By: Joel Hazard

There’s nothing like celebrating your oldest child’s birthday that will get you to pause and go into deep reflection about your life, the good times, and the hardships endured to get to that point. My son Noah turned 15 this past October. During that time, it was common for my phone to send me pictures, collages, and videos of memories of him and other events from five plus years ago. I would get hooked on the video collages that were labeled revisit the moment or labels on individual pictures that read on this day look back. As I scrolled through the pictures and watched the videos I found myself not just revisiting and looking back on those precious personal moments within a 5-year span but also revisiting and looking back on those leadership movements that I was also able to capture through picture and video.

As I began to reflect on those leadership moments from the past 5 years I kept asking myself- how was I able to lead during such a tough and unparalleled time? After all, within the last 5 years our schools have had to navigate the COVID terrain, COVID related deaths in our community, asynchronous/synchronous online learning, mask mandates, contact tracing, political and racial unrest, social movements, CRT, LGBTQ, etc. Keep in mind that some of these menu items are still ongoing challenges within our school communities.

So, how was I able to lead and continue to lead to this day despite these challenges? I’ve whittled it down to 4 things that I’ve continued to develop and strengthen as a Christian leader. The first is I identify advocates within my school community. Who are the people that are for my success, development, and growth? It’s important that as we lead our schools we have those within our community that we trust and can lean on for assistance, insight, and encouragement. It’s also great to have advocates that you can count on to identify any blind spots you may have. Ultimately, advocates provide you with the space and opportunity to download, process, recharge, and to keep moving forward.

The second is the creation of lifelines. I have found it to be very beneficial to have a small number of trusted people outside my organization that I can call and bounce ideas off of. What makes the lifelines so powerful is you’re able to gain insight from trusted friends who are able to see your school, your problem(s), and your train of thought with a fresh perspective. Often, when I reach out to my lifelines I’m provided with a wider perspective and deeper insight because I’m receiving input from people who aren’t closely tied to or emotionally invested into the situation I’m seeking clarity of. The lifelines provide me with an opportunity to look at my current situation through a different lens and also provides clarity as to if I’m reading a situation properly.

The third is being part of position-specific groups. These types of groups are a great opportunity for you to be around and dialogue with people who understand your daily grind, joys, frustrations, and responsibilities. These groups are able to provide you with a collection of strategies, insights, and techniques for how to lead well within your position. These groups also provide for you with the visual aid that you are not alone when you experience uncertainty, stress, and confusion while in the role.  

Lastly, it’s the constant remembering that you are not meant to embark on this leadership journey alone that gives me the ability to lead in any educational environment or situation. While I believe it’s natural for leaders to feel a sense of professional isolation at times I submit to you that these feelings should be few and far in between. To lead well is not just to lead with others in mind but to also to lead with others on your side. 

This is the secret sauce that keeps me leading. Nothing I’ve shared illustrates a man who leads alone or makes decisions alone but rather a man who seeks encouragement, insight, support, and understanding from a wide collection of people. Leading well is about including people in your journey in order to positively impact your school community for the better.