Advantage assessment, the results indicated that the world sees me at my best as “The Diplomat.” My “Primary Advantage” (most effective mode of communication) is trust. When I communicate with this Advantage, I am fascinating and influential. My “Secondary Advantage” (second-highest mode of communication) is prestige. My “Dormant Advantage” (the one that holds the least potential for me in fascinating others) is power. The top five adjectives that describe “The Diplomat” include; levelheaded, subtle, capable, impeccable, and prudent.

I look forward to delving into the book and learning how to become more of myself.

Let’s Do This!

I’ve wanted to start blogging for awhile now, but I wasn’t quite sure where to start! As an educator, it’s extremely important to be a reflective practitioner, so what better way to do this than to blog?! Through blogging, I anticipate being able to dig deeper with my thoughts and collaborate with others that can relate to what I’m posting.

This year, our Head of Schools at Hoosier Academies, Dr. Byron Ernest, began working with teachers who applied to be a part of the Focused Leader Academy (FLA) program. This is an employee development and engagement program. The idea is that great minds and great motives still matter. Teachers with school and educational leadership aspirations will have the opportunity to become part of a cohort, which will take part in monthly training and be part of supervised Focused Leadership Projects for the schools. Dr. Ernest founded this group with the belief that if we empower our teachers through leadership skill development, then we will have teacher leaders ready to contribute to the success of Hoosier Academies and be an important part of our talent pipeline.

Focused Leader Academy participants worked on an activity called, “Good Leadership/Bad Leadership” during a recent meeting. The idea was to identify bad leadership and good leadership the participants had experienced. Teams of four identified bad leadership, shared out the bad behaviors, and then solutions. The teams then shared out characteristics of good leadership. The image below represents the team’s thoughts represented graphically.

I should also mention that Hoosier Academies has been working with a graphic facilitator, Mike Fleisch. Mike has attended staff development meetings as well as FLA meetings in order to graphically represent what is discussed. It’s amazing to have graphic representations of staff development and meetings to look back at throughout the year!

Dr. Ernest shared the image above with administrative staff and asked that we use the graphic to prompt some reflection and guide personal improvement and growth. Dr. Ernest also asked the administrative team members to identify the three most critical areas to work on in our leadership journey.

First of all, I appreciated the fact that Dr. Ernest shared this graphic representation with administrative staff. This graphic truly prompted a great deal of reflection. The FLA participants truly gave administrative staff great points for reflection. To be perfectly honest, I have been impressed with all the work and progress the FLA participants have done since the beginning of the year. Hoosier Academies truly has amazing teachers with leadership aspirations and the FLA has been an outstanding means for Hoosier Academies to, as Dr. Ernest says, “Build our bench from within.”

I have reflected on the image above, sent three goals areas to Dr. Ernest, and met with him. When I met with Dr. Ernest, he provided me with a book to read by Sally Hogshead titled, “How the World Sees You.” This book is directly related to my three goal areas that I discussed with Dr. Ernest. Dr. Ernest asked me to keep in mind why he specifically recommended this book for me, so I will keep this in mind as I begin to read! The image below includes a synopsis of what the book is about. This book also includes a private code to unlock one free Fascination Advantage online assessment. My next blog post will include the results and some reflection on the results!