Good day
I hope that Term 3 or Semester 2 has started well for you.
During the July school holidays we held our customary ACEL WA holiday Educational Leadership Book Club. I thought I would share a few quick insights form the book that we discussed this time, Holly Ransom’s book “The Leading Edge: Dream big, spark change and become the leader the world needs you to be”.
The book is an easy read, covering a wide variety of leadership ideas structured into two sections framed around leading self and leading others. Each of the 28 chapters is only 10 – 12 pages long, so great to dip in and out for bite-size reading or perfect to use as provocation for school-based staff-room discussions. Holly talks about the fact that everyone is a leader and the different concepts in the book are illuminated with case stories from everyday life, the world of business and beyond. In one of the chapters, she even reflects on the impact that school leaders can make on the future life trajectory of a young person by sharing experiences from her own schooling in Perth.
Another of the chapters that I really enjoyed focused on the intentionality around building your tribe. Holly suggests actively cultivating four different types of relationships in our lives which she calls the four Ss. Find your:
- Sages: loving truth tellers and sounding boards;
- Supporters: your cheer squad giving encouragement during tough times;
- Sponsors: individuals who can open doors, make introductions and advocate for you;
- Sparring partners: critical friends who can challenge your thinking to help you raise the bar to new heights.
If you look at Holly’s career, you notice that she is an expert tribe-builder. She recommends that we should continuously seek learning, not just mentoring. All it takes to learn from a lifetime of experience ...is a coffee.
I think the reason why this chapter resonated with me is because this is what I value most about ACEL – it has helped me expand my tribe by finding other likeminded, passionate educators from all sectors, phases and stages of education. The photos below from ACEL WA events in Term 2 give a glimpse of how ACEL creates opportunities to build a tribe.
ACEL WA Hot Topic on Building Community hosted by Dayton Primary School
ACEL WA ELEV8 Leadership Mastery Program
ACEL WA Leading Innovation in Education Network hosted by BloomLab, the Centre for Youth Innovation, at St Catherine’s College, Curtin University
ACEL WA Educational Leadership Book Club hosted by Sheridan Institute of Higher Education
There are a few upcoming events in Term 3 that I want to highlight below. Please join us for one of these events to build your tribe:
Our next Leading Innovation in Education Network on Tuesday the 15th of August (10.00 am – 12 ppm) will be taking place at the brand-new Piara Waters Senior High School.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Carol Daniels, Foundation Principal, Piara Waters Senior High School
- Andrea Holloway, Director of Innovation, Perth College
- Melanie Wallis, Head of sparc, Perth College
- Maxine Galante, Deputy Principal at Challis Community Primary School
Join us to hear case studies of how these leaders are managing change in their schools.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER.
Our next Education Leadership Book Club will be on Thursday the 5th of October in Perth or online via Zoom. The book we are reading this term is: “The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams” by Seth Godin. Get yourself a copy of the book and join us for some discussion and networking during the school holidays.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER.
Finally, remember the ACEL National Conference is also on during the September/October school holidays. If you have never been to an ACEL National Conference, it is a truly uplifting, thought-provoking, professionally-enriching experience. The theme for this year is Learning from the past, leading the future as we celebrate the 50th year anniversary of ACEL. The conference will be held on the 27th – 29th of September in Brisbane.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER
Have a wonderful Term 3.
Mathilda Joubert
ACEL WA Branch President