by Jacinta Calzada-Mayronne @drcalzy

I don’t believe in impostor syndrome. What is impostor syndrome? Impostor syndrome is defined as 'an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. While this definition is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, it has links to perfectionism and the social context' (Cuncic, 2020).

by Ann Marie Luce @turnmeluce   Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

The past months have been challenging for everyone, and many have been forced to adapt to our new reality. I, too, have made some difficult decisions that impacted my family and career.  At the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, I returned to Canada from China, where I was an international school leader. I spent six months working remotely as a school principal with our school's staff, students, and parents scattered worldwide.

by Lisa Camilleri @HappierHead

Well, here we are in 2021. I think it's safe to say that for the vast majority of the human race, 2020 was not the year we were expecting. In many ways, I would have been quite happy to hide my head under my duvet and sleep the new year in. However, on this occasion I chose to stay up till the early hours just to ensure it really did leave us….and kick it up the bottom on the way out!

by Rachel Doherty @dohertyrachel1

Teaching in a Derry City School with a student population of 500, is not for the faint hearted especially when you are a Primary 7 teacher. Being brave is a daily venture for me. I seek to challenge children to step outside their comfort zone in new learning so I must continue to strive to set that example too. I am also the ICT Co-ordinator at St. John’s Primary school. In my spare time I love all things fitness related and I am a qualified Hatha yoga teacher.

by Janet Metcalfe @ch100j

Let me start by saying that I feel so grateful to have found a profession that I love. It has tested me to the brink this year, but I love it. I love it because it is through the inspiring students and leaders around me that I’ve begun the journey of self improvement. I feel as teachers and leaders we give everything over. Our passion, our time, our energy - and we don’t mind because we see it as all part of the greater good. But what happens when those personality strengths become the stick by which we beat ourselves?

by Geraldine O’Connor  @goconnor816

10 years as Principal and I'm definitely braver and indeed wiser than I was when I naively embarked on the winding and colourful journey that is school leadership.Blessed with a healthy physical constitution, an accomplished, academic profile, the reputation as an excellent early-years teacher, a strong work ethic, a transformational leadership style, and the long held belief that an excellent education is a right to be afforded to every child, I believed that I had a firm foundation upon which to scaffold and execute a strategic plan to achieve educational excellence, in all its guises.

By Jacinta C. Mayronne @drcalzy

When I first began conversations with @WomenEd_US about hosting a potential chat titled 'Imperfection: Motherhood and Leadership,' it was back in March, before the majority of the United States began quarantining due to COVID-19. My perception and thoughts of what motherhood and leadership look and feel like are completely different now that I pick up my pen to write this blog six months later.

By Dr Jacinta C. Mayronne @drcalzy

Dr. Tracey Beckendorf-Edou, superintendent of Cascade School District in Washington State, is a collaborator! As she tackles her second year of superintendency amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Dr. Beckendorf-Edou, the ideal systems thinker, shared some brilliant ways for other women to navigate their journey towards superintendency. She gave us insight on essential qualities of a school superintendent, why qualified women choose not to pursue superintendency and benefits of diversity in the role - specifically gender diversity, how to encourage other women to pursue educational leadership, and what compels and sustains women throughout their leadership journeys.