As the year comes to an end and a new year waits on the horizon, now is a great opportunity to reflect. Some people enjoy creating vision boards, new year’s resolutions, or yearly goals. Others spend time reflecting on the past and celebrating the many wins. As I reflect on the blog posts written, the …
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them,” John F. Kennedy once said. Around the holiday season, many people become more grateful for the things in their lives: family, friends, health, career. The idea of gratitude is easy to lose …
In the book Leading School Turnaround, Leithwood, Harris, and Strauss outline the required components for significantly transforming schools into highly effective organizations. Although schools are uniquely organized to resemble both teams and businesses, all leaders can learn a significant amount about improvement from their work. In schools, the belief and action to aspire for more …
Educator and writer Rita Pierson said that “every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” Early in my education and coaching career, I heard this quotation and watched the TED …
Education writer and speaker Todd Whitaker writes that “great teachers have high expectations for their students, but higher expectations for themselves.” In every successful classroom, on every high-performing team, and throughout every top organization there are leaders who hold high standards for their people. Although high-expectations remain the foundation of success, there are other unintended …
One of Oprah Winfrey’s famous lines was when she said “I’ve learned that you can’t have everything and do everything at the same time.” Leadership is really challenging work as it requires putting significant time, energy, and effort into people. The human side of leadership often takes an emotional toll which is why it’s critical …
Leadership writer John Maxwell describes the 10-80-10 principle: for each group of people, 10% are high-achievers, 80% meet expectations, and 10% need support. One of the most powerful concepts in leadership is utilizing this concept to help create long-term change. Great leaders focus on challenging the top 10%, and they focus on moving the other …
In Geno Wickman’s book Traction, he states that “the most successful business leaders are the ones with traction. They execute well, and they know how to bring focus, accountability, and discipline to their organization.” The concept of traction means that highly-effective leaders develop processes and systems that help sustain positive momentum for the organization. Jim …
In education, coaching, and business, a turnaround is defined by a significant increase in positive results after the organization has been struggling for some time. Most turnaround definitions describe the change happening between three and five years although the change may be shorter or longer. The concept of turnaround exists in many areas, but the …
Writer, speaker, and leader Lisa Bodell wrote that “change cannot be put on people. The best way to instill change is to do it with them. Create it with them.” Creating lasting and generational change requires working with the people in the organization to chase the larger vision. Some leaders meet significant resistance because they …