Original post found here: https://create.twu.ca/seabreeze/2018/11/21/blog-8-1-strategic-competencies-at-work/

Thank you, Seabreeze, for once again posting a detailed description of strategic leadership in an educational setting with all the tangents that are required in a public school.  You have revealed many of the everyday realities we teachers face as we try to deliver and education that prepares students for their opportunity to participate in the world beyond school campuses.

Competencies

Strategic Planning is a definite necessity moving forward in my career also as you mentioned it will be incorporated into your teaching (Seabreeze, 2018, para. 2).  As I read the various texts and tried to apply the information to our academic setting, I realized I have had this mini strategic plan for my own career.  Moving from my former district was difficult because I knew administrators would provide opportunities for me to pursue my goals; they cared about my career, how I was doing personally, and met with me regularly to help me continue to grow as an educator. As an overall district strategy, I can see now that they “hire[d] for fit, train[ed] for skills” (Galbraith, 2014, 54). Transferring to new district involved an entirely new strategic plan because as one thoughtful administrator told me, “We don’t know you, so we don’t owe you.”  This caused me to re-evaluate my approach and learn more about my contract, my union, the district and its practices, and lately, our pension.  Armed with this newly acquired understanding of my profession, I now invest and educate my colleagues who may not understand the cost of being a union member or the protocols of the district.  Teachers may be part of an organization, but they are also creators of their own career strategy. “Crafting strategy is more of a discovery process than it is a determination process or a process of choosing among a limited set of possibilities” (Hughes, Beatty, & Dinwoodie, 2014, p. 28).

Your second competency revolved around your commitment to employ vision throughout your career.  As Lepsinger (2010) promotes, vision is the connection between strategy and action (p. 35).  While I know I am not a visionary (Ungerer et al. 2016, p. 91) nor do I have a greater vision than my colleagues for where my school might need some strategic planning for effectiveness, I am never shy of ideas to try that seem to fit the needs.  I have come to realize that crafting a vision can be learned and is very necessary to develop purpose, direction, and culture within a school. Ungerer, Ungerer, & Herholdt contend that vision clarifies priorities (2016, p. 63).  This kind of vision is possible for me.

My idea of vision is always rooted in my values and your third competency speaks to that as well (SeaBreeze, 2018, para. 4).  Consistent in practice and in faith is a necessity for me as I teach in the public system.  This requires vigilance to one’s own practice as well as to the external factors that can create tension between vision and reality (Ungerer et al., 2016, p. 63).  I appreciated your reminder of Ungerer et al.’s description to virtuous leadership and the requirement that leadership maintain a strong moral base (2016, pp. 41-42).  Although leading in a virtuous way does not guarantee more success, it must certainly mitigate the gap between plans and action while ensuring each decision is in balance with personal values and organizational vision.  I take encouragement from Lepsinger’s acknowledgment that “it’s reassuring to know that no matter what your current capability, with practice you can reach a high level of competence (2010, p. 208).

How do you see your career changing with your commitment to strategic planning, applying vision, and filtering decisions through your values in the public system?  What benefits or drawbacks do you expect to experience using your strategic competencies even though your organization may not adhere to the same focus of strategic thinking?

References

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations: Strategy, structure, and process at the business unit and enterprise levels. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hughes, R., Beatty, K. & Dinwoodie, D. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap: How great leaders and their companies get results. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

SeaBreeze. (November 20, 2018). Blog 8.1: strategic competencies at work. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/seabreeze/2018/11/21/blog-8-1-strategic-competencies-at-work/