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.

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