My Favorite Leadership Books

The biggest reason I write this blog is to share information about leadership, whether it's my thoughts or the thoughts of others that I've come across.  I felt like I should take the opportunity to share the titles of books that I've read that I've learned great lessons about leadership from.  Perhaps you've read some of these...hopefully, you'll get some ideas about books that you can read to gain some knowledge and/or perspective.

1.  Lead...for God's Sake, by Todd Gongwer.  A fictional story about a journey into the heart of leadership.

2.  Good To Great, by Jim Collins.  Although this book is about businesses that continue to replicate success, there are many great principles of effective leadership.

3.  Wooden On Leadership, by Steve Jamison.  Jamison played for Coach Wooden at UCLA and this book outlines lessons on leadership gleaned from a player.

4.  The Essential Wooden, by Jamison & Wooden.  This book was basically written by Wooden.  This one is one of my favorites.

5.  The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John Maxwell.  Let me go on record that I've never read anything by "leadership guru" Maxwell that I didn't like.  However, this one is a good textbook for anyone new to a leadership position.  To puts names to a lot of leadership ideas you've probably already had.

6.  EntreLeadership, by Dave Ramsey.  Although Dave is a personal finance expert, this blueprint for running a business is full of great leadership insights.

7.  The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell, by Oren Harari.  This book contains great leadership principles.  It also contains one of my favorite leadership quotes, "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them."

8.  Lincoln on Leadership, by Donald Phillips.  I'm a Lincoln nut!  If you admire Lincoln even a tiny bit, and you're in a leadership position...you need to read this!  It's a quick, practical read.

That's all for now...8 books to get you started.  The list of potential recommendations is long!  Perhaps another post in the future?

Simple Words...

I recently read an article titled, "10 phrases that will make you a better leader" by Dan McCarthy.  I'm always interested in reading items which help me in my day to day journey of leadership.  The link to the article is :

http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2014/07/24/10

I was amazed by the simplicity of the phrases.  "Thank you," "Nice job," "How can I help?" "Help me understand."  Such simple words.  Simple, yet powerful!  I want to be an awesome leader.  I want to have all the answers.  I want to make all the right decisions.  I want to push all the right buttons!  It's times like this when I have to remind myself of one of my foundational leadership concepts:  "Focus on the process, not the results."

I can't get overwhelmed with the big picture.  I have to focus on the day to day journey (process).  This article by McCarthy helps me keep that focus.  Simple words, simple phrases, simple sincerity.  Please review the list of phrases and be refreshed at how simple leadership can be!

I was recently typing up notes on the book, The Six Secrets of Change , by Michael Fullen.  I had finished reading the book in April, but as I went back to type up the notes I was reminded of many things within the book that apply to leadership in schools (or leadership in general).

1.  "The world has become too complex for any theory to have certainty.  There can never be a blueprint or silver bullet."  I like this quote because all too often, books are written by people with theories (and often times, not a lot of actual experience) that claim to have "the answer."  I don't think this is the case.  I love ideas and I love thinking about how they can work into the school I lead.  Because of the demographics of the students I lead, not every theory or idea will work.  I like to be very situational about how I use things.  I think Fullen is right on with this comment.
2.  "Once you establish the right conditions and set the process in motion, trust the process and the people in it."  Anyone who knows me, knows I'm very much a "process guy."  The preparation of the process is important.  Once you've prepared and you've got the right people to enact the process, let it happen, let if evolve, let it work!
3.  On building capacity, "you start by attracting talented people and then you help them continually develop individually and collectively on the job."  I like this quote because I've long believed that the best way to develop leadership within the building is to hire good people and then give them the resources and support to become experts within their field and to provide guidance to new hires.

I'll finish from a quote in the book from H. Mintzberg.  "Effective Leadership inspires more than empowers; it connects more than controls; it demonstrates more than it decides."

Lessons from Abe

As an educational leader I’ve always looked for great books to read and great people in which to listen.  This thought takes me to Abraham Lincoln.  In terms of past Presidents, more has been written about Abe Lincoln than any other individual.  Having read a lot about “Honest Abe,” I’ve narrowed the information to three “principles” that we can use as “Principals” in our buildings:

1.       You must Persevere
I have a wall hanging in my office with Lincoln’s picture and the title “Perseverance”.  It goes on to list several failures, both personal and professional, that Lincoln had prior to becoming the 16^th President of the United States.  Even after becoming President, his persistence in keeping to his convictions about abolishing slavery and holding the Union together were imperative to the ultimate success of those goals. 

 

As building level administrators, we have to persevere in order to be successful on many fronts.  We can’t abandon our beliefs and core values because of short term losses or failures.  We have to make difficult decisions every day and sometimes those decisions involve sticking with unpopular programs or innovations that we believe to be in the best interest of our students.  Gather all the information you can, determine the best solution and then make a decision without wavering!

 

2.      You must be Humble
Lincoln could never be justifiably accused of having an ego.  If you are familiar with Team of Rivals, you are aware that Lincoln appointed four of his biggest political rivals to his cabinet.  Not because they were his rivals, but because they were the best and most able people in the country, and he didn’t feel like he “had the right to deprive the country of their services.”  He was willing to listen to opinions that were not like his.  Lincoln didn’t want to surround himself with “yes men.”

 

Abraham Lincoln was also insistent on making himself available to the public.  He kept regular office hours and citizens were allowed to see him.  He often took suggestions from the public on policy issues that would help him “massage” his ideas into ones that could be sold to the congress and the public at large.

 

Working in education, we cannot pretend to have all the answers.  We need to  seek advice from a variety of sources; other administrators, our own faculty, as well as, students and parents.  We need to listen intently to the stakeholders involved in our school improvement meetings and try to implement change that we all agree will improve our school.  We must be willing to accept the fact that great ideas can come from the most unlikely of sources.

 

3.      You must be willing to Forgive.
“With malice toward none, with charity for all” Abraham Lincoln was insistent about welcoming the southern states back into the Union without seeking to destroy their proud heritage.  He believed this was the only way to heal the nation.  He believed that if you crushed a man, you would make him, and his friends, permanent enemies of your organization.

 

Educators often find themselves in confrontational situations, and administrators, probably more so.  Tempers get heated, people say things they don’t mean and feelings get hurt.  Forgive.  In our education world, if you make one enemy, that turns into ten very quickly.  Whether it’s a teacher, a student, a parent or a community member, you must work to mend fences quickly and forgive those who have wronged you.  It’s not easy, but it’s a tremendously empowering act that will help you improve in your ability to lead.

I would like to urge you to continue in your professional development as a leader.  Don’t hesitate to use the past to help you become a better leader and to make a positive impact on people today and for years to come. 

 

 

 

 

#Read26Indy

I once heard Lou Holtz say, "the difference between who you are now and who you'll be in five years will be the books you've read and the people you listen to."  I've always been an avid reader but I made a strong commitment for 2014.  On twitter, I found an columnist who was dedicating himself to read a book every two weeks...26 for the year.  I signed on.  I'm in the last week of March and I'm reading book number nine.  I'll list a complete list of what I've read thus far on the blog.

I want to be a different person in five years...a better person...who will join me?