Most of my time these days seems to be spent on the road and while that is not necessarily negative, it does mean that my life is full of change. It also means that while I have a home base, I don’t seem to spend much time ‘at home’. As I sit in my office today (see photo) I am contemplating the difference between my previous career pathway and now. I loved being a Head of a K-12 IB schools and working in different countries, as well as the security of a regular salary and being part of a community. Being on the road a lot means that I need to develop a different sense of community and belonging than what I have been used to and that I have to create my own security by finding work for the business.
In the beginning, setting up my own company seemed to be a natural progression of what would be next after being a Head of School, however as I found out this week, perhaps it is not the norm. At the EARCOS Leadership Conference in Kuala Lumpur (https://earcos.org/elc2016/elc-member.php#Fischer), a former colleague commented, “you are an entrepreneur and it is amazing what you have done”. I was momentarily lost for words, and for those of you who know me, ………..you know that this is a phenomenon that does not happen often. Wow, I had never thought of myself as an entrepreneur, and to be honest, I really liked it and I loved the fact that he took the time to articulate this personally. It also made me stop and think about what I have done since 2013 in setting up the business – the challenges of submitting numerous proposals to clients and not all of them coming to fruition, the tension between being ‘available for work’ and having enough work to pay the bills, and the uncertainty that now surrounds my work and personal life.
It has taken courage to make this leap and take this path, I have developed further resilience and during this time, it has cemented the fact that I still have a passion for teaching; I love teaching, helping others reach their potential, identifying potential, getting alongside of colleagues and helping them by providing a different perspective. If I can help another person, so that they can help others, then that is how I can leave a legacy where service to others is maintained and nurtured. In reflection, have I been happy that I have made this shift? Yes – there will continue to be challenges but my work is my passion, and if I can leave someone feeling more confident or happier, or help a school with their challenges or along their learning journey, then that fuels me to continue the work, on the road …..
