If You’re Going to Lead then You Must Read

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature two books on a particular topic each month. These are books that we have curated from 100s of titles to help school leaders to lead better and grow faster.

This month we are completely focused on the 5 ways that school leaders can support new teachers. These are five research-based strategies to support and retain your most vulnerable teaching population. This is critical because we are definitely facing a crisis in education. School districts are moving to four-day weeks simply due to lack of staff. In a recent Ed Week article by Madeline Will, she wrote the following,

The data are staggering. If you want to dig into the government database and find out specifics in your state, click here. 

The Definitive 5 Ways to Support New Teachers

#1. Maintain high standards while providing support for growth

#2. Increase productivity by being present and using praise

#3. Balance risk and autonomy to unlock innovation 

#4. Communicate the expectations of the position 

#5. Provide meaningful mentorship

These are proven ways that demonstrate support, while maintaining a culture of excellence and high standards. To support these efforts, we feature two great books to help you as a leader. 

Joe’s Pick: The Power of Unstoppable Momentum: Key Drivers to Revolutionize Your District

Featured Authors: Michael Fullan & Mark A. Edwards

The Power of Unstoppable Momentum is an incredible book with very specific examples about how to achieve dramatic results in your school. 

There are a few features that really stand out for Joe in this book:

• Technology is not the answer. Time and time again research shows that technology is a tool that highly effective teachers master. The tool itself is not the answer.
• Fullan and Edwards provide very specific ways for schools to excel, specifically through coherence, which is the “…the degree to which people at the school and district levels have a common sense of the district’s core priorities and how to achieve them” (Fullan & Edwards, 2017).
• Lastly, they provide clear models and examples on where incredible work is being done. We love when books have these features, which is why we offer examples of success in our books too. 

T.J.’s Pick: Retention for A Change: Motivate Inspire, and Energize Your School Culture

Featured Authors: Joseph Jones, Salome Thomas-El, & T.J. Vari

We rarely promote our own work, but this book is written on the topic of teacher retention, and we dedicate two chapters to new teachers. This is the second book in a two-part series designed to attract and retain incredible teachers. Both books, Building a Winning Team and Retention for A Change are built on the effective reading strategy, BDA. 

T.J. dives right into explaining how school leaders must embrace their responsibility to build a culture that Motivates, Inspires, and Energizes the staff. 

He emphasizes that the book is filled with practical stories that any school leader can implement for great school success. 

Lastly, this book is filled with models to guide leaders. Whether it is the BDA, which can be applied in a number of strategic ways, or striving for Habitual Happiness Highpoints, the models guide school leaders. 

Technical Tip for Leaders Who Read

Each month, Joe and T.J. leave listeners with a tip. Both of these books should be read with your team. They are not to be read as simple words on a page. Both books are written in a way that allows the school leader, department leader, or team leader to reflect on their own team and practices. 

Enjoy both of these books to lead better and grow faster as school leaders. We always appreciate a like, a follow, a comment, or a share. 

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at contact@theschoolhouse302.com. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

Joe & T.J.

Leaders are Readers

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature a couple of books on a particular topic each month. These are books we enjoy and believe are worth reading. 

Our aim is to link great books to our theme for the month. This month we are focused on school leaders recognizing the opportunity within a crisis. We know how incredibly challenging this can be because every issue brings with it the fact that it also dominates everyone’s mental energy, which means that looking for opportunity in the very moment that you’re trying to solve a problem can be daunting. However, the crisis itself may be our only chance to think differently to not only solve the problem at hand but also determine what advantages may arise during the situation that can be applied in the future. Because this type of thinking is necessary during a crisis, we chose these two powerful books this month. Common with John Maxwell books, they offer sage advice coupled with practical skills. Great leaders don’t just read books to gather tips and steps for how to lead but also the style of thinking required to lead better and grow faster. Great leaders are heavy readers and deep thinkers. 

Joe’s Pick: Good Leaders Ask Great Questions

Featured Author: John Maxwell

If you’re going to lead effectively, you have to be able to ask great questions. This book presents questions in two different ways. First, it starts with questions that the leader should ask in various situations. Maxwell lists great questions that can get a conversation started even if you don’t know where or how to begin. 

We can’t stress enough how important it is to have canned questions to lean on. Asking great questions to get to the root of a problem is hard, and this book offers several gems. Second, the book details many of the questions that Maxwell has been asked as a leader. The insight into his thinking is powerful and will help any leader consider the various ways to navigate difficult situations. 

T.J.’s Pick: Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success

Featured Author: John Maxwell

This book confronts success head-on and why some people achieve it and others don’t. The difference between triumph and failure is a question that many people wonder about and Maxwell offers the answer–response to adversity. He starts the book with a compelling concept from J. Wallace Hamilton who argues that people generally train to be successful while they should be training for failure. And, in typical Maxwell fashion, he illustrates his point through great stories, kicking it off with Mary Kay Ash.

If you are going to lead you are going to have problems. It’s inevitable. Effective leaders not only understand that conflict is necessary but they learn how to thrive amid adversity as they seek to make a change. It means that great leaders are willing to fail forward as they make things better. It’s what Seth Godin says about leadership: leaders are the ones who are willing to do something that might not work. This is a book that won’t disappoint, and every school leader should read it. 

Technical Tip for Leaders Who Read

We close every Read This Series with a technical tip. This month’s tip is to read the same author’s books in succession. There are very prolific authors with incredible insight into topics and very often there are similar ideas and thoughts presented with just a slight variation on the theme. These subtle differences can offer unique connections from which leaders can benefit in a way that doesn’t happen when you only read one book that the author published. This means that when you commit to one book by an author, you should consider reading two or three in a row. 

Enjoy both of these books to lead better and grow faster as school leaders. We always appreciate a like, a follow, a comment, or a share. 

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at contact@theschoolhouse302.com. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

Joe & T.J.

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at contact@theschoolhouse302.com. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

Joe & T.J.

Today’s content was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout.

Great School Leaders are Avid Readers

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature a couple of books that we benefit from each month. 

Our aim is to link great books to our theme for the month. This month we are focused on school leaders who know that innovation is a key ingredient to successful schools. Innovation in school thrives in a culture that supports diverse and different thinking. Innovation isn’t a thing, it’s not a professional development session; we contend that it’s a value that needs nurturing and support.

For this reason, we chose two books that are must-reads for school leaders who want to build environments, for teachers and other staff members, that are innovative. These may not be the first books that you think of when you reach for a book about innovation, but they’ll support your team’s endeavors to actually be innovative versus just talking about what that means for schools. 

Joe’s Pick: Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive

Featured Author: Richard Montanez

When we think of innovation in schools, we often think of technology. Whether blended lessons, cool assessment platforms, or flipping a classroom, we love the tech innovations that are reconstructing the instructional prowess of many teachers. However, innovation doesn’t begin or end with tech. Rather, it’s a mindset that should permeate every decision we make. This is why we appreciate Richard’s story and the lessons taught throughout this book. 

Listen to our description about how teachers and leaders can embrace an “owner’s mentality” to break from conventional thinking and unveil new ideas and new developments. 

T.J.’s Pick: Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice

Featured Authors: Nathan Maynard & Brad Weinstein

We love the old adage, “doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.” There are a lot of things that we do in schools where this applies, especially with school discipline. So often our efforts to correct student misbehavior simply fall short. Don’t get us wrong, this doesn’t mean that people aren’t working hard to help students succeed. But, very often discipline practices are out-of-date and fail to address some of the deeper needs that students have. This is where restorative practices can be very effective, but they require an innovative mindset. 

Listen to our explanation about how this book provides an innovative approach to discipline that works toward correcting student conduct, which is likely obstructing their own and others’ learning. We love that this book addresses equity, empathy, diversity, and inclusiveness–all elements of a truly innovative mindset in schools. 

Technical Tip for Leaders Who Read

We close every Read This Series with a technical tip. This month’s tip is how to read two books a month. Most people believe that you need to be a fast reader to consistently devour books. Not true. It’s not speed, but consistency. Consider an average reading pace of 200 words per minute. This is a very reasonable pace. If you read 20 minutes a day, that’s 4,000 words per sitting. The average book is about 64,000 words. This means that f you read 4,000 words a day, you will read a book every 16 days. That’s about 2 a month. 

Enjoy both of these books to lead better and grow faster as school leaders. We always appreciate a like, a follow a comment, or a share.

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

Joe & T.J.

Today’s content was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout.

Great School Leaders are Avid Readers

Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature a couple of great books each month. 

Our aim is to link great books to our theme for the month. This month we are focused on school leaders who want to build a culture of growth in their schools. Growth in any given area requires intentionality with time specifically dedicated to supporting personal development.  

For this reason, we chose two books that are must reads for school leaders who want to build environments, for teachers and other staff members, that nurture growth. 

Joe’s Pick: The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business

Featured Author: Pat Lencioni

In this podcast, Joe quickly identifies why The Advantage is a powerful read for growth-driven leaders. Unlike Lencioni’s other books, this is not fable but rather a guide to develop an organization’s health. 

Listen to why an organization’s health is bigger than culture. 

Joe also identifies quick ways to determine how well an organization is functioning. As Lencioni points out in the book, there should be minimal politics and confusion, high morale and productivity, and low staff turnover, which is the purpose of Retention for a Change as well. 

The book is centered on a model, which Joe points out in the episode; see below for a great graphic from Reading Graphics. Please note that the last three aspects of the model focus on clarity. 

T.J.’s Pick: Time, Talent, and Energy

Featured Authors: Michael Mankins and Eric Garton

T.J. lands on Time, Talent, Energy this month, knowing that if you desire to grow people, then you need to fully understand the impact of time, talent, and energy on what the author’s call “organizational drag.” Not using the three wisely can lead to disastrous results. 

Listen to T.J. describe how these are the scarcest resources that need to be protected in schools. 

He also reveals how the right culture unearths the unique talents within a school and district. Additionally, companies often focus on the strategic goals, financial capital, but fully understanding how to manage your team’s time, talent, and energy is just as, if not more important. 

Technical Tip for Leaders Who Read

We close every Read This Series with a technical tip. This month’s tip is to journal specifically on what you are reading about. Leaders gain results from reading when they take 5 to 10 minutes for free-writing on what the book content means to you and your leadership.

As educators we tout the critical importance of having students synthesize information, and this is one way that we do it that will yield great results. Don’t let the knowledge you gain go to waste. Ideas are fleeting; write them down and grow your own leadership ability exponentially. 

Enjoy both of these books to lead better and grow faster as school leaders. We always appreciate a like, a follow, a comment, or a share. 

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at contact@theschoolhouse302.com. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

Joe & T.J.

Today’s content was brought to you by GhostBed, a family-owned business of sleep experts with 20+ years of experience. With 30K+ 5-star reviews, you can’t go wrong with GhostBed. Their mattresses are handcrafted, and they come with a 101-night-at-home-sleep trial. For a limited time, you can get 30% by using our code — SH302 — at checkout. And, even if you tell someone about GhostBed, you can earn a $100 referral reward. Go to Ghostbed.com today and use SH302 at checkout.