Leadership Myth #5: CEOs Need To Be Great Leaders

by | Jan 30, 2012 | Blog, Education

I came across an interesting article this week that lists 5 common myths of leadership.  Number 5 reads: The Position Myth- “This is truly the greatest misunderstanding of what leadership is. Think about it, if you are a top CEO, a president of a company or a manager, are you really a great leader? Some people might naturally be great leaders at these positions and that is how they earned them but NO, just being at a top position does not all of a sudden make you a leader.” [Read The Rest Here] Can this be true?  When I think about the “people at the top” I’ve always assumed they must be “highly effective” leaders that have gone from “good to great.”  Too heavy on the leadership puns? So is it really necessary for the leadership in a school to be highly effective?  It makes sense that you’d expect leaders at the top to be the best at leading an organization.  Before I began pursuing leadership in schools I would have thought the same thing, but recently my opinion is beginning to change.  Instead of great leadership at the top maybe all that’s needed is a manger who can pick leaders. Obviously it might seem like a sensitive topic to talk about our superintendents and I’m not going to be the first to throw mine under any buses, but when you look at your school’s superintendent, headmaster or CEO do you see a great leader?  If so, in what ways?  If not, what’s wrong?  Be anonymous if you prefer or offer public...

So Where Can I Find Great Leaders?

by | Jan 24, 2012 | Blog, Education

Every year around September a wave of excitement and anticipation fills the living rooms and faculty lounges of international schools as schools around the world begin to post their recruitment needs for the following year.  To any experienced international teacher or administrator it’s an accepted lifestyle choice that you’ll see your closest friends come and go as they move onto new and hopefully better jobs. This last year my wife and I “tested the waters” to see if this was the year to leave and we were sucked into the black hole of resumes and recruitment fairs.  I found myself immersed in conversations with other teachers discussing what schools had posted their job listings.  What I found interesting is how in the midst of these conversations, myself and others would make a snap judgement of the quality of a school.  For example “Did you see blank school is looking for a new blank teacher?”  “Oh that’s a great school–they pay their teachers really well.”  Or  “that’s a great school because they are building a brand new campus.”  Of course the judgement cuts the other way too as I’ve heard people say “it seems like a good school, but…well their 1:1 program is PC based…so that’s a problem.” The truth, it seems, that except for the most competitive teaching candidates many of us are attracted to a school because they either are interested in us, pay well or have a nice website (come on you know you’ve done it).  What does this say about the current recruitment climate when teachers sign contracts at schools not because there is a great match,...

How Important Is Great Leadership?

by | Jan 20, 2012 | Blog, Education

The other day I was in my principal’s office discussing this year’s PSAT results with the school counselor. In the middle of the discussion I noticed a slip of paper that was taped to side of a bookcase. The bookcase was no where near the principal’s desk, so I assume this note must have been a remnant of the last occupant of this office. The slip of paper posed the question “Just How Important Is leadership?”. A timely question as I’ve been scratching my head a lot lately wondering what to write about in this blog. On the surface this question seems simple and a bit silly as we’ve all been taught that great leadership is the key to success. Yet as I look at the world around me, especially in education, it seems no matter good or bad leadership at the top, schools manage to pump out students that live productive and meaningful lives. Even in schools where there is great leadership it’s hard to argue that the lives of each of students who walked the halls of the school are measurably better from that one person. Outside of education it seems evident that life continues to progress despite great leaders. In 2008 when Obama won the White House I thought that his obvious leadership skills would somehow cut through the bipartisan bickering in Washington, but exactly three years since he took the job things continue to seem as bad as ever, if not worse. The note went onto say “A highly effective leader is good for a roughly 30% increase in achievement for the lowest performing teachers’...