Taking Time to (Self) Check in

What are your three key responsibilities and how do you know you’re keeping them at the forefront of your leadership? A once-a-week meeting with yourself can help you keep focused on what matters most to you.

Aaron Butler, former K-12 administrator and current Director of the Region 9 Comprehensive Center, invites leaders to press pause once a week to reflect on the following questions related to these three leadership responsibilities:

Communication

• In what ways have I reinforced our purpose, mission, and goals this week?
• What type of information or feedback have I gathered, or should I be gathering from my staff?
• What have I done with this information or feedback from previous weeks?
• How can I do a better job of listening or “checking the pulse” of my school or district on a regular basis?
• What stories can I share to help motivate my staff, parents, and students?

Model

• Be visible and engage with different staff members in different locations every day.
• Build relationships by knowing your staff members--their names, and their stories.
• Promote the accomplishments of staff members early and often.
• Let your staff members see your values and priorities through your daily actions.
• Be willing to be vulnerable.

Reflect

• How am I showing my staff that I value them as people?
• How have I added value to my staff this week?
• How have I added value to myself this week?

After reflecting individually on the above, we encourage you to process in your mentoring partnership to gain additional ideas and insight.

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