Jann’s Jottings #18
Jann’s Jottings # 18
“The most practical pages for perusal on the web”
Jotting (defn): short details of significant events, behaviours and conversations about wellbeing, growth and education/career.
Wellbeing Jot: Audit your Wellbeing
A recent review of the health and wellbeing of school principals found that self-care is important to school leaders, however they report it is the area where they are least likely to take positive action to care for themselves. The report, commissioned by the Primary and Secondary Principals Associations (APPA and ASPA) identified 8 potential wellbeing domains:
Self-efficacy: the belief in one’s competence which contributes to positive wellbeing
Enjoyment: Positive experiences related to working life mean greater job satisfaction and engagement – the opposite of burnout.
Connectedness: Positive interactions and social support with wise elders, peers, students and community.
Autonomy: Greater workplace autonomy leads to increased engagement and enjoyment.
Positivity: goes beyond happiness and includes joy, hope, compassion and gratitude. Create opportunities daily and visualise them in the future to increase wellbeing and resilience.
Supportive school environment: Ensure physical and psychological safety as this is a threshold condition to enable a supportive environment for all.
Meaning & purpose: believing the work you do has meaning and purpose is a fundamental element of many wellbeing frameworks.
Self-care: regular physical activity and enough quality sleep are protective factors against stress, tension and depression.
Before it gets too busy, take some time to set or refine your intentions or goals in each of these areas for 2025. Afterall a sustained commitment to your own wellbeing is necessary to drive whole of school wellbeing. More here: School Leader Wellbeing: Supporting leaders to flourish (2023)
Ponder this: Which will be your area of wellbeing focus this year?
Growth Jot: Seeking Wisdom
Have you noticed how many opportunities are available at the start of a new year for the getting of wisdom? There are no shortage of programs, events and experiences offered to live healthier, spend wisely, manage time productively, be a better person etc. These may all have merit and may lead to some change if you stick to them.
As you go into this year, my challenge is to look to those in your life whom you admire and from whom you can learn. Wisdom is gained when knowledge meets experience. Those ahead of us in our careers or life paths have experience to help us see things we don’t even know we don’t know. You see our capacity for wisdom is limited by our own life experiences.
This year be intentional to nurture a few older, more experienced and trusted people whose experiences you can learn from. They will willingly share!
Ponder this: Who will you seek out to listen to who has the wisdom based on years of experience for your own growth?
Career Jot: Leadership Influence
A new year heralds a fresh start. As a leader, we return with renewed vigor and vision, hopeful of the possibilities and improvement in our leadership and our team. Leadership rises and falls on trust. Everything rises when leaders demonstrate competence, noble values and good character. Trust is the foundation on which character rests, making effective leadership possible. Like a symphony does not only consist of the melody, leadership influence occurs in every note we play. The notes of leadership are our decisions, moods, facial expressions, words, silence and attitudes.
Maxwell (2022) suggests 3 aspects to build good character to be an influential leader or an effective conductor of your symphony:
Consistency: Live noble values with integrity daily – not just on your good days.
Potential: “No-one can climb beyond the limitations of their own character” (John Marley). Who are you relying on to speak truth to you to improve how you show up in the world as a leader?
Respect: We cannot break trust and respect with our people and continue to influence them positively.
Trust is the solid ground on which influential leadership grows. The onus is on the leader to earn and grow trust in their team and in so doing create the symphony for all to enjoy and prosper in.
Try this: How can you add value to those you lead based on what they value in a leader? Asking them will provide you with ways to influence positively and multiply your value. Listen, learn and then lead.
(Maxwell, J. 2022, The 21 Irrefutable laws of leadership. Harper Collins Leadership.)
“You are loved, valued and worthy. Keep up the great work!”
— Jann Carroll
