Growing as a leader is a professional choice. The challenge is that trying to grow during a storm, or in the case of the last year and a half, a pandemic is difficult. Typically, in a storm, we seek shelter and hunker down to wait it out. Although this is great survival behavior, it’s not good leadership practice. Principal leaders, district leaders, and others in leadership roles do not have the luxury of waiting anything out and playing it safe until a time when things are easier. Actually, it’s just the opposite. The leader has to move forward in the storm and brave the elements.
The two books that we feature this month will help leaders do just that–move forward by braving the elements. Consistent with our theme this month both books can be viewed through the lens of growing through the grind. Our first book, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas, was chosen because leadership success rises and falls on influence. During these times, leaders need the skill set to effectively persuade others to positively move forward, even when they are scared, worried, and uncertain.
This book really is a relationship book. Richard Shell and Mario Mousa brilliantly break down the four steps to how Woo works.
Featured Book: The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas
The second featured book this month is The Culture Engine: A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace. We chose this book because it focuses on culture, and leaders need to constantly tend to the culture of their school or business. Culture building isn’t an event, it’s a full-time experience. This book spends time on you as a leader and how you are responsible for the school’s culture and how you cannot leave it to “chance.” Lastly, the book finishes strong by demonstrating the need to have everything aligned to the overall purpose and vision. Check it out!
Featured Author: S. Chris Edmonds
Featured Book: The Culture Engine: A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace
Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site.
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Richard Shell from the Wharton School Joins TheSchoolHouse302
Richard is an award-winning scholar, teacher, and author at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In his work, he helps students and executives reach peak levels of personal and professional effectiveness through skilled negotiation, persuasion, influence, and the discovery of meaningful life goals. Three beliefs permeate everything that he teaches and writes. First, success begins with self-awareness. Second, success progresses through excellence in practice. Third, as he shows in his latest book, The Conscience Code, success demands a lifelong commitment to the highest standards of integrity.
Show Notes from Our Interview with Richard Shell
Richard teaches a course in “ethics and responsibility” where students share stories about navigating value-challenges, in other words, the times that we are compelled to do things in life that don’t align with our sense of integrity. Throughout this interview, Richard calls on individuals to have courage and face those tough issues that surface from time-to-time.
As the interview begins, we dive right into a powerful story that is featured in the book. Sarah, who works at a firm, is being asked to do something which she knows is not acceptable. In short, Sarah decides to walk away from her job. Richard confronts this decision with the reality that many of us simply cannot do that due to a host of various responsibilities. Here at TheSchoolHouse302 we have joked on several occasions about the fact that our growing list of adult responsibilities can limit our courage. Throughout this interview, and in his book, The Conscience Code, Richard describes how we all need to learn how to stand-and-fight versus the alternative, cut-and-run.
Richard eloquently describes People of Conscience as those individuals who bring their sense of right and wrong to work and then listen to their internal voice as they work to lead in the directions of their values.
He beautifully describes the CRAFT of ethics in the book. Richard also refers to it in the show and how it is used–you need this tool!
Compassion
Respect
Accountability
Fairness
Truth
Richard notes that humans are social creatures and that even when we feel alone we have allies. In moments of isolation, we need to seek a partner, mentor, teacher, or colleague who believes what we believe–the power of two.
You’ll love the practical nature of the OODA Loop developed by Air Force Colonel John Boyd. It is a great strategy to use for decision-making. In essence, value-conflicts are multi-stage events; they require a loop, always returning to observation.
Richard follows Robert Caildini (Joe is also a big fan). Check out Influence, Pre-Suasion, and Richard’s book, which Caildini said he would put in his top three if he had to only take three books with him in life, Bargaining for Advantage.
Richard wastes no time when we ask about the onething that people should do on a regular basis–Meditate! Check out our incredible interview with Valerie Brown and Kirsten Olson if you want to explore a powerful approach to self-awareness and mindfulness.
We were intrigued to learn that Richard is interested in learning more about how people change their beliefs.
As professional learners, we are always interested to hear what supports an individual’s growth and Richard uses Covey’s advice: Seek first to understand and then to be understood. The power in this strategy is that all we have to do is be aware. The good news is that we already have the ability to do this each and every day.
Lastly, Richard leaves all of us with a challenge–engage and see what happens.
As always, let us know what you think of this with a like, a follow, or a comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCloud. And, again, if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen.
TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.
This episode 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.
The school year is in full swing and although we are thrilled that students across the country and the globe are back in person, there is undoubtedly a lot of trepidation as educational and principal leaders navigate this difficult time. Not only are there ongoing, daily issues that we wrestle with because of Covid19, school leaders are simultaneously acclimating students and staff back to schools when much has changed. We are not the same as we were when Covid19 struck and the pandemic took hold.
Here at TheSchoolHouse302, we would like to think the educational community has grown. These months have revealed our resolve and our willingness to go to great lengths to reach and teach our students. We also recognize that in order for us to continue to grow and build a network of support, we need to fully immerse ourselves in social and emotional learning (SEL). The great news is that SEL is not new. The challenge, though, is making sure that it is integrated seamlessly within our school cultures and not a stand alone.
To do so, we created The SEL Blend to remind educators of the balance that must exist between the curriculum and the care side of our work.
The SEL Blend highlights four primary areas that are linked to SEL priorities and behaviors. For example, as much as we focus on our curriculum and adopt accelerated learning best practices, we need to be sure that they are coupled with care and kindness.
The Blend serves as a nice reminder about how we can weave SEL into our daily practices. But, we cannot be satisfied with just having this knowledge. The critical step is in making sure that what we are doing is having an impact. As John Hattie always says, “know thy impact.” To that end, we’ve created 6 ways to ensure that you’re building the SEL culture that your students and staff need.
In this episode, we break down the key areas that stuck out to us and why. Listen to the podcast to hear more about our 6 surefire strategies to develop a thriving SEL culture.
Assemble a Core Team
Improve Self-Awareness
Complete Certificate-Based Courses
Use a Table for Lesson Organization
Connect to Other Meaningful Work
Tap into Established Systems
T.J. further discussed the great work from Loreah Martinez and her Heart In Mind blog and book is an incredible resource. Our goal is to connect you to people and resources, outside of our own, to learn to lead better and grow faster. With this in mind, Joe tackled the benefits and sophistication of earning a credential or certificate. This is a powerful way to develop a train-the-trainer model. Lastly, T.J. reminded us of a great interview we had with Lavonna Roth and the terrific and FREE resources she has on her site.
Join Us for the Next Live Session of 302 Thoughts
This was our third live 302 Thoughts and we were thrilled with the turn out and look forward to our next episode on October 21th at 4:00PM EST. We are going to be talking about staying focused in a chaotic environment. Register today.
This episode 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.
As school doors open this year to welcome back students, successful schools recognize that if they want to reach and teach all students, they need to touch their hearts and their minds. Amid the dual pandemics–Covid19 and the social and civic unrest–students are entering the school year with a host of needs that must be addressed to ensure that they are successful.
These needs cover the spectrum from a deficit in mathematics to a family hardship. Regardless, in the end, we know that student achievement improves when students feel connected and safe, when relationships flourish in the classroom. There is no substitute for a student having a meaningful connection with a teacher, counselor, paraprofessional, administrator, or other educator at school.
Our blog this month focused on 6 different ways to build SEL in schools, and we hope you found them easy to implement. As educational leaders, we realize that one of the best places to start your learning is by reading great books, which is why we curate our lists of books to help you on your path to leading better and growing faster.
Featured Book: The Formative Five: Fostering Grit, Empathy, and Other Success Skills Every Student Needs
The Formative Five focuses on developing empathy, self-control, integrity, embracing diversity, and grit . Each one of the five serves our students (and teachers) well as they strive to deepen their understanding and execution in each area. The five also have a unique way of focusing on the self and others. We found this to be practical for all educators.
Focusing on others, having empathy, is something that we can all improve upon, and as we seek to understand others, we often learn quite a bit about ourselves. Lastly, Heorr recommends other reads throughout the chapters, which is a great springboard to other books that may be valuable. Don’t miss our interview with Thomas Hoerr. You can find it on our site at dereka206.sg-host.com by clicking on the podcast button at the top.
Key Feature of the Book:
Hoerr created self-assessment surveys for each of the formative five. We appreciate this style of writing that is designed to engage the reader, especially because these are areas that we can continually develop as leaders.
Featured Author: Jeffrey Benson
Featured Book: Improving Every Lesson Plan with SEL
Improving Every Lesson Plan with SEL demystifies the process of weaving social and emotional learning into your lessons. That last thing we want is for SEL activities to be taught in isolation or devoid of the classroom content. The more SEL can find a home within each lesson, the more students will understand the dynamic nature of so many of the topics we discuss. Consider Hurricane Ida that just devastated areas of the east coast, it’s important to know what a hurricane is, the various categories for example, but tying that to the human side of destruction and loss can teach empathy along with the content.
Key Feature of the Book:
Similar to Hoerr, Benson explicitly outlines specific action steps that are aligned to the content in the book. He also asks the reader to reflect on their lesson plans through what they are learning about how social and emotional learning works for students.
Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at [email protected]. And don’t miss our next live event on this topic. Register here.
This episode of our ReadThisSeries 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.
Thomas R. Hoerr retired after leading the New City School in St. Louis, Missouri for 34 years and is now the Emeritus Head of School. He is currently a Scholar In Residence at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and he teaches in the Educational Leadership program, preparing prospective principals. He also led the ISACS New Heads Network and founded the Non-Profit Management Program at Washington University in St. Louis. Hoerr has written five books, and his newest book is Taking Social Emotional LearningSchoolwide: The Formative Five Success Skills for Students and Staff. He has written more than 150 articles, including “The Principal Connection” column in Educational Leadership Magazine from 2004 to 2017.
Major Takeaways from Our Interview with Thomas Hoerr:
Tom wastes no time in this interview by quickly acknowledging that academics in the school set the floor not the ceiling. His insight about David Shield’s moral and character development versus content learned uncovers the power in what schools can be.
His advice for administrators right now: “grab a cup of coffee and take a deep breath.” His next bit of advice, totally focuses on developing the SEL culture that every school needs.
He discusses how language is key and how simply changing the name of faculty meetings to “learning meetings” sets a different expectation for staff.
Tom talks about the Formative Five and how you should not attempt all five at once.
You don’t want to miss what he says about the power of halls and walls.
Tom continues to learn and grow and finds incredible value in Howard Gardner, and his new book is A Synthesizing Mind.
His pursuit to seek differing views to broaden his own understanding is profound. He shares sage advice: listen more than you talk and ask more than you tell.
In an ever-changing and diverse world, Tom humbly admits that he really works to understand people from a diverse background.
Tom used to think that knowledge and being smart were critical to success but now he realizes that compassion, empathy, and SEL are the gate to real knowledge and understanding.
Let us know what you’re reading and who else you want us to bring on the show by contacting us at [email protected].
This episode 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.
Don’t miss this vblog on YouTube or catch our Read This segment of our One Thing Series podcast–books you need to read to lead better and grow faster.
Featured Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Featured Books: Leadership: In Turbulent Times
Why We Love This Book for School Leaders
We love this book for school leaders, especially now, because Kearns draws on the skills and attributes of four American presidents–Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson–who encountered times of confusion, fear, despair, and hope. Leadership: In Turbulent Times is destined to be a classic.
Here are just a few reasons to pick it up:
The author points out the specific traits that make for a successful leader in any organization. For example, we learn that not only was Lincoln ambitious–running for the office of the presidency at age 23–he had “the motivation and willpower to develop every talent he possessed to the fullest.” This is something that school leaders can emulate and model to develop a learning culture for themselves and others.
Reflection Question: What learning experiences do you have lined up for this year that will help to develop your talents to the fullest?
The last four chapters are a ton of fun, including transformational leadership, crisis management, turnaround leadership, and visionary leadership. It’s almost like this book was written exclusively for school leaders, although it’s universal to any organization.
Reflection Question: How will you communicate your vision for change in your school this year?
Lastly, this is an incredible book to lead a book study on with other educational leaders. Kearns Goodwin is remarkable about describing each leader’s journey. As we move into our second school year filled with uncertainty and doubt, having candid leadership conversations that go beyond procedures and processes, and into the heart of tough decision-making, can prove to be invaluable.
Reflection Question: How will you support others this year along their leadership journey?
Becoming a Better School Leader During a Disruptive Time in Education
Another book that we recommend in this ReadThisSeries episode is Leading Schools in Disruptive Times: How to Survive Hyper-Changeby Mark White and Dwight Carter. We appreciate this book because it redefines certain aspects of school leadership for those who are experiencing overload and demands beyond control. The authors have a CAT strategy–coping, adjusting, and transforming–strategy that they embed within the conversation about school safety. Safety is no longer just about the physical aspects of school violence but also the psychological safety that students need to be effective learners. This point and many others make the book an important read for all school leaders. Let us know what you think, and don’t miss our podcast episode with Dwight Carter.
Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at [email protected].
PS — If you have a topic you want us to cover or need recommendations on books to read in a particular area of leadership, just send us a tweet or an email.
This episode 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.
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7 Mindshifts for School Leaders: Finding New Ways to Think About Old Problems. 
