Leaders don't differentiate themselves during the calm. The place they set themselves apart is in the storm. During crises, your team looks to you for direction and they gauge their "freak out" factor based on your reactions. 

Preparing for the worst during times of calm only enhances the likelihood you'll weather the inevitable storms ahead. Invest the time while you've got the time to think and plan; otherwise you'll have more than a natural disaster to deal with -- you'll have to rein in a team that's panicked and terrified, too.  

-- Mike Figliuolo

Although, Charles Hazelwood talks about the changing role of the conductor, it is easy to make connections to other leadership roles including mine as a principal. Trust and collaboration are critical components to creativity and the creation of successful schools. What are your thoughts?

5th Annual YES Conference is a HUGE Success!

This past Thursday, over 250 middle school student leaders from 14 Howard County schools came together to hone their leadership skills and begin to imagine how they can improve their schools and communities. Five years ago, we began the Youth Empowerment Summit with only 4 schools and less than 100 students who participated. I am so happy to see how this program has expanded even though the funding for the program has been severely cut.

At this year's YES, I had the privilege of helping to warm-up the students by doing a group energizer called the Boom-Bang Orchestra and introducing Howard County Executive Ken Ulman. In fact, Mr. Ulman helped to conduct the Boom-Bang Orchestra. He is such a good sport and he gave a very good speech helping to set the tone for the day.


I want to thank my wife for helping to start the first summit and Kelli Brandt for inviting me to participate again this year. After talking to several of my WLMS students who attended, the day was a huge success and they are motivated to help improve our school in the coming months.

As you know, providing middle school students with the skills necessary to identify and solve real-life problems is a very important task. It helps to focus their abundant energy in a positive direction. In addition, leadership skills are useful life skills that can be adapted to most situations our students will face in the future.

What are you Rewarding?

Designing Incentives: What Are You Rewarding In Your Classroom?

19th century palaeontologists traveling to China used to pay peasants for each fragment of dinosaur bone (dinosaur fossils) that they produced. They later discovered that peasants dug up the bones and then smashed them into multiple pieces to maximize their payments.

Source: LeadershipNow.com
Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, 2003

Elementary Peer Leadership Conference

Energetic, smart, friendly, engaging...
Our future looks bright to me!

This past Thursday, I had the pleasure of sharing some lessons I have learned over the last several years about leadership with some outstanding elementary school student leaders. Again this year, I was invited to conduct a leadership workshop at the annual Howard County Elementary Peer Leadership Conference. As I worked with each group of leaders, I was very impressed with the enthusiasm and genuine interest shown by all of the student leaders as they worked together to gain knowledge and learn new leadership skills from each participant.

During my two sessions, I shared what I consider are the six most important leadership traits that all leaders should have. They are the ability to be:

Visionary, Intelligent, Inspirational, Caring, always displaying a Learning Attitude, and Honest!

I also shared with the student leaders what I consider are the three most important roles a leader plays: Director, Assistant, and loudest Applauder. As I told them, the art of leadership is knowing which role to play at exactly the right time.

I want to thank Ms. Bello for inviting me to present again this year! I had a lot of fun interacting with the students from Longfellow, Manor Woods, Swansfield and Veterans Elementary schools. Working with 4th and 5th graders is always GREAT!

Thanks Lisa Boarman for the pics!

Y.E.S. It Was Quite A Day!

Youth Empowerment Summit Helps Middle School Students Make a Difference!

On Thursday, November 13, over 250 student leaders from 13 Howard County Middle Schools came together to learn leadership skills, discuss common concerns and develop plans to make a difference in their home schools. This is the 3rd annual conference dedicated to empowering middle school students with the skills necessary to lead, learn and ultimately transform their vision into action. The theme of this year’s summit was to Make a Difference!

The summit was kicked-off by Howard County Board of Education Member Mr. Larry Cohen. Mr. Cohen and I were asked to get the students hyped for the day. The keynote speaker was Ms. Marcy Leonard, Principal of Atholton High School. Her energetic and inspiring presentation helped all of the student leaders focus on the importance of personal values, positive decision-making and the need to learn conflict resolution strategies in order to make a difference! Later in the day, the participants attended break-out sessions on various leadership topics including: Conflict Resolution, Leadership Through History, Throwing Off Labels, Communication and Leadership Games.

The 13 middle schools represented were: Bonnie Branch, Clarksville, Cradlerock, Dunloggin, Elkridge Landing, Folly Quarter, Glenwood, Hammond, Harper’s Choice, Lime Kiln, Mount View Oakland Mills, and Wilde Lake.

Some of the quotes I heard from my students who attend were: “Wow, it was great to meet other students from other schools.” It was so much fun, I learned a lot!” “I wish school was more like Y.E.S.!”

I want to thank Julie Prince, the coordinator of this year’s Y.E.S, and the other middle school counselors from around our county for making this program so powerful and exciting for all of the students who attended. I also want to thank Lisa Boarman for helping to pay for this important conference.

For me, the development of leadership skills is critical to our future as a nation. In fact, the reason I work as an educational leader is due to my experiences as a student leader many years ago. A program called Maryland Leadership Workshops www.mlw.org/, which is still serving the students of Maryland today, provided me with a framework to develop my own leadership talents.

Much of my philosophical beliefs about education are based on my early leadership experiences. To me, everyone has the ability to become a leader, either up front in the spotlight, on the team as a role model, or behind the scenes helping give voice to the concerns of others. It is there in all of us waiting to find a chance to come out, perhaps waiting for someone else to find it first. One of the current shortcomings of education is that we do not take time to actively and intentionally develop the leadership skills of all students. So, it was a pleasure for me to lend my support to this important program. Visit the following link to see pictures from the day.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29674309@N08/sets/72157609138678609/show/

A link to a Howard County Times article about the summit:
http://www.explorehoward.com/community/13832/folly-quarter-students-attend-summit/

Recommended Books from Principals to Principals

This year, I have the honor of serving on the Advisory Board of The Vincent E. Reed Principals Leadership Institute sponsored by the Washington Post’s Educational Foundation. As an Advisory Board Member, I help to select principals from around the Washington, D.C. metro region to participate in the annual institute, serve as a mentor and help to facilitate various activities during this program.

The Washington Post established the Principals Leadership Institute in 1997 to offer a broader perspective on effective leadership within schools with specific emphasis on self-motivation. Named in honor of Dr. Vincent Reed, a longtime educator and retired Post executive, each session provides a forum for discussion about the challenges of leadership and opportunities for principals to network and share effective transformational strategies. [Washington Post]

The Institute also provides formal and informal discussion settings to share problems and concerns, and offers opportunities for participants to hear from nationally known leaders. Following the initial two-day summer Institute, there are three additional full-day sessions held throughout the year. The Institute is provided free of charge for all selected principals. [Washington Post]

During the first session this year, Advisory Board Members were asked to share a book that has helped them lead. Here is a list of the books that were presented:

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teachers Life
Palmer, Parker

Good to Great
Collins, Jim

The Six Secrets of Change
Fullan, Michael

Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed
Gleekman, Carl D.

The Moral Imperative of School Leadership
Fullan, Michael

It’s Being Done
Chenoweth, Karin

The Pillars of the Earth
Follet, Ken

Lincoln on Leadership
Phillips, Donald T.

The Right to Learn
Darling-Hammond, Linda

Encouraging the Heart
Kouzes, James and Barry Posner

Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way
Ramsey, Robert

What Matter Most for School Leaders
Ramsey, Robert

Life’s a Campaign
Matthews, Chris

Dream Manager
Kelly, Matthew

We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools
Howard, Gary

21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow The People and They Will Follow You
Maxwell, John

Change or Die
Deutschman, Alan

Gardening the Minefield: A Survival Guide for School Administrators
Schmidt, Laurel

Lessons Learned: Shaping Relationships and the Culture of the Workplace
Barth, Roland

Balanced Leadership: How Effective Principals Balance Their Work
Boris-Schacter, Sheryl and Sondra Langer

Talking to Tweens
Hartley-Brewer, Elizabeth

Harvard Business Review on What Makes a Leader
Harvard Business School Press

Useful Websites
http://walkthetalk.com/
http://www.simpletruths.com/index.asp


For more information about the Principal’s Leadership Institute, visit this website:
http://www.washpost.com/community/education


What other books do you recommend that school leaders read?

Future-Focused, But Wrong!

They Said What?

“The earth is the center of the universe.” 

PTOLEMY
Egyptian astronomer

“Nothing of importance happened today.”

King George III of England
July 4, 1776.

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” 

Western Union Internal Memo
1876

“Flight by machines heavier than air is impractical and insignificant, if not utterly impossible.”

SIMON NEWCOMB
an astronomer of some note
1902

“Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.”

GROVER CLEVELAND
President of the United States
1905

“Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.” 

Marshal Ferdinand Foch
French Military Strategist
1911

“It is an idle dream to imagine that automobiles will take the place of railways in the long distance movement of passengers.”

American Road Congress
1913

“There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom.”

ROBERT MILLIKAN
Nobel Prize winner in physics
1920

“Babe Ruth made a big mistake when he gave up pitching.”

TAUS SPEAKER
1921

“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”

HARRY WARNER
Warner Brothers Pictures
1927

“I think there is a world market for about five computers.”

THOMAS J. WATSON
Chairman of IBM
1943

 “We don’t like their sound. Groups with guitars are on the way out.” 

DECCA Records
rejecting the Beatles
1962 

“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.”

KEN OLSEN
President of Digital Equipment Corp 1977


I wonder what beliefs we hold today
will be proven wrong in the future?

Adapted from a powerpoint created by John Quashnoc