LM Jan 2023_hi

Iwant you tosharesomenutsandbolts strategies fromthebook. Canyou talk about tips for answeringemails? I think they need to be answered, unfortunately. The tip is not to not do it. However, I think there are some strategies that new superintendents might not think about right away. One of them is to just pause and prepare yourself. When you see an email, and you know there’s going to be an issue that’s going to be stressful or complicated, it’s important to make sure you’re in the right frame of mind to actually even open it. If you open it in a frame of mind that’s fearful or that’s angry, your reaction isn’t going to be as Leadership under Dr. (Courtney) Orzel’s leadership and to have those conversations. Anecdotally, it feels like some women might struggle with feeling confident enough in their leadership to say, ‘I’m not sure how we’re going to proceed, but we’re going to proceed together, and we are going to collaborate on this together.’ Openness and the confidence to be able to do that is a level of authentic leadership that people are looking for right now. deservingof the job.Why is it better for superintendents toadmit that theydon’t haveall theanswers? I think there’s a line, right? You definitely don’t want to come across as if you have no idea about what you’re doing. You were hired for a reason. But at the same time, you aren’t going to have all the answers on your own. I think there’s a level of confidence that the community, your new staff, parents and students are looking for. They want to know that they have a leader who has strategies for success and is confident in their own leadership ability. However, I think part of leadership is collaboration and being open to different opinions, different ideas and the history of the organization. It’s important to be open to what’s worked and maybe what hasn’t worked as well. If you’re open to all of those things, then you aren’t going to have all the answers. It’s about saying I’m new here, and I want to hear how you feel and better understand how we can move forward together. I’ve been so grateful to be part of Women in

Is the target audience for your book newsuperintendentsor canveteran superintendentsbenefit fromreading it? I think it’s a book that could be accessible to anybody who’s been in a leadership position. I think sometimes when you change positions you feel like a new leader because you’re in a new place with a new set of circumstances and new sets of people. It’s my practice to try to show gratitude every time, so I often write an email to thank a colleague for taking the time to talk with me. That’s a reflection for me because I’m going to go back to that conversation. Then it’s just kind of finding a way to put all of that together to put that in a place that’s accessible to you. There are so many tech tools right now and different strategies that people can use to curate. Whydidyoudecide touseaWizardofOz analogyor quote for each chapter? I love the movie, and I love that story. It didn’t come into the book until it was almost written. I was looking for a way to anchor it and to have a through line. As I was thinking about lessons in my life that I’ve learned, or stories that kind of mirror leading through a chaotic situation, the story of Dorothy felt right. A lot of the quotes jumped out as anchors that would work well for the book. Youwriteabout hownewsuperintendents shouldnot beexpected toknoweverything. I suspect thismight beanareasomenew superintendents strugglewithbecause theywant toshowthey’resmart and Working as a school leader, I think, you have to find the time that makes the most sense for you and also the method that works best for you. I think sometimes it’s helpful just to have a running document that you can go to all the time and jot notes down whenever you want to remember something. Sometimes for me, it’s been a more formal process of dealing with a situation over time that’s evolving. Sometimes it’s been voice recordings when I’m in the car just reflecting, and sometimes it’s been reflection through talking with others over the phone or professional conversations.

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9 LM January 2023 continued...