The phrase "find your why" has become a rallying cry for personal and professional growth. Popularized by Simon Sinek’s book, Start with WHY, and his subsequent book, Find Your WHY, it encourages individuals and organizations to uncover the purpose that drives their actions.
In theory, it’s an inspiring call to introspection and alignment. Yet, in practice, many educators and leaders struggle to connect their "why" to the specific challenges and goals they face in their individual classrooms, leaving them without a clear understanding of the purpose for the practice.
This article explores how “defining your why” can be reimagined as a reflective and personalized tool for professional development, particularly in the context of promoting student-centered, heutagogical, constructivist philosophies in a school setting. The idea here is that connecting personal motivations to the collective "Why" allows groups and organizations to better navigate the inherent complexities of any change process and foster environments where staff and students thrive in shared learning environments.
Defining Your 'Why': The Popular Philosophy
"Defining your why" is often associated with a broad search for purpose—why you do what you do, why you chose a certain profession, or why a particular value resonates with you.
"I teach because I want to inspire the next generation."
"I became a school leader because I believe education is the foundation of a just society."
These statements reflect beliefs that tap into broader strokes as to why a person might want to be a teacher but they don't by themselves necessarily capture the beliefs that will drive a person to engage in teaching practices that they don't agree with. As powerful as these statements may be, broad statements can feel distant when applied to specific change initiatives.
Consider a teacher tasked with implementing competency-based education. While a broad "why" might resonate philosophically with the idea of "promoting competency" in education, it doesn’t directly address the practical obstacles, such as redesigning lesson plans, promoting aspects of self-determination in staff and students, or addressing various kinds of staff and student resistance to more interdependent teaching and learning practices.
This theory-practice gap highlights the need for not just an understanding of a personalized "why" for wanting to be a part of a group, school, or organization, but a more nuanced approach to defining "why" — one that connects a broad philosophy to the tangible actions required for meaningful, transformational change.
Reimagining 'Why': A Tool for Reflection and Alignment
Instead of framing "why" as a single overarching statement, we can view it as a multi-layered process: a way to connect personal motivations to collective goals. For example, let’s consider a school transitioning to a student-centered, constructivist model of learning.
Collective 'Why': Empowering Student Autonomy
Imagine a school’s collective "why" has been determined:“We aim to foster independent, lifelong learners by creating environments where students take ownership of their learning.”
This goal provides a unifying ideal, but it’s too broad to sustain motivation of staff and students. Educators need space to reflect on their personal connections to this vision.
Personalized Reflections: Examples from the Classroom
Ms. Carter, a veteran teacher
Personal Why: "I’ve seen my students disengage from traditional lectures. I want to create a classroom where every student feels their voice matters."
Alignment: Ms. Carter is motivated by her desire to improve student engagement and sees constructivist strategies as a means to that end.
Mr. Lopez, a new teacher
Personal Why: "I believe students need to develop critical thinking and communication skills to succeed in the real world."
Alignment: He sees the constructivist model as an opportunity to teach students how to think, not just what to think.
These personal belief statements can more accurately guide each teacher's approach to adopting and adapting specific teaching practices that promote student learning practices that align with the school's collective "Why". This reflects how individual "whys" can personalize the broader collective goal, making it actionable and relevant to each educator.
Practical Applications: Connecting Why to Action
To make the concept of "defining your why" practical, consider its role in driving day-to-day decisions, fostering alignment, and overcoming resistance. Here are scenarios illustrating this process in action:
Scenario 1: Shifting Assessment Practices
Challenge: A school is transitioning from traditional grading to competency-based assessment. While the collective why might be determined as: “We want to provide meaningful feedback that helps students grow as learners", a teacher may have a more specific belief statement that motivates them to align with this collective goal.
”Personalized Why Example:
Ms. Patel: "Traditional grading often focuses on what students can't do. I want my students to see what they’re capable of and build confidence in their abilities."
This "why" helps Ms. Patel stay motivated when navigating the complexity of rethinking assessments away from unidirectional feedback and more toward peer-based narrative feedback loops. By holding to her belief that peer-based narrative feedback loops support the broader goal of providing meaningful feedback to help students grow as learners, her specific actions can be revisited and reflected upon with colleagues and coaches with intention and purpose.
Scenario 2: Redesigning Curriculum
Challenge: Teachers are asked to co-design projects that emphasize student choice and inquiry. Again, while the collective "Why" might have been determined as: “We aim to create learning experiences that are relevant and meaningful to our students’ lives", Mr. Johnson may require a more specific belief statement that addresses his needs in alignment with that collective goal.
”Personalized Why Example:
Mr. Johnson: "I struggled in school because I didn’t see the relevance of what I was learning. I want to give my students opportunities to explore their passions and connect learning to the real world."
Mr. Johnson’s personal connection to the change fuels his creativity in designing projects that resonate with students in ways that allow student interests to drive project selection within a framework of learning targets required for the school's accredited diploma. This allows Mr. Johnson to reflect on how his particular teaching practices align not only with his own motivation for his role as the classroom teacher but also with the larger school-wide goal of emphasizing student choice and inquiry across classrooms.
When Broader 'Whys' Apply: Philosophy and Frameworks
To be fair - there are moments when defining a broader "why" is appropriate, especially when adopting overarching frameworks like heutagogy or constructivism in a school or district for the first time. In these cases, the "why" serves as a guiding principle for long-term behaviors:
"I believe students are capable of leading their own learning journeys. My role is to guide and support them as they grow."
"Education should be a partnership between teacher and student, fostering curiosity, independence, and collaboration."
These belief statements can be challenging to accept right off the bat as they don’t tie directly to specific, actionable goals for classroom teachers but instead provide a foundation for consistent decision-making and specific change initiative selection.
These examples of broader beliefs are often how school staff are introduced to the idea of "defining your why" but, without coaching to address a specific ideal or goal, can lead folks to a disillusioned view of the practice.
Guidelines for Defining Your 'Why' for Effective Professional Development
Start with the Collective Goal: Anchor your "why" in the shared vision or ideal. Reflect on how this goal connects to your personal values or experiences.
Egalitarian Approach: This can be done as a collective with an egalitarian approach to decision-making where everyone is equally accountable for creating a shared vision. While this approach fosters inclusivity, ownership, and diverse perspectives, it is often viewed as laborious and time-consuming. It requires a significant amount of self-awareness and self-management on the part of the collective to ensure that discussions remain productive and that all voices are valued equally. The challenge lies in balancing differing priorities and finding consensus, which may prolong decision-making but can result in a deeply aligned and committed group effort.
Hierarchical Structure: This can also be done with a more hierarchical structure for suggestions and input from stakeholders at predefined degrees of oversight and accountability. While this approach can expedite the process by streamlining decision-making, it is often viewed as subject to power imbalances and potential disengagement from lower-level participants. Those at the top may unintentionally dominate the direction, leading others to feel their input is undervalued or ignored. Leaders must actively create spaces for meaningful contribution and communicate how stakeholder feedback influences decisions to ensure collective buy-in.
Make It Personal.
Reflect on moments in your career where you felt the most engaged or fulfilled. What was it about those experiences that energized you? For example, did you thrive when students embraced their independence, or did you feel accomplished when helping a struggling learner overcome challenges?
Explore how this change initiative resonates with your values or long-term goals. Ask yourself: What unique strengths or experiences can I bring to this effort? How will participating in this change help me grow as a professional or connect me more deeply to my work?
Personalizing your "why" makes it easier to stay motivated through challenges, as you’ll have a clear emotional connection to the purpose behind your actions.
Revisit and Refine.
Your "why" may evolve as you gain experience with new approaches. Revisit it regularly to ensure it remains meaningful and aligned.
Change initiatives rarely unfold exactly as planned. New insights, feedback, and unexpected outcomes may shift your understanding of the process or its impact. Periodically ask yourself: Does my original "why" still resonate with what I’m experiencing? How has my perspective grown or changed?
For instance, an educator might start with a "why" focused on helping students develop specific skills but later realize their deeper motivation lies in fostering a lifelong love of learning. Revisiting and refining your "why" ensures it remains a source of inspiration and aligns with evolving priorities.
Schedule regular opportunities—perhaps at the end of each term or after significant milestones—to reflect on your "why" and adjust it as needed. This practice keeps it relevant and dynamic, rather than static and disconnected from your journey.
Share and Collaborate
Sharing "why" statements with colleagues fosters mutual understanding and support. Collective reflection can strengthen the team’s commitment to the goal.
When educators share their "why," it creates opportunities to connect on a deeper level. For example, one teacher’s commitment to equity in education might inspire another to think more critically about their own practice. These exchanges build camaraderie and help teams align their personal motivations with the collective vision.
Structured opportunities for sharing can include professional development workshops, team meetings, or informal peer discussions. Activities like writing and discussing "why" statements in small groups can spark valuable insights and strengthen interpersonal bonds.
Beyond internal motivation, sharing your "why" publicly can also build trust and transparency with stakeholders such as students, parents, and administrators. When others see the personal passion driving your actions, they’re more likely to understand and support the change initiative.
Personalizing Change for Collective Impact
Defining your "why" is not just about inspiration—it’s about alignment and action. In the context of promoting student-centered, heutagogical, constructivist philosophies, your "why" connects your personal motivations to the collective ideal of empowering learners. By personalizing your "why" and tying it to specific actions, you create a roadmap for navigating change and inspiring others to do the same. Whether you’re redesigning assessments, rethinking curriculum, or adopting new frameworks, your "why" is the thread that weaves personal purpose into collective progress.
Consider the following articles to support your exploration of purposeful change management in education:
Personalized Professional Development: Bridging the Gap Between Teacher Learning and Student Success. https://www.exploringthecore.com/post/personalized-pd
Why is Traditional PD Ineffective (and what can be done about it)?https://www.exploringthecore.com/post/whypersonalizepd
Navigating Change with the TTM and Motivational Interviewing.
https://www.exploringthecore.com/post/ttmmihyp
Mindset Matters: What is keeping schools from adopting and adapting CBE as a mindset and practice? https://www.exploringthecore.com/post/cbe-mindset
Reimagining of Guskey's Five-Stage Model for Evaluating Teacher Development.
Greg Mullen
December 9, 2024