Leadership and Technology

I created this mind map of the article Leadership theory: past, present and future, by Melissa Horner. I first organized the map according to the three themes of the article: past, present and future. I found the process of creating this particular mind map to be somewhat onerous. I probably spent two hours mind mapping the article as I read it – a form of note taking as an alternative to annotation of the text. Were I to do it again, I would begin with a complete read-through and annotation of the text. Then I would create a mind map with a more focused purpose: the most important ideas from the "Future" section. This would leave me space and mental energy to add ideas from other sources. As it stands, I'm dissatisfied with the unwieldiness of the product, and the strict adherence to hierarchy forced by the tool. I think I'll start from scratch when I begin to synthesize ideas from multiple sources. I used  MindMup.com  to create this mind map. Here are some th...

I admire the leadership of a principal I worked with years ago. This principal’s philosophy was to see others as their best possible selves. She was generous with what I called “aspirational compliments.” She would actively compliment others (teachers and students), not so much for things they had done or strengths they had, but for things she believed they would do, strengths she believed they would develop. She deliberately broadcast her belief in the best of everyone. Simon Sinek would appreciate (as I did) how this principal protected her people - both students and teachers. She protected teachers from occasionally irate parents, from local education politics, from the school board, and sometimes from our superintendent. As teachers, we felt safe because we knew we had her support. She also protected our time, by insisting on timely, efficient, and purpose-driven meetings - which helped us feel respected. One more reason I admire this principal is for her practice of distributi...

I don’t identify as a leader, but I try to practice leadership. I’m an emerging leader - striving to improve. I’m one emerging leader among the emerging leaders (aka students) inside and outside of my classroom. I’m one emerging leader among the other leaders (teachers, administrators and staff) at my school and in my school district. Although there are different contexts where I practice leadership, my purpose is consistent. If I apply Simon Sinek’s golden circle to my leadership practice, dignity is at the center; dignity is the “why.” I couldn’t always articulate it so succinctly, but I think that my purpose has been distilled through experience and reflection. The more time I spend studying the map, the more I recognize that all roads originate from the zip code of dignity. This is also my philosophy of education. I believe that the purpose, the “why,” of public education is to empower every child with dignity - from the present moment of every class, to a future of opportunit...