Remember applying for college and having to write a personal statement? Your mission was to sit down, evaluate yourself as well as your goals for tomorrow, and figure out a way to wordsmith it all together in just a few short pages. Even if that experience is long behind you, there is still something you can take away from the college application season—especially if you’re snowed in with nothing but your thoughts. Because when you really get down to it, compiling a personal statement is very, very similar to how we suggest schools establish their faculty and staff evaluation processes.
If you’re subscribed to several educational newsletters, you’ve probably seen the e-mails already start to come in with tips for graduating students on crafting a perfect personal statement. Don’t delete them! They have some great tips that can be considered for your objectives. In fact, they’re the inspiration behind this article. If they can motivate us, they’ll be a great resource for you.
If your school has taken a fresh look at its evaluation process, you might have been asked to reflect on where you are now—your strengths, weaknesses, and goals—or perhaps outline a rough game plan for what you’d like to work on moving forward. Hopefully, your Head shared some of his/her outline with you to help you understand your task ahead. But, even if he/she did share with you, reflecting inward isn’t always easy; it can seem overwhelming even for seasoned veterans.
Being number-minded, you might have immediately started with the bottom line, not hesitating for a moment to look inward at your personal value system. What makes you distinctive? What has your career this far said about your ambitions, your motivations, your personal mission? Working for a private school, your personal values should align (or be close) with those of the institution. Reflecting on that, now, what are your strengths and your weaknesses? How can you improve certain qualities to both enhance your personal being and your professional self?
Let’s break this down a little further. As you’re relaxing at home, or perhaps taking a mini-break from spreadsheets and the usual flow of things, consider these questions.
- What is impressive about you and your life’s story this far? What elements of your life have influenced the goals you’ve set for both yourself and your school?
- What inspired you to work for a private school? How does your school’s mission relate to your personal values?
- How did you become interested in being apart of the Business Office?
- What work experiences have developed your personal growth? What have you learned about both yourself and your institution from your years as Business Manager?
- What hardships have you overcome?
- What skills are you exceptionally proud of?
- What skills would you like to develop? Why?
- How can you tell your Head who you are and what it is that fuels you?
- How can you keep positive even when addressing areas that you’d like to strengthen?
These questions can do more than simply help you formulate goals for your evaluation—they might help you discover (or remember) something about yourself that can propel you forward personally. So, yes, you’re probably well beyond writing formulating a college acceptance letter, but you’re never beyond professional growth. Taking a moment to sit down and reflect on yourself can help you evolve as well as help you—and fellow colleagues—set goals for your next step of the journey.
Additional ISM articles of interest
ISM Monthly Update for Business Officers Vol. 10 No. 5 Why Business Managers Need to Care About Teacher Evaluation
ISM Monthly Update for Division Heads Vol. 9 No. 6 Can Evaluation Really Drive Faculty (and Student) Performance?
ISM Monthly Update for School Heads Vol. 12 No. 2 Conversation as Evaluation
ISM Monthly Update for Trustees Vol. 11 No. 2 Who is Responsible for Board Evaluation?
ISM Monthly Update for Human Resources Vol. 10 No. 8 Re-Designing Your Teacher Evaluation Process
