How Will You Lead?

I haven’t blogged in awhile because I have been focusing on a new job: graduate school (Oh, yes…again). I recently became a student at James Madison University to pursue my Masters of School Administration licensure. One of the assignments was to learn about leadership and discover my leadership style. As a Google trainer and technology resource for my school, I have grown to where I believe I am ready for another opportunity: To lead.

How I view my leadership style: Build trust
Build relationships
Collaborate
Listen more, talk less.
Challenge my own assumptions
Because of my past experiences with leadership teams, such as School Improvement Teams, Positive Behavior Intervention teams, and instructional technology collaborative teams, I see myself as a “big picture” person or a “Systems Thinking” leader. I believe I have a collaborative style of leadership and I strive to get people to work together because I see collaboration as a great tool for solving a variety of issues. However, I believe my strong team-first orientation may have prevented me from developing my own identity as a leader until recently.
What I learned from my first few weeks of reflection is that nurturing relationships is tantamount for a successful leader. Therefore, my leadership also has its base in the belief that relationships are the key to a successful school and community. I believe that in order to build relationships, one must build trust, show quality instructional understanding, and create a team approach to a culture of success.

I have become more aware that I can be impatient and impulsive when dealing with the non-education centered community. I have yet to complete a personal vision of my learning and I tend to react to what I see, then plan accordingly. I need to challenge my own assumptions and look at the world through other people’s viewpoints. I also have difficulty waiting for “buy-in” from the community and all the stakeholders. I still see myself as an expert of curriculum and have difficulty bringing in all viewpoints to effectively create a shared vision. Maybe next time, you will see I’ve improved. Fingers crossed.   

Jonathan Frye works as an instructional technology resource teacher for Bedford County Public Schools in Central Virginia. As a Google Certified Trainer, he helps provide professional development in the G Suite Apps for Education, 1:1 Chromebook training. and how to implement them in the classroom setting. He is a National Board Certified teacher, EdTechTeam Google Summit presenter, EdTech Team Blogger, AppEvents presenter, and ISTE2018 presenter. He holds a MEd. in Curr. and Instruction and currently is completing a Masters of School Administration add-on licensure at James Madison University.

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