Position & Leadership Goals

Position and Leadership Goal

As I navigate through my career, my career goals have progressed.  Initially, my goal had been to serve as a high school principal or possibly a Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent.  I have discovered, though, that I have a strong affinity toward Academia.  I can now say that my long-term career goals include ultimately serving as a member of doctoral faculty in Educational Leadership. 

Clearly, in order to teach doctoral level courses in leadership, one must have first served in those roles.  In order to do so, I will progress through the ranks to building principal, and eventually into a central administration position.  With each successive step, my skills, knowledge, and experience will grow.  I believe that with each step of the career ladder, additional skills will be learned that will enable me to function at a high level of competence at the next level.  It is a bit of the well-known “crawl before you walk” adage.  Whether that position includes service as a Superintendent, no one knows.  What I do know, though, is that by serving in a progression of roles, my professional and life experiences will allow me to teach others through experience, not simply theory. 

I have been referred to throughout my life as a natural leader.  While many theorists define what they consider to be a leader, I strongly consider it an innate ability (facilitated through experience).  As a leader in education, I hope to inspire others to excel.  I have observed many participants in our profession that do not conduct themselves as professionals.  I will cultivate professionalism among those with whom I work.  I will model successful behaviors and actions.  We will develop a campus culture of professionals.

In education today, our greatest task is to take classroom learning beyond whiteboards, worksheets, and TAKS/STAAR.  Most public school students spend as much, if not more time with educators than they do with their parents.  We must serve as role models for responsible behavior for all stakeholders in our schools.  As a leader, I can change how our students perceive the world around them.  By modeling successful behaviors, and setting high standards for all, I will truly make a difference in their lives.

Personally, I do not know what drives my desire to lead.  Perhaps it is due to being the oldest of 4 siblings.  What I do know is that I have always had an internal drive to excel.  I must “do it better” than the next guy.   I must lead.  I have never been comfortable as a follower.  Solving problems and making the associated decisions are activities that have always been natural functions for me.  To put it simply, I do not know how not to be a leader.

I have a wealth of experiences that have prepared me to lead meaningful school improvement.  Prior to my career in education, I led a national healthcare consulting practice.  I am comfortable in the board room as well as the classroom.  As clients, many of the top medical research centers in the world sought my expertise to improve their practices.  During my internship, I have completed a well-balanced set of supervised activities that have prepared me to serve as a leader in public education.  My unique skill set as a leader will allow me to lead and develop Texas public schools with a set of experiences that will not be limited to what was learned in the classroom.