Start with the End in Mind

In my EDL 610 course, which is Visionary Leadership, we are spending time learning, teaching and demonstrating the Habits of Highly Effective Learners by Stephan Covey.  This week, the topic is on starting with the end in mind.

An interesting thought in the lecture was on thinking by Jerry Peterson, where the connection between beliefs (what I say) and actions (what I do) is reliability.  And the connection between actions and results (the consequences of my action) is character.  Finally, the connection between results and beliefs is authenticity.  This ties into the habit of having the end in mind, as they are the pieces that tie to understanding a vision: a personal vision, a professional vision.  One must first have a vision - the end, and to inspire others to join that vision they should be able to show they  are reliable, have character and are authentic.  Why follow someone who is not reliable, or has no character.  Why be part of their vision for the future, whether that is a vision for yourself or the organization you are part of.

When it comes to making a commitment on this notion of starting with the end in mind, my commitment is ensure first and foremost that I understand where I want to go in my personal life.  I need to know who I am, what makes me me.  And from there, have a vision for the organization I am part of.  Rather than force others to work on that vision, my commitment is to show I am a reliable, authentic partner on that journey.  I am hopeful the staff at AAS see this commitment, as it is a driver in how I operate.  I hope they know I am being authentic, that they see and understand my character.  And that they want to be part of a journey meant to positively impact the lives of our scholars.  

I also appreciate that creating a personal vision statement is empowering, and I am excited to work with our teams to create personal visions, department visions, and find ways to support the overall AAS vision, one that we collectively created as a group in the spring of 2016.