by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Aug 9, 2012 | The Leadership Project
Few schools around the world have gained a reputation for excellence like Hong Kong International School. Situated in the hub of commerce between east and west, it’s not surprising that the residents of Hong Kong would demand such a school. Unless you have experience running a school similar in size to HKIS, it’s not easy to contemplate the complexity that comes with just making everyday decisions. With enrollment over 2600 students and over 500 faculty and staff at two campuses, just scheduling facilities can become a very intricate task. Yet this is simple in comparison to overseeing the hiring process, developing a new primary building, keeping academic excellence high, not to mention working with Hong Kong government officials. Obviously it takes a special kind of leader to step into a headship at HKIS, this might be why Head of School, Kevin Dunning described it as a “calling.” I had the chance to interview Mr. Dunning at the end of his first year and just days before the commencement ceremony. New to international education, he had some thoughtful insights on our industry and honest reflections on his performance this year. (If not specifically quoted, Mr. Dunning’s responses to these questions have been paraphrased) You’ve had a lot of experience working within the Lutheran private school network in the US, why did you decide to make the jump to international education? “[When the position opened up] I had been at my previous school in the United States for 13 years and the school had grown from about 450 kids when I got there to about 1325 when I left. Four building...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Aug 9, 2012 | Blog, The Leadership Project
For many of us in international education the new school year is already upon us. For some of you diehard holiday lovers this might come with a little dread, but hopefully as an educator you feel at least a little excitement at the beginning of a new school year. Like most summers I planned to do much more then I ever accomplished, which was compounded this year as it was my first time chasing after a 1-year old all day. It really is amazing how little one gets done in a day when it’s spent chasing after a small child. So now that I’ve taken a little break from the blog and the Leadership Project, I thought it might be nice to reflect on what I’ve learned from the many great leaders I’ve had a chance to connect with this year. So I’ve compiled a few of my favorite quotes and words of advice below. Click on the name of the person to go directly to their interview. Advice: “If you’re interested in leadership, then raise your hand for anything that would constitute leadership, even if [it’s not your specialty]…[and] make yourself indispensable.” Tim Carr, Jakarta International School “Trust takes a long time to develop and can be lost in a sentence, so be scrupulously honest with people.” Bill Gerritz, International School Bangkok I think it’s important to always focus on excellence and to never be satisfied with the status quo. Similar to Philippians 4:8 which says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is...
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 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 | Jun 30, 2012 | The Leadership Project
What comes to mind when you think of Belgium? Chocolates, waffles, or beer? Maybe Brussels sprouts. For someone, like myself, who has worked in SE Asia most of my career, Belgium seems like a far off exotic place where trains arrive on time, the streets are clean, and it gets cold enough to wear a sweater. After my talk with Kevin Bartlett, Head of School at the International School of Brussels, it might be more accurate to think of leadership, at least in international schools. While most schools realize that leadership consists of more than the three or four people that occupy the front offices, in my experience, not many schools do anything to develop the school’s less public leaders. Recognizing this gap in development Kevin and his team at ISB, have pushed for common training and leadership development for the many various leaders in the school. Developing leaders is valued so highly that they’ve even incorporated it into their strategic goals. Goal number two reads, “All of our outstanding teachers are motivated, retained and developed. Middle-level leaders are fully effective in leading towards the ISB vision. The school has re-designed its leadership and career development system, and now provides full leadership training for all faculty team leaders and mentors. Job expectations and compensation have been re-structured to reflect the greater emphasis on the importance of faculty leadership and mentoring.” If this seems like a big goal, it’s because it is, but I was lucky enough to hear from Mr. Bartlett about how this is being acted out, as well as what has helped in his own development and...
by andrew@learnedleadership.org | Jun 30, 2012 | Leadership News, The Leadership Project
I am really excited to announce that this fall at the EARCOS Leadership Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Learn[ed]Leadership has been granted the opportunity to host a workshop. The culmination of The Leadership Project, The Leadership Symposium will be a candid Q&A style discussion for all school leaders. Tim Carr from Jakarta International School and Jim Koerschen from Concordia Shanghai, have generously volunteered to participate in a panel discussion with a few other leaders (TBD), to discuss their challenges and triumphs as leaders, as well as take questions from the audience. If you or leaders in your school plan to be at the ELC this fall I hope you’ll join us. Details about the exact date and time will be announced later this fall. Learn more...
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