The Educator's Notebook

featured articles

“The Power Of Doing Less In Schools”
ASCD - 10/1/22

“If the system has to be fixed, and we can't fix the system by adding to it, then the logical place to start is with subtraction. We need to look closely at our schools and figure out everything that we don't need to be doing anymore. We need to find as many things as possible that we can take off the plates of overworked educators. At its heart, the art of subtraction is clearing away peripheral parts of a system so that we can put better focus on the most important things.”
How To Rebuild Trust In A Workplace
Gallup - 6/14/22

“Authenticity is being true to yourself, and transparency is sharing that truth through words, behaviors and actions. Highly trusted companies tend to be radically transparent.”
On The Present Need To Rebuild Culture
NAIS - 6/1/22

“No matter what a school’s ultimate culture goal, given what we have all been through over the past two years, I would suggest that nurturing a caring culture is job one. This will ensure that as you build toward the future, you are building on a foundation of trust. Some of the middle five groups outlined above can be active participants in this process. Seek them out and engage them in finding that common ground so that you can begin moving from “me” to “we.”
Redefining The Boss As A Master Collaborator, Not Director
Wall Street Journal - 12/1/21

“Bosses in previous generations, he says, tended to be excellent individual contributors who were promoted to management positions so they could teach teams… The changing job description of a boss and increased expectations from workers means a different type of employee will be considered management material. Those with highly developed social abilities, including “the capacity to interact with an unfamiliar person effectively, good listening skills, real-time processing skills,” will pull ahead, says Mr. Fuller. “Over time, this keeps gaining share relative to technical skills.””
“How The Most Effective Leaders Give Feedback”
Psychology Today - 11/9/21

“Feedback structure is often thought of as the cliched “feedback sandwich.” Not only is this not a particularly useful model, but consistently delivering positive and negative feedback at the same time may cause the key message to be missed. And it does not necessarily improve the likelihood of driving behavior change, which is the goal of feedback.”

View remaining articles (60)

Head Of School Reflects On Maintaining Neutrality In High Conflict Times
Deerfield - 10/22/21

““The Kelvin Report” remains one of the most important statements describing the purpose and mission of universities, and by implication, all institutions committed to learning… It advances an argument for what the drafting committee called “neutrality” in political and social action. In order to protect mission—the “discovery, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge” —educational institutions, the committee concluded, “must maintain independence from political fashions, passions, and pressures.” Schools and universities are not, in other words, political organizations or political actors; they are places of learning, inquiry, and question-asking. In this way the university stands apart from the world, even as it remains, in its commitment to inquiry, in vital relationship to it. On the one hand, the institution, as a corporate entity, seeks to remain neutral, recusing itself from political engagement. On the other hand, it imagines itself as a space of open and robust civic inquiry, especially for students. It claims for itself the widest possible scope for discussion and debate.”
Head Of School Reflects On Maintaining Neutrality In High Conflict Times
Deerfield - 10/22/21

““The Kelvin Report” remains one of the most important statements describing the purpose and mission of universities, and by implication, all institutions committed to learning… It advances an argument for what the drafting committee called “neutrality” in political and social action. In order to protect mission—the “discovery, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge” —educational institutions, the committee concluded, “must maintain independence from political fashions, passions, and pressures.” Schools and universities are not, in other words, political organizations or political actors; they are places of learning, inquiry, and question-asking. In this way the university stands apart from the world, even as it remains, in its commitment to inquiry, in vital relationship to it. On the one hand, the institution, as a corporate entity, seeks to remain neutral, recusing itself from political engagement. On the other hand, it imagines itself as a space of open and robust civic inquiry, especially for students. It claims for itself the widest possible scope for discussion and debate.”
How School Leadership Can Drive Instructional Improvement
Larry Cuban - 9/9/21

“Over the past forty years, factors associated with raising a school’s academic profile include: teachers’ consistent focus on academic standards and frequent assessment of student learning, a serious school-wide climate toward learning, district support, and parental participation. Recent research also points to the importance of mobilizing teachers and the community to move in the same direction, building trust among all the players, and especially creating working conditions that support teacher collaboration and professional development.”
Eight Predictions For Education In 2021
Global Online Academy - 8/1/21

“In 2021, schools have the opportunity to stop initiatives that either no longer fit strategically or that are distractions from core work. Schools will decide if/how to keep pandemic changes as part of larger strategic goals, such as rethinking schedules, allowing for remote work, shifting grading and assessment practices, later start times, etc. Schools will make time to reset their strategic goals while reflecting on what they have learned from the emergency initiatives that got them through the past 10 months.”
Three Part Explanation Of Education Systems Thinking
Medium - 5/29/21

“Organizing schools in discipline-based classes that go for 45 minutes where quizzes and test assess understanding every so often works well when you’re focused on knowledge. But skills and competencies are fundamentally different. They require different contexts, different structures. Cultivating creativity, collaborative problem-solving, self-directed learning, empathy, can largely only happen effectively in rich, complex contexts — not squeezed into the 45-minute math lesson. That is why in many schools working to make this transition, you see a fundamental restructuring of the learning environment—to leverage richer, deeper, more meaningful and contextualized learning through project-based learning (PBL), competency developmental progressions, and integrated formative assessment (Levine & Patrick, 2019). Such a deep restructuring does not come easily, and for many learning environments can only happen in certain ways or hardly at all due to current constraints and demands.”
A PLC Framework For School Leaders
The Main Idea - 5/13/21

“The structure of these groups is key. Members say the hour goes by quickly, is energizing, and leaves them feeling inspired to enact concrete ideas. This is all because of the components that go into the Mastermind. While the structure we use is simple and predictable, the effects are powerful. The power comes from a strong routine that supports professional learning and growth. Each session involves a combination of coaching, modeling strategies, new content, support, honest feedback, and reflection.”
What Happens When You Actually Reimagine School? This Does.
Cult of Pedagogy - 5/2/21

“Currently nearing the end of its second school year, this high school is the end product of a group of brave, forward-thinking educators who saw what education could be, and instead of trying to work within the system, asked themselves, “Why don’t we just build it?””
“6 Leadership Paradoxes For The Post-Pandemic Era”
Harvard Business Review - 4/23/21

“[These leaders] learned how to work together with others who have different backgrounds and different ways of thinking, and they emphasized collaborating together to lead their business despite all their differences.”
Adam Grant On Confident Humility In Leaders
TED - 4/1/21

“It's being secure enough in your strengths to acknowledge your weaknesses. Having enough faith in your knowledge to recognize your ignorance. Being so determined to get it right that you're willing to admit when you're wrong.”
How Will Schools Change Post-Pandemic? Here Are Some Predictions
NAIS - 1/5/21

“Many schools will keep online learning offerings, and a few will invest in these programs in a big way. Some will move to online parent-teacher conferences held on a more frequent basis. Others will have a group of teachers and staff who are full-time remote and possibly part-time. Some will run virtual classes for some students, and others will offer virtual tutoring. Some schools will figure out how to increase total enrollment by leveraging a combination of online delivery and radically changing the way they do scheduling for high school grades and perhaps some middle school grades.”
An Epic Chronicle Of Decisions And Outcomes In The U.S. Pandemic Response
New Yorker - 12/28/20

“Pottinger’s White House experience has made him acutely aware of what he calls “the fading art of leadership.” It’s not a failure of one party or another; it’s more of a generational decline of good judgment. “The élites think it’s all about expertise,” he said. It’s important to have experts, but they aren’t always right: they can be “hampered by their own orthodoxies, their own egos, their own narrow approach to the world.” Pottinger went on, “You need broad-minded leaders who know how to hold people accountable, who know how to delegate, who know a good chain of command, and know how to make hard judgments.””
130 Pages Of Synthesized Research For How To Open A School This Fall
Coney Island Prep - 6/30/20

“The contents of this “playbook” are the result of an eight week effort during May-June of 2020 to inform a subset of CIP’s return-to-school planning… This document provides… A compendium of case studies, research, and expert perspectives meant to inform and support CIP’s thinking regarding select elements of its return-to-school planning; A snapshot in time based on publicly available information; CIP should note the “current as of” dates indicated on the top left of pages that may no longer be relevant as situations evolve. This document does not provide… Any recommendations on specific actions CIP should or should not take, or a comprehensive set of topics or options for CIP to consider as it advances its return-to-school planning.
Questions To Prompt Entrepreneurial Leadership In Times Of Crisis
McKinsey - 4/1/20

“For many companies, the only option is to accelerate their digital transformation. That means moving from active experimentation to active scale-up supported by ongoing testing and continuous improvement. These moves should happen across two dimensions: at the core of the company and through the development of new businesses.”
On The Wisdom Of Teachers: Scientific Vs. Craft Vs. Moral Knowledge
EdWeek - 10/30/19

“Scientific evidence is not the only source of knowledge nor is it the source of knowledge that always holds high ground in decision-making. Two other important kinds of knowledge are what might best be labeled craft knowledge and moral knowledge. Craft knowledge stems from the understanding gathered over time by practitioners, including through stories, ad hoc observations, and intuition. It is the evidence that usually legitimizes professional judgment in our field, in part because scientific knowledge is not available or cannot be generalized to the thousands of different situations educators face daily.”
What Can School Leaders Learn From The Role Of CEO?
McKinsey - 10/1/19

“To answer the question, “What are the mindsets and practices of excellent CEOs?,” we started with the six main elements of the CEO’s job—elements touched on in virtually all literature about the role: setting the strategy, aligning the organization, leading the top team, working with the board, being the face of the company to external stakeholders, and managing one’s own time and energy. We then broke those down into 18 specific responsibilities that fall exclusively to the CEO.”
“Why Generalists Triumph In A Specialized World”
New York Times - 5/24/19

“This pattern extends beyond music and sports. Students who have to specialize earlier in their education — picking a pre-med or law track while still in high school — have higher earnings than their generalist peers at first, according to one economist’s research in several countries. But the later-specializing peers soon caught up… The early specializers, meanwhile, more often quit their career tracks.”
On Integrating Student Data, From Enrollment To Graduation
EdSurge - 4/24/19

“Colleges and universities are increasingly turning to CRMs to track the life cycle of their engagement with students—from initial marketing outreach to financial aid, applications, enrollment, course registration, retention, alumni and donor relationships.”
Schools Should Focus Only On Their Academic Mission… Plus One
Howard Gardner - 4/1/19

“As one learns about so-called liberal arts institutions today, one swiftly encounters a wide range of aspirations, many of which have little to do with academic or even cognitive aspirations. Colleges are expected to produce good citizens; kind and empathic human beings; happy persons who are self-realized; individuals who want to lead the world, change the world, be good team players, make the world better; individuals who are healthier in mind and body. We admire these aspirations. But it’s clear that no institution can achieve all of these goals.”
PD: More Teacher Choice Or More Shared Expectations?
Education Dive - 3/25/19

“Isolated examples of professional learning based on individual educator needs are a poor substitute for engaging teachers in ongoing collaborative learning that draws on their expertise to examine student data and design learning agendas that benefit everyone in the school… when teachers or schools have too much control over PD decisions, there tends to not be a shared vision of quality teaching and learning across the district.”
Four Essential Leadership Roles, And How To Balance Them
ASCD - 3/1/19

"Only one leadership personality, the architect, delivers sustained improvement—by balancing all four roles. In the words of the researchers, "they're insightful, humble, visionary leaders who believe schools fail because they're poorly designed," so they work with teachers to develop a collaborative school vision and engage directly in professional learning, coaching, mentoring, and peer collaboration.”
"Seven Tenets Of Globally Competent School Leaders”
ASCD - 2/7/19

"The seven tenets of globally competent school leaders fall under four domains: (1) vision setting, (2) pedagogy and practice, (3) situated action, and (4) systems and structures. These domains reflect general best practices of educational leadership, while recognizing the ways in which one’s local professional context is interconnected to a broader global environment.”
A Deep, Deep Look At The State Of Competency-Based Education
Getting Smart - 10/22/18

“Our purpose in sharing this report is to spur much-needed dialogue about the shift to competency-based education and how that shift can be done in ways that advance equity, ensure teachers have the tools they need, and open up new opportunities for truly effective high school learning. There are no prescriptions here. Instead, we hope the reader will find the evidence cited thought-provoking and engage in serious conversation about the compelling questions the report raises.”
So: You Really Want To Be An Adaptive, Evolving Organization?
Stanford Social Innovation Review - 5/24/18

“When it comes to developing strategy in a rapidly changing world, it’s no longer enough to just make a plan and stick to it; organizations instead need to learn to set a direction and make adaptations to it.”
3-Step Process For Learning From Failure (Via Google)
Inc. - 5/14/18

“Our next step is to work together to create a written record for what happened, why, its impact, how the issue was mitigated or resolved, and what we'll do to prevent the incident from recurring.”
Making The Case For Innovation Systems In Higher Ed
Educause - 5/7/18

“In general, higher education institutions have sound and rigorous processes for known, incremental, and precedent-setting change. What they lack is a valued parallel process for true bottom-up experimentation when the outcomes are unknown.”
Why Metrics (For Students, Employees) Aren’t Effective Assessments
Aeon - 4/24/18

"The source of the trouble is that when people are judged by performance metrics they are incentivised to do what the metrics measure, and what the metrics measure will be some established goal. But that impedes innovation, which means doing something not yet established, indeed that hasn’t even been tried out. Innovation involves experimentation. And experimentation includes the possibility, perhaps probability, of failure. At the same time, rewarding individuals for measured performance diminishes a sense of common purpose, as well as the social relationships that motivate co-operation and effectiveness. Instead, such rewards promote competition.”
More Than Mission And Management, Teachers Need Clear Headspace
Cal Newport - 4/21/18

“What I mean by my above claim is that knowledge work management cannot stop at the boundary of the black box: providing workers only shared objectives and the tools/information needed to act on these objectives. It must also consider what occurs inside the box — setting up cultures, workflows, and environments optimized to help the human brain act on these objectives with maximum effectiveness.”
Seeking Consistency In Classrooms Rarely Succeeds
Larry Cuban - 4/1/18

“Policies aimed at standardizing classroom practice seldom produce homogeneous lessons.”
On The Importance Of Having A Best Friend At Work
Gallup - 1/15/18

"Our research has repeatedly shown a concrete link between having a best friend at work and the amount of effort employees expend in their job. For example, women who strongly agree they have a best friend at work are more than twice as likely to be engaged (63%) compared with the women who say otherwise (29%). However, let's put the science aside for one moment and look more holistically at what's happening in the workforce.”
Three Types Of Feedback During Teacher Observations
Principal Center - 1/5/18

"Reflexive feedback conversations involve both parties in talking, listening, reflecting, and taking action. The idea of reflexivity, which comes from the social sciences, suggests a two-way street—a feedback relationship that runs in both directions. Leaders who use reflexive feedback are more effective at changing teacher practice because they're willing and able change things other than the teacher, in order to support positive changes in the teacher’s practice."
Questioning Innovation and Change, And Who Defines the Narrative
Educause - 10/23/17

"We are certainly obsessed with "innovation" — there's this rather nebulously defined yet insistent demand that we all somehow do more of it and sooner… We should question this myth of the speed of technological change and adoption (and by "myth" I don't mean "lie"; I mean "story that is unassailably true") if it's going to work us into a frenzy of bad decision-making… We have time — when it comes to technological change — to be thoughtful.
Lakeside School Spins Off A Micro-School In Its Own Back Yard
NAIS - 6/6/17

"Much like colleges and universities, costs at independent schools have grown as they provide more services and amenities. Micro-schools seek to trim expenses in ways easier to do as a smaller, nimbler operation. They may rent a storefront, for example, rather than maintain a campus. They can hire fewer faculty who would wear more hats, such as taking on major administrative responsibilities and working longer hours for higher pay. And they can emphasize academics while taking a cafeteria-menu-style approach to other offerings. So, for example, if students are involved in off-campus performing arts or music groups or sports teams, they may prefer not to pay for comprehensive arts and sports programs.”
Bezos: Success Today Comes From Planning Three Years Ago [video]
YouTube - 5/5/17

"I'm working on a quarter that is going to happen in 2020, not next quarter. Next quarter, for all practical purposes, is done already and it’s probably been done for a couple of years, and so if you start to think that way it changes how you spend your time, how you plan, where you put your energy, and your ability to look around corners improves.”
Rethinking Accountability For Educators
Brookings - 4/13/17

"Behavioral science has identified four discrete accountability mechanisms: evaluation, identifiability, reason-giving, and the mere presence of another. Good professional accountability practices will employ all four behavioral mechanisms, though in various ways. Consider the practice of medicine: Doctors must pass a series of exams to be certified for practice (evaluation); board certifications for specializations are publicly reported (identifiability); medical rounds require doctors to explain cases and treatment plans to their colleagues (reason-giving); and surgery is conducted with other hospital staff attending (mere presence of another).”
Susan Cain Writes About The Need For Followers, Not Leaders
New York Times - 3/24/17

"My sons are avid soccer players, so I spend a lot of time watching the “beautiful game.” The thing that makes it beautiful is not leadership, though an excellent coach is essential. Nor is it the swoosh of the ball in the goal, though winning is noisily celebrated. It is instead the intricate ballet of patterns and passes, of each player anticipating the other’s strengths and needs, each shining for the brief instant that he has the ball before passing it to a teammate or losing it to an opponent.”
How Promoting Nonconformity Strengthens Your Organization
Harvard Business Review - 10/1/16

"Of course, not all conformity is bad. But to be successful and evolve, organizations need to strike a balance between adherence to the formal and informal rules that provide necessary structure and the freedom that helps employees do their best work… Let’s look at the three main, and interrelated, reasons why we so often conform at work… Six strategies can help leaders encourage constructive nonconformity in their organizations and themselves.”
Gallup Continues To Share Benefits Of Strengths-Based Development
Gallup - 9/29/16

"After decades of strengths research, Gallup understands how leaders of top strengths-based organizations help their companies achieve the best outcomes. Here are their key strategies…”
One School's Aggressive Push For Inclusion
NAIS - 7/15/16

"Throughout the board’s extended discussions, several messages resonated. One trustee pointed out that we should not look at a tuition freeze as a cost, but rather as a forgone revenue opportunity, and that we should realize that raising tuition has a cost as well — a more restricted applicant pool.”
Bringing Only One Diverse Candidate Won’t Help You Diversify
Harvard Business Review - 4/26/16

"Managers need to know that working to get one woman or minority considered for a position might be futile, because the odds are likely slim if they are the lone woman or nonwhite candidate. But if managers can change the status quo of the finalist pool by including two women, then the women have a fighting chance… When there were two minorities or women in the pool of finalists, the status quo changed, resulting in a woman or minority becoming the favored candidate.”
On The Extraordinary Value Of Shadowing A Student For A Day
KQED - 3/22/16

"Van Haren often uses shadowing as a way to dig into data she may have come across in a different format. For example, she noticed that on the most recent student survey, Asian and Pacific Islander students reported very low levels of belonging to the school community. That concerned her, so for her shadow day she’s accompanying a student from that demographic to see how the school might accidentally be alienating this group.”
A History Of Leadership [Remarkably Similar To A History Of Teaching]
New Yorker - 2/29/16

"Leaders, moreover, used to command; now they suggest. Conceptually, at least, leadership and power have been decoupled. In 1927, Personnel Journal cited an expert who defined leadership as “the ability to impress the will of the leader on those led and induce obedience, respect, loyalty, and cooperation.” But after the Second World War the concept of leadership softened. Leaders, it was said, weren’t dictators or tyrants; instead of ordering us around, they influenced, motivated, and inspired us. A distinction began to emerge between leadership, which was said to be inspirational, and management, which was seen as more punitive.”
School Leaders Agree On Three Measures Of Successful Schooling
Gallup - 1/6/16

"More than eight in 10 of the nation's chief K-12 education leaders say that student engagement with classwork, their hope for the future and the percentage of them who graduate from high school are "very important" measures of a public school's effectiveness… Superintendents are less likely to highly prioritize the paths students take after high school as a measure of a school's effectiveness.”
Blended Learning 2.0: After the Honeymoon
EdSurge - 8/3/15

"These schools are moving out of the “getting-the-technology-to-work” phase and beginning to think deeply about the best ways to support student achievement. They are running their own internal evaluations of edtech effectiveness, training teachers on emerging best practices, exploring better ways to put data in the hands of teachers and students, and consolidating all their learnings to iterate on existing school designs or create new ones.”
An Essential Overview Of Current Models Of New Schools
SSATB - 7/30/15

"Are you counting on your high-achieving student body, challenging curriculum, and learning- conducive environment to continue to attract families to your school? …In every case, there is a cheaper, and often more innovative, educational alternative out there… We have defined and focused this report on four major categories of educational choice options for families: Academically Rigorous Schools, Deeper Learning Schools, Personalized Learning Schools, Online Schools.
A Great Long Read On Hunches vs Data (via singing, hiring…)
More Intelligent Life - 7/1/15

"Hunches make people over-confident. But if the hunch runs in the opposite direction to everyone else’s certainties, then over-confidence can be a strength… It’s not as if data solve the over-confidence problem, anyway. Indeed, they can exacerbate it, especially when people get hooked on the wrong measures… The hunch and the data can educate one another. We need human judgment to correct for cardinal bias—the tendency to place more importance on what can be quantified than what cannot.”
What Happens When Students Identify And Solve School Problems
ASCD - 6/1/15

"the school's principal… challenged a few members of the student council to find someone completely different from them—to ensure that the group had broad representation—and to bring those students to a series of lunchtime meetings. When the students arrived, [he] distributed copies of the survey and asked them to find a problem and come up with a solution… He invited the students to share their plan with the rest of the staff, who were equally complimentary. Everyone acknowledged that the students had come up with a plan that was more detailed and thoughtful than any plan the adults might have proposed and that it was more likely to succeed because it came from the students themselves.”
How Might You Reorganize Your School As A Team of Teams?
Fast Company - 5/12/15

“Sharing information and creating strong horizontal relationships improves the effectiveness of everything from businesses to governments to cities. His research suggests that the collective intelligence of groups and communities has little to do with the intelligence of their individual members and much more to do with the connections between them.”
3 Researchers: First Steps For Improving Education
Stanford - 5/8/15

"The status of teaching depends on the knowledge base and its acquisition by teachers… There’s an inverse relationship between our ability to produce well-informed, thoughtful, objective teachers and our intention, as a society, to micromanage their work. The more we entrust the people in the schools the more we're willing to give them the collective professional autonomy to make judgments about the work… [But] the more we distrust the capacity of people in schools, the more we're pressed toward scripted curriculum and micromanaging that work."
Reconsidering “Innovation” and “Progress”
Aeon - 5/3/15

"Somewhere between the tiny vision of innovation and the arrogance of grand progress lies a vision of collective destiny and confidence that with the right investments, a strong consensus, and patience we can generate a more just and stable world. We passed right by that point in the rush from the 20th to the 21st centuries. We must reclaim it.”
Inside Lego’s Renaissance: How They Keep The Creativity Coming
Fast Company - 1/8/15

“[Growth] required figuring out what a modern Lego should even be, which Knudstorp accomplished in part by investing in a kind of research the company had never done before—deep ethnographic studies of how kids around the world really play. Today, Lego may know as much about that subject as any organization on earth.”
Several Principles from Pixar for Nurturing Good Work
Farnam Street - 11/17/14

“When someone hatches an original idea, it may be ungainly and poorly defined, but it is also the opposite of established and entrenched—and that is precisely what is most exciting about it. If, while in this vulnerable state, it is exposed to naysayers who fail to see its potential or lack the patience to see it evolve, it could be destroyed. Part of our job is to protect the new from people who don’t understand that in order for greatness to emerge, there must be phases of not-so-greatness."
A Checklist Of Conditions For Successfully Implementing Change
KnowledgeWorks - 11/6/14

“Vision… Culture… Transparency… System-wide alignment.”
Isaac Asimov on How to Be Creative in a Group
MIT Technology Review - 10/20/14

“There must be ease, relaxation, and a general sense of permissiveness… If a single individual present is unsympathetic to the foolishness that would be bound to go on at such a session, the others would freeze. The unsympathetic individual may be a gold mine of information, but the harm he does will more than compensate for that. It seems necessary to me, then, that all people at a session be willing to sound foolish and listen to others sound foolish."
3 Tips for Efficiency and Innovation in Organizations
Harvard Business Review - 10/3/14

“To be nimble and innovative, part of the key is pushing decision authority as low as possible (but not lower). What’s as low as possible? That’s going to change from situation to situation. But the key is acknowledging that the more senior you make your decision makers, the more waste you’ll require of those looking to experiment... the only thing that will happen is your execs will end up drowning in a sea of meetings and nothing will ever get done.”
Collaboration Improves Motivation, Persistence, Energy...
Stanford - 9/15/14

“When people were treated as though they were working together they: persisted 48 to 64 percent longer on a challenging task, reported more interest in the task, became less tired by having to persist on the task... became more engrossed in the task and performed better on it, and finally, when people were encouraged to reflect on how their interest in the puzzle was relevant to their personal values and identity, people chose to do 53 percent more related tasks in a separate setting one to two weeks later.“
Professional Insight Comes from Mixing Perspectives
Misc Magazine - 9/10/14

“Seeing the problem through another discipline’s lenses gives one the permission to think outside the norms and boundaries of one’s own... In most large organizations, this is a fundamental challenge. Coming out of your functional silo to roll up your sleeves with colleagues from another one is often an exercise in defensive posturing, rather than constructive conflict... Organizations that cannot breach the silo walls when necessary are ill-equipped to achieve breakthroughs of any kind whatsoever.”
(What) Can Business Teach Education?
New York Times - 8/16/14

“While these reformers talk a lot about markets and competition, the essence of a good education — bringing together talented teachers, engaged students and a challenging curriculum — goes undiscussed. Business does have something to teach educators, but it’s neither the saving power of competition nor flashy ideas like disruptive innovation. Instead, what works are time-tested strategies.”
What Actually Helps Students “Thrive” Later in Life?
NPR - 5/6/14

“Graduates who said they had a "mentor who encouraged my hopes and dreams," "professors who cared about me" and at least one prof who "made me excited about learning" are three times more likely to be thriving and twice as likely to be engaged at work.”
How to Innovate Within An Existing Organization
Steve Blank - 3/31/14

“Paradoxically, in spite of the seemingly endless resources, innovation inside of an existing company is much harder than inside a startup. That’s because existing companies face a conundrum: Every policy and procedure that makes them efficient execution machines stifles innovation.”
Do More Through the Disciplined Pursuit of Doing Less
Stanford Graduate School of Business - 2/10/14

“When people really get a chance to think, to have the space... they can quite easily discern between the things that are essential to them and those that are not. The problem is not our ability to discern, it’s that we don’t have the space to take the time to discern.”

leadership

“How To Onboard Your New Boss”
Harvard Business Review - 2/27/23
How To Support Teachers When You’re Not An Instructional Leader
Allyson Apsey - 2/25/23
What The Most Productive Companies Do Differently
Harvard Business Review - 2/16/23
Five Tough Truths Of Leadership
Medium - 2/14/23

“#1. Everything is your fault. It sucks and it’s not fair, but it’s the truest thing about leadership. Try to deny this and you’ll erode any respect or trust you may have with internal and external stakeholders.”
Good Team Questions: “What Are You Stuck On?”
Harvard Business Review - 2/14/23

View remaining articles (624)

Hold Your Team Accountable With Compassion, Not Fear
Harvard Business Review - 2/13/23
A.I.-Led Job Interviews?
Harvard Business Review - 2/7/23
“When You’re Doubting Your Leadership”
Harvard Business Review - 2/2/23
“What Educators Look For In A Job”
EdWeek - 2/1/23
Become A Better Problem Solver By Framing The Problem Better
MIT Sloan Management Review - 2/1/23
5 Tips For Better One-On-One Meetings
MIT Sloan Management Review - 1/30/23
Try A Daily Morning Huddle For Your Leadership Team
Edutopia - 1/26/23
“Rethinking Hierarchy” - On Authority In Organizations
MIT Sloan Management Review - 1/25/23
“What Principals Can Learn Riding The Bus”
Edutopia - 1/10/23
On The Challenge Of The Head Of School In Complicated Times
RG175 - 1/9/23
The Best Management Steps For Impacting Employee Mental Health
Gallup - 12/16/22

“Beyond having an engaged workforce generally, what else can organizational leaders do to help? Gallup sought to identify the most salient aspects of work life that relate to mental health. Nearly 50 individual metrics were analyzed to distill the most common and highest return-on-investment actions that result in a positive impact on employee mental health. In each case, employees who strongly agree with these five statements are at least seven times more likely to report that their job had an extremely positive impact on their mental health in the prior six months, resulting in what we’ve identified as the top five pillars of employee mental health.”
On Assessing Your School’s Value Proposition
English Marketing Works - 12/15/22
“Middle Managers Are Exhausted.”
MIT Sloan Management Review - 12/12/22
How To Set Up A Systematic Hiring Process
Startup Real Talk - 12/7/22
More On How To Use Video Tools To Communicate
EdWeek - 12/2/22
Use Videos (TikTok?) To Communicate With Your Students, Team
EdWeek - 12/1/22
Faculty Are Still Feeling The Impact Of The Pandemic
Chronicle of Higher Education - 12/1/22
The Four Culture Topics That Have Been Hardest On Leaders This Year
NPR - 12/1/22
Leadership, The Pandemic, And Imposter Syndrome
ASCD - 11/30/22

“This school year in particular, it seems like every interaction between teachers and administrators is contentious. Most leaders have done their level best to respond to the malaise sweeping through the teaching profession… Still, teaching is such a demanding profession that these measures seem meretricious, even insulting. On top of that, an education leader’s job is not merely to respond to teachers’ problems, but to enact innovation. Pushing for change now , of all times, can make you feel like a monster—a sociopathic tyrant bludgeoning hardworking teachers with unwanted initiatives. If you had impostor syndrome before, it’s most likely on overdrive these days.”
Don’t Send Emails At Night (cf. Elon Musk)
New York Times - 11/23/22
In Support Of Inefficiency In Education
Intrepid News - 11/21/22
Scenario Planning For Hiring
NAIS - 11/15/22
How To Raise The Status Of Teachers
EdWeek - 11/15/22
What Corporate Innovation Structures Look Like
Steve Blank - 11/11/22
How To Lead A Reduction In Force
Harvard Business Review - 11/8/22
Fight Your Ego: It Is The Enemy Of Good Leadership
Harvard Business Review - 11/6/22
How Would Your School Respond To An Internet Shutdown?
Leadership + Design - 11/6/22
One Teacher Describes Becoming An Administrator
EdSurge - 11/4/22
"The Emotional Labor Of Being A Leader”
Harvard Business Review - 11/2/22
Profile: Finalist For Principal Of The Year
SmartBrief - 10/31/22
On What Prevents Leaders From Reinventing Themselves
Harvard Business Review - 10/27/22
"Reflective Recognition” - A Better Way To Show Appreciation?
Harvard Business Review - 10/25/22
Tips For Action-Oriented School Plans
ASCD - 10/11/22
Three Global Trends To Factor Into Strategic Thinking: Identity, Tribalism, and Environment
Ian Symmonds - 10/6/22
Some Reflections On Strategic Planning
Harvard Business Review - 10/4/22
“How To Fix A Toxic Culture”
MIT Sloan Management Review - 9/28/22
Five Ways To Feature Pedagogy At Your School
Edutopia - 9/28/22
Five Traits To Look For In An Interview
Fast Company - 9/16/22
10 Questions On Whether You Should Be A Leader
Fast Company - 9/14/22
On The Importance Of Leaders As Advocates
MIT Sloan Management Review - 9/12/22
Design Thinking Vs Managerial Thinking: Is Your School Ready?
MIT Sloan Management Review - 9/6/22
How Leaders Can Protect Time For Classroom Visits
Principal Center - 9/1/22
On Building A Better Team, Via Coaching
NAIS - 8/30/22

“Good leadership, like coaching, comes from face-to-face communication and building relationships, not via emails or memos. Being out and about also affords the head opportunities to listen to concerns and have conversations about issues that might otherwise fester.”
5 Pieces Of Advice For Heads At The Start Of The Year
SAIS - 8/25/22
Five “Back To Basics” Practices For School Leaders
Global Online Academy - 8/23/22
“Keeping Your Team Motivated When Your Company Is Struggling”
Harvard Business Review - 8/17/22
Pandemic Impacts On Leaders And Teachers
RAND Corporation - 8/11/22
Six Truths About Leadership, Especially Right Now
NAIS - 8/9/22

“Don’t mistake dilemmas for problems. A problem has a solution; you fix it. A dilemma is built into a situation; you cope with it.”
“10 Principles Of Effective Organizations”
Harvard Business Review - 8/8/22
Over-Communicating Is Better Than Under-Communicating
Adam Grant - 7/31/22
On Independent Governance In A Post-Pandemic Era
Carney Sandoe - 7/26/22
“How To Stay Cool When You’re Put On The Spot”
Harvard Business Review - 7/25/22
Five Retention Strategies When You’re On A Tight Budget
Fast Company - 7/25/22
Reminders Of How To Run A Good Meeting
CASE - 7/25/22
“Decentralization Enables Permissionless Innovation”
Subconscious - 7/24/22

“Already we can begin to see certain themes that are related to nature’s resilience: Decentralization, Redundancy, Diversity, Adaptability. These qualities make interesting contrasts to the qualities we often see expressed in modern management and machine production: Centralize for economies of scale, Eliminate redundancy as waste, cut costs, Standardize on approach, Restrict range of motion as a source of error. Where machine production optimizes for the steady state, nature optimizes for change. Decentralization, redundancy, diversity, adaptability might be inefficient during stable periods, but together they create resilience. And it is only a matter of time before you encounter a forest fire, pandemic, or some other crisis. To be efficient is to be fragile, and to be fragile, over the long run, is to go extinct.”
“How Leaders Can Escape Their Echo Chambers”
Harvard Business Review - 7/21/22
“Motivating People Starts With Building Emotional Connection”
Harvard Business Review - 7/21/22
Five Ways To Gather Support As A Leader
CASE - 7/18/22
Four Elements Of Leading WIth Heart To Build Purpose-Driven Performance
NAIS - 7/12/22
It’s Now Time For The Great Re-Engagement
Fast Company - 7/7/22
“Principals Are On the Brink Of A Breakdown”
EdSurge - 7/6/22

“A recent survey found 85 percent of school principals are experiencing job-related stress and 48 percent are dealing with burnout. What can be done to keep them in their roles?”
“What Makes A Great Executive Retreat”
Harvard Business Review - 7/4/22

“Based on my decade of experience designing and facilitating strategy retreats in small and large companies around the world, there’s a more creative approach CEOs can take to make the most of this annual opportunity with their executive teams.”
Three Approaches To Reimagining Teacher Retention
Harvard Business Review - 7/4/22
“How To Hold A Coaching Conversation” In Three Steps
Center for Creative Leadership - 7/1/22
“How To Prepare For Headship”
NAIS - 7/1/22
8 Ways Teachers Need More Support From Leaders
Harvard Graduate School of Education - 7/1/22
Head Transitions: ”The CEO Is Leaving - Now What?”
MIT Sloan Management Review - 6/28/22
“The Top Four Mistakes Busy Leaders Make”
Leadership Freak - 6/27/22
On Making The Big Ask When Fundraising
Graham Pelton - 6/24/22
“How To Tell If An Inexperienced Job Candidate Has Growth Potential”
Fast Company - 6/23/22
On Placing “One And Only”s In Positions Of Leadership
MIT Sloan Management Review - 6/22/22

“One and Onlys are often seen as trailblazers because they show us what is possible. They instinctively understand this human peculiarity: They work hard to embrace their differences, to stand out and not blend in. When One and Onlys live their lives always being different, it means they inherently have learned to think outside the box. Providing support for unique employees doesn’t come naturally in most organizations. There can be bias against embracing the exceptions, even though they are exceptional. But One and Onlys have the power to lead change, which organizations should embrace and provide scaffolds to amplify.”
Small Actions From Warm Character Make Great Leaders
Harvard Business Review - 6/22/22
“How To Move From Strategy To Execution”
Harvard Business Review - 6/20/22
On How To Effectively Communicate A Vision
Fast Company - 6/18/22
7 Leadership Styles, And When To Use Them
American Express - 6/17/22
“Preventing ‘Wellness Fraud’ For Leaders”
ASCD - 6/15/22
“Make Employee Care A Permanent Part Of Your Culture”
Gallup - 6/14/22
“Why Belonging Is Key To Building The New Workforce”
MIT Sloan Management Review - 6/13/22
“How To Make Better Decisions, Faster”
Fast Company - 6/13/22

“If you spend too much time mulling trivial decisions, such as what to wear or how to respond to a tweet, the less amenable you are to change. Not to mention, the mental effort of poring over those small decisions will leave you exhausted. Focus your energy instead on important and consequential decisions, whether that means contacting a potential client or learning a new skill. Use your energy to make complex things more simple.”
Reframing Four Existential Questions For Independent School Leaders
Ian Symmonds - 6/7/22
Nurturing The Primary Relationship In Head-Board Communications”
NAIS - 6/1/22

“Ultimately, good governance is the bedrock upon which our schools and their missions rest, and the key to that is establishing a productive partnership between the head and the board.”
“Knowing When Its Time To Leave A Headship”
NAIS - 6/1/22

“People yearn for parental figures. And these types of parental figures, which we believe have existed in the past in all sorts of institutions (government, businesses, and heads in our schools), might not have even really existed at all. They’re illusions, lore. But they’ve become part of our story whether they were real or not. And even if we know that these people might not have been real, we draw comfort from believing they existed—and we still want that. The effort to uphold this role—particularly during a pandemic—can last only so long.”
“Valuing The Profound Power Of Continuity In Headship”
NAIS - 6/1/22

“Seven years into my role, I remain steadfast in my thinking that this will be my permanent professional home. Recently, I was asked what it would take to make that goal a reality: What are the conditions that would make it possible for me to last long term in this headship, given the volatility of the position?”
How A Leader's Cognitive Biases Can Burn Out Employees
Fast Company - 5/29/22
Sustain Good Ideas By Cultivating Your Team’s Voice
Harvard Business Review - 5/18/22
“Bosses Of The World, The Office Party Is Not For You”
New York Times - 2/5/22
“What Leadership Should Focus On In 2022"
Gallup - 1/20/22

“Communicate often and clearly. Develop managers to lead and retain their teams. Workplace wellbeing is a differentiator; make it a priority”
Four Elements of Strategic Planning
Intrepid News - 1/2/22
How Empathy Mapping The Student Experience Can Lead To A New School
LearnIt - 12/10/21
Frame Student Success Around Reasons To Stay, Not Reasons To Leave
Chronicle of Higher Education - 11/29/21
Different Rule Structures For Making Difficult Decisions, And How To Influence Them
Harvard Business Review - 11/11/21
7 Elements Of A Culture Of Efficacy (Plus Habits Of Mind
ASCD - 11/1/21
How Making People Feel They Matter Matters
ASCD - 11/1/21
Succession Planning: Five Elements Of Cultivating New Leaders
NAIS - 10/27/21
On The Importance Of Being A Good Listener
Harvard Business School - 10/26/21
“5 Things High Performing Teams Do Differently”
Harvard Business Review - 10/21/21
"Teachers Are Barely Hanging On. Here’s What They Need.”
Cult of Pedagogy - 10/19/21
6 Elements Of Effective Delegation (In Virtual Settings)
MIT Sloan Management Review - 10/19/21
Action, Impact, Request: How To Have Challenging Conversations
Stanford Graduate School of Business - 10/15/21
A Culture Of Innovation Requires Continuous Learning And Team Optimism
MIT Sloan Management Review - 10/14/21
“Stay Conversations” — Tips For Increasing Employee Retention
Gallup - 10/11/21
Six Alternatives To Collecting Lesson Plans
Principal Center - 10/10/21
Should Boarding Schools Treat Hiring Like Enrollment Management?
Teach Coach Live - 10/1/21
Rebuilding Broken Teams: Purpose, PD, and Interpersonal Space
Gallup - 9/21/21
Authoritarian Styles Increase Feelings Of Purpose, But Also Negative Affect
PLOS One - 9/15/21
How To Support Aspiring Heads At Your School
NAIS - 9/15/21
Use Discussion To Understand A Topic, But Not To Make A Decision
Harvard Business Review - 9/10/21
On Setting Priorities: Set Fewer Of Them.
Edutopia - 9/10/21
Scaling Impact? Here Are Three Ways To Test Innovations
Stanford Social Innovation Review - 9/9/21
“The Three A’s Of Apologies”
CASE - 9/6/21
Four Ways Leaders Create Toxic Workplaces
Fast Company - 9/3/21
What Is Situational Awareness?
Leadership Freak - 9/2/21
What Is Servant Leadership? This Tweet Is A Concise Summary.
Twitter - 9/1/21

“Servant leadership sounds something like this: How are you doing? What do you need? How can I help you be successful? Then listen, and serve their needs.”
“Why Heads Stay At Their Schools”
NAIS - 9/1/21
5 Trends In Independent School Education
NAIS - 9/1/21
Focus On The Kids
K12 Dive - 8/31/21
7 Ways To Prevent Burnout In Your Team
MIT Sloan Management Review - 8/26/21
“Why Innovation Heroes Are A Sign Of A Dysfunctional Organization”
Steve Blank - 8/25/21
“Principles Of Good Practice For Heads Of Schools”
NAIS - 8/22/21
“What Are the Elements for a More Impactful, Focused School Leadership Team?”
EdWeek - 8/17/21
“Three Tips For Effective Team Building”
ASCD - 8/17/21
Six Strategies For Ethical Organizational Strategy
MIT Sloan Management Review - 8/12/21
Who Are Your Stakeholders? Build Them Into Your Strategy
MIT Sloan Management Review - 8/5/21
Organizational Requirements For A Good Data Program
MIT Sloan Management Review - 8/2/21
Invite Critical Feedback
Harvard Business Review - 8/2/21
“A Letter To New Teachers”
One Schoolhouse - 7/16/21
Five Skills For Emerging Leaders
Global Online Academy - 7/14/21
On The Importance Of Being Decisive (Via Google)
New York Times - 6/21/21
A “Team of Teams” Approach In Action
Grant Lichtman - 6/18/21
How Board Members Can Support The Head’s Well-Being
YouTube/NAIS - 6/16/21
Institutions Need To Welcome More Trial And Error
Hechinger Report - 6/7/21
Four Thinking Fallacies That Subvert Diversity Hiring Efforts
Stanford Social Innovation Review - 6/1/21
Reflections On Visualizing And Keeping Up On Your Strategic Plan
YouTube/NAIS - 6/1/21
“Make The Decision, Cancel The Meeting”
CASE - 5/29/21
Why You Should Hire People With Unconventional Backgrounds
Harvard Business Review - 5/25/21
When Change Brings Rebellion
Wall Street Journal - 5/21/21
“What Do People Need To Perform At A High Level?”
Harvard Business Review - 5/17/21
Asking The Right Questions When Interviewing Can Help Build The Right Team
ASCD - 5/6/21
How Teachers Can Manage Their Administrators
Edutopia - 5/3/21
“The High Cost Of Poor Succession Planning”
Harvard Business Review - 5/1/21
On The Role Of The CFO
McKinsey - 4/22/21
“Create More Than You Consume” Jeff Bezos’ Final Shareholder Letter
Amazon - 4/15/21
On Communicating Authentically During A Crisis
Inside Higher Ed - 4/13/21
Strategic Design Steps For Schools Shaping Their Future
Global Online Academy - 4/8/21
Four Elements (And Three Domains) Of Being A Successful Principal
ASCD - 4/1/21

“Although the research we reviewed took on many approaches and perspectives, we found three overlapping domains of skills that strong principals have mastered—(1) instruction, (2) people, and (3) the organization.”
On Managing Conflict And Redirecting Debate
ASCD - 4/1/21
“4 Easy Ways To Improve Your Recruitment Process”
Inc. - 2/24/21
What’s An Advisory Board For? How Do You Use It At Different Times?
Steve Blank - 2/4/21
“How Principals Affect Students And Schools”
Wallace Foundation - 2/1/21

“Effective principals orient their practice toward instructionally focused interactions with teachers, building a productive school climate, facilitating collaboration and professional learning communities, and strategic personnel and resource management processes.”
Five Reasons A School Might Embark On Strategic Planning
Intrepid News - 1/28/21
On The Role Of Digital Technologies In Organizational Culture
MIT Sloan Management Review - 1/26/21
5 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Transition
SmartBrief - 1/25/21
4 Criteria For Building A Robust And Diverse Leadership Pipeline
Gallup - 1/15/21
Six Signs Your Team’s Communications Need Work
Inc. - 1/14/21
“4 Strategies To Being An Effective Manager”
Inc. - 1/13/21
Four Areas For Reflection To Make Schools More Human During The Pandemic
New York Times - 12/23/20

“Fourth, there is the question of how to catch students up on what they missed during the pandemic. This is a serious problem… The right choice here is to get very specific on what needs to be made up and what does not; teams of teachers and administrators could work together to decide what is essential to keep and what can be pared. We should take a page from the Japanese tidying expert and Marie Kondo the curriculum, discarding the many topics that have accumulated like old souvenirs, while retaining essential knowledge and topics that spark joy. Such an approach would responsibly prepare students for the future, without exacerbating many of the conditions that turn students off from school.”
Documentary: 31 Days In March That Unraveled The American Economy
Wall Street Journal - 12/19/20
Rethinking Strategy When Context Is Constantly Changing
MIT Sloan Management Review - 12/17/20
Should We Use OKRs For Teams Or Individuals?
Harvard Business Review - 12/17/20
How To Support Those Who Are Reluctant To Lead
Harvard Business Review - 12/17/20
“8 Superpowers Of Highly Successful Teams”
Fast Company - 12/12/20
Elon Musk: Stop Wasting Time In Meetings, Focus On What You Make
Wall Street Journal - 12/8/20

“Spend less time on finance, spend less time in conference rooms, less time on PowerPoint and more time just trying to make your product as amazing as possible.”
On Supporting Colleagues In Distress - Interrupting Doom Loops
ASCD - 12/1/20
Why Good Governance Is Important (via WeWork And Venture Capital)
New Yorker - 11/23/20
Results From A Well Being Survey Of 721 School Leaders…
Dr. Helen Kelly - 11/22/20
5 Elements Of A Strategic Mindset
Trium Group - 10/14/20

“To manage the influx of disruption, seize opportunities, and even create the next unicorn, executives need to systematically expand the boundaries of their understanding, gather more insight, and ultimately synthesize faster so they can integrate risks and opportunities into courageous strategies. Of course, they need to do all of this while making smart short-term and operational choices.”
On Applying The Stockdale Paradox In Crisis Situations
Forbes - 10/5/20

“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
Aristotle's Three Types Of Knowledge
Harvard Business Review - 10/2/20
A Framework for What To Prioritize When Opening Schools
McKinsey - 8/31/20
“We Should Be Concerned About The Mental Health Of Principals”
EdWeek - 8/22/20
Four Strategies For Showing Organizational Agility And Resilience
MIT Sloan Management Review - 7/30/20
Administrators Test Out Socially Distanced Classes, Busses On Themselves
NBC Boston - 7/23/20
Identifying Micromanagers: Signs, Causes, Solutions
Gallup - 7/17/20
Lessons From School Openings Around The World
New York Times - 7/11/20
8 Key Strategies For Reopening Schools Safely
Atlantic - 7/9/20
MIT Crowdsources Suggestions For How To Open In the Fall
EdSurge - 6/19/20

“What most participants took away from the 90-minute forums, though, was just how complicated the problem is, he said, noting: “It’s like picking what’s the best of a lot of not very attractive options.” …In the end, no plan will make everyone happy. But Goldberg predicts that people who participated in the forums will at least have a better understanding of the problem, and the process that went into the plan. “This community, I think they’re just going to respond better because they’ve been consulted,” he said.”
“Managers, Encourage Your Teams To Take Time Off”
Harvard Business Review - 6/5/20
Dr. Bonnie Henry Models Health Leadership In British Columbia
New York Times - 6/5/20
How Different Schools Are Tackling Conversations About Race And Violence, Virtually
Chalkbeat - 5/31/20
One Professor Writes Letter She Wishes A College President Would Write
Hastac - 5/27/20
Team Communication Strategies In Remote Workplaces
MIT Sloan Management Review - 5/27/20
Reopening School: What It Might Look Like
Cult of Pedagogy - 5/24/20
5 Keys To Engaging Your Team During COVID-19
Gallup - 5/20/20
“Physical Distancing At Schools Is Impossible”
The Bold Italic - 5/18/20
“Reopening Schools: What Knowledge Can We Rely Upon?”
ASCD - 5/8/20
How Schools Around The World Are Reopening, Providing A Model
Edutopia - 5/8/20
How Some Colleges Are Making Their Virtual Commencements Special
Chronicle of Higher Education - 5/7/20
CDC (Sort Of) Releases Guide For Reopening Schools
NPR - 5/7/20
8 Tips For Managing Time Signals During Remote Work
MIT Sloan Management Review - 5/4/20
“American Enterprise Institute: A Blueprint For Back To School”
American Enterprise Institute - 5/1/20
Adam Grant On How To Design More Effective Job Interviews
New York Times - 5/1/20
“The Psychology Behind Effective Crisis Leadership”
Harvard Business Review - 4/22/20
Leaders: Start With Empathy
Yale - 4/20/20
Higher Ed And Pandemics: A History Of Universities And Outbreaks
Best Colleges - 4/6/20
Covid-19: “How Should US Higher Education Plan For An Uncertain Future?”
McKinsey - 4/1/20

“Higher-education institutions in the United States have already taken dramatic first steps to keep their people safe and to keep learning alive. Here are some other actions they can consider in the weeks and months ahead.”
On Building A Team Of Teams, Or Network Of Teams
McKinsey - 4/1/20
What Employees Need From Leadership In Times Of Crisis
Gallup - 3/23/20
Four Tips For Leadership In A Crisis
New York Times - 3/23/20
COVID-19: High Level Leadership/Geopolitical Thinking In Unsteady Times
MIT Sloan Management Review - 3/16/20
COVID-19: Policy Recommendations For Across Your School
NAIS - 3/13/20
COVID-19: Planning For School Shutdown, Over Three Different Timeframes
One Schoolhouse - 3/9/20
“Question Bank For Better 1:1s”
Notion - 3/7/20
COVID-19: 10 Strategies For Leading When School Is Online
GOA - 3/4/20
Ten Tips For “Firing With Compassion”
Harvard Business Review - 3/1/20
On Optionality And Thriving In Uncertain Times
Farnam Street - 3/1/20
Build Your Meeting Agenda Around Questions, Not Topics
Harvard Business Review - 2/26/20
On The Nominating Process For Harvard’s Board Of Overseers
Harvard - 2/24/20
CDC Guidelines For K-12 School Administrators
CDC - 2/16/20
Tips For Creating Good Accountability Systems
Harvard Business Review - 2/10/20
More On Amazon’s Culture Of Writing (And No Powerpoint)
Money - 2/5/20
Steve Blank Reflects On Clayton Christensen’s Passing
Steve Blank - 1/28/20

“Everyone who writes about innovation stood on his shoulders.”
Five Key Elements For Successful Teamwork
Gallup - 1/17/20

“Managers must ensure each employee knows what's expected of them at work and has the materials and equipment they need to do their work right. Managers must create a culture that values providing genuine recognition for work well done. Managers must care about their employees, encourage their personal and professional development, and respect their opinions. Managers must help employees understand how their work ties to the mission or purpose of the organization. Managers must foster a team environment where employees can develop real, lasting friendships with one another.”
“The Habits Of Highly Effective Leaders” [Infographic]
Visual Capitalist - 12/17/19
“What High Performing Workplaces Do Differently”
Gallup - 12/12/19
“Reviewing The Evidence On Teacher Attrition And Retention”
Brookings - 12/4/19
“When Should A College Say It Might Close?”
Education Dive - 11/22/19
How We Solve Problems, And How To Do It Better When In Groups
Harvard Business Review - 11/7/19
How To Lead A Holistic Technology Agenda
McKinsey - 11/1/19
Psychological Safety And Collaboration: Assessing and Improving Teams
Stanford - 10/27/19

“Working collaboratively is an integral part of organization life, but it often proves more interpersonally difficult than anticipated. One of the most fundamental challenges organizations face is how to manage the interpersonal threats inherent in employees admitting ignorance or uncertainty, voicing concerns and opinions, or simply being different…. Interpersonal risk is a powerful force that makes effective collaboration less likely to occur, particularly when the work is characterized by uncertainty and complexity.”
Four Questions To Assess Whether A School Is Ready For Change
Larry Cuban - 10/22/19
Hiring: Experience Matters Less Than Expertise And/Or Ability
Inc. - 10/15/19
On The Importance Of Giving Positive Feedback
Gallup - 10/11/19
What Leaked Audio Of Zuckerberg’s Meeting Reveals About Leadership
The Verge - 10/1/19
Principles For Prioritizing Time For Teachers
Harvard Graduate School of Education - 9/17/19
SNHU Relentlessly Challenges The Status Quo
Inside Higher Ed - 9/11/19

“Creating an institution around the idea of constant and continuous reinvention is a challenging concept for most academics (such as myself) to get our heads around… Actually living in an environment where ideas around innovation are rapidly translated into action feels - well - a bit risky.”
A Model Of The Components For Deeply Changing Your School
EdSurge - 8/21/19
“3 Steps Principals Can Take To Stop New Teacher Attrition”
ASCD - 8/8/19
Some Factors In Teacher Retention
EdSurge - 8/5/19
6 Essential Time Management Strategies From Successful Leaders
Inc. - 8/4/19
On How Unconscious Mindsets Inhibit Collective Change
McKinsey - 8/1/19
9 Considerations When Delegating Authority
SmartBrief - 7/24/19
Google's Seven Steps For Delegating Effectively
Inc. - 7/22/19
“What If You Posed Your… Mission Statement As A Question?”
Quartz - 7/2/19
The “Future Press Release”: A Tool For Clarifying Your Vision
Inc. - 6/28/19
Tips For Implementing A Significant Pedagogical Change As A School
EdWeek - 6/21/19
On Using Silence In Meetings (Making Them More Like Classes)
Harvard Business Review - 6/14/19
10 Traits Of The Best Managers (From A Google Study)
Inc. - 6/5/19
“5 Ways To Create A Culture Of Accountability”
Gallup - 6/3/19

“A company's accountability problem may actually be a coaching problem in disguise.”
“8 Questions To Ask Before Creating A Makerspace”
eSchool News - 5/23/19
How Leaders Can Provide More Than Just Feedback
Gallup - 5/16/19
The Email Uber’s CEO Sent To The Company After The Poor IPO
Inc. - 5/14/19
Servant Leadership As The Path To Earning Trust
Inc. - 5/8/19
Three Priorities For Becoming A Strategic Leader
MIT Sloan Management Review - 5/6/19
What Is The Chief Of Staff Role (In Tech)? Does It Make Sense In Education?
Medium - 4/29/19
Google's Leadership Evaluation Questionnaire
Inc. - 4/19/19
What 11 Universities Learned From Sharing Student Data
Education Dive - 4/18/19
"Writing Positive Notes to Kids – Part of our Faculty Meeting”
Connected Principals - 4/14/19
3 Questions For Defining Success In Schools
George Couros - 4/11/19
On Fostering A Digital Transformation In Your Organization
MIT Sloan Management Review - 4/8/19

"Here are your jobs, leaders: Create a compelling vision of the digitally powered future. Foster conversations so that people can understand the vision and what it means for them. Clean up legacy situations — information systems, work rules, incentives, management practices, or dysfunctional functions — that slow or prevent change. Start some pilots to build momentum. Create conversations to spur different parts of the company to use, and build on, the innovative work of others. You’ll be creating a capability to transform, not just a set of transformation projects.”
How Debate, Drama, And Extra-Curriculars Can Drive School Change
New York Times - 3/30/19
Excellent Interview With Gail Mellow, President Of A CUNY College
NPR - 3/29/19
The Story Of Turning Around A Somali School In Minnesota
The 74 Million - 3/27/19
How One Company Keeps A Near-100% Employee Retention Rate
Inc. - 3/14/19

"We make it part of every manager's responsibility to sit down and have one-to-ones with employees where the manager comes only with questions, and it's the manager's job to empathize and to learn.”
"5 Questions Every Onboarding Program Must Answer”
Gallup - 3/13/19
How Your Leadership Style Adapts To A Growing Team
Harvard Business Review - 3/13/19
Should Principals Be Instructional Leaders Or Managers First?
Larry Cuban - 3/12/19
On Being A “Warm Demander”: How To Have High Expectations For Peers And Students
ASCD - 3/1/19
7 Pitfalls To Avoid In Your Onboarding Process
Gallup - 3/1/19
On Creative Job Titles
Inc. - 3/1/19
An Argument For Doing Less. Three Essential Areas Of Focus.
ASCD - 3/1/19
How Instructional Leaders Can Support High Level Teacher Performance
ASCD - 3/1/19
On The Importance Of Aligning Middle Managers With Vision
Harvard Business Review - 2/28/19
Grant Lichtman: Four Issues That School Leaders Think Most About
NAIS - 2/1/19
Adjusting The Three Horizons Model For Organizational Innovation
Harvard Business Review - 2/1/19
14 Ways To Foster Kindness In Team Settings, Esp. During Conflicts
New York Times - 1/28/19
8 Leadership Questions For A Post-“Move Fast And Break Things” Era
Harvard Business Review - 1/22/19
At Least Three Principals Announced Snow Days With Videos. Here They Are.
NPR - 1/20/19
“Managing By Status And Positional Authority Kills Engagement”
Inc. - 1/16/19
Five Trends In Education, From 2018
Global Online Academy - 1/7/19
“12 Maxims For Hiring And Sustaining Teachers”
Independent Curriculum Group - 12/17/18
Innovation Can Also Mean Looking To The Past, Not The Future
New York Times - 12/7/18

“Perhaps the best examples of rearward innovation are edible. The culinary story of the past several decades is dominated not by the scientific improvements we were promised, but by a return to food and drink’s more delicious past. Traditional cooking, craft beer, heirloom vegetables and grass-fed beef have brought food forward by turning back.”
It’s Important For Administrators To Spend Time In Classrooms
EdExcellence - 12/5/18
"Why Teams Should Record Individual Expectations”
MIT Sloan Management Review - 11/30/18
“How To Run A Meeting” - Advice On Being Productive
Inside Higher Ed - 11/29/18
On Collaboration And The Advantages Of Group Decision Making
Aeon - 11/21/18
Make Better Decisions By Applying Multiple Models
Harvard Business Review - 11/19/18
8 Ways To Motivate Your Most Creative Employees
Harvard Business Review - 11/12/18
“Enough With All The Innovation”
Chronicle of Higher Education - 11/11/18
On The Importance Of Language When Considering Change
Hechinger Report - 10/30/18

“A major obstacle is the way these ideas are being articulated and explained by those pushing them. For example, why are the new ways of learning better? What does the research say? Will this help our kids in college, careers and beyond? How? And what do the new terms mean, for real life? It would help to avoid vague rhetoric like “meeting students where they are,” or “educating the whole child,” along with the cliché about how education has not changed since a time-bound factory model failed our children.”
“Hiring Practices: Understanding What Millennials and Gen Z Want”
NAIS - 10/29/18

“They want and need flexibility… But independent schools as structured, particularly at boarding schools, have been slow to support this flexibility because of rigid systems, differing views regarding employment, and the concrete reality.”
Large Scale Changes In Teacher Workforce: Age, Gender, Experience
UPenn - 10/23/18

“The report summarizes seven of the most prominent trends and changes; we found that teaching force to be: 1. Larger 2. Grayer 3. Greener 4. More Female 5. More Diverse, by Race-Ethnicity 6. Consistent in Academic Ability 7. Unstable.”
What To Think About When Building Or Rebuilding A School
Medium - 10/22/18
"How Principals Can Banish Toxic Adult Behavior”
EdWeek - 10/16/18
Map Of Challenges Facing School Leaders, And How To Address Them
Digital Promise - 10/10/18

“The Challenge Map is designed for education leaders who are looking for resources to help address common education challenges. For each challenge, you’ll find emerging trends and interesting practices League districts are implementing, as well as links to summaries and research-based tools aligned with the specific challenge.”
6 Basic Leadership Mistakes, And How To Avoid Them
Inc. - 10/10/18
Remove Mundane Tasks. Give People More Time To Do Fewer Things.
Cal Newport - 10/3/18
“A 5-Step Approach to Aligning Hiring and Diversity Goals”
NAIS - 10/1/18
Strong Leaders Retain Effective Teachers And Don’t Retain Ineffective Ones
Brookings - 9/28/18
A Six-Part Scale For Assessing Risk
Harvard Business Review - 9/21/18
Bezos On Leadership: “Three Good Decisions A Day” And More
Wall Street Journal - 9/14/18
"Give Your Team The Freedom To Do The Work They Think Matters Most”
Harvard Business Review - 9/10/18
A Four Part Decision Matrix
Farnam Street - 9/4/18
School Is A Contradictory Place Of Both Conserving And Reforming
Larry Cuban - 9/4/18
Doris Kearns Goodwin Summarizes Lincoln’s Leadership Principles
Harvard Business Review - 9/1/18
“Why Data Culture Matters”
McKinsey - 9/1/18
"Why People Believe In Their Leaders — Or Not”
MIT Sloan Management Review - 8/17/18

"What’s at the heart of credibility? Two critical elements: perceived competence (people’s faith in the leader’s knowledge, skills, and ability to do the job) and trustworthiness (their belief in his or her values and dependability).”
College President Spends 2 Nights In Freshman Dorm During Orientation
Chronicle of Higher Education - 8/15/18

“One of my senior leaders, the vice president of student affairs, and I had been talking about how to make ourselves much more student-centered in every aspect of the school. He suggested it’d be good and informative for me to spend a couple of nights during orientation week with the freshmen, and it coincided with the fact that this is my first freshman class that I’ll be with for the entire year. I immediately thought, “This is a brilliant idea,” and said yes.”
3 Questions Jeff Bezos Asks Before Hiring Anyone
Business Insider - 8/7/18
“Why School Climate Should Be Every Principal’s Top Priority”
Aspen Institute - 8/1/18
On The Benefits Of Calling Parents When Good Things Happen, Too
ASCD - 8/1/18
2/2 Today’s Definition Of Success In Schooling
Larry Cuban - 7/28/18

“This recent surge of technology-enhanced schooling called “personalized learning” merges the polestars of school reform since the 1890s. First, there is a reunion of efficiency and effectiveness, and second, the two wings of the progressive movement—“administrative” and “pedagogical” reformers, under different aliases have reappeared, reunited, and now use similar vocabularies.”
1/2 How Definitions Of Success In Schooling Have Changed
Larry Cuban - 7/25/18

“The shift from primary emphasis on “scientific management” to advance efficiency in schools and classrooms–what later critics called “the cult of efficiency“– to a focus on effectiveness, i.e., student outcomes, in the late-20th century to determine “success” and “failure” is prologue to what is now occurring in 21st century U.S. schools.”
Decisions Take Time. Make Time In Your Schedule For Them
Fast Company - 7/12/18
Instead Of Restructuring Your Office, Determine Who Has Accountability
MIT Sloan Management Review - 6/27/18

“As business leaders recognize the limitations of business silos and hierarchies, they invariably attempt to add new structures, like matrices or networks, to make their structures more agile… Instead of restructuring, companies can initiate change by assigning accountabilities for specific business outcomes to small teams or individual problem owners.”
On The Importance Of Changing Minds, Not Just Policies
Harvard Business Review - 6/25/18
4 Ways Leaders Can Foster Growth Mindset
SmartBrief - 6/23/18
“Teacher Expertise Increases Students’ College Success”
eSchool News - 6/20/18

“Through an analysis of a longitudinal data set collected from more than 6,000 students and their teachers nationwide, Lee found that students who were taught by a succession of teachers who majored or minored in mathematics had better success in short-term math achievement. In the long term, the students also were more likely to graduate from college.”
On Using Creativity And Analytics Together For Better Organizations
McKinsey - 6/18/18
"The Rise Of Learning Culture”
Spencer Stuart - 6/16/18
4 Insights From A Head’s First Five Years At A Small School
Medium - 6/7/18
“Adam Grant: How ‘Givers’ Can Help Your School”
YouTube/NAIS - 6/5/18

“Givers make up the majority of the worst performers, but also the majority of the best performers.”
One Approach To Setting Project Management Goals
MIT Sloan Management Review - 6/5/18
Four Layers Of Organizational Innovation
Steve Blank - 6/5/18
"Going From Teacher To Leader — Without Losing Your Way”
ASCD - 6/1/18
No More Surveys: 5 Ethnographic Ways To Understand Your School
NAIS - 6/1/18
Chipotle Reimagines Its Service Side
Fast Company - 6/1/18
“The Power Of Listening In Helping People Change”
Harvard Business Review - 5/17/18
How LEGO Ran Company-Wide Design Sprints To Make Change
UX Planet - 5/11/18
The Best Employee Onboarding Speaks To Heart, Not Head
Gallup - 5/10/18
Should You Appoint Insider Or Outsider Leaders?
Larry Cuban - 5/8/18

"The folk wisdom surrounding superintendents or chancellors heading urban districts says to appoint insiders if you like what has been happening in the system under the exiting superintendent in order to extend and protect what is working well for students, teachers, and the community. Stability and tweaking what works is the order of the day when insiders are appointed school chiefs. However, if you dislike what has been happening in the system, the dysfunctions, mediocre performance, the proliferation of problems, and the accompanying disarray, for heaven’s sake, appoint an outsider.”
“How To Plan And Implement Continuous Improvement In Schools”
KQED - 5/6/18
Tips For A Good Meeting Sound Like Tips For A Good Class
Harvard Graduate School of Education - 5/4/18
Slack Time (Like 20% Times) Works With Some Employees, But Not All
MIT Sloan Management Review - 5/4/18
Rethinking Teacher Orientation: “New Teacher Immersion”
ASCD - 5/1/18

"In our orientation, we treat our new teachers the way we would like them to treat our students. Our district's vision for learning is modeled after John Hattie's (2009, 2012) meta-analysis of influences on student achievement, and each of Hattie's best practices is incorporated into our new teacher induction. Following are Hattie's conditions for learning and how we use them to help our new teachers understand our mission to create a student-centered classroom.”
“Rethinking Teacher Recruitment”
ASCD - 5/1/18
On Why School Leaders Should Keep Teaching
Edutopia - 4/30/18
“How to Identify Talent: Five Lessons from the NFL Draft”
Behavioral Scientist - 4/23/18
On Humble Leadership
Harvard Business Review - 4/23/18
“How To Lose Your Best Employees”
Harvard Business Review - 4/20/18
On How Being A Polymath Makes Better Leaders. Some Tips.
Medium - 4/18/18
How To Support And Grow Entrepreneurial Students And Teachers
Steve Blank - 4/11/18
Cathedral Thinking: Keeping The Long, Long Term In Mind
Misc Magazine - 4/7/18
Peter Kaufman On Multidisciplinary Thinking
Latticework Investing - 4/6/18

“Here are the six. Your customers, your suppliers, your employees, your owners, your regulators, and the communities you operate in. And if you can truly see through the eyes of all six of these counterparty groups and understand their needs, their aspirations, their insecurities, their time horizons. How many blind spots do you have now? Zero. How many mistakes are you going to make? You’re going to make zero. People don’t think this is possible. It’s really easy.”
Two Traits That Help Teams Problem Solve
Harvard Business Review - 4/2/18

“The groups that performed well treated mistakes with curiosity and shared responsibility for the outcomes. As a result people could express themselves, their thoughts and ideas without fear of social retribution. The environment they created through their interaction was one of psychological safety.”
On The Importance Of Purpose (And How It’s Different From Mission)
Fast Company - 4/2/18
"Five Ways To Sustain School Change”
KQED - 4/1/18

"There are five pillars to sustaining change: permission, support, community engagement, accountability and staying the course.”
50 Questions For Aspiring CEOs
McKinsey - 4/1/18
Do You Focus on “Employee Experience”?
LinkedIn - 3/23/18
“The Politics Of Academic Innovation” (In A Big University)
Inside Higher Ed - 3/18/18
How Performance Reviews Can Make Or Break Organizations
Gallup - 3/15/18

“Today's top talent does not want a boss, they want a coach. Managers should establish expectations, coach, and create accountability”
On The Importance Of Leadership For Systemic Change
New York Times - 3/12/18

“Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Toronto studied 180 schools across nine states and concluded, “We have not found a single case of a school improving its student achievement record in the absence of talented leadership.””
How An Organization Reinvented Itself Through Hiring (Volvo)
Harvard Business Review - 3/12/18
You Can't Be Busy All The Time And Be A Great Leader
Know Your Company - 3/9/18
Four Steps To Building A Culture Of Growth
Harvard Business Review - 3/7/18

"In a growth culture, people build their capacity to see through blind spots; acknowledge insecurities and shortcomings rather than unconsciously acting them out; and spend less energy defending their personal value so they have more energy available to create external value. How people feel – and make other people feel — becomes as important as how much they know.”
Alas… Incompetent Leadership Is Called “The Peter Principle”
Quartz - 3/2/18

“The Peter principle, the eponymous scholar [Laurence J. Peter] explained, happens when any employee in a hierarchy rises to the level of his or her own incompetence… Organizations, Peter and his co-author Raymond Hull argued, tend to reward rank-and-file high performers with promotions to management, even though the roles demand utterly different skills.”
Tips For Hiring Great Talent (Via Silicon Valley Engineer Hiring)
Fast Company - 3/2/18
Five Tactics For Bringing Change At Your School
Modern Learners - 2/15/18
3 Steps For Strategic Alignment Within Your Organization
MIT Sloan Management Review - 2/12/18
A Close Look At The Practices That Makes High Tech High Different
KQED - 2/6/18
Performance Pay Attracts Stronger Teachers (But Doesn’t Push Growth)
Brookings - 1/31/18
“What Is Strategy? Why It’s More Than A To-Do List.” [video]
YouTube - 1/31/18
Documentary: “Do You Need To Be A D— To Be A Successful Leader?”
On Animation - 1/28/18
Should Your Best Teachers Teach More Students?
Brookings - 1/25/18
Some Principles For Running Effective (Small) Meetings
Inc. - 1/11/18
Is Workload Equity In Residential Education Even Possible?
Teach Coach Live - 1/9/18
What Top Skilled Candidates Care About: Learning & Culture
Medium - 1/9/18
10 Characteristics Of The Coalition Of Essential Schools
National Ed Policy Center - 1/2/18

"Begun with an initial cohort of 12 high schools across the country, no one model of a secondary school was pushed. Instead, Sizer and his staff formulated 10 principles upon which educators should build schools that fit their setting. These principles were: 1. Learning to use one’s mind well: The school should focus on helping young people learn to use their minds well. Schools should not be “comprehensive” if such a claim is made at the expense of the school’s central intellectual purpose…”
Lessons From Using MOOCs To Support Employee Learning/Culture
Harvard Business Review - 1/1/18
When To Decentralize Decision Making, When Not To (Maybe)
Harvard Business Review - 12/26/17
Stanford Reminds Community To Purge Unneeded Data
Stanford - 12/21/17
Questions For Leaders (From Those Being Led)
Swissmiss - 12/11/17
"What Marketing Can - & Can’t - Do For Your School”
LinkedIn - 12/7/17
Five Elements Of Effective Collaboration
Learning Forward - 12/1/17
“Would Public Universities Benefit From A Central Innovation Unit?
Inside Higher Ed - 11/26/17
“Building A School Research Culture”
The Edu Flaneuse - 11/17/17
On The Value/Need For Active Shooter Training In Schools
NPR - 11/17/17
On The Importance Of Technical Expertise For Leadership
Harvard Business Review - 11/15/17
Four Elements Of Leadership, As Distinct From Management
NewCo Shift - 11/13/17
Four High-Level Strategic Tensions At Work In An Organization
Harvard Business Review - 11/3/17
Leadership Doesn’t Have To Mean Managing People. Projects Instead
Quartz - 10/24/17
"4 Questions for Administrators to Promote a Culture of Innovation”
George Couros - 10/22/17
“How To Keep Bias Out Of The Hiring Process”
Quartz - 10/11/17
Tips For Building A Lean, Functional Team
Startup Lessons Learned - 9/28/17
How Small Group Rituals Can Create Employee Bias
Quartz - 9/19/17
A System For Managing And Integrating (The Right) New Ideas
Steve Blank - 9/14/17

"Instead of having a committee vet ideas, they needed a process that operated with speed and urgency, and innovators and stakeholders who curated and prioritized their own problems/idea/technology. All of this would occur before any new idea, tech or problem hit engineering.”
Great Teachers Need Great Administrators [Via Theater]
American Theatre - 9/11/17
“What Teachers Want You To Know: A Note To School Administrators”
Cult of Pedagogy - 9/4/17
Nurturing The Full Career Arc Of Teachers: Recruit, Retain, Reward
NAIS - 9/1/17
Several Thoughts On Building An Innovation Culture
McKinsey - 9/1/17
Job Perks That Matter Most To Employees
Gallup - 8/28/17
How To Create Psychological Safety In Teams
Harvard Business Review - 8/24/17
Download Google’s Documentation On Being A Good Manager
Inc. - 8/10/17
Google's Six Key Attributes For Managers
Inc. - 8/7/17
Handling 3 Types Of Bad Feedback: Untrue, Poorly Delivered, Unclear
Signal v. Noise - 8/4/17
Five Great Interview Questions To Assess Character
TED - 8/3/17
Good Leadership Advice Wrapped In Self-Important Startup-Speak
First Round Review - 7/21/17
5 Most Important Traits Of Effective Teams
Inc. - 7/19/17
5 Ways To Lead With Humility
ASCD - 7/12/17
7 Questions For If You’re Looking For Progressive Teachers
KQED - 7/10/17
What Is “Slow Innovation”? (Is It “Thoughtful Change”?)
Harvard Business Review - 6/26/17
“10 Habits Of Highly Effective Boards”
NAIS - 6/19/17
Why Established Organizations Can’t “Be More Like A Startup”
Harvard Business Review - 6/19/17
A Collection Of Thinking About Decision Making
Farnam Street - 6/18/17
Steps For Making Large Scale Change
Stanford Social Innovation Review - 6/16/17
School Change Has Been Happening For Decades. Lessons:
Larry Cuban - 6/13/17

"So what does this half-century old experiment say to us in the in the 21st century about school reform? 1. When engaged teachers, administrators, and students are given the freedom to experiment and the help to do it, they will come through. 2. There is no one best way of schooling youth.”
Some Thoughts On Working Well As A Leadership Team
McKinsey - 6/1/17
A Decision Framework For Four Types Of Institutional Decisions
McKinsey - 6/1/17
Head of School Charts Path Forward In The Middle East
King's Academy - 5/28/17

"It is impossible to plan for the unknown, but two orientations are essential for schools of the future. First, schools must be agile, flexible, open to change, fully awake to new and innovative approaches to learning, willing to experiment and courageous enough to discard tired and dated practices. At the same time, they need to move into the future dedicated to their mission and values and confident in who they are. Here is a four-pointed educational compass that I believe can guide us as we move into the future.”
3 Tips For Coaching Employees
Gallup - 5/23/17
5 Mistakes Made By New Leaders
Harvard Business Review - 5/15/17
Why You Should Write Down And Simplify Your Organizational Idea
Eugene Wei - 5/11/17
At Google, Hiring, Raises, And Evaluation Are By Consensus
Inc. - 5/8/17
The Effects Of Being Clearly Mission-Driven
Gallup - 5/4/17

"Our research shows a direct link between employees' understanding of their company's identity and key measures of business health.”
Measure Employee Engagement, Not Satisfaction
Gallup - 4/12/17
How To Address Mediocrity On Your Team
Harvard Business Review - 4/10/17
Job interviews: Are They More Destructive Than Instructive?
New York Times - 4/8/17
Three Reasons For Employee Burnout
Harvard Business Review - 4/6/17
Tech Industry Looks Outside Traditional Applicants For Hiring
Fast Company - 4/3/17
In Defense Of Hierarchy
Aeon - 3/22/17
How You Can Improve Productivity At Your Organization
Fast Company - 3/13/17
More On What Excellent Employees Want
Gallup - 3/8/17
A No Excuses Culture Can Still Be Non Threatening
Steve Blank - 3/8/17
McKinsey’s Quarterly Report: Focus On Digitization Of Industries
McKinsey - 3/1/17
Questions To Ask Before Embracing Personalized Learning As A School
ASCD - 3/1/17
Some Lessons On Hiring, From Speaking With 500 Leaders
New York Times - 2/13/17
Comparing Improvement And Innovation In Schools
Getting Smart - 2/9/17
Can Schools Use Predictive Analytics To Identify Students At Risk
New York Times - 2/2/17
7 Decisions To Enact A Digital (Or Any Other) Transformation
McKinsey - 2/1/17
10 Principles For Modern Schools
Medium - 2/1/17
When Transparency Is And Is Not Helpful
McKinsey - 2/1/17
Principles For Integrating Tech Into The Curriculum
EdSurge - 1/30/17
“The 3 Qualities That Make A Good Dean”
Chronicle of Higher Education - 1/15/17
3 Reasons To Let Someone Else Run Your Meetings
Harvard Business Review - 12/23/16
4 Reasons Some Managers Don’t Thrive
Gallup - 12/21/16
Some Writing On Building Trust
Inc. - 12/15/16
Reich: 4 Ways To Launch Innovation In Your School
EdWeek - 11/29/16
On Building A Culture Of Collaboration
Ed Leader - 11/26/16
Suggestions For Preparing For Leadership Succession
District Administration - 11/17/16
Culture, Strategy, And Transitions In Leadership
NAIS - 11/1/16
Head Of School And The Board, What They Need From Each Other
NAIS - 11/1/16
Do You Lead By Direction Or By Collaboration?
New York Times - 10/29/16
Appropriate Challenges And Expectations As Key To Successful Innovation
Harvard Business Review - 10/17/16
What Makes A Good Boss? Vision, Mentorship, Career Support
Stanford Graduate School of Business - 10/6/16
5 Ways To Grow Leaders In Your Organizations
Harvard Business Review - 10/6/16
4 General Leadership Lessons From Steve Jobs
Fast Company - 10/5/16
Kahneman On Decision-Making: How To Remove Noise And Bias
Harvard Business Review - 10/1/16
Strategies For Facilitating Information/Knowledge Flow In Your School
Harvard Business Review - 9/29/16
4 Habits To Build As You Grow Professionally
Fast Company - 9/28/16
7 Components Of Strengths-Based Leadership
Gallup - 9/22/16
4 Questions For Jumpstarting A Stagnant, Tangled Up Organization
Harvard Business Review - 8/22/16
3 Stories To Tell In Order To Convey Organizational Trajectory
Entrepreneur - 8/11/16
7 Ways To Be Great Supervisor
Inc. - 8/3/16
What Is A “Founder’s Mindset” And How Can It Help You Succeed?
Harvard Business Review - 7/15/16
Larry Cuban’s Eight Features Of Successful Schools
Larry Cuban - 7/11/16
“Adapting Your Board To The Digital Age”
McKinsey - 7/1/16
How's That Holacracy Thing Going?
Harvard Business Review - 7/1/16
Vague But Interesting: One Description Of What Makes Great Schools
EdWeek - 6/29/16
Several Thoughts On How Governance Can Drive Mission Realization
Stanford Social Innovation Review - 6/28/16
Vague But Interesting: Another Description Of What Makes Great Schools
Stanford Social Innovation Review - 6/27/16
Why Big Organizations Get Left Behind, And 3 Horizons For Change
Steve Blank - 6/23/16
Three Things Good Bosses Do [Video]
Stanford Graduate School of Business - 6/20/16
Sleep As Resource For Good Leaders
Harvard Business Review - 6/15/16
How To Build A Culture Of Trust
Quartz - 6/7/16
Strengths-Based Managing Dramatically Improves Engagement
Gallup - 6/7/16
On Developing A Culture Of Principles-Based Decision Making
Harvard Business Review - 6/2/16
How One State Assesses A School’s Progress Towards Competency Learning
NH.Gov - 6/1/16
Thoughts On How To Bring About Change
ASCD - 6/1/16
How Does Your Organizational Structure Influence Its Function?
LinkedIn - 5/27/16
On Using Scenarios In Strategic Planning
MIT Sloan Management Review - 5/27/16
On The Growth Of Team Structures In Organizations
Gallup - 5/17/16
Four Ways Leaders Can Build A Culture Of Creativity
Fast Company - 5/16/16
“Retaining And Rewarding High-Quality Teachers”
NAIS - 4/27/16
Principals As Instructional Leaders: Does It Help?
Brookings - 3/24/16
7 Conditions For Increasing Teacher Leadership
KQED - 3/16/16
The Most Important Leadership Competencies, By World Leaders
Harvard Business School - 3/15/16
Can Teacher Application Data Predict Future Teacher Performance?
Brookings - 3/11/16
“How Leaders At Google, BuzzFeed, And More Make Decisions”
Fast Company - 3/1/16
Productive Group Work = Equal Air Time, And Social Sensitivity
New York Times - 2/25/16
“Don’t Create A Sense Of Urgency, Foster A Sense Of Purpose”
Medium - 2/10/16
Why Holacracy Might Not Be Working: People Need Attention
Gallup - 2/5/16
4 Characteristics Of Great Executives
Harvard Business Review - 1/19/16
Distributed Leadership: What It Is, And How To Bring It Your School
Bain & Co. - 1/14/16
Some Research On What Attracts High Quality Candidates
Gallup - 1/4/16
Don't Talk About New Ideas, Test Them
Harvard Business Review - 12/24/15
Organizational Growth, Part 4: Building An Innovation Outpost
Steve Blank - 12/17/15
Avoiding Toxic Workers Is More Important Than Hiring Superstars
Harvard Business Review - 12/9/15
Organizational Growth, Part 3: Avoiding Innovation Theater
Steve Blank - 12/8/15
Organizational Growth, Part 2: The Innovation Outpost
Steve Blank - 12/1/15
On Empowering Teachers To Lead In Decision-Making
Center For Teaching Quality - 11/30/15
8 Kinds Of Thinking People Can Do In An Organization
Harvard Business Review - 11/23/15
Organizational Growth, Part 1: The Evolution of the R & D Lab
Steve Blank - 11/21/15
Tips For Fostering A School Culture Of Innovation
Connected Principals - 11/18/15
Innovation Culture vs. Execution Culture: Never the Twain Shall Meet?
SVPG - 11/10/15
How One Principal Dramatically Improved His School
Hechinger Report - 11/3/15
Top Five Drivers Of Parental Engagement
Gallup - 10/20/15
How’s Holacracy (The Flat Management Structure) Going At Zappos?
Atlantic - 10/1/15
Managing By “Negative Themes” (via Chipotle)
Quartz - 9/27/15
7 Characteristics Of A Good Hire, And The Questions To Find Them
First Round Review - 9/26/15
Servant Leadership As The Right Kind Of Leadership
Harvard Business Review - 9/15/15
How To Build An Innovation Culture
Steve Blank - 9/9/15
Why Evaluation Systems Must Be Ongoing And Non-Quantitative
Harvard Business Review - 9/8/15
Can You Ditch Evaluations For Ongoing Peer Review?
Harvard Business Review - 8/19/15
Support Constructive Disagreement Within Your Organization
Harvard Business Review - 8/18/15
Suggestions For Getting The Most Out Of An Uninspired Team
Harvard Business Review - 8/13/15
How To Support New Faculty (In Higher Ed)
Chronicle Vitae - 8/13/15
How To Flip Your Faculty Meetings
Teachthought - 7/30/15
How To Promote Competency Based Learning Around You
KQED - 7/9/15
Key Tips For Running Meetings
Harvard Business Review - 7/6/15
A Comic Take On Org Charts [Humor]
Fast Company - 6/29/15
Should We Be Using Algorithms In The Hiring Process?
New York Times - 6/26/15
Most Common Communication Pitfalls For Leaders
Harvard Business Review - 6/24/15
5 Characteristics Of An Effective School Team
Edutopia - 6/22/15
Using Data To Drive Creative Decision-Making
Fast Company - 6/16/15
On Why Creatives Should Be Leaders
Fast Company - 6/16/15
Hiring Internal vs. External Candidates: Which, When, Why?
Harvard Business Review - 6/2/15
On Resisting The Impulse To Reorganize Your Team
Farnam Street - 6/1/15
Lead From The Middle. Your Network Is Smarter Than You.
Harvard Business Review - 5/27/15
On The Importance Of Regular Recognition Of Teacher Work
Gallup - 5/22/15
Sometimes Change Is Best Through The Heart, Sometimes The Mind
Harvard Business Review - 5/20/15
A Deeper Dive Into Peer Accountability (Via Zappos/Holacracy)
Harvard Business Review - 5/19/15
(Too) Many Ways Of Thinking About What Makes A Good School
Teachthought - 5/15/15
4 Categories for Organizational Creativity and Flow
Fast Company - 5/11/15
On Compassion vs. Anger In The Workplace
Harvard Business Review - 5/7/15
Tips For Documenting Evaluations
Harvard Business Review - 5/5/15
When Collaboration Is Helpful, and When It Is Not
Harvard Business School - 5/4/15
How To Drive Strategy From The Bottom Up
Harvard Business Review - 4/29/15
5 Characteristics of Innovative Organizations
Harvard Business Review - 4/27/15
7 Habits of Effective Teams (w/ Great Visualizations)
UsTwo - 4/22/15
Lessons From An Old Organization (Disney) Trying To Be New
Fast Company - 4/15/15
John Maeda On Young Leadership And Striking A Balance
YouTube/NAIS - 4/10/15
When And Why Employees Leave
Harvard Business Review - 4/10/15
5 Signs It’s Time To Search For A New Job
Harvard Business Review - 4/7/15
These Hiring Practices Actually Predict Performance
Wired - 4/7/15
On Counseling Employees To Depart
Harvard Business Review - 4/6/15
Strategic Transformation Necessary For Ongoing Growth
Stanford Graduate School of Business - 4/1/15
Can A Hierarchical Organization Become Level? Zappos Tries.
Fast Company - 3/30/15
Here's The Level Management Model Zappos Is Trying.
Fast Company - 3/30/15
How To Best Develop As A Leader? Play.
Harvard Business Review - 3/27/15
Innovating In An Organization Without Losing The Core
Harvard Business Review - 3/25/15
Job Description For An Innovation Leader In Schools
Teaching Science in the 21st Century - 3/23/15
Six Tips For Building Organizational Culture
Harvard Business Review - 3/23/15
Traps Managers Fall Into, And How To Avoid Them
Quartz - 3/22/15
Why Teachers Stay (Leadership, Curriculum Support, Time…)
NPR - 3/21/15
Ten Tips For Hiring High Level Administrators
Nature - 3/18/15
More On Innovating In Large, Stable Organizations
Steve Blank - 3/17/15
Late Night Emails Are Bad For You
Harvard Business Review - 3/16/15
To Make Meetings Matter, End Them Well
Harvard Business Review - 3/11/15
The Challenge of Innovation In Large, Stable Organizations
Steve Blank - 3/11/15
How To Make Small Changes When You’re Not The Boss
Harvard Business Review - 2/26/15
Five Great Sports Coaches On How To Coach
Harvard Business Review - 2/25/15
What Millennials Around the World Want From Work
Harvard Business Review - 2/23/15
Sleep In: Another Call To Start School Later In The Day
Brookings - 2/4/15
5 Elements of Effective Administrator-Faculty Collaboration
Educational Leadership - 2/1/15
On Building A Good Network
Economist - 1/17/15
Sustain Passion By Facilitating Your Employees’ Goals
Harvard Business Review - 1/14/15
3 Organizational Attributes Necessary For Sustaining Innovation
Harvard Business Review - 1/14/15
Engagement At Work Depends On Non-Work Lifestyles
Harvard Business Review - 1/13/15
12 Aspects of Enviable Work Culture
Fast Company - 1/12/15
On Mission Statements As Fundamental Principles
Peter Gow - 1/10/15
Identifying And Aligning The Components Of School Change
Grant Lichtman - 1/5/15
Measures for Managing Innovation in Your Organization
Harvard Business Review - 12/12/14
On How To Best Engage Your Faculty In School Service
Harvard - 12/3/14
What A Driver Of Innovation Should Do At Your School
Harvard Business Review - 11/26/14
On Fostering Young Leaders
Harvard Business Review - 11/24/14
Recommendations on How and When to Take Risks
Gallup - 11/21/14
At What Age Are We Most Innovative?
Harvard Business Review - 11/20/14
What High Performers Value at Work
Harvard Business Review - 11/18/14
What Continuous Innovation Looks Like. Does it Apply to Schools?
Steve Blank - 11/11/14
Elements of Engaging Leadership
Harvard Business Review - 11/7/14
Do Great Leaders Have A “Bias For Action”?
Harvard - 11/6/14
4 Steps of Organizational Partnerships and Collaboration
Stanford Social Innovation Review - 11/4/14
How To Nurture Internal Entrepreneurial Talent
Gallup - 10/24/14
Problem Solving School Issues Through a Game?
KQED - 10/24/14
Three Rules for Having Meetings (Or Not Having Them)
Quartz - 10/19/14
How and How Not to Build a Culture of Collaboration
ID Reflections - 10/19/14
4 Tips for Promoting Ideas in Your Organization
Stanford Social Innovation Review - 10/16/14
3 Ways to Promote Innovation in Slow-Moving Organizations
Harvard Business Review - 10/10/14
How Much Transparency Is The Right Amount Of Transparency?
Harvard Business Review - 10/1/14
Is Trustworthiness the Most Important Trait for Leaders?
99u - 10/1/14
Tips for Good One-on-One Meetings
Popforms - 9/30/14
How To Make Room for Innovation In Your Budget
Harvard Business Review - 9/24/14
How to Calculate Risk When Innovating
Misc Magazine - 9/16/14
Former RISD President on Leadership as Storylistening, Not Telling
YouTube/Power of Storytelling - 9/12/14
Email Policies (and Greater Productivity) Must Come from the Top
New York Times - 8/29/14
Encourage Your Teachers to Develop and Share Interests at Work
Harvard Business Review - 8/29/14
How Google Keeps Decision-Making in Meetings from Being Unfun.
Fast Company - 8/26/14
American Academy of Pediatrics Endorse Later School Start Time
NPR - 8/25/14
Creating a Feedback-Rich Culture Reduces Threat
Harvard Business Review - 8/8/14
Market Basket Offers a Lesson in Employee and Community Support
Boston Globe - 8/3/14
On the Relationship Between Leading and Coaching
Harvard Business Review - 7/17/14
What are the Hidden Costs of Low Teaching Salaries?
The New Teacher Project - 7/15/14
Hiring Beyond the Resume
Harvard Business Review - 7/14/14
How a Leader’s Example Influences an Organization’s Employees
Harvard Business Review - 7/10/14
Help Your Board Cross the Digital Divide
Harvard Business Review - 7/9/14
Happy Faculty = Collaborative Faculty [Study]
Harvard Business Review - 6/27/14

“Having at least one out of three group members experiencing positive affect can significantly and positively impact group decision making for two reasons. First, members experiencing positive affect tend to share a greater amount of unique information than those experiencing neutral affect. Additionally, they are more likely to initiate the sharing of unique information and make information requests, promoting a norm of information sharing and attenuating the social cost of sharing information the group has not discussed before.”
Remember to Look Outside Your Usual Team
Harvard Business Review - 6/25/14
Organizational Metrics for Promoting Innovation
Fast Company - 6/16/14
Four Ways To Promote Job Satisfaction (Or Engagement?)
New York Times - 5/30/14
10 Character Traits for Entrepreneurial Success
Gallup - 5/6/14
Might the Most Difficult Task of a School Leader Be... Succession?
Forbes - 5/2/14
Why School Leaders Should Visit More Classrooms
EdSurge - 4/11/14
How Chipotle’s Employee Culture Sustains Excellence
Quartz - 3/20/14
7 Books for Leaders
Farnam Street - 3/19/14
Change: If You Don’t Try It, It Doesn’t Work (Via Atul Gawande)
Incidental Economist - 3/15/14
5 Characteristics of Good Managers
Harvard Business Review - 3/13/14
How to Build Innovation Into an Organization
Steve Blank - 3/4/14
Leaders: Providers Of Safety, Builders Of Trust
TED - 3/1/14
A Skeptic’s View Of The Word “Innovation”
JPLeary - 2/27/14
At Berkeley: What Makes the Administration Matter is the School
New York Review of Books - 2/6/14
Dungeons & Dragons Grows Up: How It Teaches Leadership
Quartz - 1/28/14
3 Kinds of Focus Needed for Good Leadership
Berkeley - 1/21/14
"The Death Of Expertise”
Federalist - 1/17/14
A Machine Thinker Considers Organizational Agility and Innovation
Medium - 1/15/14
How Netflix Innovates, Keeps Great Talent, and Thrives
Harvard Business Review - 1/1/14
Why Some Organizations Have Can-Do Cultures... and Some Don’t
Re/Code - 1/1/14
A London Study find 8 Characteristics of Effective School Leaders
Forbes - 12/30/13
Four Different Kinds Of Change In Education
Radical Scholarship - 11/15/13
Minimally Invasive Management: A Primer
Kleiner Perkins - 10/31/13
Evernote CEO: How Dungeons & Dragons Shapes My Company
SoundCloud/SXSW - 3/12/13
John Maeda’s Four Rules Of Leadership
Creative Leadership - 11/21/12
Why Good Decision Processes Can Be Better Than Good Decisions
Farnam Street - 10/1/12
An Introduction To Self-Managing Organizations
Harvard Business Review - 12/1/11
Yep. Merit Pay is Bad For Everyone
EduBlogs - 1/15/11
3 Horizons For Organizational Innovation
PwC Innovation Blog - 8/5/10
Brooks: “How To Build Trust: A Practical Guide”
New York Times - 6/10/10
How 3M Found Balance Between Efficiency and Innovation
Businessweek - 6/10/07
In Praise Of The Incomplete Leader: Four Skills To Focus On
Harvard Business Review - 2/1/07
On Networking For Leaders: Operational, Personal, Strategic
Harvard Business Review - 1/1/07
ASCD Recommendations For Planning Great Faculty Meetings
ASCD - 1/1/07
Making Time Matter In Leadership Meetings
Harvard Business Review - 9/1/04
Daniel Goleman on the Emotional Intelligence of Leadership
Harvard Business Review - 1/1/04
Protocols For Class Observation, PD, And More
School Reform Initiative - 1/1/01
Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Style
Harvard Business Review - 3/1/00
Organizations Are About People Mixing With Other People
Fast Company - 10/31/95

The Educator's Notebook

Search thousands of curated articles from all back issues

Articles about "leadership"

featured articles

admissions

athena

character

cognitive science

creativity

curriculum

diversity/inclusion

history of education

leadership

professional development

pedagogy

reading/writing

tech

workplace

other