Working At The Edge

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“Greatness” in an organization

By Randy Ziegenfuss

I read an excellent post on How To Create A Culture of Greatness from author Jon Gordon. I particularly liked how he emphasizes that shaping a great organization starts with the leader, no one else.

“A culture of greatness creates an expectation that everyone in the organization be committed to excellence. It requires leaders and managers to put the right people in the right positions where they are humble and hungry and willing to work harder than everyone else. A culture of greatness dictates that each person use his or her gifts and strengths to serve the purpose and mission of the organization. And it means that you don’t just bring in the best people, but you also bring out the best in your people.”

This post resonated with me as we are currently in the process of replacing two positions in our department. I shared with one of our new hires the expectation that in her work she will find gaps in what we are doing and will need to bring those to our attention and use her talents and skills to fill them. I also shared that it is my challenge to see that her passions, talents and skills are being utilized not only for the good of the organization but for her own professional growth and satisfaction. It is my challenge to bring out the best in everyone that I work with. That is what I personally strive to do.

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Randy Ziegenfuss
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Randy Ziegenfuss
I've retired from public education after 34 years, most recently as Superintendent. In addition to blogging at WorkingAtTheEdge.org, I co-host two podcasts at TLTalkRadio.org and ShiftYourParadigm.org. Learn more at https://workingattheedge.org/about/.
Randy Ziegenfuss
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About Working At The Edge:

My name is Randy Ziegenfuss, and I'm a retired public school superintendent and a life-long educator with over 34 years experience developing a passion for teaching, learning, leadership and technology. <read more...>

I first came across the phrase working at the edge while learning about the work of Marzano, et al. School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results. In this work, the researchers define 21 responsibilities of the school leader, one being change agent. A change agent is defined as one who is, "...willing to challenge school practices that have been in place for a long time and promoting the value of working at the edge of one's competence."

Randy Ziegenfuss, Ed.D.

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