Delegate...You MUST!

Delegating is assigning responsibility or authority to someone else. The advantages of delegating include:

• Providing growth opportunities for others (developing new knowledge and new skills)
• Reduces your workload
• The process encourages others
• It is a true sign of trust and respect of your faculty and staff
• It extends ownership and team accountability

You must not only delegate, but you must delegate effectively. Dr. Scott Williams,  Department of Management, Raj Soin College of Business,  at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, states that

in order to delegate effectively you must do the following:

• Have a plan
• Define objectives and standards
• Specify the range of discretion
• Involve subordinates in the delegation process
• Clarify performance consequences
• Match responsibility and authority
• Inform others that delegation has occurred
• When problem arise, insist that the sub ordinate recommend solutions
• Evaluate progress and results and provide consequences
• Continue to delegate

Williams provides details of the aforementioned items in the LeaderLetter issue below (Click on link).

http://www.wright.edu/~scott.williams/LeaderLetter/delegating.htm

Amy Gallo, a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, writes that you should ask others to hold you accountable if you are not delegating.  Another point Gallo makes is the importance of understanding why you are NOT delegating.  You may read Gallo's blog posting below entitled " Why Aren't You Delegating?"

http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/07/why-arent-you-delegating/

References

Gallo, A. (2012, July 26). Why Aren't You Delegating? Retrieved September 13, 2014.

Scott, W. (n.d.). Delegating Strategically. Retrieved September 13, 2014.

The Challenge of Leadership

The Five Ws of Life

Ground Rules for Great Principals-By: We Are Teachers @WeAreTeachers

Teachers were asked to share what they believed to be important qualities in a school leader.

http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/08/08/ground-rules-for-great-principals#.U__UyZ77s2Y.twitter

The Purpose for Learning...

Developing 21st Century Critical Thinkers

The ability to think critically is simply the ability to think rationally and clearly so that one is able to draw conclusions, ask appropriate clarifying questions, and formulate plausible hypotheses. 

According to Reynolds (2011), the list of core critical thinking skills includes observation, interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation, explanation, and metacogntion. 

References

Reynolds, Martin (2011). Critical thinking and systems thinking: towards a critical literacy for systems thinking in practice.  In: Horvath , Christopher P. and Forte, James M. eds. Critical Thinking. New York, USA: Nova Science Publishers, pp. 37–68.

Leaders See Things Differently...

Three Stories Leaders Need to Tell

Collaboration is Essential!

Collaboration is essential to effective schools.  This means collaboration among ALL stakeholders.  One of the things I tried to to do as a sitting principal was to ensure that I had a strong leadership team.  The meeting of the minds is powerful.  I also made sure that those staff members not a part of the leadership team felt that their voice was heard as well. Being a part of the leadership team meant that you were charged with updating the respective team members as well as soliciting their feedback on topics discussed at leadership.

School Leaders must also make sure teachers have time to collaborate with each other. Common planning time is a MUST!  Teachers benefit immensely  from structured time with their colleagues. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have proven to be a major advantage in increasing student achievement. PLCs result in better teacher and learning.

Actually...Failure IS an Option!

I must admit, after reading Alan M. Blankstein's book "Failure Is NOT an Option" a few years ago, I was all for that concept....I even chose it as a theme one school year.  As I look back, I  see that I took on this theme without the true understanding of its meaning.  I now understand that Failure should not be FINAL...but it is indeed an option! Our mistakes  or "failures" are what allow us to grow, develop, and learn.  

Being a native of North Carolina and a true Michael Jordan Fan, when I don't succeed in the manner in which I would like to, I  always say to myself..."well MJ was cut from the varsity high school basketball team"...I move on, because I know that Failure is NOT final! I can still go on to be and do great things!

I still use the knowledge and information gained through reading "Failure Is NOT an Option", but I apply it differently now. The six principles identified in that book still guides my quest in developing leaders:

Principle #1- Common Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals

Principle #2- Ensuring Achievement for All Students: Systems for Prevention and Intervention

Principle #3- Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching and Learning

Principle #4- Using Data to Guide Decision Making and Continuous Improvement

Principle #5 - Gaining Active Engagement From Family and Community

Principle #6- Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity

Leadership Habits

Below, is a list of leadership habits taken from "Lead From Within". I would like to add just a few more I feel are important as well:

Transparency- As a leader, it is extremely important that we are open and honest with our actions and decisions.  Setting clear goals and articulating your vision allows opportunities for stakeholder support.

Staying Connected- I cannot say enough about how social media has changed by mindset, knowledge, and leadership capacity.  Twitter alone has connected me with educators and leaders all over the world.  The plethora of information that is accessible is simply phenomenal.  Peer and Professional Learning Networks have allowed me to gain knowledge that in the past would not have been possible unless I registered and attended a conference.  I am so grateful for social media in this regard.

The Ability to Grow Leaders- Whether you are growing teacher leaders or aspiring school leaders, your ultimate goal as a leader should be to grow other leaders.  I read a quote that stated that the mark of a great leader isn't creating followers-but instead developing other leaders.  This takes me back to my days as a Regional Instructional Specialist.  The Associate Superintendent over that region was an incredible leader.  The expectation of those in that regional office and the principals that served in that region was to be incredible leaders as well.  Every person that worked in that office now holds a school leadership or district leadership position.  I attribute that to the leadership of that Regional Associate Superintendent!

The Task of Leadership

Leadership Is Based on Inspiration and Cooperation

Effective Leadership

Personal Example and Leadership

Character and Leadership

Trends and Leadership

Being Positive

Confidence and Leadership

Four Characteristics of a Learning Leader