Getting Unstuck #175 / 176: How Can We Overcome Challenges?
Focus, focus, focus
Update: We aired our first interview — included below — with Principal JoAnne Duncan in October 2020, but we had recorded it earlier that July as she and her staff first experienced COVID. With that challenge staring this young principal in the face, we focused our conversation on leadership.
We’ve always argued that one can develop their leadership abilities, but with JoAnne it was more a matter of taping into her instincts on how best to engage kids and build the support of her staff. If her leadership could be boiled down to one word, it would have to be “caring.”
Now, with the challenging year of COVID somewhat in the rearview mirror, we caught up with JoAnne before she headed off for a much-needed fly fishing vacation to Alaska. Reflecting on what guided her this past year, JoAnne offered some simple wisdom to educators facing what will again be a challenging school year:
Focus on what you can control.
Focus on the goodness you can choose to look for.
Focus on nurturing relationships.
Focus on keeping “it” simple.
Focus on what matters.
Our first conversation with JoAnne
Today we welcome someone working on the frontline of education. As we can read in the words that follow, elementary school principal, JoAnne Duncan, is a big-hearted, inspirational leader – just what her staff, kids, and parents need as they labor under the cloud of COVID-19.
What is energizing me and giving me purpose is the idea that I can help bring some calm to the chaos. If I have clear consistent communication with staff and families it can give them some reassurances about learning, school, and themselves. I am also energized by what Michael Fullan calls “Simplexity.” As I work through the complexities of redesigning school, my thoughts go to how to make it simple for others to be able to get "unstuck" and move forward.
Before she became a principal, JoAnne served as a first grade teacher, kindergarten teacher, and reading specialist. She believes in the brilliance of each child and knows firsthand that when we follow a child’s curiosity and interests, joyful, deep learning happens.
Principal JoAnne will stop at almost nothing to bring a smile and wonder to the faces of her students. Here she is getting ready to greet them back to school.
Elementary school principals wear many hats. Here, JoAnne fills in as an emergency nurse.
Listen for
During our conversation, JoAnne reveals that her “super objective” – her personal “why” – is to “give others the gift of hope and possibility.” The “super objective” is the brainchild of Kimberly Davis, and it’s defined in her brilliant book, Brave Leadership. Whether you’re an educational leader or not, Joanne’s leadership philosophy is powerful. As you listen to the episode, note how she lives that objective, and why is it crucial as she leads her school under the clouds of COViD-19 and the western states wildfires?
In JoAnne’s story about why she became a principal, she moves away from a top-down driven philosophy of education in “No Child Left Behind” to one based more on student and teacher agency. What is the impact of students and teachers? Where do you see this philosophy in action – or not in action in your system?
Connect with JoAnne
Referenced
“Could a book on how to change in education be anymore timely?“
It is needed as educational leaders work through new distance learning approaches for all students. Educators must balance educating students, while keeping staff and students healthy. There is fear on the part of many teachers to remain healthy as they go back to school. Their why is to inspire and ensure that students thrive emotionally, socially and academically.
— Patrick Sweeney, Leadership Coach / Retired Superintendent