Creative Outlets: The Unseen Necessity for School Leaders

What if creativity was your secret weapon to overcoming the burdens of school leadership? Join us, as we draw upon my two decades of experience to reveal how thinking outside the box can not only help you tackle the challenges of managing a school, but also bring balance to your personal life. We are about to embark on a fascinating exploration of the role of creativity in leadership and problem-solving, and how it can breathe new life into your daily tasks. 

School leadership isn't just about managing students; it involves supporting teachers, families, and the community. This can take a toll on your life, leading to unhealthy coping mechanisms. But, there's a way out. We'll share personal anecdotes, the struggles we faced when work consumed our lives, and how we discovered the importance of self-care. We'll delve into the power of creative activities, from photography to playing an instrument, and how they can enhance leadership skills and offer a fresh perspective on the world. Whether you're already a creative spirit or just starting to explore, this journey is going to transform you into a more effective leader. Tune in now, and let's get started.

Chapters

• 0:02 Creativity in School Leadership
• 5:15 Challenges and Balance of School Leadership
• 18:48 The Power of Creativity in Leadership

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

As many of you know, this is my passion right over here, at least one of my passions creating content and, maybe more so, problem solving around my tech. So this morning I was trying to figure out how come my iPad wouldn't turn on. I did some rearranging of equipment in here and I realized that one of my hubs, which is down here, rather than plug it into my actual Mac mini, I had to plug it back into itself. So I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting any power which I need to power my iPad, which is my primary display for my notes. So today, in this episode of the SneakPrincipal Podcast, I will be presenting my notes not in front of me but off to the side, so I'm going to look all kinds of crazy looking away from the camera, but you know, that's what makes this fun. So let's talk about the power of creativity as an outlet for school leaders. Let's go ahead and start this episode.

Speaker 2: 1:20

When they see me, they know that every day, when I'm breathing, it's for us to go farther. Every time I speak, I want the truth to come out. Every time I speak, I want to shiver. I don't want them to be like. They know what I'm going to say because it's polite. They know what I'm going to say and even if I get in trouble, that ain't what we're supposed to do. I'm not saying I'm going to rule the world or I'm going to change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world, and that's our job. It's to spark somebody else watching us. We might not be the ones, but let's not be selfish. And because we're not going to change the world, let's not talk about how we should change it. I don't know how to change it, but I know. If I keep talking about how dirty it is out here, somebody going to clean it is the dust that vá忍s that deck ofAve. Oh, and now he's been promoted. His job principle.

Speaker 1: 2:15

Good morning, good morning, good morning. It is some time around 535, 5, 5 something. I actually intended to start this podcast episode much earlier. However, I just couldn't figure out how to turn on my iPad, so, excuse me those of you who are listening the intro this is a video podcast, so you're hearing me speaking as though I'm speaking to an audience on video, but I just couldn't get my iPad to work. And now it's finally working. It's charging. It's like completely dead, so I can't, I won't be able to utilize it until it's fully charged up again.

Speaker 1: 2:53

But this episode I want to talk to you on this fine morning about creative outlets and how it's so necessary for school leaders and just leaders in general. If you're an ATAP person like me, you can become super obsessed with the work that you do. I've been doing this now for man. I've been. I've been a school leader for 19 years. I came into public education as Dean, my first, my first day, and people might say, well, dean is not quite a, it's not quite school leader, but you are because you're handling all the cultural aspects of the school discipline and, depending where you are, you might be it, you might be the all out, the be all say, all be all about what happens within the school culture, and I'm not going to be with the authorization of your principal, which I always had. But I went from being a Dean and within four years I was in a Bishop program and by my fifth year I was an assistant principal. And fast forward to here I am principal, third school, and I must tell you I love every moment of what I do Like. I love every moment of it, even the days that I'm just like. Why am I doing this? Even the fact that I left twice, but I still came back to what I love. And this is to put in school communities. You know engaging with kids, their families, you know making an impact in your lives. But the problem and there is, there is a problem with what we do in any school years. Listening to this, I know you understand Sometimes not sometimes, most often you get super absorbed and obsessed with what you're doing. And what I mean by absorbed and obsessed? Because you are dealing with I'm sorry, I have to take a quick pause. I'm over here looking my lips and and I have some blisters over here. I don't know, it's very unprofessional, because you're dealing with with for lives and I'm not going to say children, I'm not going to say even people with lives.

Speaker 1: 5:15

As a leader, yes, of course your primary responsibility of the school is the children or the students in your school. Then you have the teachers that you must support because they're the first line of defense, they're the ones who are in front of the kids every single day. Then you have the families of those, of those of those students that, depending where you are, they might be just as needy as as the children. So you're, you are the resource to the community as well. So you're supporting the teachers, you're supporting children, their families, but only that you might be the voice of a critical voice within the community as a whole. So in all these different places, you are more than just a school leader.

Speaker 1: 6:01

And if you're, if you're really about doing the work really well, you find yourself pouring so much of who you are Into your to, into what you do every day. And if you're like some of us, who everyone has your phone number, guess what? It doesn't ever turn off really, and and a lot of times, a lot of us, we don't have the heart to say to put boundaries. So we're like you know some people, like. I know people. I don't know how they do it. They're like when I clock out a clock out, the world is shut. That's me, but my things? My phone goes off. You know it's working at night and it's a student. I'm picking it up. How are you? You know the students family. I'm picking it up, but why you call me at 12 o'clock at night, especially if we've made a connection, especially seen it often that child is with you for a number of years. You get to know them very, very well, get to know their families.

Speaker 1: 6:48

If a teacher calls me at midnight, I'm thinking like, oh my God, what's going on? Like it's all these things, whether it's a call or text message, you're constantly on, but then only that, just the operations of the school. I'm not talking about, you know, let's all lights off. I'm talking about test scores and curriculum and what are we doing? And outcomes in graduation and my kids gonna be ready for the next level, whether it's going from elementary school to middle school, middle school to high school, high school, the college, jobs, careers.

Speaker 1: 7:16

I mean, I've been doing it so long that I have former students of mine who are Colleagues now, who are working in education, and I'm looking at them like, wow, this, like you know. So you can't help me completely to be, to easily be completely consumed by what we do. But the dangerous part of this is you Become so one-sided and you give one of the things that make them meet you who you are, if that makes any sense, because often I meet, I come across not at, not me, I know because I'm these are my colleagues, school leaders who are so Locked in to what we do that nothing else matters. And that does concern me Because it leads to burnout, where all of a sudden, you, you're like your brain, it's like can't see anything else but what you do. You know. And, um, I've been there.

Speaker 1: 8:22

I've been there to the point where, where it took over my health or not even took over my health, it became the the downfall of my health, because my eating schedule, my, my sleep schedule, is all locked into work, so I would not eat throughout the whole entire day and only eat out. I mean literally, literally Eat in the car going home. You know, I leave work McDonald's and I'll literally be in the car eating two, three cheeseburgers. I was so starved, I was so starved of new nutrition and I'm eating McDonald's or whatever I can get my hands on, comes all over my shirt, all my belly, because I won't point time. Like you guys know, I was like 350 pounds and I was just so, like you know, ravenous because I was so hungry. Throughout the day my brain didn't see anything else other than work. There were days where I'd be like man I didn't go to the bathroom today and Holding it all day and I even to the point where your brain just automatically knows that I don't go to the bathroom. That's common human things to be supposed to be doing. We don't do. And then we think and we don't realize how unhealthy that is To all these things I was doing. Or then, god, I stopped Early on.

Speaker 1: 9:43

I became a chain smoker Because it's stress levels, so I would take my breaks. Rather than getting to eat or even getting fluids in my body, I would step outside the building to go have a cigarette, and to the point, I realized that I was getting through a pack of cigarettes in a day, which was funny because I was like I'll go out there for like that five, ten minutes and over like two cigarettes real quick. Or in the morning I'll wake up Anything to just get. You know, I don't know to level me off where the case was, and I was extreme, and I know there's people out there who have their survival vices, that they latch onto to be able to get through the work, and that's a problem, and we know this is a problem, you know. But what do you do to it? What do you do about it? What is the alternative? And I'll be honest with you, it wasn't until like my second year I noticed something, and every couple of years I noticed something.

Speaker 1: 10:43

My second year I had my principal. I was like, listen, we need another elective art selective for our kids. And because of my background in film and media studies, he asked me if I would teach a film class. I was like, heck, yeah. So I taught. Actually, it was a digital media class we talked about. I taught broadcasting and basic videography. And in that space you know Dean Lawrence, because I was the dean at the time and I went by Lawrence, my real name, and I was like I was in heaven. I was like whoa, I love this, you know, because I was in a space that I didn't have to think, it was so easy and so free flowing for me. And then I believe that's the same year.

Speaker 1: 11:31

That spring, I started coaching track and field. And again something I love sports, and coaching again something else that I got into that it gave me an alternative. And all of a sudden I'm teaching film. So my brain had created a, you know, like in a hard drive partition where I got to spend time with my students talking about and engaging what I loved, and I love seeing their eyes and their connecting to a subject that I love. Then track and field and again I was already like pushing 300 pounds at this time. And here I'm coaching track. All of a sudden, I couldn't be unhealthy and engage my students about something that required you to be healthy and but I didn't make the connection. So, year after year, I would be doing something that would, you know, put me in that space where I would all of a sudden realize what I was passionate about. A couple of years later, I taught another. I think I did photography Then all so I was realizing these things and I'd be honest with you, it wasn't until the pandemic that I realized, whenever I was doing this digital media, video creation, content creation, photography I wasn't principle in Joku, I wasn't Dean Lawrence.

Speaker 1: 12:55

I was in principle in Joku. I was in assistant principle in Joku. I was Uche, who loves tech, who loves video, who loves creating, who would sit in college for hours watching films and writing papers and loving every moment of it. You know, and I was like, why does those two things have to be separate from each other? Why can't my creative passions be infused into my leadership? And that's and that's the thing that we often miss. We all have those things where we're passionate about. It doesn't have to be created in the creative spaces, Whether it's sports, whether it's whatever it is that you're just like you. Oh no, maybe you collect coins and I know bottle caps, but there was something about it that Busts on the bot.

Speaker 1: 13:53

Calm to your brain. That is needed in leadership, because often when you're a school leader, you're Juggling so many things. You know you're engaging. So come on now, if you're listening to me right now, and your principal assistant, principal Dean, a high-performing teacher leader, and you are engaged with families and kids. I mean you, you've been cursed up by kids or you've been maligned by parents or whatever the case may be, or maybe even your Superiors have come, come down on you. You know and and, and you know your blood pressure goes up, your everything is happening, your emotions and everything else. What is the calm for you? How do you escape from those spaces? And for me it's been this.

Speaker 1: 14:45

But then you might ask yourself, like, how do I, how do I bring that creative space into what I, into work, and that's. That's a hard part, but I can tell you, for me it's funny because my podcast is primate. I talk about what I do, you know, because, listen, I'm not, I won't be a capricret. I do spend a lot of time, what's my time thinking about work, but it's not just, it's not work, it's my job, is work, is this is who I am. But, however, by doing the podcast, by creating videos, by by, I am, you know, teaching like I'm about to Go on a mission to build a Footy, functioning Photography, photo job, photo journalism club at my school is gonna be photo journalism and I'm gonna put cameras in the hands of my students and they're gonna document what's happening in the school.

Speaker 1: 15:41

You know the events, the day-to-days, interviewing students and just compiling as much content as possible so we can document our journey, you know, as a turnaround school. You know, and again, what students see me off the top most of the time, walk around school to camera my hand. I go to the classroom, do observations, I'm taking pictures of what's happening in the classrooms, the work the kids are doing. You know life in a day of the school, and so for me, this is this is important data, Important content, because one of the things we don't do as coolies we don't document the work that we're doing, we don't document the journey. You know we have, you know, photo ops here and there, but we don't really document so we can look back and say, wow, this world, what happened? So I'm doing that, you know, both for the, for the benefit of my school, but I'm also doing it for for, from, also my creative outlet, and and, and Not only that, now I'm also better for my students, those students who are gonna be part of the photo journalism class we're gonna be documenting as an extension of this mission, to make sure that we we record our history.

Speaker 1: 16:50

But a great thing about this is there are problems to be solved in doing this for me, which allows me to continue to exercise my problems, my problem-solving skills like this morning I Couldn't forget figure how to get this out of the work, and and so. So right now it's in charge, isn't it's charging, you know? But I sat here for about half an hour trying to figure out why is this not working? But again, it wasn't a nuisance. It was like, hmm, slow down, look at how everything's connected was missing here. And Often, as school leaders in our school spaces, we're presenting with problems and what we do is we run straight to the answer, we run right into the fire.

Speaker 1: 17:35

And doing this, being allow myself to be creative as well as the school leaders has allowed me to infuse what I do in my creative space into what I do as a leader. I slow down and I ask myself what am I not seeing here? What is it that I need to do to ensure I find the optimal solution to the problem? I Check the wires, I check on my, on my staff. I Am plug and reconnect. I meet with them and talk with them, but by feedback. You see feedback, you see feedback. And I come up with a plan and I push, play and say, hey, did this work? Give me some time. And I do the same thing with at school.

Speaker 1: 18:18

I have a parent who's upset with me or who's irate. Rather than running me and saying, hey, let's engage right now, say, listen, can we set up a time where people sit down and talk about this? So I want to make sure you have my full attention, and rarely do I get parents who say, no, they're like, okay, I have to go to work. Well, I wasn't there. Listen, I meet them where they are at Problem solving the creative ways.

Speaker 1: 18:48

These are things that comes from being creative. Often, complex problems require creative solutions, not complex solutions, and so, whatever it is that you're passionate about, find a way to make that thing a part of who you are, what you do. It would only benefit you. And if you don't know what your creative outlet is, pick one. I have a friend of mine who picked up the camera recently and has gone on a deep dive to understand photography, and I know that it's impacting the way they see the world. Just putting that viewfinder to your eye and looking through that lens and what you see is very powerful, because after a while, you're not just taking pictures of spaces, you're taking pictures of subjects, and then you're translating what you see into a language that the world, hopefully, would understand.

Speaker 1: 19:57

What you're trying to convey Leadership, right, all right, folks. So find that thing if you don't already have one that you can be compassionate about. That allows you to be creative, and if you're, like I'm, not a creative person, learn, learn to draw, learn to play instrument. Pick up a camera, collect, collect bottle caps, coins but after a while, you start to see the world that it's not just about picking those things up. It's about understanding why it's this important. What is it about this thing that makes it so unique? After a while, your brain starts to move like that and your leaders should become so much more outstanding. All right, folks, it's Uche and Joku. Hopefully this got you thinking and hopefully this will also push you towards improving who you are day to day, but also improving your leadership as well. Have an amazing day.