Most Important Skills for a Head of School at Community School for Creative Education
Phillip, Head of School at Community School for Creative Education, identifies communication, patience, and proactive problem-solving as crucial skills for his role, highlighting the need to "be able to balance the day" and anticipate future needs. The ability to inspire and maintain a positive outlook, especially in a post-COVID world, is also vital for leading a potentially exhausted workforce and envisioning a brighter future.
Communication, Patience, Proactive Problem-Solving, Inspirational Leadership, Conflict Resolution
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Phillip Gedeon
Head of School
Community School for Creative Education
Connecticut College 2005
Loyola Marymount University 09’
Ethnic & Related Studies, Mathematics, Data Science, Statistics
Education
Operations and Project Management
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Excellent communication skills are essential, encompassing both interpersonal interactions and mediating between different parties.
2. Patience is crucial for balancing the demands of families, community members, and students while managing daily tasks and priorities.
3. Proactive leadership is vital, involving anticipating future needs, identifying potential conflicts, and inspiring staff and students despite challenges and exhaustion
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
I think communication is one of the most important skills. This includes communicating to others or being able to interact between parties in their communication.
The second thing I think is patience. There's so much that comes at you in a day-to-day environment, whether it's families, community members, or students. So, it's really important to be able to balance the day and make sure that you are attending to their needs while also checking off things on your own to-do list.
The third thing that I think is critical is being able to be proactive in every essence of the word. This means being able to look at the present but also anticipate the next couple of steps. Whether that means rolling out an initiative or taking a look at trends in the community or on the ground, you need to identify solutions that may need to be taken in order to curb a potential conflict or address an upcoming situation.
The last thing I think that is the most important skill is inspiration. I think the world we are living in now is just different than what it was before COVID. A lot of people are just exhausted, overwhelmed, or frustrated. So, how do you now be a leader of a new type of workforce?
For me, I think making sure my cup is as full as it can be is important, so I am ready and able to pour into others. This way, they are able to finish the day or see the bright future that we as leaders know is around the corner. This is especially important during a time that is still difficult for staff and students to get back into a rhythm.
What looks like a normal day now is different than what it was before we had school closures.
Advizer Personal Links
No