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Dr. Dianna Lindsay's picture
Dr. Dianna Lindsay
After 43 years in my chosen profession, I remain excited, alive, and learning! From an active Twitter Account to blogging, from teaching Constitutional Law to Pre-AP English, from a national winner...
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Character: Leadership Lessons from The Mustard Seed-The Double Rainbow

  • In an attempt to extend the writing skills of our students, we have established our first literary magazine at our independent school. The students after their exciting procedural expectations landed on the title, The Mustard Seed. Grand things growing from small beginnings is the inspiration; and, the title is much like the lessons learned in leadership! The myriad of skills students are embracing on the technical side of this authentic lesson in a flipped classroom are amazing; the myriad of lessons I am learning on the adaptive side of this process are equally impressive! For me, it is a double rainbow from this flipped classroom.
  • Lessons emerging for me as The Head of High School are:
  • 1. Meeting Students at the Place of Their Dreams-working with the students, like working with any organization, means daily face-to-face interactions. These interactions cut distance, formality, and fear and increase voice, touch, and creativity. The more we know, the more we can know about one another! The students are moving ahead with joy in their work and growing as leaders of their small teams. As the leader of the faculty this too is true with adults. Meeting people in the place of their dreams is inspirational language to harness and playback for them to hear and know you care as a leader.
  • 2. Actions Speaking Louder Than Instructions-empowering students with examples of possibilities feeds the dreamers and the doers. By investing in potential, students want more from the teacher. When the leader grows their power, capacity is built on both the individual and institutional levels. So with the faculty, when you allow mistakes to be used as actions of bravery and risk, you feed the idea that the first attempts at learning need not be perfect ones! Investing in another human being is never a waste of effort! I "spell" investing as spending time and resources on the people who are closest to the students-their teachers!
  • 3.Unconditional Giving Requires Only Faith-proving others with what they need is an act of faith. It is the faith that elevates others to be better; it is the faith that believes people wake up every morning wanting to do their best; and, it is the faith that catapults us to leaving the world better than we found it. Leadership is taking people where they would not go on their own gently inspiring the best in others.
  • My students are creating a small literary magazine called The Mustard Seed; and, they are growing me!