Always Watching!

Not to sound creepy, but I’m a people watcher.  I watch people – what they do, how they act and react, how they communicate.  I listen to people – what they say and how they say it.  I draw conclusions about people based on these observations.  It’s human nature to not only draw conclusions about a person’s preferences, aspirations, and background, but also his or her values.  Even others’ perceptions of what we believe as leaders is something that is piecemealed together by a series of snapshots in time taken through the lenses of others.  People create their image of us, who we are, and what we hold dear based on their limited or vast observations of our actions.    This can be a terrifying reality for school leaders.

As a young administrator, I prided myself in the fact that I became a principal at a young age.  In most situations, I presented myself as a competent, charismatic, aspiring leader.  Soon after taking my first principalship, I engaged in the reflective process of completing one of those surveys where different groups rate your leadership skills.  Knowing that I’m not perfect, I expected areas of needed improvement and areas of strength to magically surface and for these areas to be consistent between all groups surveyed – teachers, principal colleagues, and district office.  There were a lot of consistent scores, but there was an overwhelming pattern of unflattering comments from my new principal colleagues.  Terms like “ladder climber” and “arrogant,” combined with comments like “just wants to go to the next level” permeated the page representing the perceptions of my colleagues.  Was I upset?  Of course.  Have I gotten over the comments, now 7 years later? Of course not.  Did I and do I continue to reflect on my actions and statements that potentially helped others create this vision of me as a professional?  Yup.   

While these comments struck a chord with me and I have never forgotten them, I continue to grow and develop from them.  Most recently, I’ve caught myself questioning and jumping to conclusions about the values of others.  No matter how transparent we are as leaders about what we believe, what we prioritize, what we value, our every action is under the microscope of others.  What this means is that even the small things matter.  Even the smallest thing we do or say can completely “undo” what we want and work diligently for others to believe and know about us.    

I used to believe that transparency was the key to success in leadership.  Even with high levels of transparency, leaders can still lose the trust of their staff, create poor climates for teachers and students.  Successful leaders also are self-aware, constantly making sure that their true values shine through every action and word. Successful leaders also practice humility, openly acknowledging when mistakes are made and what was learned from them. 

We are all people watchers, and not necessarily the creepy kind.  We watch because it helps us understand what others believe and value.  We sometimes draw presumptuous conclusions based on insufficient evidence.  This reality is a great reminder for all of us, especially those in leadership positions where the spotlight shines frequently – whether we want it to or not.