Panel Shows Ways to Strengthen Resilience in Turbulent Times
By Rebecca Lish
Today more than ever, public school leaders must deal with crises and chronic adversity in their professional lives.
Three former superintendents who experienced their own personal turmoil over the years provided suggestions on how to be more resilient when facing challenges during an AASA conference session Saturday afternoon.
The panel consisted of Jerry Patterson, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Diane Reed, associate professor at St. John Fisher College in Honeoye Falls, N.Y.; and George Goens, staff associate at the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents in Litchfield, Conn. All three served in one or more superintendency in the 1990s or the first part of the past decade.
They are co-authors of the recently released book Resilient Leadership for Turbulent Times. They drew heavily from that work during their conference session.
“Resilience is not just about survival,” said Patterson. “A resilient leader demonstrates the ability to recover, learn from and developmentally mature” in turbulent times.
Patterson encouraged attendees to be realistic optimists and consider this question: Given the realities of the situation, how can I move ahead?
Reed talked maintaining physical, emotional and spiritual well-being in adverse times. She suggested to attendees that for two weeks, they should think about five things they and their organizations have to be thankful for in the morning. Before leaving work for the day, she said sharing one of the things you are thankful for with a coworker. When returning home, journal about the experience, consider what that conversation did to help, she advised. At the end of two weeks, look at your writing and do some self-reflection.
Taking action is key, emphasized Goens. Having courage is a part of being able to take action.
“The reasons why some people don’t have courage is because of attachments,” Goens said.
People can be attached to security, popularity and/or their own sense of competence, among other things. Goens cautioned attendees, noting they may compromise their principles because of attachments, preventing them from having the courage to do what is right for students. “If you know what you are attached to, you can guard against that erosion.”
To conclude the session, Patterson told attendees that by modeling these strengths they can help the leaders they work with increase their own resilience, which will strengthen their organization.
To take an inventory of your resilience strengths, visit www.theresilientleader.com.
Note: AASA members save 20 percent on Resilient Leadership in Turbulent Times from AASA and Rowman & Littlefield Education using promotion code AASA20 at checkout.