In the ever-evolving landscape within, and more prominently beyond, education, the pursuit of self development isn't merely a choice; it's a professional imperative. As educators and educational leaders, the impact we have on the lives of our students goes beyond textbooks and lesson plans. It's about inspiring, shaping, and equipping the next generation for success in an increasingly complex world. Self development isn't a luxury; it's a necessity. But how deep should educators go on this transformative journey, and what are the rewards awaiting those who dare to venture into its depths? Let's explore.

At its core, self development is about growth—growth as professionals, as individuals, and as lifelong learners. It's not about learning more skills, but applying them, realising the limitations of the constructs that shaped our past version of ‘self’ and expanding our opportunities in the now. 

By continually seeking ways to nuance our impact on the lives of others and our wider communities, we engage many more on the journey. It's a dynamic process that transcends the boundaries of our organisations, existing concepts and contexts, influencing every facet of our existence.

In a world of rapid change, we must keep speed with our own capacity to adapt, maintain connection with others, and ensure the sophistication of our thinking and quality of decisions integrate many more insights into our collective evolution. 

The Profound Impact on Educators

Leaders are spending so much time on their short term systems, that energy required to develop themselves and their strategy is incredibly limited. Even when they become aware, guilt overshadows the commitment as underlying assumptions of leadership have been so conditioned into their approach. The Glass House provides a map of adult self and team development across multiple lines of maturity and when coaching we continue to see the same pattern in our initial diagnostics. We find that developing a leader's capacity requires a more conscious use of energy and what to do with it then allows them to see quality and a return on their investment. The same echo’s out on tapping into the true potential of their community. 

Educators engaged in self development experience a profound transformation that positively impacts their professional and personal lives. Why? Because they see or experience something that previously they did not know was possible. 

In May 2023 details of UK government research into professional development of teachers were released and highlighted a range of education specific knowledge and skills both sought and received by educators (capabilities). Interestingly the most received professional development was all knowledge and student management based. The presence of soft skills was only alluded to by four percent of participants in the survey- and only through teacher-parent/carer cooperation (Jones, 2023). Although the survey clearly shows professional development is covering a range of knowledge and skills within teaching, learning and leadership, there is little to no evidence of teacher development on a more personal level (in the self or collective sense) beyond the knowledge realm. With continual professional development being shown to have a positive effect on teacher job satisfaction, we have to ask whether development involving other domains such as the self and collective can enhance these benefits to further achieving a transformative high quality-education system (McJames, Parnell, O’Shea, 2023)?

As educators and educational leaders, the impact we have on the lives of our students goes beyond textbooks and lesson plans. It's about connecting, inspiring, and equipping the next generation for success in an increasingly complex world. Equally, the pressure of the role for a whole host of reasons means leaders must also be able to sustain the energy expenditure and the quality of its use, with the dropout rates illustrating the current gap. Self development isn't a luxury; it's a necessity. But how deep should educators go on this transformative journey, and what are the rewards awaiting those who dare to venture into its depths? Let's explore.

What self-development can do for us:

When we embark on the journey of self development, we're not just enhancing our own lives; we're unlocking a profound potential that can ripple into every aspect of our professional careers and community. 

Engaging in self development can have a profound impact on educators to enhance multiple aspects of our personal and professional journey. On a personal level self-development enhances our resilience and adaptability, by understanding ourselves better. Having greater awareness of our values, ego, purpose, strengths, resistances and aspirations we become more equipped to observe and weather challenges, acknowledge positives and move with change for the better and thrive in demanding environments. 

Self development further nurtures effective communication skills, partially stemming from increased awareness, literacy and management of emotions and appreciation of the values and ego stage of others in relation to your own. It also enhances a deeper listening, exploring where people may be coming from in their own communication and the causes behind it. This extends not only to interactions with students but also to collaboration with colleagues, parents, and stakeholders. As educators delve deeper into personal growth, they become more emotionally intelligent enabling them to better understand and connect with their students. It promotes compassion, two levels deeper than active listening, and a supportive learning environment.

As you can sense this spills over to impact a multitude of professional practices and competencies including teaching skills, attendance, and outcomes. Through an increased openness we are more adept to learn innovative strategies, shape culture, embrace technologies and stay current with educational trends to better cater for the wide range of student learning needs we encounter and ultimately enhance the learning experience. It additionally cultivates leadership qualities  and enables leaders to inspire and empower their teams collective agency. Great leaders lead by example, know and do not hide their vulnerabilities to continuously improve themselves to catalyse those around them to have courage and innovate- all capacities our learners will require to sustain their own futures.

On a more student specific level, educators who have a deep understanding and connection to themselves serve as powerful role models for their students and foster opportunities for students to also develop further and believe beyond their own childhood boundaries culture has bestowed upon them. This encourages moving beyond academic achievement to focus on students' emotional maturity, character development, and applied learning- that all enhance performance.

So how Deep Should You Dive into Self Development?

The depth of your self development journey is a matter of personal choice and goals that are likely to depend on the stage of development you are at. There's no one-size-fits-all answer, as every educator's path is unique and there are several ways to progress on your journey. Some of the key practises and concepts we have found within our work at The Glass House include the following:

Guidance and facilitation:

As both Coachees and Coaches we have found being asked carefully considered questions from someone removed from your immediate context creates helpful and alternative insights into one’s self-development journey. Having the support of someone within this capacity to hold a safe space can also help to navigate challenges with more than your own perspective, before going out and practising the next step in a low risk environment, building up to situations that originally trigger the need to address it. Committing and maintaining a focus in both long and short term by discovering your original assumption and holding it up in the mirror to your purpose brings real drive to partner with the emotional reset required to change habits. The suggestions below sound simple, but so too does going to the gym. A coach has similar roles to a personal trainer, stretching and prompting us to apply ourselves in order to embody our growth. 

Self-reflection:

Through reflecting on strengths, challenges and aspirations, individuals can deepen their insight into what has shaped their development to date as well as moving forward. We then better understand the intent behind decisions and the alternative lens our values shade, reducing emotional responses and objectifying more of what we are actually experiencing. This includes appreciating yourself for all you have achieved and are achieving as well as holding yourself accountable for the progress you seek to make. The discussion with the voices of your ego can be fascinating rather than intimidating.

Embrace Challenges:

Challenges and suffering are what can lead to the greatest growth and self development. It  often involves stepping out of your comfort zone. Embracing challenges and view setbacks as opportunities for growth, consider your resistances and where they may come from, what is holding you back here and what small steps can you take to move forward?

Balance Work and Life:

While self development is crucial, maintaining a work-life balance is equally important. Burnout hinders growth, but over stretch also hinders quality. Ensuring you allocate time for self-care, relaxation, and personal pursuits outside of your professional role is important, but so is developing the capacity of your physiology and emotions, having more energy to share more wisely. This self-care however needs to be meaningful, routines and commitment to the activities aid habit change, with people and things you love most are powerful tools to reset, refocus, and build drive.

The Rewards of Deep Self Development

People often avoid deep personal development due to various reasons. Fear of change is a significant factor; the unknown can be intimidating. Comfort zones, while limiting, provide a sense of security that change disrupts. Additionally, people may lack awareness of the benefits or believe they're too busy to invest time in self-improvement. The process can seem overwhelming, requiring commitment and effort. There's also the misconception that personal development is solely about fixing flaws, rather than enhancing strengths. For some it is financial, unaware of the significant returns of coaching or team journeys. However, embracing personal development is about embracing growth, which provides a greater resilience and fulfilment of life. Overcoming these hurdles opens doors to a world of self-discovery and empowerment that takes you and your team to the next level of performance. Are you currently aware of what that looks like? 

That is what makes The Glass House unique. We provide a map of adult development across multiple lines of maturity that no other sole-education provider does. We offer the diagnostic tools for both individual and team stages of development, which provides you with a justification for taking the next step and the advantages this will bring, as well as the ability to benchmark progress and impact.

The Depth You Choose

In the end, the depth to which you journey into self development is a deeply personal choice. In 2021 the average school spend on teacher continual professional development was approximately £3000 per teacher each year (EPI, 2021). We urge you to consider the type of development opportunities on offer and how your teaching expertise can move beyond the traditional skill and knowledge approach to consider self-development on a more holistic and transformational level.

Whether you choose to wade in the shallows or dive into the abyss, remember that every step forward is a step toward your own growth and the betterment of education as a whole. The rewards are boundless, and the impact immeasurable. So, ask yourself, how deep will you go?

If you are interested in exploring cutting edge coaching opportunities further for either yourself or your team and the benefits it can offer more widely for your organisation, we would be delighted to discuss options further. Please book a discovery call or contact us at info@glasshouselab.com.

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References:

Education Policy Institute (EPI). (2021). The cost of high-quality professional development for teachers in England. [Online]. Available from: https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/the-cost-of-high-quality-professional-developmentfor-teachers/

Jones, A. (2023). Teachers’ Professional Development Remains a Work in Progress. [Online]. Available from: https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/18/teachers-professional-development-remains-a-work-in-progress/

McJames, N., Parnell, A. & O’Shea, A. (2023). Factors affecting teacher job satisfaction: a causal inference machine learning approach using data from TALIS 2018). [Online]. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2023.2200594