re-opening school

I have given a lot of thought to the re-opening of schools in August. And, I have listened to some rich discussions on the matter. Twitter is full of thoughts on the idea. Several articles have been published recently that give me pause. This one made me chuckle...because there is a fine line between laughing and crying. 

Yet, it is maddening to think that leadership at the federal level keeps pushing misinformation or denying the science. I do not know what school will look like in August when students return. But, I know some tough decisions need to be made...by all stakeholders.  

I love the public schools my kids attend, but I also know they can't handle a lice outbreak on a good day and are not equipped to handle COVID on a bad one. School principals and superintendents are not epidemiologists or virologists and can’t possibly be expected to make plans like they are. 

—Dan Sinker, Esquire 


leadership

I will soon complete my third class on leadership. I've learned a lot about:

  • Leadership theories
  • Leadership characteristics
  • Leadership behaviors
  • Leadership ethics

Apparently, this books covers all of it. As you can see, I have numerous pages tabbed as a reference. Trust that many of those pages are highlighted, as well.

While it may not the most exciting read, unless your super into leadership, Leadership by Northouse does provide some interesting information about leadership. The book provides context to the current state of affairs at both the state and federal levels.

Plus, the cover is kinda cool. It's like leadership, but one louder.

These go to 11.

—Nigel Tufnel, Spinal Tap




behaviors

Behaviors of Servant Leadership

Last week's studies detailed the 10 characteristics of servant leadership as identified by Spears (2002) from the writings of Robert Greenleaf. Now that I know the attributes of a servant leader, how do I begin to translate those dispositions into actions and behaviors? 

Liden, Wayne, Zhao, and Henderson (as cited in Northouse, 2019) identified seven behaviors as part of the servant leadership process. Each behavior can comprise multiple actions to accomplish the work of servant leadership. Here are the behaviors with some sample actions that servant leaders take to maintain the servant leadership model:

  1. Conceptualizing: deep understanding of an organization’s purpose, mission, goals, and problems (Northouse, 2019) 

  2. Emotional healing: showing active support for a person’s well-being 

  3. Put followers first: soulful connection with people, customers, and stakeholders  

  4. Helping followers grow and succeed: Mentoring is a conscious effort to help followers (Murphy, 2011)

  5. Behaving ethically: leading by example and modeling the values that the organization espouses (Kouzes & Posner, 2012) 

  6. Empowering: providing the freedom and support for followers to make independent decisions (Northouse, 2019) 

  7. Creating value for the community: goes beyond the core business of an organization 

To lead people, walk behind them.

—Lao Tzu

musings

Some thoughts to ponder: 

  • There is no magic, only context.  
  • Help is the sunny side of control.
  • The failure case of clever is asshole.
  • Whatever you're not changing, you're choosing.  
  • If everyone can have it, I don't want it.  
  • It's not what you do. It's who you do it with.
  • TED talks almost fool me into thinking I'm productive. [confirmed]
  • You don't have to be first, just different...and better.