Category Archives: Leadership

Book Review: Man’s Search for Meaning

I came across this book in a pile of freebies in a staff room last December, fifty-five years after Viktor Frankl first published it!  I’d heard the title for sure along the way, but the small print of “A new … Continue reading

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#MIpubED Community Chat

There is so much going on with public education these days that now is a perfect time to really connect educators with the community members we service (parents, business partners, academia, and basically anyone with a vested interest in our … Continue reading

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Moving Leadership Along, Teacher Leadership Series Finale

In our work as cross-district teacher leaders, we have explored leadership and its many dimensions. Leadership in education has morphed over the past sixty years from institutions with a principal as manager and social pillar (Newsome, 1949) to more recent … Continue reading

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Servant Leadership, Teacher Leadership Series #4

In his book, Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness, Robert Greenleaf defines the servant leadership that is the final, critical trait we have found among effective teacher leaders, underlying the first three attributes of … Continue reading

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Self-Directedness, Teacher Leadership Series #3

The third key component of the leadership disposition is self-directedness. Self-directedness is a professional characteristic that includes self-correcting, self-managing, and self-governing behaviors.  Systems that nurture these traits are more effective than those that attempt to monitor and manage behaviors (Sanford, … Continue reading

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Adaptivity, Teacher Leadership Series #2

The second critical component of a leadership disposition is adaptivity.  As things change in the educational landscape, and be assured they will, an adaptive leadership disposition supports the teacher to remain effective and reduces anxiety.  Adaptivity is different from reactivity. … Continue reading

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Problem Solving, Teacher Leadership Series #1

The first attribute of the leadership disposition is problem solving.  As we work to empower a system, we must see ourselves and our roles clearly within the system. More than being productive members of the teaching community, teacher leaders are … Continue reading

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Teacher Leadership Series

A colleague and I have been watching our district’s attempt to shift its leadership structure to be more distributed.  The nature of distributed leadership in education expands the roles of teachers and changes their interactions with principals, the community, and … Continue reading

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This Hurts Me More Than You

I didn’t believe my Mom when she said these words to me right before the last spanking I received as a child.  Spanks didn’t come often, probably because I was a remarkably agreeable kid, but my memory of the events … Continue reading

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Responsibility…then accountability

The mom had good intent, but I had to pause shortly after we started talking about her son’s performance.  She was upset that his handwriting fell short of her expectations.  Then came out a math paper that further displeased and … Continue reading

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