Learning, Teaching, and Leading Like a Champion

As administrators, we have the power to be the beacons to our teachers and students.  As they journey to success, we can encourage them to grow, learn, and embrace mistakes. Success that comes easy doesn’t define our character as much as when it’s worked for, earned, and accomplished through trial and error.

In Carol Dweck’s Mindset (2006) book, she uses a sport’s perspective in Chapter 4 to demonstrate how mindset is applied to champions. The three “findings” that she highlights can be applied to all areas of life, especially leading, teaching, and learning. Our students, teachers, and leaders need to see themselves as the champions they are.

Finding 1: “Those with the growth mindset found success in doing their best, in learning and improving.” As teachers and leaders, we need to foster an environment where hard work is more rewarding than the success itself. In turn, success can be achieved by working hard and getting better.

Finding 2: “Those with growth mindset found setbacks motivating.” We need to teach and model that failure is not the end but a beginning to bettering ourselves by learning and evolving. To fail is only the First Attempt in Learning. It is not the outcome that defines us, but it is the journey that gets us there that does. The more challenge we overcome, the more learning that happens.

Finding 3: “People with the growth mindset in sports took charge of the processes that bring success--and that maintain it.” We need to teach and model how to use motivation and to take control of what can be done to get better. This means knowing that it’s OK to fail as long as we can learn from it and try again.

We are more than any outcome. We are an accumulation of all that is put into an outcome. Whether a good or bad outcome, each journey is an opportunity for growth and improvement. Taking risks is how progress is made. Taking the difficult road came be more rewarding. Creating safe environments where our students, teachers, and leaders can learn, fail, learn, repeat makes for better success in the end.

If we dig deep into the meaning of the word champion, we will see words like defender, protector, advocate. This is beyond the winner or victor definition of a champion. The previous descriptors are about making the world a better place. We can help our students learn like champions, our teachers teach like champions, and we can all lead like champions is we focus on others and the process to become better people.

This is a different mindset than the "winning" culture that has been created over the years. We have the power to change this. We can give our teachers and students safe environments to take risks, make mistakes, and learn--an environment that recognizes the journey and a growth mindset. We owe it to our profession. What are you doing to create this culture? Share it out and lead by example. #LeadPositive