by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Jul 28, 2012 | The Leadership Project
“Why did you choose to step into leadership?” I’ve asked this question many times throughout my interviews, but maybe this question is too presumptuous. Do we choose to step into leadership or does it choose us? Is effective leadership part nature or mostly nurture? These are some heady questions, and at the end of the day, might make little difference in how effective we are as leaders. Yet, when I asked this question to Jim Koerschen, Head of School at Concordia International School Shanghai, he explained, “I’ve come to the conclusion that there is something innate about somebody’s DNA, that gives them this passion that they’re going to be in a leadership role…and then you learn to become a good leader through experience or education.” In many ways this idea resonates with me. Whether it’s nature or nurture is beyond me, but if the idea of staying within the boundaries of your official job description and avoiding leadership opportunities sounds like torture, then you might be experiencing the passion Dr. Koerschen is describing. Unlike some of his counterparts in international education, this is Dr. Koerschen’s first time as the head of an international school. In fact much of his career has been in higher education within the United States. It was perhaps this unique experience that has helped transform Concordia from a school of 22 in 1998 when it was founded, to over 1200 this year. Through Dr. Koerschen’s leadership at Concordia, the school has experienced constant growth, become a leader in tech-integration in the classroom, and built a new campus, all the while keeping the goal of being...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Jul 27, 2012 | Blog
I just survived my 5th trans-Pacific flight with a 1-year old. Gone are the days of in-flight movies and long stretches of time to work, read, or think (oh how good I had it). Today my flights are filled with the feat of entertaining a squirmy child. For any parent who travels long distances with little kids, they know that preparation is as much an art form as it is a necessity. Still you never quite know what’s going to happen until the cabin door closes and the plane pushes back from the gate. In this way my international teaching experience has made me a better traveler, but has it better prepared me for the classroom? As and international teacher I like to think that I have developed some special skills that enable me to be more effective with diverse cultures, ESL students, or functioning within our unique field. This might be true, but in most cases I’m probably not as special or at least as specialized as I may think. So does international experience really matter? As I’ve interviewed different school leaders from around the world, many who have worked in very diverse cultures, I’ve heard a similar thought on this topic. Mark Ulfers, Head of School at the American School of Paris, might have said it best when he explained the differences between schools by saying, “I find more commonalities at our schools than differences. Clearly culture has a tremendous influence…[but] the needs of young people seem to be so much the same [anywhere in the world]…their desires, needs, aspirations…” In this example Mr. Ulfers was talking about...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Jul 11, 2012 | The Leadership Project
Recently a colleague of mine was talking about the increasing practice of appointing school heads almost two years ahead of their start date. For instance, amongst the people I’ve interviewed, both Tim Carr and Mark Ulfers received their appointments well over a year before they officially began working at their schools. This practice has led to the rise of interim heads, which helps keep the school running and provides some leadership during the gap. If you ask me it sounds like a pretty good gig. You get to travel and live in a new location and work with a new group of people. If you do a great job you might get asked to go somewhere else for another year, and if you’re horrible, you’ll just build the anticipation for the new head to start. Where can I sign up? Well unfortunately for most of us, you have to be amongst the highest respected professionals in the field of international education. Monica Greeley, who has helped lead schools in Kenya, Indonesia and Burma as well as heading Cairo American College in Egypt, most recently helped bridge the gap between heads at Jakarta International School. If that’s the CV needed to get a one-year appointment, I am far from qualified. During our discussion she spoke of the balancing act an interim head must overcome between moving the school forward, while also helping to bring healing to the community in different areas if needed. She explained that much of this work is rooted in ”identifying common values” that you can use to renew a shared culture and soften areas of toxicity....
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Jul 7, 2012 | Blog, Video
What are you doing this summer with your coworkers or students to innovate for the next school year? Um…sorry did I same something about summer? Who would be so bold as to ask teachers to work over the summer holiday? Certainly we’d never ask that of our students, would we? Sorry, please excuse my sarcasm, but now that it’s mid-July I’m starting to get a little restless. Now before you write a comment about how you worked tirelessly this year and deserve a break, or that you are working on and off throughout out the summer, think about whether your coworkers are as dedicated as you are, because that’s who I’m talking about. I’ve been in education long enough to know that we all need a break; and not just a small rest, but a nice juicy period of nothingness. But hopefully that’s happened, and you’re starting to think about how next year could be better. For me, once I reach this time of the summer I find myself doing a lot of self-reflection. However, once I come up with a few ideas, I have only a couple of days before the first day of school to share them with my colleagues for refinement. Unfortunately, everyone is quickly busy again, including myself, that many of my “great” ideas take a back seat to more pressing matters. I wonder how much we’re missing out in our schools because once we’ve all finally gotten a chance to clear our heads, we’re not around each other to innovate. What would it take to change this practice of shutting down for the summer,...
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