My Week at NCCAT

What an amazing week! If you have not had the opportunity to visit the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) I encourage you to do so! As in right now....get off of this blog and look for a seminar! I have been calling it “Teacher Paradise” because it is truly a place to renew yourself as an educator. You are recharging your “teacher battery” when you can spend time in seminar and reflection with other amazing teachers!

We have spent this week in great dialogue about leadership. We read and reflected on Donald Phillips’ book Lincoln on Leadership. What an incredible book! Many of us talked about the leadership qualities we see in our superintendents and our principals. Then we shifted the focus to the leadership qualities we have in ourselves. It was interesting to compare and contrast our experiences as leaders and with the leadership in our school districts.

Lincoln believed in four key parts to effective leadership.

People - Get out of the office and circulate among the troops; get to know the people with whom you work and build strong alliances; and persuade rather than coerce
Character - Honesty and integrity are the best policies (never loose the trust of the people); never act out of vengeance or spite; have the courage to handle unjust criticism (which can sometimes be very difficult); and be a master of paradox.
Endeavor - Be decisive; lead by being led; set goals and look for results; keep searching until you find the right person; and encourage innovation.
Communication - master the art of public speaking; influence people through conversation; and preach a vision and continually reaffirm it.

These were simple ideas that can make a big difference in the way our schools operate. It would be interesting to have faculty discussions about these. How do you model Lincoln’s leadership in your school or school district? I would love your input on leadership!

We also spent the day with Kimberly Fifer and she is so amazing and inspiring! She had great tools for us to use to help promote better leadership in our schools and to involve everyone at our schools. We also talked about the following lessons we can learn from Lincoln.

Share a vision
Be a great communicator
Learn from failure
Be a role model
Be a decision maker
Be a team leader
Do the little things

These are all important qualities in a leader. Which lesson do you feel you best exemplify? Give some ways you demonstrate that quality. Which lesson from Lincoln is most important? When you are looking for a team leader or a school leader, what are the most important two? What makes a good leader?

We had such wonderful dialogue and we are all ready to go back to our schools and implement new leadership strategies. As we began to talk about ways to do this, some of my classmates wondered if this would be well received. Some of us have really strong leadership in our schools and school districts. Others find the school leadership is lacking. What are ways we can ensure good, strong leadership in every school in North Carolina?