From Underestimated to Unstoppable: 8 Archetypes for Driving Change in the Classroom and Beyond

In K–12 education, your job title or place of work should not prevent you from offering unique insights and pathways for creating change. You have a voice.

Working in education today is to continually be on the precipice of change. However, far too many educators don't recognize the power they have to control and shape that change into what’s best for students. Individual contributions create collective change, and you are an integral part of the change inevitably happening around you.

With that in mind, Ashley Lamb-Sinclair invites you to identify and examine your personal leadership style (or change archetype), which includes what motivates you, how you respond to adversity, how you position yourself in the larger story, how you help move that story forward, and how you deal with the unexpected.

How do you create change? You might be a

* Diplomat if you build relationships and value fairness and integrity.
* Champion if you are passionate about a cause and advocate for people and ideals.
* Creative if you approach things through novelty and ingenuity.
* Storyteller if you are thoughtful, attentive to details, and a clear communicator.
* Inventor if you are a forward thinker who operates through free experimentation.
* Sage if you are perceptive, insightful, and persuasive.
* Investigator if you have an analytical curiosity, ask probing questions, and conduct thorough research.
* Guardian if you have compassion for and are drawn to nurture and protect others.

Many schools tend to ignore or underestimate the powerful catalysts for change that exist in their buildings. Don't let the change story continue without its most vital character—you! Find the lightning bolts of lasting change only you can wield. Become unstoppable!

Ashley Lamb-Sinclair is an award-winning educator, author, speaker, and coalition-builder who loves to bring people together around a cause. She is the 2016 Kentucky Teacher of the Year and served as the inaugural Educator-in-Residence with the state department of education, where she amplified educator voices to shape policy and practice. After 14+ years as a National Board–Certified classroom educator, she founded the award-winning edtech platform Curio Learning to elevate creative idea development and authentic collaboration among educators. She has contributed to several publications and is an Oxford and Fulbright Scholar.