My "Papers"

Earlier in the school year I was asked by a community member if I had my "papers for superintendent".  I was first put off by this but I knew didn't know the terminology.  He was simply asking if I had the credentials for being a superintendent.  I replied that I did and we had a nice conversation about schools and our myriad of issues in the profession.  I went home fearing that this is what some folks feel leadership is.  As if just having your "papers" means you can do it.  I have a long talk with myself about my own personal leadership style and qualities.  This continued throughout the year and I sought to define myself as a leader.  This was frustrating and too much talking to yourself can look and feel strange.

I had the opportunity to apply to be a part of the Illinois Association of School Administrators Aspiring Superintendent Academy and thankfully I was accepted.  I had no idea what I was in for and just assumed I would get more of the same training that I had for years, despite the handful of people that assured me that this was a great program and spoke highly of the facilitators.

I was completely wrong about this five minutes into the first day.  Our facilitators were Dr. Nick Polyak and Dr. Michael Lubelfeld and they were great.  It was obvious they were passionate about what they do and the purpose for doing it.  They described their mission as developing the bullpen for the superintendency and folks let me tell you, if a man uses a sports analogy for something it means he is serious.  These guys were awesome and they brought awesome people to us too.  I'm going to take the easy way out and say that I learned so much and the activities were completely worthwhile.  That's not lip service, I truly did learn many technical aspects of the superintendency and how to do them well, but that is not what the magic of the academy was for me.

Before any technical or leadership learning took place, they provided a perfect lens to look through on the very first day.  To begin the week we examined and explored our leadership story.  We focused on what made us tick and how we got to where we are.  This was huge for me.  People like us are selfless and tend to never look in the mirror.  For me its mostly because I have no time (my morning shave is about it) and I tend to attribute all the good in my life to my family and school staff.  Through metrics and exploration we learned what our strengths are and why that is.  I was floored when I returned to the hotel that night.  From that day on, I began to look at every activity through this new lens and it changed the whole experience for me.

I can tell you that I can look in a book and figure out out how to do stuff.  That my friends is simply having your "papers" and this experience was far beyond that.  This academy was about why you do stuff.  After figuring that out, I saw each learning experience totally different.  When I worked though a mock emergency scenario, I thought about my values.  When I constructed my first day of school presentation, I though about my leadership strengths and how to play to them.  When I wrote principal evaluation feedback, I put my leadership story to work.  I can't image getting the same experience if the format was any different.

I want to give a huge shout out to Dr. Polyak and Dr. Lubelfeld for such an awesome week of personal (not just professional) development.  They are truly leaders of leaders and for that I will plug their book, The Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow's Schools Today and yes you can find it on Amazon.  Yes, I have my "papers" but thanks to this experience I know why.

One final insider thought and comment: #shuttle and "I live by a levy".  I've been home less than 24 hours and that is already a source of laughter for my family and I as I tell our stories.  It was truly #ASuperWeek.

Dr. Michael Lubelfeld is the Superintendent of Schools at Deerfield Public School #109
Dr. Nick Polyak is the Superintendent of Schools at Leyden High School District #212