potential in me and decided that I was ready
for a new role. When I was promoted to di-
rector, I was expected to lead a small team
of talented individuals to support schools in
becoming more results-oriented, develop-
ing robust systems of professional learning,
and strengthening core instruction. I was
charged with leading team meetings and
providing individual mentorship to each of
my team members to set them up for success.
Although I brought a set of experiences
and skills that made me a good fit for the role,
I felt a need to research leadership practices
so that I could provide strong support to my
team of seasoned men and women. I read
books and articles that offered advice for how
to be a successful leader; the literature recom-
mended communicating clearly and often,
setting clear expectations, and making others
feel important, among other tips. I took the
advice to heart, developing plans with clear
timelines and outcomes to help my team un-
derstand what was expected of them. I held
consistent one-on-one and team meetings
that were intended to provide opportunities
for distributed leadership and collaboration.
Yet something wasn’t working. After a
few months, I noticed that morale was low.
My team lacked trust, which meant we were
not collaborating and leveraging each other’s
strengths. Team members were unhappy
and two members left four months into the
year. I felt like a failure as a leader because
my team was losing members. At that point,
I had to pause and ref lect on where I was
going wrong and why those best practices
weren't working for me.
The support from a more senior colleague
in my organization during this challenging
time was instrumental in helping me un-
derstand the situation and figure out how
to move forward. She helped me see that
my difficulties were rooted in my lifelong
struggle with being authentic in a society
that paints me as “less than.” The pressure
to succeed in my new role had made me lose
sight of what it means to be a leader — to
be the person who inspires, supports, and
brings out the best in others, which requires
a human connection. I led in a way that did
not incorporate me and that was my biggest
mistake. I did not connect authentically to
my team members for fear of being vulner-
The support from a more
senior colleague in my
organization during this
challenging time was
instrumental in helping
me understand the
situation and figure out
how to move forward.
able and looking weak. I was not tapping
into my experience as a second language
learner who persevered through a biased
system to get to where I am today. I hid my
sense of humor and my sometimes-playful
style of collaborating for fear of not being
taken seriously. My colleague helped me to
recognize that by not integrating my own
values, beliefs, and identity into my leader-
ship schema, I would not become the leader
that I aspired to be.
I found the confidence to keep trying with
the support of loved ones and my profes-
sional network. I worked hard to refine my
own leadership persona — one that includes
both technical skills and soft skills that bring
forth my authentic identity — without feel-
ing the pressure to follow what is expected in
dominant white culture. It has been five years
since that promotion, and I continue to be a
leader in the organization. Now I feel much
more confident in leading authentically. I
periodically remind myself of the following
principles to maintain an effective balance of
skills that help me to lead successfully.
Ground yourself in your core values
When Kouzes and Posner conducted re-
search for their seminal work, “The Leader-
ship Challenge”, they found that the most
successful leaders understood their personal
values and grounded their actions in those
values. Effective leaders openly shared these
beliefs with their teams, and when they
acted in alignment to their core values, cred-
ibility and trust increased. When I began to
ground my work in my core values of com-
munity, compassion, and integrity, I began
to balance the technical and relational as-
pects of leadership, helping me to connect
with team members without losing focus on
our shared goals. It also helped my team to
better understand my motivations and ex-
pectations. In addition, I began the practice
of learning about my team members’ core
values. This helps us find common ground
and build bridges. It also allows us to bring
our full selves to the work, leading to oppor-
tunities to build off of each other’s assets.
Ask for feedback
As leaders, we are ultimately trying to in-
spire others and bring out the best in them.
But how will we know whether our leader-
ship is producing the results we are hoping
for? One way is to gather feedback about
how we’re doing. Managers and coaches can
be leveraged as resources. In addition, gath-
ering data from the people we serve will help
us better understand how others are experi-
encing our leadership and can provide infor-
mation needed for timely adjustments.
May | June 2019
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