Reflection on Reflection

The art of reflection is an imperative part of any effective administrators method of operations. Effective administrators not only take the time to reflect, but honestly evaluate their decisions to determine what could have been done differently, and/or better. From my own experience, it can be a humbling experience to reflect on a decision and realize that I could have handled the situation differently with possibly better results. Once reflection becomes a part of the daily routine, the decisions one makes only becomes better and better.

One of the activities I had during my internship was to assist the superintendent in finding a more appropriate evaluation instrument to be used by him in evaluating superintendents.  During this process I reviewed many instruments and consorted with the superintendent several times to eventually combine several of the instruments I had to review to create one evaluation instrument that is now in place, being used by our superintendent. Upon reflection, I realized that I never asked for input from my fellow administrators, that would be evaluated under this instrument. I was so focused on the task, that I did not include those that this project would matter the most to. Like I mentioned earlier, reflection can be humbling.

Another activitity that I took part in was developing a new mission statement for the school district, as part of our leadership team. This was an important endeavor as the mission statement had not been addressed in several years and with a change at the superintendent level, it was time to evaluate where we were headed as a district. This was a collaborative effort with the core leadership of the school district and it was interesting to see the “synergy” that developed as we discussed what we wanted for our kids. Upon reflection I realized how the superintendent brought us all together with purpose and relied on our professional skills to create a vision statement that the school trustees liked and that ultimately was best for our students. Our superintendent had talked about synergy, but we were able to see it and experience it during this mission statement exercise.

I had the opportunity to reflect on a conflict that I helped to resolve between an educator and a parent. Ultimately the conflict was resolved between the two, but after looking back I think I could have conducted a better job of getting both parties to really communicate their sides of the issues. I was able to get to the root of the problem, but looking back I believe there were underlying issues (past history) that was never addressed and I think the solution would have been more effective had some deeper communication existed. Ultimately, I realized I did not allow enough time for the two to meet and to truly discuss all the issues that were between them. Allowing sufficient time to discuss the problems are imperative in dealing with any dispute.

I often reflect on the day’s events now as a campus principal to reassess the day’s activities and the decisions that I made. I plan on continuing this process regardless of the position I have in the future, whether I remain as a principal, a director, an assistant superintendent or the superintendent itself. I think the practice of reflection is a valuable part of career growth for anyone in a leadership position.