My "Board of Directors"

Recently, I was asked this question: "If you were to create a Board of Directors to advise you on your leadership decisions, who would serve on it?" This has resonated with me all week, day in and day out, with each decision I've made.

When I think of the number of decisions I make during any given day, that is one busy Board of Directors! Donham (2008) reminds us that a principal has as many as 400 unplanned verbal interactions a day that span over 100 unrelated topics. Just yesterday, I facilitated professional development on differentiation and assessment, attended meetings on entrance criteria for Advanced Science & Advanced Language Arts, approved a purchase order for a student celebration, talked to a parent about their parent/teacher conference experience...and those were planned! You better believe that I accessed the members of my Board to guide me through each conversation, presentation, and decision. By "accessing," I don't necessarily mean that I had a conversation with them. Sometimes yes, I did have a conversation with them (especially if they were physically with me at the time), and sometimes no.

In all His mighty power and guidance, the president of my Board of Directors is God. I seem to have a conversation with Him that never really ends from the moment I wake up in the morning to the moment I fall asleep at night. His presence in my life gives me focus and clarity, all around love and serving others. He knows I'm not perfect, and yet he's still here.

I would not be where I am without my husband. When I think of Mike, I think of the fan that generates the calming noise in my daughter's bedroom when she sleeps at night. He's my "fan" because he provides me with that ongoing hum in my life...that stability and calming presence. He's also my "fan" because he provides unwavering support for me personally and professionally.

The founding member of my Board is my father, as he has advised me and guided me since the moment I entered this world. His positive outlook, passion for lifelong learning, and energetic drive for embracing opportunities have generated my lens for living life to its fullest.

Some seats on my Board belong to mentors who have fostered my growth through various chapters in my life. I must give credit to those who have helped me build a strong foundation in my beliefs on learning and leadership. I'm reminded of my bracelet with the engraved inscription, "WWJD," that guides me to make decisions based on what Jesus would do. There are a number of times when I'm in a situation that requires a decision where I lean on the wisdom gleaned from my mentors..."What would (mentor's name) do?" So, even if they're not active in my life at this particular moment, the impact of their mentoring relationship still has an active presence in my life. I often joke, yet with a serious undertone, that to be my mentor means you are my "mentor for life" without an expiration date. When I shared this with one mentor in particular, he jokingly responded, "Yeah, Jill...more like a life sentence." Gosh - I'm hoping there's not a serious undertone in his response! :-)

A number of seats on my Board belong to the teacher leaders in my building. Todd Whitaker reminds us that we must make our decisions based on our best teachers. Through collaborative, distributive leadership, these teachers are paramount in decisions that impact learning for students AND adults.

My administrative colleagues across the district, whether they are in school buildings or district office, serve on my Board. With our PLC practices and beliefs, I often look to them in making decisions so that my building is seamlessly connected with the district's vision and mission. I often look to their expertise and modeling when it comes to making decisions that impact learning.

My board consists of some revolving chairs...some ad hoc members, if you will, of those experts whose brain I need to tap into based on the particular situation I'm experiencing. For example, if I'm creating a long-term plan on how to use money from our school's magazine sale to purchase technology for our classrooms, I definitely want to bring our Director of Technology into the conversation. However, he would probably not be interested in taking part in the conversation I have with our Director of Maintenance to decide which locks need to be re-keyed so that teachers can have access to the workroom during weekend hours.

And then...the final chair on my Board of Directors isn't a "He" or a "She." Are you ready for this? It's DATA! Any decision that's being made should be accompanied with the question, "What does the data tell us?" When data is current and based on research, it guides our work with such truth and clarity. Data replaces the statement, "I made this decision because it feels right," with, "I made this decision because the data has presented the sense of urgency to do so. It has guided our work to achieve our desired results."

I'm grateful for my Board of Directors. They have molded me into who I am as a servant, wife, mother, child, sister, friend, learner, and leader. They challenge my thinking, they hold me accountable for the important stuff, and they care about me. They model for me that which I aspire to be.