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December 8 - December 22, 2015
If we want meaningful change, we have to make a connection to the heart before we can make a connection to the mind
Fifty years ago, relationships were the most important thing in our schools, and fifty years from now, it will be no different.
The customers are the end users in business. For us as educational leaders, our learners are the end users. And sometimes experiencing their discomfort in our schools and classrooms can be eye-opening.
Be Present, Lead People, Manage Things
If we want “innovation” to flourish in our schools, we have to be willing to immerse ourselves in the environments where it is going to happen.
remove barriers that challenge those we serve.
Stephen R. Covey said, “You manage things, but you lead people.
Being present, learning first, and leading with the learner in mind will help you grow as an innovative leader.
that build both confidence and competence, so they are more willing and able to become more innovative themselves.
New ideas start with understanding the needs of those you serve.
If you want to be an innovative leader, your role isn’t simply to come up with new and better ideas but to involve your staff in that mission.
An innovative leader should try to create new ideas, but it is more important that they create a culture of innovation.
Engagement is a good thing, but I’ve since learned that we must also empower students and equip them with the skills to learn.
Bill Ferriter separates the idea of engagement and empowerment nicely. He states, “Engaging students means getting kids excited about our content, interests, and curricula.” Empowering students “means giving kids the knowledge and skills to pursue their passions, interests, and future.”
Our job as educators and leaders is not to control others but to bring out the best in them.
Harriet Rubin explains, “Freedom is actually a bigger game than power. Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash.”
Our job as educators and leaders is not to control others but to bring out the best in them.
Demanding compliance will not effectively prepare learners for being productive citizens today, nor in their futures.
One statement that drives me insane is, “We need to prepare kids for the world that they live in.” We all actually live in the same world.
Thomas Friedman’s article “How to Get a Job at Google.”[48] In it, he highlighted five hiring attributes that the company desires in its employees. “Compliance” isn’t listed. Take a look at what is: 1. Cognitive Ability: “The ability to process on the fly.” 2. Leadership: Emergent leadership versus traditional leadership. As a leader, do you recognize the times when you need to relinquish power? 3. Humility: The ability to say, “I don’t know,” and be able to step back and embrace better ideas. 4. Ownership: Understanding that an organizational problem is also your problem, and working together
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The people who help set the vision and mission are the most likely to embrace it.
“Systems thinking” doesn’t mean much if we don’t have “systems doing.”
8 Things to Look for in Today’s Classroom
1. Voice—Learning is social, and co-constructing knowledge empowers learners.
2. Choice—Choice concerns both how students learn and what they learn.
3. Time for Reflection
John Dewey is quoted as having said, “We do not learn from experience; we learn from reflecting on experience.”
4. Opportunities for Innovation
5. Critical Thinkers
He explains, “It’s up to you to sort the accurate bits from the misinfo, disinfo, spam, scams, urban legends, and hoaxes.
6. Problem Solvers/Finders—As discussed earlier, it is important to develop a generation of not only problem “solvers” but also problem “finders.”
7. Self-Assessment
8. Connected Learning
when educators create opportunities to listen and honor student voices, they can co-construct relevant and authentic learning experiences and make the vision a reality.
Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.—Marilyn vos Savant
what if we stopped operating on a deficit model that focuses on a learner’s weaknesses and started operating on a strengths-based model that builds on the learner’s strengths?
Unfortunately, we dangle students’ interests in front of them like a carrot. We say, “You can only do what you love when you finish that which you hate.”
focusing on strengths does not equate to ignoring areas of weakness. To the contrary, a strengths-based model can actually encourage students to improve in their weaker areas.
success builds competence and confidence.
if school is a place where students are put into situations in which they are likely to feel success...
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We cannot forgo a focus on our strengths for the sake of only emphasizing the areas where we struggle.
The deficit model compels administrators and educators to overcompensate in the areas that need to be “fixed.” When that occurs, all the great things that are already happening are quickly forgotten.
the message is always “we are not good enough” can be demoralizing and counterproduct...
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Tom Rath notes in his book, Strengths Finder 2.0, that, “[P]eople who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.”[57]
the epidemic of active disengagement we see in workplaces every day could be a curable disease, if we can help the people around us develop their strengths.
Great leaders practice balancing trust and autonomy while providing strong mentorship.
Leaders are meant to unleash talent by bringing their people’s strengths to life, not ignoring them.
To create a culture where innovation flourishes, we have to realize that, in many cases, we already have everything we need; we just need to figure out how to tap into it.
Building upon the strengths of your people ensures that you get more out of them, not less.
