On and Off the Mountain

Jessica MillerT330

Leadership Path

Where I Started

• Theory: Lots of ideas about leadership

• Practice: Equating leadership with authority

Example: My first vision statement to my network

Example: My SLP entrance essay – the leadership positions I held

Where I Started

• Feeling incompetent – can’t hold it together • Letting people down in work and personal life

• Risk = conflict = loss

Operating Principles

• I need to be “perfect” before I take action.

– Demonstrate competence because that gives me authority.

– Avoid conflict by having it “all together.”

Example: Leaving my first group at NHCS and starting a new one.

Perfection = inaction in the moment

Fear

Doubt

Perception of lack of authority/ expertise

I disagree… what will they

think? How should I phrase

it?

I can see what’s going on, but if I say something, I

might make it worse

OP in Practice

Think I’m on the mountain top (or balcony) looking down, but really stuck in my own

thoughts and fears

Underlying Assumptions

• I need to be “perfect” before I take action.

If I am not perfect, I won’t be liked, respected, or accepted.

If I am not perfect, I risk failing.

Failing is an end, not an opportunity.

Commitment

• To risk “mess” and conflict by taking action in the moment.

Taking a step is taking the risk of falling.Fear

Doubt

Perception of lack of authority/ expertise

I can see what’s going on, but if I say something, I

might make it worse

Taking Action

Worry about hurting others is really a worry about hurting myself

Competing Commitments

• To feeling safe and secure

• To feeling competent

• To feeling liked

Mental Model

It’s all about me. Example: The group I work with didn’t meet on the days when I wasn’t there.

Intervention: Tell them that I won’t see this group as a success if it doesn’t continue without me. I’m disappointed that they don’t prioritize it.

Fear: They will be hurt and feel uncomfortable

They will be less likely to participate

They won’t like me anymore

I will be a failure

How it Affects the Work

• Technical vs. Adaptive– It is much easier to make things “perfect” ahead

of time when doing technical tasks

• Espoused theory vs. theory in use-- Rescuing instead of capacity-building

• Modeling a fixed mindset

Sometimes you have to fall to:

Realize that you’re on the wrong mountain

Gain a different perspective

Get back on the hike

Taking Action = Taking Risks

Where I Am Now

• Taking steps and taking risks– Baby steps and mini-risks• Example: Inviting mentor principals to next group

meeting and having the teachers run the session

• Moving from theoretical to practice– Practice pulling myself out of my own thoughts

and being grounded in the moment