By Dr. Erin M. Simon, Superintendent, Bellflower Unified School District
Leadership isn’t always about finding the right answers. Sometimes it’s about asking better questions. Dr. Erin Simon reflects on how her first year as superintendent transformed not only the way she leads, but the leader she is becoming.
I Thought I Needed to Prove Myself
For much of my first year as superintendent, I found myself asking one question:
How can I prove that I belong?
I wanted to build strong systems, earn trust, and produce meaningful results for students. I believed those would be the measures of success.
Over time, however, I realized I had been asking the wrong question.
The better question became:
What truly serves our children?
That shift changed far more than how I led. It changed who I was becoming as a leader.
The Leadership Challenge No One Prepared Me For
Like many first-year superintendents, I experienced both the excitement and the weight that come with leading an entire school district. Every day brought important decisions, high expectations, and a deep responsibility to serve students, staff, and the community well.
Along the way, I began noticing patterns in myself. I often over-explained my decisions. I over-accommodated others. I carried responsibilities that weren’t mine because I wanted people to know I cared.
Those habits came from a sincere desire to lead well, but they also revealed opportunities for growth. I realized that caring deeply didn’t mean carrying everything.
The Gift of Reflection
One of the greatest gifts I received during this season was permission to slow down and reflect.
Through my participation in the Transcendent Leader Institute, I found something I didn’t realize I needed: space.
Space to think.
Space to listen.
Space to examine not only the work in front of me, but the leader I was becoming.
Working alongside mentors such as Dr. Paul Gothold, Dr. Judy White, Dr. Francisco Escobedo, and fellow education leaders, I found language for experiences I was already living. Their guidance helped me realize that leadership development isn’t simply about acquiring new strategies. It is also about allowing the work to transform the leader within.
That insight changed everything.
I became more intentional about creating clarity, establishing healthy boundaries, communicating with honesty, and discerning when to act quickly and when to pause. Instead of trying to solve every problem myself, I began focusing on creating the conditions where accountability, alignment, and shared ownership could flourish.
From Loving Hard to Loving Clear
One realization has stayed with me more than any other.
For much of my career, I believed I was leading by loving hard. I cared deeply, gave deeply, and often carried more than I needed to.
Through reflection, I realized that loving hard can quietly become over-functioning. It can mean absorbing challenges that aren’t yours to carry.
Today, I try to lead by loving clear instead.
For me, loving clear means telling the truth with compassion, naming difficult problems, creating accountability, setting healthy boundaries, and believing people are capable of rising to meet high expectations.
That shift transformed not only my leadership, but also my understanding of what compassion truly looks like.
What Changed
As I changed, my leadership changed.
Urgency no longer feels synonymous with effectiveness. Emotional labor no longer feels like the measure of my commitment.
Instead, I strive to remain calm under pressure, communicate openly, and make decisions that align with our values rather than seeking approval.
Perhaps the biggest shift is this:
I no longer ask,
“How can I prove myself?”
Instead, I ask,
“What truly serves our children?”
That question now guides every important decision we make as a district.
I’m especially grateful to see that commitment reflected in Bellflower Unified’s inaugural Strategic Plan and Learner Profile, both shaped alongside students, staff, families, and our community.
My Advice to Other Superintendents
If there’s one lesson I would share, it’s this:
Reflection is not separate from system improvement.
It is the foundation of it.
As educational leaders, we spend so much time investing in strategic plans, budgets, governance, and instructional improvement. Those things matter immensely.
But leadership also requires investing in ourselves.
Whether it’s through the Transcendent Leader Institute or another meaningful leadership development experience, I encourage every superintendent to seek opportunities that create intentional space for reflection. The strongest systems are built by leaders who continue learning, growing, and examining not only what they are doing, but who they are becoming.
Clarity, discernment, healthy boundaries, and steadiness aren’t secondary leadership skills.
They are essential to building healthy systems that consistently center students.
Looking Back
Today, I still believe leadership is about building strong systems and creating meaningful opportunities for students.
But I’ve learned those systems are only as healthy as the leaders who build them.
My first year wasn’t about proving that I belonged.
It was about becoming the leader my district needed, and continuing that journey every day.
CCEE Perspective
Dr. Erin Simon’s reflections illustrate how personal leadership development can shape systemwide improvement.
Bellflower Unified School District is also participating in CCEE’s Direct Technical Assistance (DTA) process, where the district is working to strengthen alignment and coherence across its educational system. As part of this work, Bellflower Unified is bringing together general education and special education under a shared vision of service to all students, ensuring that plans, investments, and actions remain focused on improving student outcomes.
Dr. Simon’s emphasis on reflection, clarity, and purposeful leadership reflects the mindset that supports this work. By modeling the behaviors she hopes to cultivate across the system, she is helping create the conditions for sustainable improvement that centers students.
