Aligning of the Planets

When I talk about an ‘aligning of the planets’ I’m referring to that rare occasion in which a number of factors, perhaps seemingly unrelated, support a particular outcome. Securing a new position created by the Queensland Association of State School Principals (QASSP) was such aligning of the planets for me. The new position brought together my passion for learning, my experience as a principal, my business experience and qualifications, nearly four years in the tertiary sector and a love of design. I believed this new role was made for me.

I left the interview, unlike many I had done before, feeling relaxed, that I had engaged in a conversation that positioned me well to be selected for the role. There was no second-guessing of what should have or could have been said. If I didn’t win the job, someone else was better suited. On reflection, this was a position of calm confidence brought about by being in the flow of the conversation. I also had the feeling I would be embarking on a new learning journey – this excited me greatly.

The joyous thing about the new role was the feeling of confidence in me expressed by the QASSP's President and Management Committee, the association's governing body. They had Believing Eyes about my capacity to deliver and I was given the job to build the reputation and business of the association and the creative licence and autonomy in developing new programs that would do this. This 'permission' to innovate in the meso level is central to this story.

I return to my love of design. As I've previously mentioned, as a teenager, I wanted to be an architect. Designing spaces for other people, the drawing, the building of models, considering how a space would feel, the experience of being in it, captured my imagination. Why I didn’t go to university to undertake architecture is another story, again one about lacking confidence... about needing to find courage. However, designing a study tour for others, the learning it would provide participants was a new opportunity that delighted me. The logistics of a study tour was an element of this design, but more so was the experience of those on the study tour that was important. This is the approach I take to designing all learning experiences – and I love doing it.

What this new role offered me was the opportunity to be a ‘learning architect’. I brought my experience, my love of design and learning together in a way that offered new creative potential.

Next: Learning Architect