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...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Sep 4, 2012 | The Leadership Project
Few school leaders have worked at as many high performing international schools as Ed Ladd, Head of School at the American School in Japan. With a career that includes leadership positions in London, Israel, Taiwan, Qatar and Japan, Mr. Ladd’s experience has undoubtedly been a vital component in returning ASIJ to normalcy after the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis that struck Japan in March 2011. Before meeting Mr. Ladd, I had heard his leadership style described as sometimes aggressive and demanding, but often effective. What I found in our interview was an innovator who is passionate about “pushing the envelope” and a detective for genuine learning, something we should all hope to see in our schools but don’t always. With obvious enthusiasm for positive change, it’s not surprising that Mr. Ladd has helped transform international education while others have been left watching. (If not specifically quoted, Mr. Ladd’s answers to these questions have been paraphrased) You’ve held overseas positions in many locations do you have a favorite? “They’ve been so different I’ve really liked them all. [I guess] my wife and I would probably say London because it was our first experience, and because I went there as a teacher and not as an administrator.” When and why did you decide to step into leadership? “Quite frankly I don’t think I was thinking ‘I want to be a leader’ or ‘I want to be an administrator’.” It all started when I had an opportunity to apply to become the dean of students in London, but didn’t get the position. Fortunately, a few years later I was asked to...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Aug 27, 2012 | Leadership News
“What the world cares about is not what you know, but what you can do with what you know, and that is a completely different education problem. Then the question becomes do you have the skill, and do you have the will to use the knowledge you have acquired?” Tony Wagner’s words and passion for innovation and entrepreneurship ring true with many things I’m finding in the world of education around me. Take a look at his recent TEDx talk. It will be 15 minutes well spent. Is your school creating innovators? What’s been the catalyst? What’s standing in the...
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