Name: Sandra J. Dop

Title: Superintendent

Organisation: Little Silver Borough Public Schools

I have served the community of Little Silver for 11+ years, as the middle school principal and more recently as the Superintendent of Schools for the last 3 and half years.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope Eric's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

The competing pressures that are placed upon you as an educational leader, often make it hard to strike a work-life balance. You have your staff, your leadership team, the students, the parents, the community, the Board of Education, the Department of Education, etc... all placing demands on you and expecting an immediate response. Disconnecting to allow yourself to be present in your personal life, with your spouse, children, family, and friends is often the biggest struggle. Especially if you are passionate and committed to the work of educating children. I have to often remind myself that it isn't work-life balance because things are more than likely never going to be balanced. It is work-life satisfaction. Am I satisfied with my personal and family relationships and are those people satisfied with what I am giving them and are the people who are counting on me to lead satisfied with my professional outcomes?

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

My mother was a teacher, but she was the kind of teacher who told her children not to enter the profession. This led to me getting my undergraduate degree in Business Administration and spending some time coaching college football after graduation. I think coaching was fulfilling my "teaching" itch and my "leadership" itch. I then went through the alternate route program to become a high school business teacher and quickly realized I wanted to become an educational leader and began a Master's program in Educational Administration and Leadership. For me this desire was really a numbers game. In a given year as a high school teacher, I could positively impact around 80 to 100 students, but as an educational leader, I could positively impact the outcomes of staff members and hundreds of students over the course of many years.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

The thing I love most about working in education is every school day follows a schedule (bell, period, work hours, etc...) but every day is unpredictable and anything can happen to disrupt the best-laid plans. With that said, I value getting myself up and prepared for the day, typically with a little bit of exercise worked in. I also love my commute to and from work (about 45 minutes). It is an easy drive with no traffic so it allows me to collect my thoughts for the day ahead in the morning and then decompress before entering my home at the end of the day. I do let to arrive to my office early, well before the school days start. I find this to be my most productive administrative task time, and allows me to be responsive to the needs of the day, and be a presence in my district buildings throughout the school day. I love visiting classrooms and interacting with students and staff, and I try to ensure this happens every day. After work hours I strive to be an attentive and present husband and father. I am often at my kids' events or games, making dinner, or running other family errands. As I have grown older I do find my "bedtime" happening earlier and earlier, especially on weeknights. Unfortunately, I think another thing leaders deal with is trouble sleeping because of intensive thoughts or initiatives seeking attention in the quiet of the night. I am not immune from this.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

I have recently reflected on the saying, "Stop trying to win the fight in the first round." I think as leaders we often get caught up in trying to solve things "now". Most times when we let things "breathe" a solution will present itself or we will arrive at a better solution than our first impulse. Change and initiatives often take a ton of time, to fully implement, so you have to pace the energy of change for the long fight, not the quick knockout.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

This is extremely hard for me to answer because I am an avid reader, especially when it comes to the topic of leadership. Some I would recommend for all leaders are: Leaders Eat Last & The Infinite Game both by Simon Sinek, Humble Leadership by Edgar H. Schein & Peter A. Schein, Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin, Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin, and The Author vs. Editor Dilemma by Brandon M. Smith. I will share one story from Humble Leadership that speaks to how I try to lead. They tell the story of a CEO, Philip Yeo's "kite-flying" leadership style. Yeo says, "To get the best out of people, don't be paternalistic. You have to treat them like kites...You get them up in the air, if there's no wind you try again. Everybody needs a lift-off. If they get in trouble, you reel them in." (Schein & Schein page 46) I try to lead like this, support the kite, but let the kite fly. Don't micromangement but reel people back in if you see trouble on the horizon.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

Bosses are in charge of people, but Leaders develop relationships, pour into people, and try to bring out the best in those around them. Leaders end up getting everyone invested in the growth and future of the organization. Make sure you are a leader and not a boss.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

While not one story or one occurrence, I have enjoyed helping to shape and grow other leaders. From supporting and growing teacher leaders, to mentoring aspiring administrators, to helping develop the leadership capacity of the members of the district leadership team. Growing leaders and the branches of my leadership tree (like a coaching tree in sports) are some of the most rewarding leadership experiences I have had over the last few years.