For the past several years we have offered seminars on the topic of leadership development with a focus on the individual leader as a person more than the role or position that he or she plays in the organization.   Whether CEO, COO, CFO, CIO or any other officer, administrator, division or department head, the people who have participated have found the seminars to be extraordinarily helpful.  Some of the feedback comments provide an indication of why we believe we’re on the right track. What we provide is the time and place for people to explore vision, values and purpose, especially as these relate to both the personal and professional characteristics of these leaders.
Here are a few selected responses that describe the benefits that many of those attending have taken away from the experience.

“It was a very special time for me. I cannot overemphasize how that time together affected me in mind and spirit.  It was genuinely a time of grace.”

Principal, New Orleans, LA

“On this day of “re-entry” I find myself longing for, and missing, Santa Fe!  What a great 3 days. Thank you, each of you, for your guidance, counsel, candor, and sharing of self. It was a profound experience for me, one on which I will draw for many years to come.”
Assistant Head of School, Atlanta, GA

“A wonderful experience; I feel renewed both emotionally and physically. Thank you so much for bringing me back to life, and reaffirming my value system about leadership and life.”
Principal, London, ON, CANADA

“Very restorative and restful. I appreciated the down time, the time with fellow educators and the time to think deeply about career and journey. Many thanks!”
Assistant Head of School, Oakland, CA

“My angel card was harmony.  At first, I was convinced that the card picked me. But now I wonder if I did not pick the card.  I am a Libra.  I love balance.  I crave harmony.  This year, harmony has been hard to come by, and I’ve wondered more than once whether leadership is for me.  What  I’ve come to know in the last 3 ½ days is that my journey in life as a leader can be harmonious if I choose the road of graceful acceptance for that which I cannot change, and if I find ways to stay centered in the process, and not worry so much about the product.  For the harmony is in the journey, and all roads lead home.”
Lower School Head, Bryn Mawr, PA

One of the many exercises given to seminar participants explores the alignment of their personal values and characteristics with those of the institution or organization that they are serving in a leadership capacity.  If there is a significant discrepancy between these dimensions, there will be greater tension, conflict and stress.  To the degree that there is greater congruence, there will be less of the negative and much more of the positive, constructive and productive behaviors.  The challenge may not necessarily be to continue to put one or the other in greater alignment but perhaps to consider a position or institution that is a more accurate reflection of one’s own self and one that is culturally a good fit as well.

In a recent seminar, one participant noted that the name tags were simply that, just the name of the person, no identifying institution or position.  This was not to disguise or hide that part of the identity but it was a conscious decision on our part to focus on the person, not position, status or prestige or even the institution as an extension of the person.  The effect of this small piece is to level the ground for all participants. In this time and space, people with common concerns discover the benefits of getting away from the routine and ordinary.  They have the rare and extraordinary opportunity of exploring and serving their own needs rather than the needs of all those others who are looking to them as the leader for direction, guidance and support.

Two frequently used words to describe the seminars have been “refreshing” and “renewing.”    It is as if people have either forgotten some of the essence of who they are or they have simply not taken the time to have those in-depth conversations about those things that matter most.  When asked recently about how to sustain such an experience, I said to be sure that there are periodic opportunities for time out to continue this personal work as the benefits that accrue for everyone are well worth the investment.   Maybe it’s time for your own renewal!  While skills, knowledge and experience continue to be very important in being effective as a leader, nothing trumps the personal qualities that one brings to the position of leadership.

The leader is a visible, audible and viable role model for those who look at the leader as a prime example of how to continue to learn, grow and change. Strength of character, the ability to sustain meaningful and productive interpersonal and professional relationships, being reliable, dependable and honest, having a good sense of humor and a positive attitude – these are all personal qualities, along with many others, that speak loudly about the deep and authentic person who has been chosen as the leader.  Wise is he or she who attends to these personal matters and nurtures them for sake of self and others.

Leaders have an enormous array of expectations placed on them by a variety of types and kinds of people from Boards of Directors to employees.  How does one meet the needs of different constituencies and still have the time and energy for a personal life? Communicating with confidence and clarity, delegating wisely and being accessible are but a few strategies for effective leadership.  There are many more tactics available for those who want to work smarter, not harder and longer.

There seems to be a premium being placed on how busy one is, how full the calendar appears, how many meetings one attends, how much can be crammed into a day, week or month.  We’ve become adept at multi-tasking, multi-use, multi-purpose, multi-function to the point where the multiplication of jobs and applications of energy make one both weary and wary of work as we once knew it.  Research shows it is also terribly inefficient and nearly as productive as some may want to believe.

Consider the difference between your work and your job.  Then look at some of the specific expectations top-level leaders and managers.  Remind yourself of the results of anxiety, stress and fatigue.  And finally, find some plausible alternatives, in addition to a genuine sabbatical, for renewal and regeneration of body, mind and spirit.

Work is that which we commit ourselves to do using our talents, our skills our time and energy because that’s what we love to do.  It’s what we care about, it’s what we are passionate about, it’s what we believe and sometimes what we know from experience that makes a difference in the lives of other people.  Work is part of who we are, it’s a privilege and a joy and it is not only what we do, but it is also part of our identity – CEO is much more than a title; Director of a division or Manager of a department is a lot more than directing and managing.

A job, on the other hand, is often what we have to do to get to our work.   A job is something that must be done in order to keep things straight – things like schedules, maintenance, reports, or things that aren’t necessarily a priority for you but may well be for someone else.  It’s possible for someone to dearly love creating reports or to really like making the place look great and that can be their work.  It might even be part of your work but one needs to be clear that it’s nearly impossible to put the same high priority on more than ten or twelve things simultaneously.

Paper work, forms, regulations, all the “stuff” that also takes time, energy and skill often requires supervision and oversight if not your direct involvement.    You may think it’s just semantics to separate job and work but it’s one way of carving out that which we really like to do, look forward to doing and that which is more mundane and not necessarily the most exciting and rewarding part of what we do.  Ask yourself if you look forward to going to work.  Seldom do people say I am going to a job and yet we talk about job descriptions not work descriptions.

Nan Keohane, a former president of Wellesley,  said that the head of any organization has three big challenges.  I believe the same can be said for a division or department head or director as well.  One challenge is to solve problems, and I would add, anticipate them to the degree possible so that those problems do not escalate and become a crisis.

The second challenge is to make things happen, i.e. find the ways through planning and implementation to realize the stated goals and objectives and the third challenge is to take a stand.  That means making hard decisions and being able to make them stick.   Is there anything you do that doesn’t fit into one of those three big categories?

As a CEO or director, you wear that identity wherever you are and you do so
with appropriate pride and confidence.  To be a CEO, a head, a director, a leader is something that is chosen and consciously pursued. It is not merely a response to an invitation to the dance.   When one chooses to be in the position of being responsible for results it comes as no surprise that everyone is watching and evaluating your performance.
Establishing priorities, having a systematic organization that functions at a high level of efficiency and effectiveness – the well-oiled machine – and knowing who you are in your role along with how you communicate that status go a long way toward being able to meet the multiple demands and expectations that come along with the position.

I just read somewhere that if you want an extra day, you now have one.  What will you do with it?  I think the reference was to February 29, today, being Leap Day and if you didn’t catch the recent 30 Rock episode devoted to a celebration of Leap Day, find it.  It’s worth a chuckle or two, especially Leap Day William.

My own take on an extra day is that every day is a gift and a great way to begin the day is to start with that same question, what will you make of it?  You see, the truth is that we don’t actually know how many days we will have, as they are definitely numbered, and we’re most fortunate, for many reasons, to have come this far.  Thus, I start out also with gratitude for being given the opportunities that lie ahead to make the most of this day, today, February 29.  That it is presented once every four years to catch up with a rather weird calendar of minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a month and months in a year is of no consequence.

For a long, long time, since I was a kid who delighted in snow (and still do), I have had this vision of a new day being like newly fallen snow.  No one, especially me, had made any tracks in it yet.  I look out on this new day and there it is, laid out for me in all its splendor with hundreds of possibilities and choices as to how I will engage, with whom, on what terms, for what purpose and where I will be present and make a mark.  And the day begins.

I have a routine, like most people, and mine starts with some meditation, reflection and prayer, often before my feet hit the floor, but many times while sitting or even standing upright.  Position can be very important for thinking, feeling, seeing, musing and planning.  Right now, to my left, is a large body of water, Elliott Bay, in Seattle.  Since I live in the high desert, I often choose to stay on or very near water when I travel as it gives me a deep and visceral connection with one of the elements that nurtures life including my own.

I have already started making my tracks in this day and they will continue with an informal breakfast meeting with a colleague and friend, more encounters and conversations at a national conference of several thousand educators, welcoming my wife flying up from California, seeing long time friends and associates, enjoying a dinner this evening sponsored by an architectural firm in San Antonio and so on.  I will avoid as many formal meetings as possible and probably end the day by reading some of my current night stand book, A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change.  And I will finally review the day to see what kinds of tracks I made, the swiggly curves here and there, the intersections, the pathways, the connections and then turn it over, let it goand welcome sleep.  At least, that’s the outline and plan.   Will it go exactly as I think it will?  Of course not and that’s perfectly OK.  I am open to learning something new and taking a different tack.

Since I regard each new day as a gift, to be unwrapped, surprised by grace and celebrated joyfully as often as possible it’s even exciting to contemplate the possibilities.  Will they all be realized?  No, but if I can even embrace 50% of the possibilities that lie ahead, what a great day it will be!  I hope you enjoy your day, that you make the most and best of it and have the time of your life.  Now, off I go to see what I can give to this day that has been given to me.

As an extension of my role as an adjunct professor teaching a course called “The Doctor Patient Relationship,” I was shadowing one of the third-year residents in family practice for 24 hours. We were summoned around midnight down to the emergency room where a woman appeared with a large lump on her head.  The young doctor took her vital signs, talked with her and expressed appropriate concern about what had happened.

The patient reported that she was on a step ladder, hanging a picture and the hammer had slipped from her hand and hit her on the left side of her forehead where there was indeed a red, swollen bump.  The doctor asked if she were in pain and whether she had any other symptoms and she responded by saying that the bump had hurt but she didn’t feel any other signs of discomfort or pain.  All the vital signs checked out OK and after the doctor examined the bump closely and talked to the patient a little more, we left the room to get some pain pills and write a prescription.

Doctor Leonard looked at me while we were outside and said, I don’t know why she bothered to come here, it’s not serious and she could have just taken some aspirin or ibuprofen and saved herself the trip.  I responded by asking him if he wanted to know the real reason she had shown up and he said he thought it was because she was scared and that it might be more serious.  Not a bad guess, said I, but if you want to know more, when we go back in, ask her what she’s doing on a ladder at midnight on Friday, hanging a picture.

“So,” says Dr. Leonard to Nancy Frame, “what were you doing on a ladder at midnight hanging a picture?”   She looked at him, silent for a moment, and then with tears starting to flow and shaking a bit, said, “My husband just divorced me and this is the first weekend my 3 kids are with their Dad and I was all alone and feeling really bad.”    She went on a bit about how hard it’s been for the past several months and she wasn’t sure how she was going to get through all of the pain, hurt and loneliness.   Dr. Leonard let her express her sadness, her emotional pain, and then said he knew the name of a really good counselor if she wanted someone that she could talk to about how to cope with her struggle.  She said that would be really helpful and thus that first treatment session ended.

After Nancy left, Dr. Leonard turned to me and said, “How did you know?”  I said I didn’t know anything but sometimes, asking the right question will get you more information than if you assume you know that what you’re seeing and hearing is all there is to know.  Take time to ask the question before jumping to give the first answer.

One of the greatest challenges of working in the 21st century is, and will continue to be, staying focused in order to be truly productive.  And when I say productive, I mean getting tasks accomplished, solving problems, executing, and yes, producing something of value. But I also mean making authentic connections with others, practicing mindfulness, and living a rich and balanced life.  

We have all read the articles about how we are creating a new generation of multi-tasking millennials who can, during the course of a important conference call, answer their emails, update their Facebook status, tweet about the article they are reading, and cook a gourmet five-course meal one-handed.

I simply don’t believe it.

I might not be a millennial, but I have always been an extreme multi-tasker, aided by the latest technology of the day.  Even as teenager, the phone, computer and television were almost always simultaneously employed during the homework hours.  “One appliance at a time,” my mother would holler.  As an adult, I embrace the social media movement whole-heartedly. While Facebook is still my social media of choice, I Tweet and Link-in on a daily basis.  Google + and Skype are always near at hand, taking the beloved but rather primitive phone calls of my teen years to a more personal level. And yes, I do cook a meal every night for my family, usually while playing Words with Friends and watching a TED talk.

But as I neared the end of 2011, I felt myself dwindling in all areas of productivity and had a serious Koyannisquatsi

Koyannisquatsi: How I Worked in 2011

moment. Responding to Facebook posts, Linked-in messages, tweets, texts, and what I would call, ongoing email exchanges became all I did, and I felt myself becoming incapable of getting the basic tasks accomplished, much less solve a complex problem or tackle a major project. I felt exhausted all the time, had trouble sleeping, and became increasingly impatient.  I was not enjoying time with my children because I was completely unable to detach from work left undone at the end of the day.  This was truly “life out of balance.”

One of my commitments to myself and to my family and colleagues this year is to “think different” about the way I work, and to redesign a more disciplined approach to productivity.  If we are going to teach our students one skill for the 21st century, it has to be about clearing through the clutter of cyberspace slowing down our pace in order to focus and truly be productive – in the fullest definition of the word. As teachers and leaders in our school communities, we need to model this behavior.  This year, I am looking very closely at the way I spend my time during the work day, to make priorities, and to draw very clear boundaries for myself and others. Here are just a few changes I have made since January 1.

1)Tackling Email:
Thanks to one of our seminar fellows, Andrew Davis(Middle School Head, Crystal Springs Uplands School), I have become an “Inbox Zero” convert. If you want to know more about Inbox Zero, watch video of Merlin Mann presenting to

Merlin Mann Explains Inbox Zero

Google employees. I did and have wasted no time getting on board. This might have been one of the best investments of one hour I have made in years. Since January 1, I have ended each day with zero emails in my inbox and I am no longer using my email as a to-do list. More importantly, I am working hours at a time with my email turned off and carving out time to meet with people face to face or on the phone or tackle big projects uninterrupted, to write, or think creatively about new projects. I check every hour or two and then take the necessary time to address anything essential or add less urgent tasks to the to-do list.

Sanebox  has also helped to manage email clutter.  Eric Niles (Head of School at Athenian School) introduced me to this online tool which helps to train your emails to go into specific folders in more user friendly way that smart mailboxes and creating email rules. You can train emails to be automatically sent to your inbox, to be saved for later or to be archived or deleted.

2) Time Management:
The second thing I have done is to review my calendar and my to-do list to see how they align. Inspired by the Getting Things Done   (GTD) philosophy of David Allen, I design my day based on the tasks that need to be accomplished within the open time on my calendar. The tasks that are relatively easy to take off the list get scheduled to be done in the shorter available intervals of 15 and 30 minutes in between meetings and phone calls,  while I clear hour and two hour blocks of time for the projects that need it. And I commit to those large blocks of time except in rare cases.

I am learning to be protective of the “unscheduled” time on my calendar because it really isn’t “free” time, it is work time. Setting these boundaries also means holding others to starting and finishing on time. A late phone call or meeting can start to back everything up, and sometimes, when there is big block open time on one side of a late call, it is tempting to let the call creep into that time, but is that productive?  Of course each incident requires a judgement call, but if the time set aside for important projects gets taken away, will the project get completed?  Will it be done with quality and thoughtfully?  This change in boundaries might take some training of others to get to meetings on time and to end them on time too, but as Merlin Mann points out in his Inbox Zero talk, aren’t we always renegotiating with our colleagues (and even our families) about how we work and live together and share the same space. Just because we have been operating with certain behaviors doesn’t mean that they are the best practices or that they can’t change to be better and more efficient.

And if you don’t have any “unscheduled” time on your calendar, it is your responsibility to make that time.  Gary Gruber as a Head of School made a regular practice of blocking off time for thinking and writing and being creative and productive.  When a meeting or phone call began to creep into that time, he would say, “Excuse me,  but I have another appointment.”  It didn’t matter that the appointment was with himself and the projects he needed to accomplish.  This is not selfish behavior, this is productive behavior.

3) Self Discipline:

So what about all of my beloved social media applications? Has it meant breaking up with Twitter and foregoing Facebook?  Never!  But is has required a new level of self-discipline around engaging in social media.  I personally find Twitter to be a terrific source of articles and videos on education, innovation, and a rich opportunity for professional networking.  So I start each work morning with 15 minutes on Twitter or Facebook, sometimes finding an inspiring or provocative article to carry me through my morning.  But then I hit the ground running.

Let’s face it. Becoming more productive is entirely about self-discipline. There is no one perfect way or methodology to getting things done, accomplishing tasks or finding balance. Franklin Covey, GTD, Inbox Zero, 4 Hour Work-Week, these are all the same at the most basic level because they require self discipline.  It isn’t about working harder, but rather working smarter and working different.

The other day I asked Jonathan Martin, Head of St. Gregory’s and prolific blogger, how he had time to write so much.  His blog is a constant source of fascinating articles about education, technology and innovation. I know the HOS job is a time consuming one, and Jonathan has a family with young children.  Where did he find the time? He responded by saying that it was a bit like working out and getting in shape.  The more he did it, the easier it was.  It requires discipline to stick with it, and he has to carve time, but then at a certain point it becomes a healthy habit and a necessary routine.

We would love to know how you address productivity in your work.

One of the more heralded studies of leadership in the past few years was the 2010 IBM survey and interviews conducted with 1500 CEO’s from 60 different countries representing 33 different industries.  In spite of the emphasis on the challenge of managing complexity and discovering the value of creativity and innovation, there remains the one constant variable and that is change.   Those CEO’s had said previously that managing change was their biggest challenge.   Whether you are growing your organization, reshaping and redesigning it to meet the needs of the 21st century, looking into the future with strategic visioning and making projections with a refined business model or using different and creative approaches to solving problems, it is still all about change.

A book that has stuck in my head since graduate school days back in the 60’s was The Dynamics of Planned Change by Lippit, Watson and Westley.  (Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1958).  The very first sentence in that book is “The modern world is, above everything else, a world of rapid change.”  How could they have known what lay in store for the world in the next six decades and moreover, how can we know what lies ahead?  Here are a few things I have learned about change over my own six decades of being a professional change agent.

First of all, change is inevitable and universal.  Whether you are talking about an individual, an organization, a community or a country, or the world itself, nothing much stands still unless it’s dead and even then, decay and decomposition set in.  Nothing can grow or evolve or improve or adapt or adjust without changing.  Even if the change is as minimal as altering the internal response to what is going on outside, the net result is still some type of change.  And that internal change may not be so small in the end.  In fact, one has a better chance of changing the internal structures and behaviors than changing the world outside.

I have relied often on Margaret Mead’s words of wisdom, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed  it is the only thing that ever has.”   A lot depends on your needs, your goals and your commitments.  Do you work with a small group of thoughtful, committed people?   If yes, what are the results?  If not, why not?  Would you like to make any changes for 2012?  Can you list them?  What are the top three?   What is your plan to make sure those happen?  Ready?  GO!

According to various calculations, standards and clocks, Winter solstice in the northern hemisphere will occur this year at 5:30 AM UTC, on December 22, which is 10:30 PM December 21, Mountain Standard Time, 12:30 AM Eastern Time on December 22 and 9:30 PM Pacific Time, December 21.  While it happens technically at a moment in time, the recognition and celebration may occur at any convenient time, or period of time, that is near to this point when the sun reaches it farthest journey south along the horizon and starts back on it’s northward trek toward Spring and Summer.

UTC or coordinated universal time or the world clock computed by atomic clocks in 70 different laboratories around the world is one of the successors to GMT, or Greenwich Mean Time, based in the UK.  Both are used and does it really matter to most people which clock is used? Also why isn’t UTC the abbreviation for Universal Time Clock instead of Coordinated Universal Time.  This is really quite trivial, of little consequence and in the larger scheme of things rather unimportant to most of us.   The earth continues its movements regardless who is measuring it, how and why.

It is the earth’s rotation around the sun that brings us day and night in the 24 hour cycles that we call a day and it’s the tilt of the earth that provides the various times for observing different seasons and their accompanying changes.  The differing amounts of light and dark vary according to those times in the calendar year.  Two solstices, Winter and Summer, are when we observe the days with the least or greatest amount of sunlight and two equinoxes, Spring and Fall, are when night and day are approximately equal lengths of time. These are times to celebrate our relationship with Panchamama and find ways to celebrate wherever we are.

Because I have the privilege and blessing of watching the sunrise almost every morning from my desk facing east, I feel very connected to the sun and it’s movements across the sky.  Each new day is a gift, open to tremendous possibilities. One comment, attributed to Mark Twain, is “there is nothing that cannot happen today.”  That means we have the unparalleled opportunity to create something new this day or to revisit those things that add meaning, value and purpose to our lives.  The Romans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, a weeklong period of lawless celebration between December 17-25.

Saturnalia was the most popular holiday of the Roman year. Catullus (XIV) describes it as “the best of days,” and Seneca complains that the “whole mob has let itself go in pleasures” Pliny the Younger writes that he retired to his room while the rest of the household celebrated.  It was an occasion for celebration, visits to friends, and the presentation of gifts, particularly wax candles, perhaps to signify the returning light after the solstice. Aulus Gellius relates that he and his Roman compatriots would gather at the baths in Athens, where they were studying, and pose difficult questions to one another on the ancient poets, a crown of laurel being dedicated to Saturn if no one could answer them.
Winter solstice in this hemisphere celebrates the return of the light from the longer hours of darkness, thus Midwinter celebrations that range from Christmas to the pagan rituals celebrated before the Christians adopted the December 25 date set by Julius Caesar and the Julian calendar.

However we choose to celebrate Winter solstice, it can be a time of increasing our “circle of illumination” which is the edge of the sunlit hemisphere. That phenomenon forms a circular boundary separating the earth into a light half and a dark half.   As the hours of daylight begin to increase, we can expand our awareness of the essential connection between us earthlings and that other force that makes our world such a fascinating place in which to be fully alive and an active participant.

We have an opportunity to make a connection between our minds and that which we can observe in our natural world and our spirits and that which we can sense in the ethereal realm.  Let that be our personal “circle of illumination” this season, increasing the light and appreciation for these wonder-filled celebrations during the holidays.  May your holidays be full of the richness of renewal, the energy of enthusiasm and the brilliance of beauty.   Such are the gifts laid before us.  Joy to the world!

The common misunderstanding of psyche is because the word gets translated most often as mind, thus terms like “mind-set” and “mindful” are often applied to leadership.   Conventional wisdom is that leaders will be more successful if they think intelligently about solving problems, create innovative plans and programs, or new products and services, figure out how to be more efficient and effective, and improve the bottom line through being smart about revenue and expenses.  Productive strategies are indeed desirable and welcome.

While all of those characteristics and behaviors are admirable traits in most leaders, in both the corporate and not for profit world of organizations and activities, there is a different meaning and value regarding the psyche of leadership.  It has little to do with managing the outside issues that leaders must deal with on a daily basis or even on the more macro level of quarterly or annual performance.

When we consider the literal translation of the Greek word psyche, we discover that the word means “spirit” or “soul.”  Consider the last time you had a conversation about the spirit of leadership or, the soul of the leader.   Psyche does have something to do with attitudes and core values and beliefs as these components are closer to the internal landscape of the leader in contrast with externally acquired skills and experience.  The psyche of leadership goes beyond the cognitive and mental abilities of the leader and has more to do with the emotional center and how the leader projects heart and soul.

Leadership that emanates from spirit can nourish and sustain the soul of the leader and provide a balance between the emotional and rational responses needed in almost every situation.   Genuine and positive energy can be transmitted to every person in the organization through direct and indirect contact and communication.  The psyche of the leader influences the environment as well as the quality of inter-personal relationships that help sustain a thriving organization.

It is important for leaders to be passionate about the pursuit of excellence. It is equally important that compassion and caring are heart-felt. That will make a significant contribution to a strong, healthy and energetic leader whose spirit is visible, palpable and durable.  How’s your spirit?

 Vision -  I have often said that there are several kinds of vision that a leader can use for different purposes.  There is the ever-popular 20/20 hindsight, looking back to see what history has to offer for what we can learn and what we might not want to repeat.  Another kind of vision, perhaps employed most frequently, has to do with understanding and meaning, and that is insight, looking into things with a bit of discernment and coming out with greater clarity.  Thus we are able to move forward with purpose and direction.  And finally, there is foresight, looking ahead to see what’s coming and projecting and propelling a way forward that has yet to be determined.  It is often helpful to have a map, an internal GPS or at least the semblance of a plan, knowing that it will change along the way.  More and more I see the need for clarity – clarity of vision would be a good starting point.

Vision sees in all directions, like a compass, but one must pay attention to which direction the needle is pointing and whether or not course corrections are required to achieve the stated goal or objective.  On such a journey it helps to know the conditions both above and below the surface, which way the winds are blowing and what the prevailing weather conditions are all around.

Mission -  “Your mission, if you decide to accept it is………This message will destruct in 30 seconds.”  The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was a popular TV spy show in the mid-sixties featuring Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin, played by Robert Vaughan and David McCallum, respectively. Their mission was to fight the enemies of peace and their classic archenemy was a vast organization called THRUSH  (originally named WASP in the series pilot movie). The original series never explained what the acronym THRUSH stood for, but in several of the U.N.C.L.E. novels written by David McDaniel, it was expanded as the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity.  U.N.C.L.E. stood for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.

Every school and most organizations today have a mission, a clearly stated purpose and rationale for who they are and what they do.   A leader needs to have a personal and professional mission, one that hopefully resonates with the group whom he or she serves. The mission is the message and the leader is the messenger, the one who is sent (or called) to deliver the news.  Some missions seem to be in the realm of aspiration while others hope for inspiration.  In most instances I would plead for a short, simple, descriptive and compelling statement.  Just three sentences of reasonable length can give the reader (or listener) an accurate picture of what is the essence of a community and what is of value in the place being described.

Passion -To capture the essence of passion, we need to know what it is that fuels our intensity for caring, for loving that which we do and for which we are, in fact, willing to suffer.  That will put both dimensions of passionate energy together – powerful positive feelings of caring that are visible and demonstrable and painful feelings that might emanate from issues of injustice, inequity and hurtful behaviors, or the lack of caring and concern. Compassionate action is much to be preferred over dispassionate disregard if we are to build communities that work together for the common good.  The question, once again is why.  Why do you do what you do?  If at least part of that response is that you find great joy in it, you’re on the right track.  On the other hand, if one happens to find joy in making others suffer, that might require some attention and treatment, perhaps a man from UNCLE!

Commitment to vision and mission can be seen in the passionate energy which one displays for all to see and feel.  It is probably better, not in short or temporary bursts of enthusiasm for some particular project, although that can be welcome support for the duration, but much better in the consistent high levels of energy which can fuel support from the wider community.

The big questions out of this for consideration here are where are you going with your leadership and how do your vision, mission and passion translate for and with others in your work, in your life and in your community?  And finally, how would you like to be remembered in terms of what you cared about the most?  The answers or response to those questions will be lived out and not need many words to be spoken.

With credit  to The Harvard Business Review (January 2009) “Women and the Vision Thing”:  Critical Components of Leadership that comprise the Global Executive Leadership Inventory, here are 12 descriptions of leadership characteristics and behaviors that may well determine a high level of success for a Head of School.  However, that said, when politics and personalities enter in, there are simply no guarantees.

Envisioning: A Head of School can articulate “a compelling vision, mission, and strategy that incorporates a multi-cultural and diverse perspective and connect to stakeholders on a global scale.”

Empowering: at all levels of the school the Head of School empowers followers by delegating and sharing information.

Energizing: The Head of School inspires us to achieve the goals of school.

Designing and Aligning: The Head of School is adept at creating world-class organizational design and control systems and uses them to align behavior with the intended values and goals.

Rewarding and feedback: The Head of School delivers a constant stream of rewards and structures and gives constructive feedback.

Team building: The Head of School creates team players even in an arena of scarce resources and focuses on team effectiveness, instilling a cooperative atmosphere that promotes collaboration and encourages constructive conflict.

Outside orientation: The Head of School makes internal and external constituents aware of outside constituencies, how we impact local communities and they impact us.

Global mind-set: The Head of School is the glue between the regional, national, and international cultures represented in our community.

Tenacity: The Head of School encourages and models courage and tenacity and takes reasonable risks.

Emotional intelligence: the key to The Head of School’s leadership, effectiveness, excellence, and fairness is the trust fostered in the school by creating – primarily by setting an example – an emotionally intelligent workforce whose members are self aware and treat others with respect and understanding.

The Head of School should demonstrate two other traits that may be the most difficult for authentic Head of Schools: life balance and resilience to stress. These are harder traits to evaluate, but they are essential not only for the Head of School’s success but also for sustained effective Leadership.