Self-regulation is essential in leadership development. Think about it: it isn’t about what you say, but how you say it. Leadership is challenging in any career. Leading in a school with multi-faceted challenges, and stakeholders, and in a service-orientated field can require a depth of resiliency that other careers may not need. If you are not self-regulated when you enter a stressful situation, your response might be too strong, too soft, or not taken in the correct context not because of what you said but the body language, tone, or demeanor in which you said it.

Understanding this early on as the foundation for becoming a Principal in Balance is important. Focusing on resilience and self-regulation will afford you a deeper understanding of the need to push forward and past the practices, we have been doing, and doing, and doing with mixed results.

You can’t be self-regulated unless you are grounded in resiliency.

#principalinbalance

Okay great, but what does this look like on a Wednesday when you are three teachers down, and your office is lined up with people who need just one minute?

Below are three ways to incorporate self-regulation techniques into your day and when you really need them. 

Start your day with you.

The work of leadership can be a 24-7 responsibility if you allow it. In 2016 I started a morning ritual that has helped me set boundaries between work and life while building bandwidth to start the day. 

Similar to the Miracle Morning, I start my morning at 5:15 by reading the bible/devotional, journaling, reading, and exercising. The routine wraps up around 6:45-just in time to wake up the teenagers for school and get myself ready before our school day starts at 7:45. If the early morning start is a little too much, try setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier and spend that time doing something just for you. 

Ground rule: don’t work before this work is done. Wait to read/review the email, check the socials or your own calendar until you finish this grounding morning playlist. 

Change the time of meetings.

Stop running your calendar like a game of Tetris. 

Spoiler Alert: that never works when it comes to a leader’s calendar. 

When scheduling meetings, shoot for 20 or 50 minute meetings-leaving you 10 minutes in between the next events. Having a hard stop that gives you a little margin in between the other things helps to ensure the work gets done during the day, and you are not dragging it home every night. 

Start a workday shutdown routine. 

Similar to setting the boundary between starting your day and starting work, it is important to have a cue or routine that signals the work day is done and now it is time to power down so you can be fully present at home. 

I do three things at the end of each day:

• Review my calendar and make sure I know what the plan is for the next day.
• Final email check.
• Power down tech and make sure my space is clutter-free.

These three things really help me mentally and physically end the day with a sense of what is waiting for me the next day. When I am stressed and dysregulated you can see it on my desk. Papers are everywhere and organizational systems are shot. By intentionally stopping and doing these three things I am able to leave feeling accomplished and ready to focus on what will be going on when I get home. 

Gentle Reminder: Confidence in your competence. Falling down is hard, but when you are confident in your competence in the work you are doing it will give you the strength to get back up.

Remember in order to Lead Well, you need to Live Well,

Jessica

Want more resources to lead at work and have a life? Principal in Balance is available for pre-order!

Get your copy: https://amzn.to/3S5JKME or https://t.co/0EXM0gDabS 

In March we will be opening up the freebies for all who pre-ordered, so stay tuned!