“I think you should change your focus from educational psychology to school administration,” Mr. May, my (Peter) principal told me. I was in my third year of teaching. I quickly said, “No, I’m never going to be a principal.”

At the gym later that day, I met two colleagues, Tony and Joe, who were retired teachers and shared the conversation I had with Mr. May. Joe looked at me and said, “What if you could be the leader you want to be rather than the one you feel you have to be?” As many have said after looking back following a life-changing question, “The rest is history.”

Although Michael had a not-so-jarring interaction with his principal and colleagues, both of us had others see things in us that we didn’t fully recognize. We both carefully navigated the process of becoming an educational leader and, without knowing each other, we both established three areas: our educational beliefs, values, and vision. We began to journal and talk about those three areas with friends, family, and colleagues.

Now, we have established questions in those three areas that we use when working with teachers and leaders wondering about their futures. And we thought that the beginning of another new year was the perfect time to talk about it.

Beliefs: What are your beliefs about education?

• How do you see the role of education in promoting equity and inclusion?
• How do your beliefs about education, and specifically learning, influence the way you address challenges or advocate change?
• In what ways do you think public education should evolve to meet the needs of today’s students and families?

Values: What do you value as it pertains to student and/or adult learning?

• What characteristics of effective student and adult learning do you prioritize in your school or district?
• How do your values shape your expectations for professional development or instructional practices?
• In what ways do you ensure that your values align with those of your school community?
• How do you recognize and celebrate when your values are reflected in the work of students or staff?

Vision: What if you could be the leader or classroom teacher you want to be? What would that look like?

• How would you describe your leadership or teaching style if you were at your best every day?
• What impact would your ideal leadership or teaching have on the culture of your school or district?
• How would your relationships with students, staff, and families change if you fully embodied your vision?
• What specific student outcomes would you hope to achieve as the leader or teacher you aspire to be?
• What legacy do you want to leave behind in your role as a leader or teacher, and how does that reflect your vision?

The leaders that we work with have shared that they have not gone through the process of personally establishing their beliefs, values, and vision. Once established, the leaders have told us that goals, priorities, and decisions become better aligned to their own behaviors and actions.

As a principal, Michael asked each staff member to answer these questions as it pertained to classrooms. Their responses were put in a notebook that was placed in the foyer of his school for parents and visitors to read.

That notebook served as a clearly stated document of collective beliefs, values, and mission of the school. These documents can be placed on school and classroom websites, put on posters outside each classroom door, and included in newsletters and other forms of communication.

Too often, we feel like we need to act and behave as we have observed, but conversations about beliefs, values, and visions can help education administrators to lead genuinely, thus making connections with staff and students.