Five years ago, I wrote a post titled VUCA and Educational Leadership. As a quick recap, VUCA describes the challenging environment we live and work in (probably more applicable now than previously!): Volatility – We live in a world of rapid change driven by an overwhelming volume of information. Uncertainty – Our environments are characterized by our […]

Nearly all states, including my state of PA, have been placing an emphasis on “college and career readiness.” On the surface, and based on the changing times, this seems like a fine idea, but are we falling short? A few sets of questions to ponder: Are we in the wrong paradigm? Our public schools are […]

Many in education follow the work of Brene Brown––showing up with vulnerability and the accompanying courage. She often cites a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, from his speech titled Citizen in a Republic: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds […]

Have you ever been in a situation where you thought, “If I only had the power, I’d just make [insert task, idea, initiative, etc.] happen.” Or if you already have positional power, how much of your leadership consists of directing others––telling them what to do? Our natural inclination as humans is to want to win […]

Management typically has clearly defined processes to follow. There’s usually little variation in the path to resolve an issue and arrive at a solution. I often refer to this as checklist leadership––what have we always done?; just do it following the previously defined map. Making sure attendance calls go out for students that were late. […]

You’ve probably experienced flow at some point––the state of mind where you are completely immersed in an activity, losing sight of anything outside of your work. In The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance, author Steven Kotler writes, If you’ve ever lost an afternoon to a great conversation or gotten so […]

As an educator, why do you do what you do? How would you answer the question, What’s your personal “why?” It may not be an easy question for everyone to answer. Here’s what I wrote down a few weeks ago: Every individual has a unique gift or set of gifts to bring to the world. As educators, we […]

It’s time to reframe the narrative of success that we communicate to our young people and parents. Not that the old narrative of get good grades, get into a good college, get good grades, get a fine paying job, stay there for life won’t still work for some, but we are living in a different […]