Five Lessons That Will Influence My Practice of Leadership

Earlier this semester, I had the good fortune to attend the Heads of Schools Fellowship at the Klingenstein Center of Teachers College at Columbia University. The program was established for the professional development of independent school leadership and is housed within Teachers College, the oldest teacher-education program in the country. This outstanding opportunity is part of my ongoing professional development — with my goals set in partnership with the Board of Trustees — and builds on my weeklong training at the Center for Creative Leadership in 2024, where I learned more about that strategic partnership and sharpened my own leadership skills.

The Heads of Schools Fellowship program convenes yearly as a cohort of about 20 Heads of Schools. It is a fully-funded two-week fellowship “aimed at renewal through meaningful study and collaboration between heads of independent and international schools from across the United States and the world.” This year, just over 100 Heads applied, and 19 of us were selected. My group really was a diverse mix of leaders from schools across the country as well as Vietnam, Ecuador, Argentina and Pakistan. It really was a wonderful experience. It also gave me great empathy for our students, as I had homework!

John Dewey, the American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer (who taught at Teachers College) stated, “We do not learn from experience. … We learn from reflecting on experience.” Having had some time to reflect on the fellowship experience, I would like to share five lessons that will influence my practice of leadership at Ravenscroft.

Creativity

The overall theme for our experience was creativity. While leaders plan or script the school year, there are many moments for improvisation. Leaders must continuously riff off previous work or new opportunities. One of our Lead From Here competencies is learning to be adaptive. Our program director built in some interesting opportunities to use New York City as a laboratory for creativity. Our class had the chance to learn more about creativity at the Institute for Culinary Education and during a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum of Modern Art.

Speaking and Listening

In order to be a generative thinker and leader, one really has to listen well before speaking. Our program director provided daily exercises that really made us practice listening. One of my favorite assignments was a “listening walk” in the city where I walked the 2.5 miles to class one morning focusing only on what I could hear as the city came to life. A four-hour lesson on improvisation techniques focused on listening to others and using “yes … and” communication to continue to create. We also had a two day refresher in the art of public speaking with a professional coach. Again, I am struck by the connections to Lead From Here, as another competency is being communicative — an effective communicator. 

Learning Profile

Over the last decade in senior executive positions in schools, I have had about six different personality assessments administered. This was my first experience with a Lumina Spark Learning Profile. This particular assessment focused on how one shows up reflecting their inner self with loved ones, our public self that we bring to work and when we’re under stress. One of our Lead From Here framework categories is “Leading Self” and we teach our students to develop competencies of being self-aware, growth-minded and accountable. This learning profile was a good reminder of how important it is to be mindful of how I show up every day and how I work with others.

Systems Thinking

We also spent several days learning different systems-thinking models relevant in education and applying them to case studies. One of our Lead From Here competencies is being resourceful. Educational leaders are constantly trying to learn lessons from other schools who have faced similar challenges or made the most of opportunities. We took a deeper dive into systems thinking by visiting private schools in New York City to explore unique models and by visiting TALOS, a cryptocurrency trading-platform company, to explore culture, an emergent property of any organizational system.

Brains and Belonging

We also took a deep dive into mind-brain education during a one-day miniconference. If you are not familiar with this field, it explores the intersection of neuroscience, psychology and education to understand how the brain learns best and to develop evidence-based teaching practices. In short, the goal is to have teachers and students build self-awareness about how brains work and a growth-minded orientation — both of which are, of course, Lead From Here competencies. And, this work is grounded on the idea that students will be at their best when their physiological, safety, love and belonging, and esteem needs are met first. Ravenscroft has been working on the Lead From Here competencies of being empathetic, ethical and culturally inclusive for over a decade. The conference just reinforced the idea that we (educators) are in the business of brains and belonging.

I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to go back to school in the midst of this school year. I share the experience and these reflections with you as an example of what we strive to do with your children as we live our mission: develop thoughtful learning experiences in the classroom, use the world as a classroom and continuously cultivate leadership. And, after all, one of our Lead From Here competencies is being reflective!