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FIVE WAYS OF BEING SYMPOSIUM On Friday 19 March, almost 100 senior educational leaders from around South Australia met at Wilderness to explore their leadership identity.
storyteller are key levers to genuinely move the emphasis from what we do as leaders, to who we need to – and can – become.
and the environment, to ensure they are congruent with their leadership identity and the purpose at hand. In short, authentic.
The one-day symposium was led by Ms Jane Danvers, Mrs Heather De Blasio and Mr Gavin Grift, authors of the book Five Ways of Being – what learning leaders think, do and say every day. Based on the premise that the core mission of educational leaders is to enable learning and growth in others, and that to do so requires leaders to be brave, trusting, purposeful, growthfocused and a storyteller, the key questions of the day were:
At the heart of this is the idea that leaders who are truly committed to the learning of those in their communities, must first be committed to their own learning. This includes learning about the work of leadership, ‘the doing’, as well as learning about the way we are with those we lead when we are doing that work, ‘the being’.
The plenary session led by Jane and Heather brought together the various threads of the day and invited participants to project into the future to imagine themselves as learning leaders who had integrated the five ways of being into their leadership identities. They then brainstormed what they would see themselves and others thinking, saying and doing. The elements identified through this process provide a personal leadership roadmap to guide the way leaders knowingly shape the ongoing development of all their leaders and people. The final commitment to action ensured the day left an indelible imprint on the ongoing unfolding leadership stories of all in attendance.
• How do we genuinely lead learning in others? • How do we create an environment for our colleagues to become learning leaders? • Who do we need to become to make this happen? Jane, Heather and Gavin facilitated a series of workshops to engage participants’ deep thinking about these questions and their current leadership identity and its implications. In their workshops, they explored how a commitment to being trusting, brave, purposeful, growth focused and a
Work on self precedes work on others and shapes the levels of success that leaders achieve. Workshop participants actively participated in a range of strategies drawn from the book, all of which help leaders intentionally develop, practise and integrate the various ways of being into their leadership identities. These strategies included thinking routines, role-plays of learning conversations, practice sessions of coaching and reflective listening and storytelling. Participants also explored the elements over which leaders need to make conscious decisions such as assumptions, values and beliefs, actions, body language, voice, stance
Heather De Blasio Director of Learning and Teaching Excellence
