by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Sep 23, 2012 | The Leadership Project
We all say we want to become a better leader, but what steps have you taken to see whether you’ve improved. Sure, you’ve read books, gone to conferences, and maybe even have a leadership degree, but have you ever asked others? Hopefully we are all open to some feedback, but how much? If you’re James MacDonald, Head of School at Yokohama International School, you want as much feedback as you can get. So much so, that he created an anonymous committee whose job it was to meet and discuss his strengths and weaknesses as a leader. I’d like to think that we’re all that open to the opinion of others, but to my knowledge I’ve never met another head of school to do the same. However, it’s not just a desire to develop as a leader that led Mr. MacDonald to create such a committee. More important than increasing his effectiveness as a leader, it’s an example of the style of learning and growth that he believes YIS should be known for. Simply put “you can’t have a culture of leadership different then the culture you’re trying to create in the classroom.” Perhaps it’s this openness that has allowed YIS achieve great results while also creating a spirit of openness and risk taking. (If not specifically quoted, Mr. MacDonald’s responses to these questions have been paraphrased) You moved from the deputy head to head of school in 2010, what were the advantages of moving into the headship internally? “Being internal [has been] fantastic in many respects because I [already] knew the people…[which is crucial because] a lot of the...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Sep 16, 2012 | Leadership News
In case you’re not familiar with Caine’s Arcade I’ll give you a little background. A couple months ago a film maker in LA stopped by a used car parts store to pick something up. When he arrived he discovered the owner’s son Caine had commandeered the front of the shop and transformed it into and arcade full of simple cardboard games (you know the ones you used to make when you were a kid). Inspired by Caine’s ingenuity and entrepreneurship the film maker coordinated with friends, Caine’s dad, and social media to mob Caine’s Arcade with customers…and of course as a film maker he made a film (click here to view) from it that went viral and has been seen all over the world. Since then, the Caine’s Arcade group has come up with a follow up film and used the money and inspiration raised by the first film to create the Imagination Foundation, a organization designed to spur entrepreneurship and innovation in kids. You’re better off watching the video then listening to me explain it. Watching the new film got me thinking about whether we doing enough to push kids to innovate? I’d like to think yes, but it might be more helpful and truthful if we try to identify the truly innovative things we’ve seen our students do. Can you do that? Hopefully? Although I’m sure there is some innovative stuff going on at our schools (just off the top of my head I can think of IS Bangkok’s Invention Center), I fear that many of our students are simply on their predestined path to university and...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Sep 13, 2012 | The Leadership Project
When was the last time you told your school what you like about it the most? Or have written a piece of poetry or a love letter to describe your feelings for your school? Whether we realize it or not our schools as a whole are more then just a setting or a stage that we work in. More then just doors, widows, and walls our schools and the communities that envelop them take on a life of their own. This is why life in a school can be so messy and chaotic, and why creating healthy and flexible change seems to elude many of us. However, effective change isn’t elusive for all schools, and there are many great and effective change leaders who have helped schools find their right path. Dr. Sherry Miller is one of these people. With a diverse background of experiences working and leading schools in the US and overseas, Sherry currently works with schools and other organizations to create positive change through Empowerment Unlimited, a consulting company she helped found that uses Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as it’s main tool for change. It was with Sherry’s guidance and the use of AI that helped Jakarta International School come together during its Dream Summit in early 2011 to redevelop it’s vision for the school. With 150 representatives from the school including students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, community members as well as “Valentine Cards” to the school written by many other stakeholders who couldn’t attend, the Dream Summit has set a new, bold, and dynamic course for JIS which among other things is to be the best...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Sep 12, 2012 | Blog
The beginning of the new school year has come and gone and it’s around this time I start to see droopy faced students and teachers roaming the hallways. How can it be that people are already looking so tired by week 5 of the school year? So it’s not surprising that as teachers and administrators, it’s right about now that we start to talk more and more about finding balancing in our lives. But is balance possible? The oddity of schools is that by their nature they’re not balanced. In what other industry do people work from dawn to dusk for 9-10 months of the year and then have little to no work to do in the off season? As the descendant of a midwest farming family (many of whom still work the field), farmers are some of the only other people I know who have the same schedule, which isn’t a coincidence. My dad was a farmer, so I distinctly remember the late nights he’d work in the fall, trying to get all the crops harvested, and the cold winters when I’d come home from school to see my dad had rearranged the basement…again. Maybe balance is so elusive because it doesn’t really exist…at least not in the form we’re searching for. If asked to define balance some would probably interpret it to mean managing the time in your life to allow for a variety of challenging, innovative and diverse activities. Although that quick definition could also mean that we should try not to be too challenged, innovative or diversified. That doesn’t seem right, does it? I can’t...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Sep 5, 2012 | Leadership News
The ideas in this article aren’t new to most of us, but I think it’s a good reminder that great leaders empower others. However, do you think as a leader you could be disconnected from your school for two-weeks to go on vacation? I’m not sure we’d all be able to confidently do this, but it’s a good idea for you heads of school out there. In many ways the need to give space for others to act is similar to a something I witnessed in my class the other day. During a student led discussion with 10th graders I noticed that 3 students were dominating the conversation in an attempt fill the silence by their classmates, or in an unsuccessful attempt to spark a thought in someone else. A noble idea, but it wasn’t until I gave these chatty students a 5-minute “no talking penalty” that the discussion finally pulled everyone in as the dominate speakers were forced to watch. Do you or some of your colleagues need to be ‘forced to watch’ for a few weeks to allow others a chance to step up? Editor’s note: J. Keith Murnighan is Harold H. Hines Jr. distinguished professor of risk management at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and author of the recent book, “Do Nothing! How to Stop OverManaging and Become a Great Leader.” (CNN) — Far too many leaders do too much. Does this include you? If you can’t take a two-week vacation without your cell phone, your laptop and your tablet, it probably does. Don’t get me wrong — this is not unusual. Instead, it’s...
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