TL;DR:
- We often don’t expect to become leaders. Sometimes we may even avoid it.
- There are moments when you see the need for your leadership, and you step up to help create change.
Pssst…I am going to share a secret about myself. I didn’t want to be a leader. Never have, and I never thought I would be calling myself one today.
I never wanted to be a leader. But I knew things weren't going to change unless I became one. Click To TweetThe fact is… I am a reluctant leader. And my journey is a complicated one.
Growing up, I was very shy and introverted. I was that good kid in class who did her work quietly and never caused a problem. I rarely raised my hand for fear of getting a wrong answer and embarrassing myself. And I never liked drawing attention to myself.
Even though I was highly intelligent and earned really high grades, I didn’t advertise my ability and kept it quiet. I was deeply afraid of being ridiculed because, as I found out after many years of reflection, I am a highly sensitive individual. I care a lot about other people deeply, but that big heart comes with a downside. The hurt I feel from any perceived slight or criticism is magnified exponentially.
I kept quiet for the longest time because I was so afraid of upsetting other people.
When I first started teaching at a large, affluent high school district in the suburbs of Chicago, I went with the status quo. I clung to the teachers I saw as leaders in the craft, and did my best to learn from them. But after a while, I knew the tried and true methods that had worked for those teachers just weren’t as effective with kids as they used to be. So I started to go outside my comfort zone and innovate.
I started using technology in the classroom and really embraced the 1:1 Chromebook classroom. Then I started to teach other teachers in my department how to use the technology effectively. But still, I didn’t see myself as a leader. Just a teacher who was now teaching adults as well as students in my day-to-day life. And I never had any ambition to be an administrator. My place was always in the classroom.
It wasn’t until I moved to a smaller district closer to home that I reluctantly became a leader.
In the spring of 2021, I was finally done with my long commute each day and decided to work closer to home. It was a huge decision that filled my heart with sadness leaving the colleagues I had spent 17 years learning and growing with. I went from a high school where there were close to 30 teachers in the math department to a high school where there were five math teachers. And on top of that, no department chair.
Instead, there was a PLC leader (I had to look up what PLC meant when I found out), who was a full-time teacher in the building who was a part of the Building Leadership Team. What a culture shift this was for me!
I decided that for my first year in a new school, which had new policies, procedures, and clientele, I was going to do my best to keep my head down, my mouth shut, and just do my job as I got used to things. Honestly, I just wanted to blend in and fit in.
But halfway through my first year, I knew I had to make a change.
I needed to start speaking up and trying to make this place better.
I had fallen in love with the teachers and students at my new school. But there was a lot that needed to be improved on for the school to reach its full potential.
First, I fully switched to the GRID Method to help my students learn more effectively. I was the first teacher in the building to do this and it caught the attention of the administration. It also caught the attention of other teachers, who then decided to try it out too.
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I joined the Guiding Coalition Committee, which was tasked with improving the climate and culture of the school. Slowly I started to find my voice in that committee. I was starting to really be viewed as a leader by other teachers.
Finally, when our PLC leader took on another role in the building, I decided to put my name in as PLC leader for this school year. And I finally found my voice. In my first year as PLC Leader, I worked with my AP and my team to enact a lot of positive changes. This has come with many trials, which I will detail in other posts, but also a lot of triumphs as well.
I never wanted to be a leader. But I knew things weren’t going to change unless I became one.
I may be a reluctant leader. But, as it turns out, I am a pretty decent one.
About Julie Saller
Julie is a math teacher who currently teaches at Plano HS in Plano, IL and is also the Math PLC Leader & Educators Rising Sponsor at the school. She is an advocate for public education & recruitment of quality professionals in the teaching profession. She uses the GRID method by Teach Better in her math classes & supports teachers in her building who are looking to try GRID in their classes.
