A tale of concern and control
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Did you know the Life of Pi movie was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won four of them in 2012? If you ask me, I would vote for the protagonist\’s approach to the \”Oh there\’s a tiger in my boat\” situation. Throughout his journey across the ocean, he faced harsh climates and encountered dangerous moments in the water. Yet, he paid little attention to these uncontrollable aspects of his journey. Instead, he focused on maintaining the boat\’s condition, managing the magnificent creature, and keeping his hope high to reach the shore. This perfectly illustrates the difference between what\’s in one\’s concern and what\’s in one\’s control.
Why is this important? Think about a recent decision you made. Did you make it with the concerns in mind? If not, then you stayed within your circle of control, setting yourself on the path to becoming a Conscious Leader. Conscious Leaders are self-aware, they know where they are, and what their circumstances are. Most importantly, they are open to learn, collaborate and innovate. For the past 7 years, Vidhya Vidhai has been strengthening school leadership to ensure child-centric schools in India. School Leaders\’ and System Leaders\’ decisions have yielded many winning moments for us in the ed-space. Be it students setting up their own classrooms or a Student Parliament leading the school, a leader\’s decisions directly impact student development. Go further to know how a group of leaders did this together.
“The discussions came to a difficult juncture at one point, however as a team, we were able to identify what are some initiatives that we could take given the reality. I am happy that we were able to come up with an action plan for the year.”
District Leader, Nagapattinam
Conscious leaders create positive outcomes for themselves and for those around them, just like school leaders. However, some leaders may struggle to address their leadership challenges. They may forget to step into the circle of control while attempting to address them. Stepping out of the situation and evaluating what’s within the concern and control is crucial for making effective decisions and crafting a successful plan for student development. Our team at Nagapattinam encountered a situation with a diverse group of leaders.
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In a forum where collaboration and innovation are embraced, leaders embrace \”the concerns\”.
One of the Vision Setting Workshops with district leaders in Nagapattinam was where we discussed the Higher Education and Career Aspects of the Students. Career Guidance for students is an ongoing initiative from the State, and this workshop aimed to review ongoing efforts, identify gaps, and address unique challenges faced by students in the district.
Higher Education has a domino effect on the district\’s overall growth. Informed career choices lead to higher graduation rates, more skilled employment, increased economic well-being of civilians, and overall district economic growth. While analyzing the progress of the past year, several debatable opinions and questions arose in the Vision Setting Forum:
“Why are we creating awareness for opportunities that don’t exist in our district?”
“How can we assure opportunities for the courses we are suggesting?”
“Shouldn’t we create realistic aspirations among the students?”
At this moment, we introduced the circle of concern and circle of control theory by Stephen Covey. Through a simple question: \”Can we talk about the challenges in your scope to address as a district leader?\”, the conversation about concern versus control eased tensions and directed leaders toward framing a strategic plan to improve career guidance. This question supported the leaders in identifying ways to strengthen the Career Guidance initiative. Complete attention and focus were on creating an effective plan. Here\’s what the cocreated plan looked like:
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Centering on what is within our control rather than what is merely a concern can lead to actionable strategies and tangible progress. This instance from Nagapattinam is an evidence of it. The leaders showcased a growth mindset and became problem-solvers. Their response to the situation helped them navigate challenges and drive meaningful change.
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As we concluded the session, one of the district leaders shared, “The discussions came to a difficult juncture at one point, however as a team, we were able to identify what are some initiatives that we could take given the reality. I am happy that we were able to come up with an action plan for the year.” Hearing that, our confidence in district leaders planning for Nagapattinam students\’ overall development peaked higher than ever. The leaders challenged the challenges and co-created innovations for the district. They won\’t be diverted by harsh climates or dangerous beings in the water but focus entirely on reaching the shore: to ensure excellence in every school of Nagapattinam.
Ready to step into the circle of control like our leaders?
– Preethi Govindarajan