360 Feedback

Please fill in the X’s and distribute this letter to at least one former or current colleague, one friend and one family member.

Dear Jen,

Later this month, I am participating in a reflection with some of my colleagues in New Mexico. Part of our reflection is aimed to me better understanding myself as a leader and I’ve been asked to collect 360-degree feedback that can help me to understand the unique qualities I bring to leadership, since it can be difficult for someone to look at themselves objectively. Please take a moment to answer these five questions no later than Friday, May 16th, and I will read this as part of an activity about leadership potential. Thank you so much in advance.

1. Please describe a specific incident when you saw me performing at my best.

Ami was suddenly called from her classroom to deal with a parent conference that was sprung on her. I was called in to sub for the time she was gone. Because of the detail of her plans, I was able to (almost) seamlessly step in and take over, and when she returned, she was able to seamlessly transition to the next topic. It was clear she has a great rapport with her students. They were polite to me, but they were clearly relieved when she returned.

2. What qualities did I exhibit in that incident, and perhaps also in other situations, that explain the successes I’ve had?

While I have not been in Ami’s classroom much while she was teaching, I have worked closely with her as a common core team. She shines in the arena of planning, writing detailed lesson plans that are easy for laymen (subs) to follow. She has a laser focus on what is most needful at any given time. She keeps meetings on track when the other two teachers on the team go off topic.

3. What growth have you seen me make (either personally or professionally) over the time I have been teaching?

At first, she feared and dreaded the idea of teaching Shakespeare, as she had deliberately avoided Shakespeare throughout her college career. Despite this, when she was required to teach Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar simultaneously, she gamely stepped up to the plate and did an admirable job.

4. Sometimes, leaders compensate for their weaknesses by surrounding themselves with others who complement them. What kind of person (or people) do you think I most need around me to “fill in” what I bring to the table?

I think Ami already has people around her that complement her. Ms. Haddock and I have had a long working relationship and are very similar in attitude and distractibility. We also have vast stores of resources. Ami has the focus that Ms. Haddock and I sometimes lack. We have some of the creativity that Ami has not yet had the time and luxury to develop.

5. It is also true that leaders have areas that they just need to improve. Please describe one that you see for me.

Honestly, I don’t see it. Ami is a fabulous teacher. In fact, recently I had a conversation with the inclusion teacher that Ami and I share, and he commented to me that Ami was one of the best teachers he had ever seen, and he has been around a while. At this point, she is having to run at 100% all the time because she doesn’t have extensive background in the exact literature we teach in ninth grade, but she is brilliant at staying a couple steps ahead of the class. Once she has a couple of years under her belt, that issue will no longer exist, at least until the curriculum changes again. Thank you again!

Sorry for the third-person answers.