Learning from the leaders, Knox Central principal attends BB&T Institute

When it comes to leading towards success, the CEO of Fortune 500 companies and school principals have a lot in common.

Knox Central High School principal Jeff Frost spent a week this summer learning from leaders in business and colleagues in education during BB&T’s Leadership Institute for Principals.  For Frost, he hopes that lessons from the business world will help him impact the next generation workforce.

Knox Central principal Jeff Frost attends the BB&T Leadership Institute.“The institute was designed around the idea of conscious leadership”, explained Frost.  Conscious leadership is the ability to be aware of yourself and others in such a way that you take the appropriate actions to maximize results within the organization, in Frost’s case, Knox Central.

One challenge for principals attending the institute was to become more self-aware.  For Frost, the aha moment was realizing how self-limiting beliefs can impact the work of leaders and the impact they have.

“The challenge to stay in the moment; while at the same time reflecting on how the moment is affecting my behaviors and actions both internally and externally,” was one area of growth that Frost shared from the experience.

“I am excited to reflect deeper on the encounters I have and how each encounter impacts me,” said Frost.  “I have already shared with our leadership team the idea of conscious leadership and the goal for all of us to be conscious on how we are perceived.”

To help principals understand perception, each one completed a self-assessment that was also given to their co-workers to complete.  “The perceptions inventory allowed me to compare the answers I said about myself with the answers of my supervisor, peers and staff.  That was very informative.”

Frost plans on using some of the same learning activities and lessons from the institute to help grow the staff at Knox Central.  “We had pre-work, group work, homework, independent work, and a conference call, but the exciting times were the reflective moments.”

Frost was one of twelve Kentucky principals to attend the institute July 10-14, with the session he attended being the fourth this summer.  On-going support to the principals is being provided both in-person and virtually.  “We have already had a one-on-one conference call.  We will have another WebEx gathering with the whole group and then we will have a group session in Frankfort in the fall and spring semester.”

Participation for the principals was free thanks to a partnership between the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and BB&T.  “I also want to thank the local and state Chamber of Commerce for their commitment to train and develop principals throughout the state,” said Frost.

Additional information about the Kentucky Chamber’s sponsorship of the institute is available online at http://www.principalsleadky.com/ and information about the BB&T Leadership Institute is online at http://www.bbtleadershipinstitute.com/school.php.