Lessons Learned

We started  our first full week of school and at the same time Jews across the world are preparing for the Start of Rosh Hashanah which begins Sunday night. I thought I would reflect on the start of the school year and the lessons I learned that will hopefully make me a better Leader and more importantly a better a person.

By no means is this a complete list just some short reflections.

·        Honesty- Being open and honest. Practicing what you preach., and being as Transparent as possible. ( I think these ideas speak for themselves)

·        Take responsibility- Related to honesty one needs to admit when they did something wrong and Say I am sorry. As I have quoted often ‘Mistakes Happen It is hoe we come back from Mistakes that Matter”

·        Caring- Show people you care about them ( Self explanatory)

·        Listen first- One of the best ways we show people that they matter and that we care about them is to give them the time and respect to listen to them.

·        Be Willing to Learn – No one is perfect and we need to be always willing to learn and take ideas from others

·        Share- Both in the sense of shared responsibility but more importantly sharing of ideas and a culture of shared leadership. We vs I

·        No Problems Just solutions- Meaning focus on the positive. Stay positive and don’t over react or get down, try to stay level headed.

As I was reflecting and putting my thoughts together  I also started reading  ‘Schools that Learn by Peter Senge

He has “Five Disciplines of Organizational Learning”

1.     Personal Mastery – To develop a clear personal vision

2.     Shared Vision – the need to create strategies and principles  to get you there

3.     Mental Models – a discipline based on reflection

4.     Team Learning – to tap into the collective thinking and learning of a group and mobilize that energy to achieve common goals

5.     Systems Thinking- to gain a broader and deeper understanding of the subjects they study and how they fit into a larger system.

I have just started the book but  I thought some of Senge Disciplines spoke to me and to my ideas and wanted to share those with you.

As we embark on a new school year and as I and other Jews prepare for the High Holidays  may this be a year filled with growth and learning.

My Thoughts

Akevy