Discipline in leadership is more about having self-control, inner calm, and outer resolve than punishing and rewarding. It is about managing your emotions, working hard, and following through on commitments. It is about being responsible and accountable for your actions. It is about being a rock amid life’s inevitable storms.

A high level of resilience plays a significant part in your ability to be self-disciplined. You have to be resolute in your actions and understand that setbacks will happen. You have to be focused enough to understand that failure is just a part of success, not a destination.

Education leaders who are disciplined, have leadership teams and employees who also exhibit poise. The school culture becomes an environment where discipline is the norm. Unfortunately, many people have the wrong perception of discipline. They believe that to be disciplined, you have to maintain a rigorous standard, and punish those that do not meet the mark. It is about having high standards, but punishment is not a central focus. Those who do not meet the standard are given the supports and resources that they need to improve.

Why discipline is so important

The road to success to filled with people who will find lots of reasons as to why something will not work. You need a healthy level of discipline that gives you a real sense of confidence and will allow you to move forward without excuses, obstacles, or negativity holding you back. No matter the situation, you need to be able to look on the bright side and be optimistic about a situation’s potential outcome, regardless of the circumstances.

Great leaders are not blind to the possibility that some situations will end in failure. However, they are confident that they and their team have tried their absolute best, so there will be no regrets. They don’t look at a glass as being half full, they look at it always being 100% full. How can a glass that is half full of liquid be completely full? Sometimes you have to think of the top half of the glass as being filled with air.

Concluding thoughts

By being disciplined, you are ready for the outcome, good or bad. If the outcome is positive, you are happy. And if the outcome is negative, you are also happy, because you and your team went above and beyond the call of duty. Failure happens, but you have to be ready to turn that failure into success. The next time a similar situation happens, you will have the benefit of experience on your side, and use your prior knowledge to handle things with the benefit of historical perspective.