What is a PLN? Or, PLE vs. PLN? | Leadership Think Tank. Where the Magic Happens – A Metaphor for Leadership | Ready For Learning. These days, we seem to be questioning almost every aspect of our public education system. Change is coming, there is no doubt about it. Why? Because public education still resembles too closely what it was when it was first invented. The world has changed and as the British Columbia Education Plan suggests, the way we teach our children should change too.
I don’t hold the belief that everything about public education needs to change, we do good work with kids, but we do need to leave behind the 19th century and move on with the 21st century. The answer, to me, lives in realm of leadership. Public education has been in a system wide “comfort zone” for a long time. Like this: Like Loading... Leadership Teams: Why Two Are Better Than One | Alive and Learning. Leadership Is About Leading.
By Mike Myatt, Chief Executive Officer, N2growth Leadership is about leading. Leadership is a 24-7-365 endeavor. In fact, I’d go so far as to say the best leaders view what they do as a calling and not just a job. If you’re a leader, what you do in public or private, in silence or in word, and in thought or in deed will be observed, evaluated and critiqued – count on it. There are simply no free passes for leaders. Don’t believe me? Just look around – the news is littered each day with examples of people in leadership positions who ignore or forget what I’ve just espoused. There has been an interesting amount of chatter of late around the concept of “when to lead.” Let me take a moment and dismiss the sophomoric leadership theorists who believe that sometimes a leader must not lead by stepping-back, stepping-aside or stepping-away and acquiescing leadership to others.
Leadership isn’t about volume – it’s about vision. Thoughts? Leadership – It’s About The People. By Mike Myatt, Chief Executive Officer, N2growth If you think leadership is about you, your ego has led you astray. Leadership has little to do with you and everything to do with those you lead. If you think leadership is about the bottom line, think again; it’s about the people. Without the people there is no bottom line. Closely examine the core characteristics of great leadership, and you’ll find it’s not power, title, authority or even technical competency that distinguishes truly great leaders. It’s Not About You Many view leadership as little more than a stage from which to promote themselves.
Why Do You Lead? Leadership is about trust, stewardship, care, concern, service, humility and understanding. If You Don’t Care About Those You Lead – You Have No Business Leading Them You don’t change mindsets by being right, you do it by showing you care. The best leaders are capable of aligning and unifying opposing interests for a greater good. Six Secrets of Inspirational Leadership. Image source The real test of leadership isn’t what you doit’s what you inspire others to do. Great leaders inspire others to contribute greatly. The shift from individual contributor to inspiring others may be your greatest leadership challenge. They – not you - become central. Six Secrets of Inspirational Leadership #1. . #2. . #3. . #4. . #5. Is this who we want to be? #6. Even more tips: “Seven Proven Ways to Inspire Others“ How can leaders ignite passion in others?
Subscribe to Leadership Freak today. Like this: Like Loading... Leadership In Teamwork | EZLifestyles | Alive and Learning. 12 Most Inescapable Leadership Teachings | 12 Most | Alive and Learning. Leadership character: A six-part series by West Point’s Col. Eric Kail - Guest Insights. Posted at 04:34 PM ET, 06/10/2011 Jun 10, 2011 08:34 PM EDT TheWashingtonPost By Col. Eric Kail This piece is the introduction to a six-part series on leadership character. Picture the faces of the two most influential people in your life, the leaders who had the greatest impact on you. Now think back to the last time a senior leader cost your organization valuable assets, from stock value to human capital. While most leadership discussions center on what leaders do, this short series is intended to generate a dialogue on leadership character.
The following six blog installments will roll out over the course of 2011 and will each focus on the importance of a particular facet of leadership character: courage, integrity, selflessness, empathy, collaboration and reflection. In the first installment, on courage, I’ll examine both the moral and physical elements of the trait. Fourth, I’ll provide some thoughts on why we think we are so much more empathetic than we really are.
Col. 5 for Leadership | Gary Runn. The Source of Integrity. The Next Generation of Leadership | Alive and Learning. Thought Leadership – Thought Leadership e book – 12 Experts on the Thought Leadership Challenges of 2012 | Alive and Learning. 9 Timeless Leadership Lessons | Alive and Learning. Social Media as a Leadership Tool | Alive and Learning. @ Mayrick.net - Leadership – The biggest mistake a leader can make. The Heart of Innovation: 34 Awesome Quotes on Leadership | Alive and Learning. Social Media and Two-Way Communication. Recently, I was invited to participate in a webinar titled, Using social media to enhance school-community relations. The webinar was spearheaded by Dr.
Scott McLeod, professor at the University of Kentucky and the author of the phenomenal blog Dangerously Irrelevant, and his colleague Dr. Wayne Lewis. The primary audience consisted of 18 preservice administrator students at the University of Kentucky. Dan Cox began the discussion by sharing his dissertation results from a study centered around how school principals and superintendents use social media to communicate with parents, students, staff, and community members. Social media tools allow for greater interactions between school principals and their stakeholders. No longer is newsletters, calendar of events, e-mails and other one-way communication enough for schools.
Social media tools provide stronger connections to local stakeholders,to fellow educators, and to the world. Mr. It is important to diversify your PLN. What a 2-Legged Dog taught me about Leadership Resilience | A Slice of Leadership: A Leadership Blog, One Slice at a Time | Alive and Learning. How to Build Your Leadership Brand. People who aren’t known for something haven’t done anything. “How to Build a Brand,” was the title we settled on for a recent presentation. It included social media content and making money using your online presence. Leadership brand building: On the negative side of brand building, I know leaders who are “save the day” leaders.
They love being the hero. Others are backstabbing asses. What you’re known for determines the way people talk about you. You’re known for what you contribute even if it’s negative. Building your brand is about bringing value.Repeated behaviors create brands, negative or positive.Competency creates positive brands. Five questions for leadership brand building: Who am I? These questions apply to both individuals and organizations.
Brand building has a slimy reputation because of manipulators and facade builders. Leadership brand building is contributing positive value, authentically. There’s more to leadership brand building than five questions. Like this: The 10 Best Leadership Blogs I Read The Week Of April 16th | Brian Dodd On Leadership | Alive and Learning. Leadership is actually team work | Alive and Learning. Drew Dudley: Everyday leadership | Video on TED.com | Alive and Learning. TED: Ideas worth spreading. 12 Most Inescapable Leadership Teachings | 12 Most | Alive and Learning. 6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers | LinkedIn | Alive and Learning. A silent leadership killer | SmartBlogs | Alive and Learning. Busting the Mehrabian Myth.
Action Learning for Leadership Development. Introduction When devising any leadership programme, it is important to ensure that as participants students are not only ‘taught’ or trained, but that they have the opportunity to put learning into action. Experience has shown us that unless we practice new skills and ideas soon after a programme we tend to forget the lessons learnt. In practice many of us tend to short circuit this cycle and often ship the reviewing phase as it is often difficult to do ‘out of context.
Action learning will help ‘close the loop’ and ensure our learning is as effective as possible (more about learning cycles in module one). Action Learning Sets are primarily focused on the individual’s learning. An Action Learning programme involves the following key elements: The Set: a group of 6 – 8 people who meet regularly.The Projects: each participant works on a project or task over the life of the setThe Set Advisor: a facilitator who helps the group to work and learn together. So what is Action Learning? The Anti-List of Leadership Qualities | A Slice of Leadership: A Leadership Blog, One Slice at a Time | Alive and Learning. Imagine Learning | 2011 Lesson #3 - “Do then think”: take risks.
A “TO-BE” List for Aspiring Leaders by Angela Maiers. ”Being’ and ‘doing’ are inseparable aspects of your presence and influence. -author unknown I have the privilege each year of speaking to auditoriums full of aspiring young leaders, anxious to go out into the world and make their mark. They are looking for the “book”, the “roadmap” , the “words or wisdom” that will guide them to the things they need “TO-DO” next. As we know, success in leadership and in the world is not only attributed to what you do; it is dependent on who you are and why you do. Who you are comes across more strongly than what you sell or say. In supporting the kind of leader they must be, we enable and elevate their ability to influence, catalyze, and transform the future in a way we have not yet seen.
I have detailed the following TO-BE List for theirs and your consideration: Be a Learner: You may have graduated from school, but never graduate from learning. So, what do you think? Leadership is a choice. That is certainly of the question of our time. Meet Angela Maiers. This Week’s Fav Five Leadership Posts » Leadership Done Right. Each week I have a hard time finding the top five posts because their are so many good leadership blogs. I feel I am only just beginning to see the number of good blogs out there. Here are the top five leadership blog posts I found this week. Lessons From a Failure in Leadership by Gwyn Teatro Burton Winters was a typical fourteen-year-old living with his parents in Makkovik, Labrador. Winter weather makes snow mobile driving a necessity there and, like most of the boys in his community, Burton was an experienced driver.
One afternoon in February, he set out on his machine to visit his grandmother. He didn’t make it home. Somehow, in the dark and harsh weather, Burton missed a crucial turning and lost his bearings. Brandon’s ThoughtsIn order to get the full understanding of the post, you need to read it because Gwyn tells a story and then explains the leadership lessons that came from what occurred. . [...] Brandon’s Thoughts This post is very good. Leadership is demanding. 5 Things Great Bosses Never Do. I recently described what remarkable bosses do. A number of people emailed and asked, "That's a great list, but flip it around: What things should I not do?
" Glad you asked. As a leader what you don't do can sometimes make as much or even more impact than what you do. Here are five things remarkable bosses never do: Say, "I've been meaning to apologize for a while... " You should never need to apologize for not having apologized sooner. When you mess up, 'fess up. If love means never having to say you're sorry, leadership means always having to say you're sorry.
Deliver annual performance reviews. Annual or semi-annual performance appraisals are largely a waste of time. Years ago my review was late so I mentioned it to my boss. He was right. Your job is to coach and mentor and develop--every day. Hold formal meetings to solicit ideas. Many companies hold brainstorming sessions to solicit ideas for improvement, especially when times get tough. Create development plans. So talk about it--informally. Building Effective Teams Isn't Rocket Science, But It's Just as Hard - Douglas R. Conant. By Douglas R. Conant | 9:20 AM April 4, 2012 Over my 35 years of experience in the corporate and non-profit worlds, I’ve been part of hundreds, if not thousands, of teams of all shapes and sizes: large, small, formal, informal, “real”, “virtual” — and the list goes on.
I’ve also led some of these teams as a Fortune 300 CEO, and I’ve been at the bottom of the ladder as a marketing assistant at the start of my career. Consistently building high performance teams is a challenging and complex undertaking — not unlike my layman’s understanding of rocket science. 1. 2. 3. 4. Bottom line, I believe if you fully leverage these four guiding thoughts, you may not build the next-generation space shuttle, but you will most assuredly see your teams soar to new heights. This post is part of the HBR Insight Center on The Secrets of Great Teams. A kind word changes everything—especially when you’re learning something new. My wife is six months into a new job. She has been through a lot of training since she started and just recently completed a four-week class to qualify for an advanced role. She’s been struggling to learn all of the different components of the new role and she hit a low point this past Wednesday.
With the training coming to an end, she felt she had only mastered 40% of the required skills. As a result, she was thinking of turning down the advancement and asking to remain in her previous role. Even worse, she was reconsidering her decision to take the job in the first place. Maybe it wasn’t a good fit for her, she told me. I was surprised at her reaction. Normal, but still painful I thought about what she was experiencing as I travelled. That’s why I was so surprised when I returned home and she told me that she was moving forward with the new role and was even looking forward to the next position beyond that. She received some positive feedback. Is it time to check in with your people?
Radically Change Your Leadership, Today. The way you make people feel may be the most important thing about your leadership. It’s frequently the most neglected. Relentlessly looking ahead to noble destinations is never enough. Efficient systems don’t work apart from people. Values must find expression in behaviors. Feelings follow us everywhere. What emotional states do you create in others? Positive emotion: Optimistic.Competent.Confident.Connected.Courageous.Trusted.Valued. Negative emotion: Neglected.Belittled.Discouraged.Fearful.Angry.Alone.Confused. Choose emotional states: If you could help the people around you feel something, what would it be? List the names of your key players on a piece of paper and write the emotional state you plan to nurture beside their names.
Choose behaviors: What behaviors and attitudes can you adopt that bring out positive emotional states in those on your list? Examples: Mary – Informed – Invite Mary in for a short conversation regarding your plans for a strategic initiative. Like this: What I Learned About Leadership from a Low Ropes Course. This past weekend, I took the eight young men in my mentoring group on a retreat. It was the kickoff to our 2012 season. We went to Deer Run, a beautiful retreat center in the hills of middle Tennessee. The weather was absolutely gorgeous—mid-40s and plenty of sunshine. We focused on the topic of life planning. Most of the guys had written a life plan, but we used the time to review the basics and update our work. (A life plan is never done.
It must be updated on a regular basis.) The most memorable part of the retreat for me was the low ropes course. He presented to us a series of five challenges that we had to solve together as a team. The last one—and the most difficult of the five—was climbing a twelve-foot wall. This exercise took some serious teamwork and a deliberate strategy. Here are seven of my leadership take-aways from this experience: Someone must step up and lead. I love reading books on leadership and attending seminars.
4 choice leadership acts for 2012 | SmartBlog on Leadership. Why is it Important to be a Connected Educator? Classroom Teachers as Catalysts for PD - Houston, TX. Engaging Employees to Increase Engagement. Want Credibility? Be Consistent. How to Move Through Uncertainty to Opportunity. Delta School District Vision. The Weekly “Round-Up” Of Good School Reform Posts & Articles. The 3 Step Triple Threat: The courage to say it out loud. Best Leadership Books of 2011. 12 Reasons You Will Be a Better Leader this Year. 7 Reasons Leaders Can't Transfer their Success to Other Organizations. Six Steps to Master Teaching: Becoming a Reflective Practitioner.
5 Not-Quite-Rocket-Science Ways to Build Leadership Trust. The Joy of Leadership. Five Lessons from World Changers - John Coleman. Five Characteristics of Effective School Leadership. Leadership Lessons: Ten Ideas to Take into 2012. Five Gifts Received. Developing Mindful Leaders - Polly LaBarre. Share a link. So Here’s What I’d Do. First Look: Leadership Books for January 2012. Leading Blog: A Leadership Blog. Delegation Requires Training, Timing, and Trusting.
Leadership501 — Examining the Gears of Leadership. Leadership Brief: Resources that Help You Show Appreciation. How John Maxwell Navigates Leadership. The Vision All Leaders Always Need. Four Ways to Build Trust in Employee Performance Reviews – Do You “Meet Expectations?” 5 Leadership Lessons: What if You Could Take Control of Your Life with One Decision? Smarter Workplaces: Why High Achievers Flounder. Thoughts from the Office: Principle-based Decision Making. Applying Brain Science For Leadership Development | Brain Booster Club. Five Techniques That Make You Matter Most. The Vice Of Ingratitude. Everyday Leadership Through Everyday Actions — Random Acts Of Leadership. Education May Be for Later, but Learning is Right Now. Time to Think.