Seeing Your Leadership With Fresh Eyes: Moving From Complacent to Captivated

I’ll never forget the feeling of walking into the ASCD headquarters for the first time.

I had been given the awesome opportunity to help lead a project with ASCD, bringing together a brilliant team of educational leaders from across the country. We were meeting in person to conduct research and develop a comprehensive plan to support educators. For all of us on the team, ASCD was more than just an organization; it was an institution that shaped our framework and supported our journey. We knew its stellar reputation and had all been personally influenced by its resources, books, and frameworks throughout our careers.

When we walked through the doors of their office, we were completely awestruck. We were practically giddy taking photos of the pictures on the walls, pointing out historical milestones, and loudly exclaiming to one another how we couldn’t believe we were actually standing there.

A few of the ASCD staff members overheard our joyful commotion and paused. As they watched us marvel at their workplace, you could see something shift in their expressions. They were looking at their own space with new eyes. Later, a few of them confessed something profound: they had started taking their jobs for granted and had not realized the impact they truly had. In the daily grind of emails, meetings, and project deadlines, they had lost sight of the magic. Our awe reminded them of the sheer magnitude of their work and its deep impact on educators and students across the United States.

We ended up having an incredible conversation about a trap that almost every leader falls into at some point: the blur of the familiar.

The Fine Line Between Comfort and Complacency

As leaders, we want to build cultures where people feel comfortable. Psychological safety, predictability, and a sense of security are the bedrocks of a high-functioning team. We want our staff to feel at home.

But there is a razor-thin line between being comfortable and becoming complacent.

When we get too comfortable, we stop noticing the extraordinary things happening around us. We take our people, our circumstances, and our impact for granted. The vibrant colors of our mission fade into the background wallpaper of our daily routines. If we aren’t careful, our leadership can get stale.

To keep our leadership fresh, we must intentionally choose to look at our students, staff, and community members as well as our environments with fresh eyes. Here are four strategies to help you avoid complacency and keep your leadership perspective sharp:

1. Keep (and Share) an Appreciation Journal

It is incredibly easy to focus on the problems that need fixing rather than on the people quietly holding things together. To combat this, keep a daily appreciation journal. But don’t just write it down; turn those reflections into Visible Moments. If you write down that you appreciate how a certain colleague handles transitions, send them a quick email or drop a handwritten note in their mailbox. Gratitude forces you to actively look for the good you’ve been ignoring.

2. Shift Your “Eagle” Vantage Point

When you sit in the same chair, in the same office, having the same meetings, your perspective narrows. You have to intentionally disrupt your physical and mental vantage point. Go work from the media center for an hour. Shadow a student or a new staff member for a morning. Take a “bird’s eye view” of a process you usually micromanage, or zoom in on a detail you usually gloss over. Changing your seat changes what you see.

3. Borrow the “Newbie” Lens

The newest members of your team possess a superpower that veterans no longer have: they aren’t used to “the way we’ve always done it.” Schedule time to sit down with a new colleague, a new student, or even a. new community member. Ask them, “What surprised you when you started here?” or “What is something we do that doesn’t make sense to you?” Let their fresh eyes recalibrate your own.

4. Reconnect the “What” to the “Why”

Just like the ASCD staff who were bogged down by the daily grind, we all need reminders of our ultimate purpose. Make it a habit to start your morning with a “Why” moment. Share a recent student success story, read a positive email from a parent, or highlight a community win. Count your blessings. When you constantly tie the mundane tasks back to the monumental impact, the work never loses its shine.

Moving Farther Together

Leadership is a journey, and none of us is immune to the occasional bout of staleness. But by intentionally seeking out fresh perspectives, we can ensure that we never take each other and the vital work we do for granted.