Almost two years ago, I began my Doctor of Education program in Organizational Leadership Studies at Northeastern University. At the same time, I left Hong Kong after almost 20 years and moved with my family to a new role in China. As a founding head of schools in an international school in China embedded in a Chinese national school, my experiences there have formed my research project. I moved from the safe and comfortable to the uncertain, and while it has not been perfect, it has certainly been a growing experience.
For the final paper, before I enter my research phase, I am taking a course in Contemporary Leadership (EDU7275) through the College of Professional Studies. We need to design and implement a Personal Leadership Development Plan (PLDP), and at the same time to create a blog that tells the story of our journey as we live our plan. This blog is the first in a series of, hopefully, eight posts that share my experiences as I embark on this journey.
Northeastern University promotes experiential learning that “starts with a simple idea: Learning happens everywhere” (SAIL, 2020).
NEU) Self-authored Integrated Learning (SAIL) website outlines the SAIL Framework. The SAIL Framework identifies five overlapping learning dimensions and a set of complementary foundational masteries that consist of lifelong skills for success. These learning dimensions are Intellectual Agility, Global Mindset, Social Consciousness & Commitment, Professional & Personal Effectiveness, and Well-Being.
As I consider the five dimensions, Well-Being is an area I need to focus on for my area of growth. The dimension of well-being includes aesthetic appreciation, boundary setting, self-care, self-control, and time management. The concern for well-being has been on my mind for several years; my journey littered with forays into attempts to enhance my well-being. While I am adept at, and also energised by, handling complex and stressful scenarios, this also means that I am always thinking and analysing. I am seldom taking time to smell the flowers and to care for myself properly.
In creating a PLDP, I want to create balance and at the same time away to renew my creative and emotional energy. Even as we begin our summer holiday, work will always be in my mind, as well as physically present as I prepare for the start of the next school year. At least in summer, I am more inclined to look for opportunities for self-care and boundary setting. I need be proactive to take some time for myself, to refresh what feels like a tired mind, and create a habit that will allow me to increase my effectiveness and decrease some of the mental exhaustion I feel. My goal is to optimise emotional and physical health by creating a habit that will last into the busyness of the school year and beyond.
Setting up a new school in China where I do not speak the language while having its ups and downs, has been a good challenge. Petrie (2014) observes that much of the stress they see in leaders has “less to do with workload and more to do with the strain of trying to make sense of an environment that has become too complex for their current stage of development” (Petrie, 2014b, p 7), and this has undoubtedly been the case for me as I learn to navigate these new waters. However, simultaneously working on the EdD has meant there has not been time for creative and healthy pursuits. I hope to do practical things over the summer like regularly swimming at the public pool that just opened up, spending time doing photography again, exploring, listening and playing music—working to build my mental and physical well-being. I believe that taking the time to do creative well-being activities that relax the mind provides an opportunity to develop skills such as interdependent thinking, in seeing systems, patterns, and connections, and holding multi-frame perspectives. All of which help to build Interdependent—Collaborator skills in the vertical mindset (Petrie, 2014a), enabling me to grow in this dimension.
My Focus for the Personal Leadership Development Plan
Paul Wilson - Summer 2020
To reset and strengthen areas that I have ignored since arriving in China
References
Petrie, N. (2014). Future trends in leadership development. Center for Creative Leadership.
Petrie, N. (2014). Vertical leadership development- Part I: Developing leaders for a complex world. Center for Creative Leadership.
SAIL (n.d.) Self-Authored Integrated Learning. Retrieved (2020, July, 17), From https://sail.northeastern.edu/about/
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