Research has shown that the ability to regularly seek feedback is one of the most significant indicators of success. Constructive feedback helps by providing direction, can inspire and motivate and overall increase performance–whether at work or in life. However, seeking feedback can be uncomfortable. And unsolicited feedback, especially when negative, can feel like an attack. …
Tag: leadership
“Systems” Thinking
Hiring the ideal team and focusing on culture are among the most important high impact leadership practices. But in addition to these “people” priorities, successful leaders and organizations also recognize the importance of “systems.” Leaders and organizations that struggle often do so because they lack in their attention to systems thinking. As a result, change …
The Culture Puzzle
I’ve been searching for the recipe for success for years. As a principal, I literally read, The Perfect School, believing it held the secrets to what it would take to have a high performing school. As a superintendent, I looked for ways to reimagine learning and found resources that enabled our district to implement new …
Panic Attack
Last Thursday, as I was reviewing my calendar, my heart sank. My palms started to sweat, my heart raced, and I felt very much exactly the same way I felt as a child whenever I had been caught doing something I should not have. After a bit of panic, I realized that my eyes had …
Autonomy
I recently watched a Ted Talk by author Daniel Pink in which he discussed intrinsic motivation. During the talk, Pink identified several factors that nurture or diminish intrinsic motivation. However the one that stood out the most was “autonomy.” According to Pink, “to be fully motivated, you must be able to control what you do, …
We’re back to buffalo
We’re taught that lying is bad from an early age. Yet as adults, it seems that not everyone fully adheres to the principle of honesty and integrity. The least offensive lie is one that is made in error. A mistake. Leaving out important facts is often used to commit a lie of omission. Refusing …
Sometimes winning isn’t
Let’s face it. We all like to win. And we hate to lose. That is because from an early age, we are conditioned to believe winning is good and losing is bad. As a verb, “lose” means to be deprived of something. As an adjective, “losing” refers to suffering or defeat. Of course, we cannot …
What is your “it?”
I was recently talking with some colleagues about climate and culture, and how to build or maintain it when so many people are working remotely. Climate refers to how people feel about their job or their work, their sense of purpose in an organization, and their happiness or satisfaction. Between climate and culture, climate is …
Admit mistakes before someone exaggerates the story.
I’ve learned a ton about leadership by making mistakes. One in particular was around twenty years ago. I was very early into my career as a school administrator and the district was working to pass a high stakes referendum. As a member of the administrative team, one of the volunteer/community service roles I had was …
Continue reading Admit mistakes before someone exaggerates the story.
What is leadership?
We all have people in our lives--past and present--who we considered “leaders.” And if you’re like me, you have likely spent years striving to be like those people you have admired. But what IS leadership? And how do we know it when we see it? Better yet, what is GOOD leadership, and how can we …
impassionED 