If you have not gotten a chance to read my blog about my #oneword for 2016, check out Enjoy the Moment.
As I mentioned in my blog, my #oneword is a call to action for me to be mindful of the moments that make up my day. The moments at home, the moments at work and the moments that happen in between.
Yesterday I shared the epiphany I had while waiting for the elevator; Take the Stairs. I went on sharing the parallels I believe exist with taking the stairs and taking risks in education. At the time of writing yesterday's post, little did I know I would be returning, to do a "part II", but that is the beauty in this semester long blog series. I never know what my moment is going to be until it happens and sometimes the moment happens when you least expect it. That is what happened today.
If you are following along with my daily posts, you know I am in Austin attending the Texas Principal's
Visioning Institute or #TXPVI. In our final day of session 4, we spent the last half of the morning walking the streets of Austin, specifically looking for leadership. As I took to the streets with my team, it became increasingly obvious that when you are specifically looking for something you can find it. My team and I found examples of leadership up and down the streets of Austin. One image I captured was of two maintenance men using a lift to do some work on the side of a building. While the act of using a lift does not necessarily scream leadership, watching it lift higher and higher in the air reminded me of leadership. "Great leadership allows us to elevate those around us." We collected other examples and reported back to our large group and shared out several of the examples we found. Overall, a very inspirational activity, reminding us that leadership can be found in all shapes and sizes as long as we are looking for it.
As we transitioned for lunch, I found myself in the same situation of waiting for an elevator, but today, without hesitation, I knew I was going to take the stairs. I recruited my buddy @conradstreeter to climb with me. Today it was 17 flights, as we returned to the 18th floor, home of the best views in Austin.
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| Help is on the way. |
Little did Conrad and I know, as we were climbing what seemed to be a never ending set of stairs, our colleagues were on an elevator that had stopped operating properly and were completely stuck. Have you ever been stuck? Maybe not on an elevator, but just stuck? I have. I believe we can all get stuck from time to time, whether it is in our practice or in our thinking. How do you conduct yourself as the leader in that moment? The moment you realize you are stuck. The important aspect of being stuck is can you get unstuck? Do you surround yourself with folks who will help you get unstuck? Do you have a practice in place that allows you to reflect? Do you allow yourself to take risks that will ensure you do not get stuck?
After thirty minutes or what I am sure seemed to be an eternity for those who were stuck in the elevator, they were safe and sound and unstuck. As they entered the room, we gave them all a standing ovation and recognized them for the leadership they exhibited while they were stuck and embraced the idea that sometimes, in order to get unstuck, we need the help and support of others.
What was your moment today?
Labels: #oneword, 2016, change #txpvi, leadership, Moment, Risk taking, transformation
