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Five Temptations of Leadership- And How to Avoid Them

Five Temptations of Leadership- And How to Avoid Them. Dr. Troyce Fisher, director of Cohesive Leadership Systems, School Administrators of Iowa. 1. Temptation # 1: Being Seduced by Power. Remember the physics definition of power: “The rate at which the work gets done”

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Five Temptations of Leadership- And How to Avoid Them

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  1. Five Temptations of Leadership-And How to Avoid Them • Dr. Troyce Fisher, director of Cohesive Leadership Systems, School Administrators of Iowa 1

  2. Temptation # 1:Being Seduced by Power • Remember the physics definition of power: “The rate at which the work gets done” • Remember “Power through, not power over”

  3. Symptoms of Temptation # 1 • Talking more than listening • Ordering more than facilitating • Standing more than sitting (literally and metaphorically) • Telling more than asking • Spending more time being interesting than interested

  4. Better Behaviors • Become an expert at group process skills • Practice distributed leadership • Listen, ask, thank, acknowledge • Come with a learner’s mind, not a learned mind

  5. Suggested Readings • Good to Great by Collins • Servant Leadership by Greenleaf • The Influencer by Patterson • School Leadership That Works by Marzano • Professional Learning Communities by the DuFours • Leading Change Step by Step by Spiro

  6. Temptation # 2: Being Conflict Averse • Remember Glickman’s Irony of School Improvement: “The more a school improves, the more conflict there is”

  7. Symptoms of Temptation # 2 • Making nice • Ignoring or squelching dissention • Avoiding a decision • Sacrificing what’s best for kids to maintain political harmony • Climbing the ladder of inference

  8. Better Behaviors • Learn how to balance advocacy and inquiry skills • Get good at “fierce conversations” • Confront the elephants in the living room • Argue about the right stuff • Ask open-ended, not rhetorical questions

  9. Suggested Readings • Fierce Conversations by Scott • Death By Meeting by Lencioni • Leading Through Conflict by Gerson • The Fifth Discipline by Senge • The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by Maxwell • Fierce Leadership by Scott

  10. Temptation # 3: Being Insensitive to the Prevailing Culture The definition of culture: “The norms, beliefs, and traditions that define how we do things around here”

  11. Symptoms of Temptation # 3 • Bulldozing through decisions • Blindness to patterns or push back • Dissing your predecessor • Forgetting about first and second order change • Failing to use data to make decisions

  12. Better Behaviors • Interview staff and ask: • What are the most important things about the building and district we should preserve and why? • What are the top three things we need to change and why? • What do you most hope I do? • What are you most concerned I might do? • What advice to you have for me? (Source: You’re in Charge-Now What? By Neff)

  13. Better Behaviors, continued • Watch and listen for resistance • Over-communicate • Assess readiness for change • Embrace the power of small wins • Go slow to go fast

  14. Suggested Readings • You’re in Charge-Now What by Neff • The First 90 Days by Watkins • Who Said School Administration Would Be Fun? by Sigford • Blended Coaching by Moir • The Six Secrets of Change by Fullan • Change Leadership by Wagner

  15. Temptation # 4: Thinking You Have to Have All of the Answers and Solve All of the Problems This is a move from traditional images of administrator as “answer person” and manager to that of leader and someone who can empower others

  16. Symptoms • Quick decisions followed by back tracking or mopping up later • Not thinking systemically • Enabling • Blaming or being blamed • Feeling isolated

  17. Better Behaviors • Slow down • Admit you don’t know or need more time to think things through • “Give the monkey back” • Ask, “What would you do if you were me in this situation?”

  18. Suggested Readings • The Answer to How is Yes by Block • The Learning Leader by Reeves • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Lencioni • Learn Like a Leader by Goldsmith, et. al

  19. Temptation # 5: Thinking You’re Still One of Them and Forgetting You’re Still One of Them You’re making a huge transition from a teacher responsible for all students in your classroom to a leader responsible for all adults in your building.

  20. Symptoms • Favoritism and cronyism • Perceived alliances • Loose lips • Double standards for your behavior and theirs • Unreasonable requests

  21. Better Behaviors • A strong set of values and beliefs that guide your actions • Personal resiliency skills • A trusted network of support outside the staff

  22. Suggested Readings • Primal Leadership by Goleman • The 8th Habit by Covey • The Speed of Trust by Covey • School Leadership That Works by Marzano • Leadership On the Line by Heifitz • The Tao of Leadership by Heider

  23. Concluding Thought “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” --K.A. Rothaus

  24. Questions? troyce@sai-iowa.org

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