Professional Reading Reflection EPPSP Phase I
Date: February 29, 2020
Student Name: Carolyn Gassmann
Title of article, book, or podcast: Lessons from Young School Leaders
Author(s): Dr. Bill Ziegler
Publication Name and Date (articles only), link if using podcast: March 30, 2018
Summary:
This article highlights the growth in the number of school administrators who are young,
millennial leaders. The author, who is a veteran leader himself, describes some strengths he has
noticed that this generation of leaders possesses.
Dr. Bill Ziegler begins his article by sharing about a young leader in his school district named
Eric. Eric serves as an assistant principal and he is a passionate servant leader. He is deliberately
thoughtful, focused. He brings a fresh perspective to the school he serves and strives to make a
difference in the life of every child he serves. Ziegler goes on to relate this anecdote to a statistic
from Forbes stating, “Millennials will grow to make up 50% of the workforce by 2020”. He
continues by stating that “veteran school leaders have a responsibility to mentor these young
leaders and to support their work and efforts. Let us not look down on them for being young, for
they hold the keys to our future.”
The article concludes with Ziegler noting the four key items that he most often observes and
admires in young leaders:
The first of those points is balance. Young leaders are found to have a strong grasp on keeping
balance between school and personal life. They understand that in order to be a healthy school
leader they must balance family, wellness, and work. They are dedicated to all that they do—
working out, staying healthy, and upholding relationships. This contrasts with the “workaholic”
attitudes oftentimes observed in other generations. Ziegler states that he tries to use young
leaders as a gentle reminder to maintain a balance of his own. Without balance, one area of life
—family, work, health, etc.--is bound to suffer.
The next key area he notes is community. Ziegler loves that young leaders frequently place
strong value on community. They thrive when with peers, telling stories, and simply being
together. They truly value friendships and strive to feel community in their schools and
neighborhoods. They believe that community doesn’t stop at work—instead, they strove to build
and maintain relationships with students, staff members, and community partners. They believe
in the importance of greeting people kindly and making others feel welcome in the spaces they
lead.
Following community, the next area of strength in young leaders is their ability to be connected.
Being connected in this case refers to their ability to stay digitally connected and learn through
relationships. They are able to leverage social media as a way to learn, expand their networks,
and create new ideas. They make the most of their digital interactions and use the media that
truly helps them “tell their stories”. Dr. Ziegler notes how much young leaders prefer to use
Instagram and Snapchat professionally, even opposed to Twitter, because the two
aforementioned social media platforms better allow leaders to “tell their story” through pictures,
videos, or live streams. Their stories expand much further than 140 characters, and they want to
be able to share accordingly.
The final noted point is flexibility. Young leaders are very open to trying new things, taking risks
in leadership, and delving into the innovation of leadership. They have grown up under the
leadership of strict veteran counterparts who struggled to adapt and adjust, so many young
leaders have committed to flexing to support to learn and grow. The article concludes with a
quote from a young leader stating,
“We want to be lifelong learners and dig into things that are cutting-edge. No
fault to some veteran principals, but they have a good thing going and they
just want to keep pressing on their specific goals rather than adjusting or
changing.”
Reflection:
With understandable reason, there is not much literature about how to develop young leaders
written from the perspective of young leaders. So, when I found this article about the strengths of
young leaders, I read it and found that it provided a unique perspective of a veteran leader
praising qualities of young leaders. So often, the viewpoint is flipped.
As a young leader, I think it is equally important to learn from experienced leaders, as it is to
learn from peer leaders. Experienced leaders bring great knowledge about various situations that
young leaders may not yet have dealt with in their careers, whereas young peer leaders may offer
a very relatable and current perspective on a topic. Their insight may be useful, because the tools
and resources used to solve the problem are most likely familiar and relevant to today’s schools.
Conversely, experienced leaders may have solutions that have been proven successful. Because
they have had practice implementing various techniques throughout their careers, they are most
likely familiar with what works well and what doesn’t.
Since starting EPPSP at age 23, I have received both positive and negative comments about
working towards becoming an administrator at such a young age and with still so little teaching
experience. Some people have questioned if I am “really ready” to be a leader, or have
mentioned “don’t you want to wait until you have more experience?” I have taken time to reflect
on both of these questions, and I find that the answer to both of them lies in my passion. I believe
that I am “really ready” to be a leader, because of my unwavering passion for creating a quality
education for all children. I work every day to ensure that the students under my care leave
school with deeper academic learning and a stronger understanding of how to be kinder, more
caring human beings. To the second question, my response thought is that there is no better time
to be a leader than in the present. Education is a hard profession, and teachers are working so
hard each day to provide quality education for children. As someone who has the drive to help
children, is excited about bettering education and bettering children’s lives, I say why not now?
Even though I don’t have everything figured out in education right now, I believe that I can still
make a difference in a school community. I don’t believe that I will ever have all the answers,
but I do have the humility to accept assistance and guidance, and I possess a desire to learn and
grow each and every day for the children.
Young leaders will grow to be veteran leaders as quickly as we grew from being the students to
the teachers. I am thankful to be surrounded by supportive leaders who are willing to give me a
chance to lead despite my age. I hope that all young leaders can feel the same level of support
and can find the passion to change the world and make a difference in the lives of children.
Students need leaders who are caring, strong, and innovative. So many young leaders possess
these qualities, and once they begin to share their abilities with others, the effects will be felt by
so many.
