Introduction: Recently, I began to reach out to friends and mentors to help me think through leadership, innovation, and educational issues that continue to provide me great passion for the work I get to do within our profession. My first attempt at this sort of recorded blog was with Rex Miller on Leadership and MindShift, and I hope to share … Read More
Norm and Norms
If your television viewing history includes the eleven-year period from 1982 – 1993, you probably recall a sitcom titled Cheers. The show is set in a bar named Cheers in Boston, Massachusetts, where a group of locals met to have a drink, relax and socialize. The refrain from the show’s theme song quickly became the tagline, Where Everybody Knows Your … Read More
3 Questions on Leadership and Mindshift: Rex Miller
Introduction: In the first blog I wrote for CACE, The Power of Connectivity: I Gotta Guy, I shared my thoughts about the Christian school network: In my experience in Christian education there is a specialist, expert, or innovator in every part of the country, and over the past four years as Vice President of the Christian Coalition for Educational Innovation (CCEI) I … Read More
In Light of Eternity (Part 2) – Leading with Conviction
Growing up in an evangelical home in the 1970s and 1980s, I was prepared in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School to face persecution. We learned of missionary martyrs, closed communistic and totalitarian regimes, possible apocalyptic future scenarios—all with the possible outcome that we may be called to die for our faith. In the end, that is in fact what … Read More
In Light of Eternity—Leading Others with a Right Perspective
Like every era, ours is one where events that happen before our eyes have the potential to mask the truth of what is really happening and require discernment. As Christian educators and leaders, the challenges are given added importance as you seek to offer that discernment to your colleagues, families and students. Leading requires a sense of the big picture … Read More
Leadership Encouragement for 2017
Ten years ago, at the age of 31, I was entrusted by a bold superintendent and school board with an opportunity to lead a school. At this school, 2006 was known as the “Year of Shock and Awe” because a data dive discovered that the school was having a negative demographic impact on the education of its students, which is … Read More
What Lessons can a Christian School Learn from J.C. Penney?
The unusual comparison of a retailer and an educational institution may seem to be a bit strange. However, they have a lot in common and there are some clear corollaries which can be instructive considering the challenges and changes facing both sectors. Mission, Culture, and Leadership will be discussed in this article. Strength of Mission “Do unto others as you … Read More
Loose Ties Are Abundant, but Risky, at the Top
The decor varies greatly in the offices of the 550 CEOs, government officials, and heads of NGOs interviewed as part of our research on leadership — but hands down, photos are the most popular accessory. There are some shots of families and vacations, but most of the pictures show these senior leaders with prominent people. Playing golf with Jack Nicklaus. … Read More
Building an Engaged School: Get a Leader
In a blog from April I laid out that “Engagement Matters” throughout an organization for long-term success as well as short-term fulfillment. Gallup continues to do research on employee engagement as they seek to understand the combination of personal enjoyment in work as well as business success overall, and they stated earlier this year: “Though companies and leaders worldwide recognize … Read More
Biblical Magnification: A Potential Wolf
“Microscopes, telescopes, binoculars, sighting scopes, and eyeglasses help us see something more clearly—magnified and focused for a purpose” (Reel, 2016, p. 136). In a previous blog, I introduced the concept of an innovation cascade. An innovation cascade is the premise that educational innovation must begin at the top of an organization and filter organically through the entire organization. The concept, … Read More