| A flourishing international Christian school… 1. Has flourishing students, parents, staff, leaders, and board members. 2. Focuses on a vision for flourishing. 3. Prioritizes, talks about, plans for, takes action on, and assesses flourishing. This blog post focuses on #1 above in terms of leaders. |
Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash
Exhilarating. Challenging. Transforming. Stretching. Fun. Those are the words that come to mind regarding my time as a Christian school leader. Words that come to mind regarding the leaders I’ve served with and under in international Christian schools during the past 35 years include Christ-centered, selfless, wise, kind, and skillful.
I’m grateful for international Christian school leaders. I really want them to flourish. And I know that the extent to which these leaders experience the 5 elements of flourishing* either helps them flourish or hinders them from flourishing (see chart):
| Experiencing ___ helps leaders flourish. | Experiencing ___ hinders leaders from flourishing. |
| 1: Passionate purpose | Passionless purpose |
| 2: Resilient well-being | Fragile well-being |
| 3: Healthy relationships | Toxic relationships |
| 4: Transformative learning | Learning only to get a reward |
| 5: Helpful resources | Unhelpful or inadequate resources |
My deep hope for leaders at international Christian schools is that they will consistently and fully experience the 5 elements of flourishing:
(1) Passionate purpose, for example: decision-making that is guided by and aligned with the purpose statements, shared ownership for school improvement and mission achievement (see Construct: Responsibility, p. 14), and an inspiring board that rigorously monitors the implementation of the purpose statements.
(2) Resilient well-being, for example: regular exercise, healthy food, sufficient sleep (see Construct: Stress, p. 18); daily devotions; a safe, nurturing, Christ-centered environment; and a supportive board that monitors the leaders’ well-being and provides proactive care.
(3 Healthy relationships, for example: a leadership team that exhibits transparency, vulnerability, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability, and a focus on team results; a trustworthy, supportive, respectful, empowering Christ-centered board; and respectful appreciation of others’ cultural backgrounds.
(4) Transformative learning, for example:
- Professional development aligned with individual, team, and schoolwide goals (see Construct: Professional Development, p. 16).
- Participation in coaching sessions, in professional organizations, and on accreditation teams.
- Frequent feedback—criticism that is kind and clear, praise that is specific and sincere (see Construct: Feedback, p. 16).
- 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).
(5) Helpful resources, for example: a welcoming work space; plans, policies, and procedures that result in effective, efficient decision-making; regular discussions about resource management and resource planning that reflect agile, strategic, mission-centered thinking (see Construct: Resources and Resource Planning, p. 17); and a comfortable compensation and benefit package that allows them (A) to flourish, (B) to stay in Christian education for their career, and (C) to retire well.
What about you? How would you describe your experience as a leader at international Christian schools? What helps leaders flourish? To what extent are leaders at your school consistently and fully experiencing the 5 elements of flourishing? (Passionate purpose? Resilient well-being? Healthy relationships? Transformative learning? Helpful resources?) What’s your deep hope for leaders at international Christian schools?
Here are some related blog posts:
- What comes to mind when you think of flourishing?
- To what extent are you experiencing the 5 elements of flourishing?
- What comes to mind when you think of flourishing in terms of passionate purpose? Resilient well-being? Healthy relationships? Transformative learning? Helpful resources?
- What do flourishing students and staff at international Christian schools consistently experience?
- What does a flourishing international Christian school look like?
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 leader:
- “So Jesus called them all together and said, “You know that the rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of the others— like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people” (Matthew 20:25-28, GNT).
- “…leaders not only guide and implement strategy, but also shape overall school cultures that are conducive to flourishing. In other words, leaders—both those in formal roles and those in more informal or unstructured roles—help to plant the seeds for flourishing through strategy, and then till and water the soil of school culture, so that flourishing can emerge” (Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools, loc 335).
- “Leaders, teachers, and support staff feel a sense of shared ownership for school mission, success, and improvement” (Leadership for Flourishing Schools, p. 28).
- “Financial transparency and integrity build trust and accountability between leadership and the school community” (ACSI Inspire Standards, p. 9).
- “Our board defines and protects our Christ-centered educational purposes, ensures board policy is aligned with those purposes and is comprehensive, and monitors our leader’s implementation of those purposes and policies” (Get Flourishing Standards).
- “Do you have a leadership development plan? That’s the question I’ve asked over a hundred Christian school leaders at three different conferences since the start of the New Year. And of that number, only two responded in the affirmative” (ACSI Blog: Do You Have a Leadership Development Plan?).
- “…for leaders to improve their culture they have to be able to identify what drives their organization to flourish and measure for it” (Road to Flourishing: Eight Keys to Boost Employee Engagement and Well-Being, loc 354).
- “Command & Control leaders operate under a paradigm of position and power. Trust & Inspire leaders operate under a paradigm of people and potential” (Trust and Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others, loc 575).
- “The higher up in leadership you go, the more people are happy to put you on a pedestal and resist shooting straight with you” (High-Impact Teams: Where Healthy Meets High Performance, loc 2825).
- “A school leader’s ability to engage the faculty in aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment with shared core beliefs about learning, students, community, and the world can be transformational to school culture” (TrustED: The Bridge to School Improvement, loc 828).
Get Flourishing 
