Kairos as defined by Merriam-Webster is “a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of crucial action; the opportune and decisive moment.” I first ran across this word this past summer while reading Essentialism by Greg McKeown, a book I recommend to everyone who is interested in productivity, time, efficiency, and what matters most.
Recently, inspired by “Kairos,” I engaged in a different type of personal and professional 
reflection process. First, every 90 days I meet with two different board members to discuss progress and obstacles in relationship to my individual goals, job description, and our district improvement/strategic plan. Following these meetings those board members and I provided a summary update to the entire board. This process has been incredibly useful in terms of the board and superintendent lines of communication while working toward common goals.
For the past year plus I have kept a daily journal where the essential questions I answer are, “What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now,” and “How did I connect with staff and students today?” At the end of the week I review and reflect on what I have accomplished…or not. This has helped keep me be accountable to myself and serves as a good guide as to where and how I spend my time.
The most recent and what I believe to be the most critical action step in my personal and professional development was soliciting feedback from all faculty and staff through a short 360 feedback survey. Through the use of a mentor/coach to help me process the information received and turn the feedback into a plan for action I plan to communicate what I learned and what I plan to do about it during our opening institute for the second semester. I plan to write more about this in another post but I can tell you that thus far this has been a little scary, has forced me to deeply reflect, and has been incredibly valuable for my personal and professional development.
With the new year upon us I plan to not dwell on past successes or failures but instead use them as learning experiences in my own leadership journey. I will continue to lead with vision as it is critical to do so for any leader and organization, but not at the expense where the anticipation of good or challenging things ahead become crippling to what is most important at the present time.
My goal for the new year is to “be present” for those around me, for what is most important, and for what I’m doing so that I take the most critical actions at the most opportune times. Kairos!
Transform the Norm 