I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man. – Alexander Hamilton

None of us is perfect . . . we should never expect perfection from anyone. When we expect perfection, either from people in public life or people with whom we have personal relationships, we are only setting ourselves up for disappointment. We all make mistakes; if we aren’t making mistakes, we aren’t trying new things.

What we can expect is honesty and values; we are compelled to expect alignment to a shared vision and purposed. Our district has been intentional, purposeful in aligning our values and behavior. We talk about, and more importantly strive to model, our focus and commitment to our culture. We all fall short from time to time, but our commitment to team inspires support and caring.

I never expect to see perfection because we are all imperfect. It’s easy for people to be critical – especially when they are hiding in anonymity behind their keyboards in the safety of their home. It’s easy to point out other people’s flaws. It takes work, it takes effort to learn from mistakes and live our Power of the Team. We accept our Stand Up and Own it approach to leading a district and learning in classrooms. We own our behavior, learn from failing-fast, and live our lives in humble imperfection.