January is National Mentor Month. I want to share how three mentors helped me in different ways during various stages of my career.

They see attributes in you that you may not see in yourself

Genelle Yost, Superintendent-St. Lucie County School District

Genelle Yost was my supervisor for several of my highest performing years as a principal. She treated me as a colleague rather than a subordinate. Faced with many challenges that typify school turnaround, Genelle supported me through many phone calls, emails, and impromptu meetings with her when I was unsure of my abilities to overcome the many challenges I faced. On those occasions, Genelle would always talk me through it and instill confidence in me to overcome anything I was facing.  She was the first person to ever refer to me as a “turnaround principal”. I remember having to Google the term when she left my office.  That small comment eventually led to me becoming intrigued with the school turnaround process, pursuing my doctorate, and dedicating the focus of my dissertation study to school turnaround leaders. Her confidence in me and perpetual support empowered me to take chances and attempt innovative approaches at the schools I led without fear of being blamed if something didn’t turn out as planned. That allowed me to circumvent certain political roadblocks and get results in a short period of time.

They let you learn from failure

  John Drag, Sr.-Former Principal, Pembroke Pines Elementary

John Drag, Sr. was the principal who hired me directly out of college as a teacher. I remember being so excited to “impress” him during my first formal observation. I planned an elaborate inquiry science lesson that had students moving all over the classroom. Sounds pretty good, right?  Not when the observation tool is designed to look for students sitting in their seats and raising their hands. After the observation, he called me into his office and ripped up the observation form in front of me and said, “DO OVER!” I was devastated. Then he explained to me that he wanted me to continue my innovative instructional approaches, just not during formal evaluations.   That second chance made we work harder in the future because he had been there for me when I needed it most.

They are first responders when you have success or failure

Joe Bondi (center) former Professor of Education-University of South Florida and Educational Consultant

Dr. Joe Bondi was my guiding light for four of the five schools I led through the turnaround process. He was always the first person to congratulate me when something great happened and the first to ask me, “How will you fix this?” when I stumbled as a leader. This helped me grow so much as a leader. Principals need an “honest mirror” to help them reflect on what is going right and where to fix things when they aren’t going well. Every leader would benefit from that kind of honesty!

My accomplishments would have been limited as a teacher and school leader without the help of others. Don’t go it alone. Seek out people in your network than can help you succeed.  If you are the one with experience, reach out to someone to see if they could benefit from talking to you.  Thank you, Genelle, John, and Joe for your guidance and valuable advice. I believe that I am better person because of it!

Sadly, over past two years the world lost John and Joe.  I dedicate this post to them and hope they are looking down with pride at how much their advice helped better the lives of many kids and hundreds of leaders who are now carrying on their legacy.

Have any of you had a mentor who impacted your career?  Please share!

 Scott is a proven school and district leader with 23 years of experience. He has led the turnaround of five different urban schools in Florida transforming their cultures into high functioning systems that produced record breaking results in student achievement and teacher performance. Scott is available to consult with schools, districts, and organizations to create a focused strategy that will lead to improved results, increased engagement, and overall results. He can be contacted at sneil@schoolleadershipsolutions.com