I had the privilege to join 180 school leaders from Texas and across the country last weekend at Deloitte University for the Courageous Principals program. First of all, I have to say how impressive it is for Deloitte, a global business services firm that focuses on audit, tax, consulting and advisory support, to donate their time and expertise to support school leaders! The campus at DU itself is a world class executive training facility Deloitte uses for their training and development programs. For several weekends each year they welcome school leaders to experience a program created by their former global CEO, Jim Quigley, to give back in some small way. This was TEPSA’s second cohort participating in this leadership experience and we were joined by some amazing leaders from the San Diego County Office of Education, as well as leaders from a Tulsa charter school system and graduates of Teach for America that are now principals.

The goal of this program is to enhance the leadership skills of campus principals to truly lead like the CEO of their building. Deloitte understands first and foremost, great leaders understand how to build relationships. Prior to coming to the program the participants completed their Business Chemistry profile. We learned about our style focusing on the top two traits inherent in our leadership style based on the four categories: Pioneer, Driver, Integrator or Guardian. I came out Pioneer, Integrator and I couldn’t agree more for my most comfortable style, however there are times where the work or life calls for something different. I think we all have a mix of these styles and effective leaders have ability to shift when needed and bring what is necessary to the table. It is also important to think about the team you are building and ensure that you have a good balance of all the traits. While there are positive and negative attributes to each type, it is important to have a balance.

We’ve all done personality profiles whether it is your true colors, Myers Briggs or something else. What I really like about the Deloitte Business Chemistry assessment and blueprint is how easy it is to understand and apply. I’m sure you can guess what your tendencies are and those who you work with, without even having taken the assessment. Where do you fit? Your team?

The next step in the program focused on the 10 moves to make moments matter. You know those times when something happens and your response is going to make or break the situation? Some people intuitively know just what to do to help make things better, but others may need some ideas. The ten moves are very helpful and not ground-breaking, but to be mindful of which situation could benefit most is a great leadership exercise. We don’t often make time to reflect and refine our leadership practice. Having 2 1/2 days to do it with other school leaders was a very powerful experience.

1. Walk in their shoes
2. Work it together
3. Show-up
4. Suspend self-interest
5. Tailor it
6. Own it
7. Change the lens
8. Say what no one else will
9. Bring a point of view
10. Up your game

Some of these take a whole lot more courage than others. Say what no one else will could really put you in a tough situation. It is moments like this that you hope the strength of the relationships you have can sustain the honest input a courageous leader will share.What was the last moment that mattered in your day and how did you respond? Think about a situation you may be struggling with. What move would make the difference? What can you bring to the table?

Each leader came to the weekend with a specific leadership challenge in mind. Much of the small group interactions focused on delving deeper into their personal challenge. For the most part, most principals were strategizing ways to get non-compliant teachers on board to a new initiative or the vision of the school. Why do we fixate on that individual or small group of naysayers that is not on board with the program? Are they really hindering your progress? Do they need to suck away your energy? What hard things could you do today that would make the difference and not allow this behavior to continue?

I will continue with more from the Courageous Principals experience in future posts. Thanks for reading and I hope you find a little more courage from this to be the leader your students deserve! My favorite quote of the weekend came from Jim Quigley at the panel discussion dinner –

Leadership is not position, leadership is action. – Jim Quigley, former Deloitte Global CEO