Have you ever engaged in a self-reflection activity during a professional learning session that provided you with such clarity it changed your perspective immediately?

One of us (Michael) remembers a jarring moment during a session that provided such clarity for him. At that time, he was a building principal sitting in a workshop, and the presenter asked the participants to take out their calendars. It was the late ‘90s, so many of the participants were using a paper calendar of some sort. Everyone began scrambling for their notebooks with calendars divided by day/week/months with associated tasks along the ledger on the side.

Next, the presenter asked everyone to look at “one week” and highlight or circle the activities they thought directly impacted the work occurring at the classroom level within their schools.

Like many school administrators, the majority in the room worked more than 40 hours each week, yet everyone, including Michael, quickly realized they could only say a few of those hours directly impacted the work at the classroom level.

Additionally, prior to the workshop, all of the participants were asked to bring their agendas for their last three staff meetings. Again, the presenter asked everyone to highlight or circle the agenda items that they thought directly impacted the work occurring at the classroom level. Again, very few of the participants had many items on their agendas that truly fit that parameter.

It was a painful awakening for all of the leaders in the room.

Everyone acknowledged that was not the kind of leader they wanted to be but struggled with how to change the dynamic. In the subsequent hours, the presenter guided and empowered everyone to think differently about their leadership by sharing practical tips and strategies for transforming into the instructional leader they desired to be.

The experience changed Michael as a leader as it immediately became a filter for each event or activity he put on his calendar and each item he placed on staff meeting agendas.

Teacher Leaders Have Blind Sports, Too
We were recently working with teacher leaders and noticed a few blind spots they have, too. In a data team meeting, teachers focused on some math concepts that students were not understanding. One by one, the teacher leader led the team through discussions about individual students. We heard comments like:

“He rushed through this assessment.”

“They know how to do this.”

“I wish their parents would work with them at home.”

“They probably weren’t paying attention to what they were doing.”

Unfortunately, nowhere in the one-hour conversation did any of the teachers or the teacher leader suggest that the misunderstanding on the part of the students could be due to a lack of clarity on the part of the teacher during instruction. In fact, in this article by Tom Guskey, he explains why only 15% of teachers usually look at their own instruction first.

There was also an underlying common theme within the schools where we worked. The district expects, for good reason, teachers to use success criteria, but many of the teachers write success criteria up on their board for compliance but never embed them into their instruction. This is a missed opportunity. Success criteria are meant to help teachers and students define what successful achievement of a goal or objective looks like. In any classroom, we will find students who do not know exactly why they are learning what they are learning, and success criteria can help those students, as well as every other student understand what success would look like. In educational settings, success criteria help clarify expectations for both students and teachers, enabling everyone to understand what quality work or mastery looks like for a given task, skill, or standard. Success criteria also helps teachers consider which specific strategies may be best to deliver the content, such as lecture versus collaborative learning.

This is not about picking on teachers or leaders. The truth is that we all have blind spots, and it’s up to us to find good partners who can push our thinking when it comes to finding them.

Self-Awareness as Educators
What many of the leaders in the professional learning session—which dealt in part with calendar and agenda setting—experienced is self-awareness. In their minds, they were engaged in actions that were deeply impactful to teachers and students in their building. However, through a simple activity, they found they still had room to grow. During the data team meeting example, most of the teachers never came to that level of self-awareness. In these situations, teacher leaders need to draw on effective questioning, not to focus on compliance but to take time to self-assess using a learner’s mindset.

In our book Leading With Intention, we focus on the need for internal and external self-awareness. For example, in the chart below, which we use during our long-term work with schools, districts, and organizations, we engage participants in actions that will help them not only develop internal self-awareness but also external self-awareness.

As you may have guessed, internal and external self-awareness is situational. In Michael’s example from above, that moment became so jarring because it gave him insight into a blind spot he had when it came to internal self-awareness. He thought his actions were well-aligned, but they were not. Those jarring moments are important for leaders, teachers, and workshop facilitators.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Rebecca Knight writes,

Self-awareness involves recognizing your own limitations and understanding when to seek support. This important leadership skill is not only about managing your own stress but also about setting a healthy example for your team. By being aware of your needs and boundaries, you demonstrate strength and self-care, which contributes to a positive work environment.

In fact, in Leading With Intention we write,

It’s important to note that self-awareness can be developed and improved with practice and self-reflection. Each quadrant from the charts above represents a different starting point, but individuals can enhance internal and external self-awareness to become more well-rounded and effective personally and professionally.

One other area where self-awareness is key is when looking at data and evidence. Teachers and leaders are awash with data, but they don’t always take action steps after they discuss that data and evidence. We’ll talk about doing that in our next post.