Erica Navarrette

EDUC623 Summer 2019

Leadership Profile Assignment

Strengths and Classroom Application

The idea of “investing in your strengths,” has never been a priority of mine. I have

always had the attitude of “what went wrong and how can I fix it going forward?” Therefore,

taking the StrengthsFinder assessment was interesting. According to our text, Strengths Based

Leadership there are four key themes that leadership strengths align with. Those four themes are

executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic. I had two theme areas in which my

five top results aligned. The two themes that connected to my strengths were executing and

strategic. The executing domain strength shows the importance of a person knowing how to

make things happen. A person with strong executing skills will get a task done effectively and

efficiently while looking at various solutions and determining a solution on the spot (Conchie

and Rath 2008). The strategic thinking domain strength talks about the ability of someone to

keep a group focused on what could come of a particular situation (Conchie and Rath 2008). I

agree with these domains being my biggest strengths. I am a very analytical and data-driven

thinker. I process all solutions but always make sure that the end result will ensure success for

all. I take initiative in all aspects of volunteering for committees I am passionate about to

stepping up to create a formative assessment we discuss. I know that I will complete a task

efficiently and effectively while having the end goal be success for all students and my

teammates.
 My five themes of strengths consisted of the verbs restorative, discipline, futuristic,

strategic, and learner. I believe that I possess a restorative mindset because I am always willing

to accept feedback from my colleagues. This previous year I taught AVMR 1 (math intervention)

to one of my students. I felt that she was not progressing to her full potential. I was dealing with

a situation that I felt needed to be fixed. So, I collaborated with my math coach and together we

realized that I was missing time within my intervention for my student to practice the new skills I

taught. I needed to spend more intentional time on a given topic before moving to a new one. I

was able to identify the problem, and seek assistance to resolve it, which in turn helped my

student succeed. This also connects to the idea that I am a continuous learner. I am constantly

seeking feedback and collaborating with veteran experienced teachers around my instructional

practices. I have learned so much in my short two years of teaching because I am always asking

questions, seeking feedback, and always working closely with those more experienced and

knowledgeable than me. This has really helped me become more confident in my abilities in the

classroom.

I was not surprised with the theme of discipline. I am very routine based and thrive off of

structure. I create order in my classroom with the help of my students to ensure that routines are

set and expectations are clear. This ensures a smooth, calm, and successful environment for my

students. I am very disciplined and methodical in my learner and everyday life but I have found

that my students benefit from routine and structure, too. For example, my goal is to create

student independence as quickly as possible. This is impossible if I do not set clear expectations

and routines for my students early on. The first day of school we jump right into what reader’s

workshop looks like. I introduce my expectations, they share their experiences, and together we

create a plan. This plan entails what independent reading looks and sounds like, what reading
stamina is like, how to buddy read, etc. These expectations are modeled and reviewed the entire

year. This results in student independence in my classroom. However, I am very flexible in my

ways and always open to having a conversation with my students if something is no longer

working. Therefore, the idea of being strategic makes sense. I am always creating new ways of

doing (if needed) and assess patterns within our learning. If I notice several days of students

being distracted during buddy reading time, then I will pull students together and reteach

expectations. I am purposeful with my instruction, expectations, and routines.

Lastly, the theme of futuristic surprised me. I absolutely am inspired by the future. I am

always thinking about what is to come, what a situation could be, and how it could be different

next time. I understand how that is a theme of mine, however, I was surprised that was

considered a strength. I feel that with my planning and instructional practices I too often look to

the future rather than live in the present. I am usually planning too far in advance only to have to

re-plan if I need to reteach a standard and I often try too many new things at one time. This

strength is dependent on the groups of people I am meeting with and the situation I am in. For

example, my literacy coach is amazing and very knowledgeable. However, I notice this strength

of being futuristic is amplified whenever I work with her. She has so many amazing ideas that

are research based and engaging for students. I always want to implement the new ideas she

gives me after a meeting the next day. I leave every meeting with her overwhelmed (in a good

way). We discuss how to improve my guided reading instruction or discuss a different mentor

text I could use in my mini lessons. I immediately want to go create that graphic organizer for

my guided reading group. I instantly want to go purchase or find that mentor text and start to

dissect it! I think my intrinsic motivation is great, but I have to do a better job of being more

realistic of what is manageable for me. I need to start admitting when I need help creating
something or when that new idea won’t work in my classroom right now. I do think that my

motivation to try something new and my motivation to look forward to the future is great.

However, my goal is to be more intentional and live in the moment. I need to focus on what my

students need in that moment while keeping in mind the end goal (for the future).

Leadership Culture in my School

The makeup of the staff at my school is very interesting. This previous year was our first

year under “one roof.” They closed an elementary school in my district and the staff from that

school came to our school along with the students. The principal and assistant principal were

managing both schools the previous year, so the administrators were familiar with both staffs.

However, the staff was very unfamiliar with each other and truthfully had and still has different

beliefs, values, and missions around education. Therefore, this past year was a learning year for

all. This year we focused solely on relationship building, one of the 4 domains from our

StrengthsFinder assessment. This year we focused on the theme of “includer,” we wanted to

include everyone, make everyone feel accepted, and heard (Conchie and Rath 2008). We often

had staff outings outside of the school day. We had a holiday party on the weekend where we all

brought significant others so we could learn a little more about one another. We did our best to

learn about each other as individuals, which in turn helped us become better teams and work

better together. My strength of the futuristic theme really helped me here. I was very

encouraging, optimistic, and accepting of others because I consistently had in mind the end goal

of this staff. I know that we can and will be a connected staff that respects one another personally

and professionally.
 Going forward, an area of improvement for us as a staff would be the domain of

executing. In particular, we need to improve on the theme of activator and adaptability. We all

are learning to respect each other and accept one another, and once we have that solid foundation

we will be able to tackle our domain of improvement. We all have wonderful ideas, but often

times the ideas are just discussed and never acted upon. As a team and as a staff, we need to

delegate, divide and conquer, and ensure that all voices are represented but that the task gets

done. We are beginning the PLC process and are navigating our way through what that looks like

for each grade level. It is uncomfortable at times to “take charge” and be an activator as we are

still getting to know one another. However, if we are able to go with the flow, be adaptable,

accepting, and understanding, we will be able to work collectively as teams and as a staff. I look

forward to using my strengths as a strategic thinker and restorative mindset to be a teacher leader

for my colleagues.
 References

Conchie, B., & Rath, T. (2008). Strengths Based Leadership. New York, NY: Gallup Press.