Smarter Than a Swiss Army Knife: 3 Ways to Adapt and Learn as an Educational Leader

Every day in education demands something different from leadership: evaluations, resource allocation, communication with stakeholders, technological adaptation, and so on... and each challenge demands a solution that adds or expands a skill based on experience. For educational leaders, many of those management and leadership skills get folded away in the pocket like a trusty Swiss Army tool and retrieved when the situation calls for it.

How do you know when to bring the right tool to the next challenge? How do you swiftly expand your available solutions to better manage future challenges? For leaders with impact, it's not enough to have the skills but also to know the right tool, how to expand your solutions skillset, and recognize the right time to respond.

Our experience consulting with leaders and managers in education have shown us that engaging with the wisdom and insights of successful educational leaders helps management professionals stay teachable while expanding their own expertise through the successes (and failures) of others. This adds depth and nuance to your toolkit of qualifications and prepare for new growth opportunities

Here are three ways to learn from others and rapidly improve your educational leadership skills:

Find New Voices

You have likely attended more than your fair share of conferences or seminars. Networking, collecting contact information, sharing a few ideas here and there. While there is a certain repetitive nature to the names and faces, the keynote speakers are often inspired and well worth a second look.

These trusted experts with decades of wisdom, or forward thinking leaders offering unique or compelling theories or front-line experiences don’t exist in a vacuum and they likely shared one anecdote or one idea that captured you and begged for a second thought. So seek them out.

These thought leaders have been a part of various projects outside presenting at a single conference. Dropping their name into a Google search is one thing, but open up your favorite podcast platform and search there. It’s like tuning your own radio with the ability to listen at a time that works for you. 

TIP: Explore the podcast notes! Contact information, new publications and other important details are typically published and at the ready. Even better, exploring the back catalog of podcasts and production company can open you to related content that might inspire you while connecting you with other qualified thinkers.

Follow, Follow, Follow

The internet gives you direct access to thought leaders, change-makers, and those paving the way for educational leadership. As you uncover new and distinctive educational thinkers, it makes perfect sense to seek them out on other channels and through social media. 

Make sure to draw the connections. As you listen to podcasts, read books and explore new articles that inspire you, join the online conversation. Find these people on Linked In and follow, reach out with a question or compliment, or comment on their articles. Even one new idea, shared experience, or related article may inspire you and your leadership strategies.

TIP: Pay close attention to the hashtags in your favorite articles. These keywords are gold and may take you down a path full of new resources and unexpected content. As a result, you’ll stay on the pulse of what’s new, and what’s next. It is good to be ready for all the conversations that may soon arrive at your school, your district, or beyond.

Focused Education Taking Courses with Experts

While podcasts and social networking are a current and quick way to grow and learn, the best way to add depth to your professional knowledge is by taking a deep dive alongside other leaders who know that development is a lifelong process of reflection and continued pursuit. Taking courses designed by other educational leaders, for educational leaders, is one of the best commitments you can make.

At Framework, our solutions include a deep focus on building educational leaders, and our platform FrameworkLearn is designed to help educational leaders grow and develop while supporting their districts. Our course, Lessons Learned from Experience - A Practical Guide for Survival in Educational Leadership, is a synthesis full of tangible, real-life experiences from hundreds of professionals.

Drawing upon the combined wealth of professional and practitioner-based experiences of authors Dr. Larry D. Coble and Dr. Ann W. Davis, our course provides district and school-based leaders with a range of learning opportunities. Both timeless and newly developed, these “lessons” deeply understand the challenges associated with leading educational organizations effectively. And by starting in the trenches, the information responds thoughtfully, and with real solutions, to the complex problems leaders face. Most appropriately, it holistically situates leaders’ attention and efforts on achieving high-quality learning for every student as a primary purpose of education and school leadership. 

The course presents fifteen lessons that incorporate a myriad of critical topics germane to educational leadership in the 21st Century. Register to participate in an online cohort with your peers from all over the globe and earn a certificate of completion for licensure submission.

Want to Go a Step Further?

As teachers often tell students, learning is an ongoing, lifelong process, and Framework is here to help your educators continue their own learning journey through a variety of professional learning and development programs for teachers and administrators designed to help all members of your organization reach their fullest potential.