I don’t think there is a human being on this planet who looks forward to receiving criticism. As school leaders, everything we do is scrutinized; by parents, students, and staff. It really is part of being a principal that we know all too well.
Getting public negative feedback is a common fear among humans, which can lead to us holding back and not being our most authentic selves. However, if we’re not willing to be vulnerable in standing up and taking responsibility in this way, we are not being the most empowered leaders that we could possibly be.
On the show last week, we dived deep into our brain’s predisposition to blaming other people for how we’re feeling based on their words and actions when really it’s our thoughts about a person’s actions that dictate our feelings. Toward the end of that episode, I mentioned boundaries and how it is possible for people to overstep into our emotional or physical space, which blurs the lines of blame.
On last week’s show, we talked about the importance of taking responsibility for our thoughts, feelings, actions, and results. Taking this responsibility in our lives makes us feel empowered and helps us take ownership of our actions and results.
Do you always take responsibility for the things in your control? Most likely, you’re avoiding it at least a little bit. It makes sense why we want to resist or avoid responsibility when we hear that we have to be answerable and accountable for something within our control… nobody likes having too much accountability in their lives.
This episode is all about operating as our essential self, balanced with our social self. Often we find ourselves caught between what we think we should do and what we actually want to do.
Previously on The Empowered Principal Podcast, we’ve spoken about action and inaction. Today, we’re looking in depth at a big part of that subject: procrastination. Procrastination stops us from getting things done, not least because playing a game on our phones, in the moment, brings us palpable satisfaction.