In August 2022, I started writing, posting, and sharing ideas around leadership each week. The routine of publishing happened only after I developed my website (drseandube.com), created my LLC (The DuBé Group, LLC), and shared ideas on Twitter for nine years. From 2015-2018, I also wrote routinely in a blog about teaching and learning. It was only until I started my doctorate in January 2018 that I stopped writing and publishing. I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing, and that passion translated into my career as an English/Language Arts teacher and now into my website. Here are five reflections on writing consistently for 52 weeks in a row:
- Consistency Matters: The first learning around writing for a year is that consistency makes a significant impact on doing positive work. I’ve always been incredibly consistent, and writing this past year is no different. I know very few people who have consistently written on one topic for an entire year. While the internet makes us believe that everyone is a high-performer and incredibly consistent, it certainly isn’t the case everywhere. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the consistency of writing on Saturday mornings and posting on Monday mornings.
- Leadership is Everywhere: The second learning around writing is that my topic of leadership is literally everywhere. I spent the year observing other leaders, exploring online, reading numerous books, and considering my own education and coaching experiences. I found topics to write about each week because leadership is all around us. I’ve enjoyed organizing topics and thinking through how leadership interacts in our world simply by exploring these topics.
- Reflection is Critical: The third idea around writing is that reflection is critical both professionally and personally. We need to reflect on our lives and experiences in order to improve and move forward. Writing every week around one topic allowed me to fully reflect on my own experiences, both good and bad, and use those reflections to refine my thinking. These reflections helped me form concrete ideas around one topic that I am passionate about.
- Writing Leads to Learning: The fourth idea around writing for a year is that writing leads to learning. We often hear about leaders reading a book a week or two books a month in order to learn. We hear less about leaders writing about their ideas. This year has been a year of learning about leadership for me. I read books and wrote about those topics, I spent time analyzing various leadership ideas, and I considered strategies for highly-effective leadership. Although writing isn’t the only way to learn, it has helped me process what I know and don’t know around leadership.
- Sharing Impacts Others: The final positive aspect of consistently writing for a year has been sharing with other people through social media and other mediums. I’ve had many people reach out to me about my writing. It seems that my writing about leadership impacted people, their thinking, and even their actions in teaching, coaching, and leadership. Although my writing has always been for my own learning and growth, the byproduct of it has been an impact on other people.
Writing consistently for an entire year has impacted my understanding and ideas around leadership, teaching, and coaching. I’ve enjoyed reflecting on ideas, thoroughly vetting and deconstructing my thoughts, and sharing those ideas with others. The amount I’ve learned about leadership in the last year cannot be quantified, and it’s especially difficult to measure the impact it’ll have on the rest of my life.
How has consistency impacted your personal and professional life?