TL;DR:

• Discover your admin superpower by discovering your self-worth, examining your catalyst, and identifying your epiphany.
• Once you are aware of your strengths, you are better equipped to work with others to help them identify theirs.

Discover Your Admin Superpower: First, Discover Your Self Worth.

I never truly felt good at teaching until around my fifth year as an educator. By my fifth year, I remember that I felt invincible. As educators, we typically assign our worth to adult feedback and commentary.  Student accolades never really seem to satisfy. My students had always shared how much they loved and appreciated my style of teaching and my high expectations in the classroom.

Unfortunately, I only felt competent when my class observations had improved or when colleagues began to ask for advice and teaching tips. It is important to note that students are more than qualified to verify teacher effectiveness. At any rate, after five years of teaching middle school English, I knew I was doing exactly what I was meant to do with my life.

It is perfectly ok to not have it all together. It’s ok to be uncertain and vulnerable. I have discovered that this is also is a superpower. Click To Tweet

Discover Your Admin Superpower: Second, Examine Your Catalyst.

Year six started as wonderfully as year five had.  As a sorority chairperson, new mom, and wife, I knew, though, that I needed to explore a closer commute.  At the end of my sixth year at the school that had cultivated me and given me my bearings in education, I decided to transfer to a school closer to my home.  With that shift, my sense of invincibility changed. I was officially a fish out of water.

I’d gone from teaching in a small, rural district to an urban setting in a significantly larger school district. Considered a seasoned teacher, help wasn’t as readily available for me. If you aren’t a novice, it is believed that you are coming equipped with whatever you needed to be successful at your job. That time in my career was indeed my catalyst. I began to understand I was not as amazing as I had once thought. There was certainly more to teaching and learning than I had anticipated.

Discover Your Admin Superpower: Third, Identify Your Epiphany.

As I write this, I’m reminded of another core truth: if you have a desire to move, grow, or ascend in your career, you’ll never be invincible as an educator. If you have an innate desire to be a continuous learner and pursue education leadership positions, you’ll always be in a state of newness. What is a state of newness? It is the understanding that you’ll always be a novice at some point in your career—being inexperienced will become iterative.

Rather than run from this inevitability, I have decided to embrace it. Intellection (being deeply introspective and enjoying intellectual discussions) and input (the need to collect and archive) are two of my highest strengths according to my Clifton Strengths Assessment through Gallup. Armed with this knowledge, I know my superpower as an administrator is that I have never and will never “arrive” as an educator.  I am a true career learner.

The More You Know…

This truth keeps me humble as an administrator—down to earth.

My pastor once said, no matter how high you rise, never forget how low you’ve been.

His aphorism advises that I never will be too important or too essential to hear the needs and concerns of others. As I reflect on how it feels to be a career learner, constantly growing and adapting, I am better equipped to serve.

I can always empathize and respect everyone else as they navigate the learning process.  I can help others develop a growth mindset. It is perfectly ok to not have it all together. It’s ok to be uncertain and vulnerable. I have discovered that this is also is a superpower.

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Discovering Your Superpower

As you walk your leadership path, take time to pause and discern your own superpower. Why is it important? Trang Chu asserts that “being able to identify your strengths is a valuable tool— especially when it comes to leadership.”

Once you are aware of your strengths, you are better equipped to work with others to help them identify theirs. Good leaders always seek ways to make others better.

I encourage you to think about the following:

1. If you could do anything with your life without pay, what would it be?
2. What do you consistently receive accolades or positive feedback for both personally and professionally?
3. What one thing makes you feel 100% alive and fulfilled?

Once you have the answer to those questions, you will have successfully identified your core strength. I would love to hear what that is!

Tweet out your epiphany with the hashtag #adminsuperpower and be sure to tag me so I can celebrate with you!