Over the previous decade and a half, I have found that times of transition can bring moments of deep contemplation. This includes changes both professionally and personally. Becoming a parent and spending time raising my children gradually changed my career aspirations and I have decided that a career can be more than a means to support a family; it can also be a service to the community. Part of what I hope makes me an outstanding leader in school business is not only my deep understanding of the requisite business principles, but also my deeply held values and ethical nature. It is disheartening when news stories chronicle corruption from those who are supposed to be protecting children, some of the most vulnerable in our society. I hope to continue to be a leader and reformer in public education through my efforts and, most importantly, by my example.
As I think back to the lives my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived, I see great effort and sacrifice to help me achieve what I have. I see my own children living a life of enormous privilege supported by these generational efforts. As a school business administrator, my goal is to help those children without such a fortunate background fast-track their ascension up the economic ladder through excellent public education. United States Senator Cory Booker summarized my feelings in United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good by stating, “Yes, we do drink deeply from wells of liberty and opportunity that we did not dig. We do owe a debt that we can’t pay back but must pay forward. We are the result of a grand conspiracy of love.” It is through this love of those that have come before us that I feel the need to help children coming of age now and in the future.
Below is a sampling of some of the ethics and values I possess that will help me be an exemplary school business official for years to come.
Personal Ethics
Values in School Leadership
Non-Professional Values
As I think back to the lives my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived, I see great effort and sacrifice to help me achieve what I have. I see my own children living a life of enormous privilege supported by these generational efforts. As a school business administrator, my goal is to help those children without such a fortunate background fast-track their ascension up the economic ladder through excellent public education. United States Senator Cory Booker summarized my feelings in United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good by stating, “Yes, we do drink deeply from wells of liberty and opportunity that we did not dig. We do owe a debt that we can’t pay back but must pay forward. We are the result of a grand conspiracy of love.” It is through this love of those that have come before us that I feel the need to help children coming of age now and in the future.
Below is a sampling of some of the ethics and values I possess that will help me be an exemplary school business official for years to come.
Personal Ethics
- Empathy: Be understanding and flexible to the needs of all and do my best to identify with their struggles and successes.
- Graciousness: Be the type of leader that is disciplined and determined, but humble and self-effacing.
- Calm: Understand that many decisions require contemplation and thought. No requests, great or small, will alter my demeanor and respect will be shown to all opinions.
- Openness: Embrace that while leaders can make things happen, things can also make leaders happen. Change and new ideas are opportunities to improve education for all students.
- Creativity: While some decision making is dictated by factors out of my control, I strive to find creative solutions to those constraints that leaves as many people as possible with better outcomes.
- Personal Responsibility: Poor outcomes are inevitable in decision making and taking unequivocal responsibility for those results is necessary for strong leaders.
Values in School Leadership
- Focus on Children: Every decision should be made with improved educational outcomes in mind. Those decisions made for advancement or recognition are self-serving and cannot be allowed to be prioritized over the children.
- Empowerment of Others: Give others in the educational system the power and responsibility to make decisions using their professional judgement.
- Continual Improvement: Many eagerly look forward to the time when their career can be set to autopilot and the job requires less effort. When that time comes for me, I strive to look for new improvements to make and causes to support.
- Democratic Leadership: Understand that simply having authority does not cause one to be a strong leader. Leaders need to have skills managing relationships with all stakeholders, including superiors, peers, and external constituents.
- Mindful Decision Making: Not only do things right, but also do the right thing.
- Supportive Nature: Be the kind of leader that tries to formulate a plan with the feedback of all constituents and not the kind of leader that makes a plan and tries to sell it to those constituents.
Non-Professional Values
- Commitment: Many things in life can change, but my commitment to my family will never waver. Any opportunity that is not fully supported by my family will not be a priority of mine.
- Smart Head-of-Household Decisions: I strive to achieve the financial goals of my family through prudent decision making while making irreplaceable memories as a family.
- Instill a Moral Compass in my Children: I encourage critical thinking and questioning in my children’s development while providing them the guidance to care for others and be a thoughtful part of society.