A few weeks ago, ACEL WA hosted a truly inspirational evening of conversation with four Next Gen. leaders. This insightful panel discussion, led by our amazing ACEL WA vice-president Gary Racey, explored the challenges, opportunities, and real-life experiences of educators who have stepped from the classroom into varied leadership roles - Emma Cross, Associate Lecturer, Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Educational Studies - Curtin University; Jessica Milne, Director of Environmental Education, Emmanuel Catholic College; Oliver Oeij, College Deputy Principal - Providence Christian College and Phil Wass, Director - WA Space Science Education Centre at Joseph Banks Secondary College.
As I mentioned on the evening, at many previous ACEL evenings such as this, I was always so busy tweeting about what we were hearing and, for the first time, I ignored the desire to share a blow-by-blow account of the evening on social media and I felt really present in the moment, enjoying the conversation immensely. As the evening went on, I was reflecting on the ACEL signs that sat behind our panel that said, “Inspiring Educational Leaders” and I acknowledged that this is exactly what this conversation did. There were so many ‘truth bombs’ shared, and if I wasn't already an educational leader, I would have been inspired to take this journey because of the sheer volume of wisdom and insights on moving from teacher to leader that they all shared.
I will attempt to pass some of these inspirational words forward to you all in a brief summary that in no way encapsulates the stories that were shared, but perhaps gives a taste of what you missed if you didn’t attend.
Firstly, each leader was asked to share one word that described them as a leader. Phil is calm, Jessica is innovative, Oliver is relational and Emma, collaborative. Gary summed this up by stated that if we aimed to be a little of each of those, we’d be a great leader! Something to aspire to indeed…
Some one liners from these leaders that will inspire you were:
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It’s about taking opportunities, taking risks, putting your neck out there and saying ‘yes’.
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Having relationships with people is super important, because if you don’t have those relationships, things aren’t going to move forward.
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I struggled as a young leader because of the assumption that I didn’t have the experience. So, I focused on being patient and developing relationships as a strategy to overcome that.
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When people see I am passionate and I’m not the expert in all matters, this helps bring people on the journey with me and empowers others to step forward into opportunities when it’s their area of expertise.
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The ability to support and lift people and empower them to be the best they can be creates a team that’s so much stronger.
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Lead from the heart and you’re never going to go wrong. You’ll get some unkind people, but you’ll never go wrong.
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Make lists!
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Building the capacity of others is the vehicle to success.
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Know that there’s always stuff to be learned every day. Every decision you make, everything you do, every relationship you have, you can constantly be growing in everyday actions, in everyday moments.
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Consider ‘could I have done this better?’ or ‘Do I not know something that I should know?’
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My superpower is I am genuinely interested in everyone I meet. I love their story and hearing about what they do.
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Remember that every decision you make can make or break your relationships with others around you. Trust can be lost quickly.
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Change takes time. It takes relationships and learning to slow down, pause and be slow in enacting change.
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Leadership is to not take yourself too seriously and remember, you aren’t going to win everyone.
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Imposter syndrome is pretty common in leadership. Everyone kind of has that level of insecurity and it’s about how you deal with it.
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Try to pump others up. Put them on the pedestal and take a back seat.
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It’s ok to leave your list half-finished and go home and spend time with your family, go to the gym, or do whatever gives you joy and energy.
I genuinely feel that there is a lot to learn from these leaders, no matter where you are on your own leadership journey. The power of building relationships is clear, get out there and take risks, lead from the heart, and don’t forget to make those lists!
Educational Leadership Book Club
⭐ Love to read? ⭐ Love to learn? ⭐ Charged to lead? ⭐
📚 Join the ACELWA team for an Educational Leadership Book Club 📚
📆 Thursday 24th April 2025
🕗 10:00am to 12:00pm
📍 TBC or Online via Teams
🎫 No cost
Steps:
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Purchase (or borrow from a library) a copy of ‘Teach Brilliantly’ by James Nottingham
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Read the book (or part of the book) before we meet.
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Let us know you can join us via the ACEL website.
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Join other educational leaders for collegial conversation and a coffee.
Save the Date
Term 2 Leading Innovation inEducation meet-up
📆 Thursday 22ndMay 2025
🕗 4:00pm to 6:00pm
📍 Hammond Park Secondary College,
🎫 No cost
New ACEL WA Members
We want to extend a warm welcome to our new (or reinstated) ACEL members in WA who joined this past month - we look forward to connecting with you this year and hope to see you at an event soon.
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Kim McCollum – Department of Education, WA
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Craig Stanners – Department of Education, WA
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Kate Wilson - Department of Education, WA
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Joanne Dixon – Kapinara Primary School
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Juanita McDermott – Tuart Forest Primary School
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Sonja Orford - Kapinara Primary School
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Gemma Cronan - Department of Education, WA
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Brooke O’Donnell - Department of Education, WA
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Robyn Wilson - Department of Education, WA
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Matt Osborne - Department of Education, WA
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Natalie Oddy - Kapinara Primary School
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Kathryn Campbell – Georgiana Molloy Anglican School
Thank you for joining our community (or rejoining!) and we encourage you to invite your colleagues to be part of this fabulous group of passionate and dedicated educators and leaders.
ACEL WA Executive Team Spotlight – Maree Whiteley
This month our ACEL WA executive member spotlight shines on Maree Whiteley, Founder and Lead Consultant of the Purposeful Learning Community. Maree’s profile is below and she has shared her thoughts on the power of connection.
READ The Power of Connection
A big thank you to Maree for sharing these words of wisdom with us all. Do make sure you connect with her on LinkedIn and reach out to find out more about the Purposeful Learning Community (purposefullearningcommunity.org).
April is a month that, for many of us, sees us taking our first break from our leadership roles in the form of the school holidays and Easter break, so I hope you enjoy the well-deserved break when it comes, and that you spend time doing things that rejuvenate you and bring you joy bubbles!
As always, I am reachable by email if you have any questions, comments or just want to connect.
Rachael Lehr
ACEL WA Branch President