I have been reflecting on the challenges many superintendents experienced over the past year and how one might achieve resilience on the job in 2024. Every context is different, but I believe there are some foundational approaches individuals can take which will make a difference.
Today, I want to outline the concept of a “life evaluation”, and identify five components which came out of a recent Gallup Survey to assist individuals in completing the process.
The Gallup Survey found 40% of U.S. workers identified their job has having a negative impact on their health & well-being, and education employees were among the most burned out groups in the analysis. Based upon the current state of the superintendency, the position of superintendent is likely worse yet.
So to sustain oneself in the superintendency, and to be resilient in 2024, it is important to understand the five components of well-being and to analyze our current state versus where we would like to be in each component as a life evaluation.
The five components are career well-being, social well-being, financial well-being, physical well-being, and community well-being. Career well-being considers whether you like what you do everyday. Social well-being relates to having meaningful friendships in your life. Financial well-being focuses on whether you manage your money well. Physical well-being analyzes whether you have energy to get things done. And, community well-being assesses whether you like where you live.
A helpful exercise at the start of 2024 would be to complete the attached life evaluation survey, which is a modification of the Gallup tool, in assessing your current state in each area along with where you would like to be in your life. Creating change in some of the components requires substantial modifications in life, while others entail making adjustments. As an example, if your career well-being score is persistently low maybe you need to look at a different district in which to work, although if you score low in physical well-being maybe visiting a doctor to look at diet and health will make a difference.
Ultimately, the key is to look at our well-being from a variety of perspectives. Resilience is a function of our capacity to sustain ourselves through tough situations. It may be that we score low in one or two areas, but due to the fact we are doing well in the others supplies enough energy to make it through the challenges being faced. Alternatively, it could be that one component, such as career, is so disruptive that change is needed for well-being to be experienced in our lives. The life evaluation provides an opportunity for reflection and metacognition. If we can know ourselves well, we can then make improvements which will lead to well-being.
As always, please place your thoughts in the comments section below. Remember that we all gain when we share and learn from each other.
As always, thank you for sharing insightful information and ideas!
No problem, Carolyn. I hope all is well with you and the district!
Thanks for sharing this information as we begin 2024. It is important to reflect on each of the five pillars, for today, and for tomorrow. I am grateful to be “Thriving” in each area, yet know that I can make improvements to keep my scores in the green.
Great to hear you are thriving in each area, Carter. I believe by periodically looking at the five pillars we have a framework to understand where we are at that stage in time. Oftentimes the busyness of our work makes understanding life a little fuzzy, yet tools like this can help us refocus.