Leaders, how do you feel about transformative learning?

/ mkessenburg
I want leaders to flourish in terms of transformative learning. My deep hope is that leaders are consistently experiencing…

1. Professional development aligned with individual, team, and schoolwide goals (see Construct: Professional Development, p. 16).

2. Participation in sessions with a qualified coach/mentor, in professional organizations, and on accreditation teams.

3. Frequent feedback—criticism that is kind and clear, praise that is specific and sincere (see Construct: Feedback, p. 16).

4. Measurable growth in terms of carrying out the Christ-centered mission, helping students achieve the Christ-centered outcomes, and serving as a flourishing role model: passionate purpose, resilient well-being, healthy relationships, transformative learning, and helpful resources (see Construct: Data-Driven Improvement, p. 16).

This blog post addresses #2 above.

These cars transform into robots! What is your learning transforming you into?

“Really cool!” That’s my 5-year-old grandson’s response when I asked what he thought about a robot that could transform itself into a vehicle and then back into a robot. I agree—transformation is really cool!

Maybe that’s why I’m excited about transformative learning. About learning that results in real, measurable change. About learning that helps me become all that God intended me to be. I want my learning to be impactful and life changing. And I want leaders like you to experience learning that is metamorphosizing—like changing from a caterpillar into a butterfly!

Caterpillars transform into butterflies. To what extent is your learning transforming you? (Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash)

I want to become a leader, to transform into the leader God calls me to be—so, I regularly (and hopefully, relentlessly) pursue learning. And I do this in a variety of ways, including reading articles and books, watching webinars, listening to podcasts, taking courses, getting coached, participating in a professional organization, and being on visiting accreditation teams.

I want to especially encourage you to regularly experience the following 3 learning opportunities: getting coached, participating in a professional organizations, and being on visiting accreditation teams. Let me explain:

(1) Getting coached: Regularly talking with someone who listens, asks questions, and invites me to take action steps is definitely helpful. During a coaching session, I choose my goal, get support in thinking about it, and then determine what I will do. As a result of being coached, I’m more encouraging, more aware of what others are experiencing emotionally, and better able to meet people where they are.

(2) Participating in professional organizations: I want to be connected and current, and participating in professional organizations helps me do that—for example, Christian School Management, ACSD, NASSP, a virtual bookclub for leaders, a cohort piloting ACSI’s Inspire accreditation protocol, and more. 

As a result of participating in professional organizations, I have a larger network and I’m more aware of who I could help and who could help me. I also have increased awareness of current practice, trends, and opportunities.

Mixing cesium and water results in transformation. What does mixing you and your learning result in?

(3) Participating on visiting accreditation teams: This involves reading another school’s self-study (very helpful), visiting the school (great way to see how other international school operate), assessing a school in terms of accreditation standards (great way to get more skillful with the standards), and working with others (great way to network) to develop a visiting team report.

As a result of participating on visiting accreditation teams, I’m more appreciative of how God is using international Christian schools around the world, more aware of best practice and how others are applying it, and more skillful and strategic in applying (accreditation) standards, models, and systems.

What about you? How do you feel about transformative learning? To what extent is your learning transforming you into all that God calls you to be as a leader? What types of learning experiences especially help you transform? How do you feel about pursuing participation in sessions with a qualified coach/mentor, in professional organizations, and on accreditation teams?

Here are some posts related to flourishing in terms of transformative learning:

Get flourishing!

Michael

P.S. Bonus! Here’s a list of 10 quotations from things I’ve read that contain a form of the word transform:

  1. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2, NIV).
  2. “Inspirational leaders breathe in divine power and wisdom and breathe out transformative influence on their organization and its people” (Road to Flourishing: Eight Keys to Boost Employee Engagement and Well-Being, loc 2061). 
  3. “Kindness transforms us into genuinely caring people who enjoy seeing others thrive and succeed. Nice doesn’t do that. Nice is more concerned about saving face and being accepted” (Your Hidden Superpower: The Kindness That Makes You Unbeatable at Work and Connects You with Anyone, loc 938).
  4. “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity. And if a change is meaningful, it actually is big. That’s the paradox of making small improvements” (Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, loc 529).
  5. “The books you read can transform you” (Read to Lead: The Simple Habit That Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career, loc 377).
  6. “A good question for all leaders to ask is, For the people who work in our organization, is the culture transforming or deforming?” (High-Impact Teams: Where Healthy Meets High Performance, loc 3318)
  7. “Doing gets the job done; developing gets the job done through others. Doing is transactional; developing is transformational. Doing only measures results; developing also measures reproduction. Doing is about today; developing is about tomorrow. Doing looks at what you’re accomplishing; developing looks at whom you’re cultivating. Doing focuses on performance; developing focuses on people. Doing is about ‘what’; developing is about ‘who.’ Doing is fast; developing is slow. Doing is short-term thinking; developing is long-term thinking” (High-Impact Teams: Where Healthy Meets High Performance, loc 3349).
  8. “Command & Control is transactional—get the deal, finish the job, stop an undesirable behavior, and do it fast. That’s the notion of efficiency shining through. Trust & Inspire is transformational—it focuses on building relationships; on developing capabilities; on enabling, empowering, and growing people” (Trust and Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others, loc 582).
  9. “Command-and-control is no longer a viable leadership strategy. Society has transformed, and amid these changes, the rules of business have been rewritten. The relationship of employee to employer is radically different. In this new world of work, Old-School leadership didn’t really stand a chance” (Cracking the Leadership Code, loc 1226).
  10. “…formal degree programs are important for leadership development as are external professional development opportunities. For example, research has shown that ‘intensive institutes,’ which often involve an academic weeklong immersive experience coupled with yearlong mentoring and follow-up activities, can transform educational practice” (Leadership for Flourishing Schools, p. 16).