Posts
In response to the posts on, “Fear,” a reader writes:
“Fear is not a response, it is an emotion. We choose a response to the emotion. The response may well be negative (we may cower, run away, look for the easy way out, look for a way to appease - even though we are right). On the other hand the response to fear may be positive: we become more determined, more methodical, and prudent to potential dangers.
From a scientific point of view, the human emotion of fear has been naturally selected, for it is an emotion all humans (and all other animals) possess. If it was selected, it is because it helps us survive (fight or flight, in the primal example). Don’t fear, ‘Fear.’ Respect fear, harness fear, train yourself to respond in positive manners to fear, and you will have harnessed a primal emotion. Take it beyond fight or flight and turn it into a tool to be methodical.
In military and law enforcement we are trained to expect tunnel vision in potential terminal situations. Fear causes the eyesight to be more acute (tunnel vision), hearing is more acute, and you can become stronger and faster. Or you can let the physiological effects paralyze you and then you may well come out the loser in a potentially life and death situation. This is why military and law enforcement operators train, train, and train. In education we do the same thing: let the fear make you think, work, and achieve. Hey, that sounds familiar!”
SC Response
You are circling back to how the discussion started. Don’t be ashamed of, or paralyzed by fear. Recognize fear and use it to you and your school’s advantage. And again, if you have yet to face duty based fear, ask yourself, "Have I ever made myself be the first to step into the breech?"
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Places I Have Been
Let me first apologize for not keeping up with my posting duties. The past five days have been a whirlwind. In five days, I have conducted 9 presentations to over 1,100 school leaders in 3 different cities. And in each case the audiences were larger and more enthusiastic then ever before. Even the school board members were fired up to hear that dramatic and rapid school improvement is possible if you have the vision, desire and discipline.
Starting with the next post, we’ll continue the discussion on fear. I may have stopped writing for a couple of days, but you, the Lead Your School reader have not. So we will get caught up this week.
Starting with the next post, we’ll continue the discussion on fear. I may have stopped writing for a couple of days, but you, the Lead Your School reader have not. So we will get caught up this week.
I want to thank all the Lead Your School readers who came up and said “hello” on this mini-speaking tour. One of the many highlights of the week was when I got to introduce Howard the blog participant to Mike the blog participant.
I want to thank Dr. Mike Laird, who came to my first presentation as a coach, to stand in my blind spot and give me some feedback on how to improve the presentations. And then quickly became an usher and finally a co-presenter as the audiences kept growing.
I want to thank Don Brown and Sherilynn Cotton who presented with me in Austin.
I want to thank Dr. Tommy Price and the Splendora ISD School Board. The opportunity to share with over 200 school board members the story of the ongoing “Splendora Miracle,” is just a small way to acknowledge their hard work and perseverance.
But most importantly, I want to thank the audiences at the Rigor, Relevance and Relationship Conference, hosted by Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Your passion for knowledge is unrivaled and your focus on students unequalled. And for one of the few times in my life, I was speechless. I have included some pictures. For those of you who weren’t there, after all the chairs were taken, people brought their own chair from other sessions. After no more chairs could be squeezed in the room, people stood against the wall and sat on the floor. And finally, after every square inch of floor space was occupied, people stood and sat in the hall.
Again, thank you.
Think. Work. Achieve.
I want to thank Dr. Mike Laird, who came to my first presentation as a coach, to stand in my blind spot and give me some feedback on how to improve the presentations. And then quickly became an usher and finally a co-presenter as the audiences kept growing.
I want to thank Don Brown and Sherilynn Cotton who presented with me in Austin.
I want to thank Dr. Tommy Price and the Splendora ISD School Board. The opportunity to share with over 200 school board members the story of the ongoing “Splendora Miracle,” is just a small way to acknowledge their hard work and perseverance.
But most importantly, I want to thank the audiences at the Rigor, Relevance and Relationship Conference, hosted by Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Your passion for knowledge is unrivaled and your focus on students unequalled. And for one of the few times in my life, I was speechless. I have included some pictures. For those of you who weren’t there, after all the chairs were taken, people brought their own chair from other sessions. After no more chairs could be squeezed in the room, people stood against the wall and sat on the floor. And finally, after every square inch of floor space was occupied, people stood and sat in the hall.
Again, thank you.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
Thursday, June 11, 2009
A Reader Writes
"SC, I surely enjoyed your session today at the Rigor, Relevance and Relationships Conference. It was great seeing you again."
Unfortunately, a name didn't come with this post. But I have seen a lot of old friends at the conference, and even though I didn't get to talk to all of you, just being together again recharges my batteries.
Thank you all.
Unfortunately, a name didn't come with this post. But I have seen a lot of old friends at the conference, and even though I didn't get to talk to all of you, just being together again recharges my batteries.
Thank you all.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Reader Writes... (Fear - Part 6)
In response to the posts on, “Fear,” a reader writes:
“As an additional thought on the two types of principals that we have discussed in the past, I want to add these thoughts about fear. Not only do leaders fall into one of the two camps that have been discussed, but the ‘fear’ in each camp is totally different. Let me explain.
The leader, who is afraid to do something for fear of being wrong, has a fear of personnel consequences, (i.e. to their career, reputation, future, etc.) It is a self-centered and paralyzing fear and is un-healthy for both the leader and the system.
On the other hand is the leader who is afraid to do nothing. Those are the leaders driven to do something, anything, and everything for the benefit of their students. This is a completely different type of fear. While this second type of leader may have the same fears as the first type, they have a greater fear, not for themselves, but for their students. They fear that their students might be shortchanged, or receive less than the best that they deserve. That fear is not self-centered, in fact it completely overcomes the self-centered fear and rather than paralyzing the leader, it frees the leader to take chances, to risk in order to provide the best leadership possible. It is an empowering fear, a healthy fear.
My advice to young leaders is to be aware of both types of fear. Fight the un-healthy fear or you become a coward and an embarrassment to our profession. Embrace the healthy fear. Use it, along with good judgment, and a healthy respect for the negative consequences of reckless or badly planned and poorly executed efforts, to provide your students with a superior education. It is the only way to truly make a difference.
Remember, there is no such thing as a ‘timid leader.’ If you are ‘timid,’ you are no ‘leader’ at all.”
SC Response
Home run! I agree point for point. You especially nail the “timid seat warmer” right between the eyes. Early in my role working for the Commissioner, I was tasked with working with the leadership of a district that was in the ditch. The leader of the “you just don’t know our kids” faction focused entirely on the go slow, don’t ruffle any feathers model of change (this is the modern day equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burns).
After having facts and reality knock the legs out of every excuse she had for doing nothing, she said, “Mr. Cain, in a race to Galveston, you may get there first, but I will eventually arrive.”
To which I responded, “Yes, and I will arrive with a bus load of students. You will be lucky to arrive with a car load.”
At the end of the semester, a different Principal was selected to run the race. And yes, the new Principal had to deal with uncomfortable and unhappy staff for a little while, but things did improve and staff did get happier.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
“As an additional thought on the two types of principals that we have discussed in the past, I want to add these thoughts about fear. Not only do leaders fall into one of the two camps that have been discussed, but the ‘fear’ in each camp is totally different. Let me explain.
The leader, who is afraid to do something for fear of being wrong, has a fear of personnel consequences, (i.e. to their career, reputation, future, etc.) It is a self-centered and paralyzing fear and is un-healthy for both the leader and the system.
On the other hand is the leader who is afraid to do nothing. Those are the leaders driven to do something, anything, and everything for the benefit of their students. This is a completely different type of fear. While this second type of leader may have the same fears as the first type, they have a greater fear, not for themselves, but for their students. They fear that their students might be shortchanged, or receive less than the best that they deserve. That fear is not self-centered, in fact it completely overcomes the self-centered fear and rather than paralyzing the leader, it frees the leader to take chances, to risk in order to provide the best leadership possible. It is an empowering fear, a healthy fear.
My advice to young leaders is to be aware of both types of fear. Fight the un-healthy fear or you become a coward and an embarrassment to our profession. Embrace the healthy fear. Use it, along with good judgment, and a healthy respect for the negative consequences of reckless or badly planned and poorly executed efforts, to provide your students with a superior education. It is the only way to truly make a difference.
Remember, there is no such thing as a ‘timid leader.’ If you are ‘timid,’ you are no ‘leader’ at all.”
SC Response
Home run! I agree point for point. You especially nail the “timid seat warmer” right between the eyes. Early in my role working for the Commissioner, I was tasked with working with the leadership of a district that was in the ditch. The leader of the “you just don’t know our kids” faction focused entirely on the go slow, don’t ruffle any feathers model of change (this is the modern day equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burns).
After having facts and reality knock the legs out of every excuse she had for doing nothing, she said, “Mr. Cain, in a race to Galveston, you may get there first, but I will eventually arrive.”
To which I responded, “Yes, and I will arrive with a bus load of students. You will be lucky to arrive with a car load.”
At the end of the semester, a different Principal was selected to run the race. And yes, the new Principal had to deal with uncomfortable and unhappy staff for a little while, but things did improve and staff did get happier.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
A Reader Writes... (Fear - Part 5)
In response to the posts on, “Fear,” a reader writes,
“Yes, I guess you could call me a psychopath; a psychopath for school improvement. :-)”
SC Response
I know this writer of this comment. He is aggressive, obsessive and just crazy enough to try anything once. And those are his good qualities. This is exactly why Brown and Brezina picked him out from the crowd early, as someone to watch and support. And he has made all of us proud, earning not one but three promotions in less than a year. From administrative intern, to middle school AP to high school AP.
And for the record, he absolutely frightens those dusty, retired on the job, central office types. This again, is another one of his good qualities.
Think Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
“Yes, I guess you could call me a psychopath; a psychopath for school improvement. :-)”
SC Response
I know this writer of this comment. He is aggressive, obsessive and just crazy enough to try anything once. And those are his good qualities. This is exactly why Brown and Brezina picked him out from the crowd early, as someone to watch and support. And he has made all of us proud, earning not one but three promotions in less than a year. From administrative intern, to middle school AP to high school AP.
And for the record, he absolutely frightens those dusty, retired on the job, central office types. This again, is another one of his good qualities.
Think Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
State of the Blog - The Last 100 Posts (200 and Counting)
Good morning, Lead Your School readers. This is the 200th post to the column, so I think this is a good time to review our progress and preview some upcoming improvements.
First, the review:
The 1st post was on Monday, February 16, 2009.
The 100th post was on Tuesday, April 14, 2009.
The 200th post is today, June 10, 2009
It has taken 115 days to reach the 200 post milestone.
The 200 posts are more than 111 pages of single spaced text.
The Top 5 key words have been: Leadership (42); Hyper-monitoring (18); Book Recommendation (17); Data Use (15); E. Don Brown (15).
There have been 89 reader comments. Thank you, and keep it up. As this blog is becoming more of a dialogue, I think it is much more interesting for all of us.
There are 120 e-mail subscribers. Thank you!
There have been over 3,400 site hits.
All of this is incredibly exciting; especially when you consider that just 115 days ago, every number was 0.
Now for the preview of things that are coming soon:
Soon there will be a link to the Lead Your School campus support website. You can visit the site at http://www.leadyourschool.com/. The site is still in early development, but there are resources there (or will soon be there) that you may find helpful. These including my personal book study notes that I have shared with principals for years. I’ll post a couple each month to keep it fresh. I will also upload the audio files from presentations that I have conducted.
A Little Blatant Self Promotion:
First, if you like the site and you haven’t signed up for the e-mail subscription, please do. I find that it’s much easier to write to people than it is to write to web hits.
Second, if you like the site and find it useful, tell three other people. Again, this blog is much more interesting as a dialogue.
Finally,
Thank you so much for reading and responding. Who knows what we will discuss in the next 100 posts.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
First, the review:
The 1st post was on Monday, February 16, 2009.
The 100th post was on Tuesday, April 14, 2009.
The 200th post is today, June 10, 2009
It has taken 115 days to reach the 200 post milestone.
The 200 posts are more than 111 pages of single spaced text.
The Top 5 key words have been: Leadership (42); Hyper-monitoring (18); Book Recommendation (17); Data Use (15); E. Don Brown (15).
There have been 89 reader comments. Thank you, and keep it up. As this blog is becoming more of a dialogue, I think it is much more interesting for all of us.
There are 120 e-mail subscribers. Thank you!
There have been over 3,400 site hits.
All of this is incredibly exciting; especially when you consider that just 115 days ago, every number was 0.
Now for the preview of things that are coming soon:
Soon there will be a link to the Lead Your School campus support website. You can visit the site at http://www.leadyourschool.com/. The site is still in early development, but there are resources there (or will soon be there) that you may find helpful. These including my personal book study notes that I have shared with principals for years. I’ll post a couple each month to keep it fresh. I will also upload the audio files from presentations that I have conducted.
A Little Blatant Self Promotion:
First, if you like the site and you haven’t signed up for the e-mail subscription, please do. I find that it’s much easier to write to people than it is to write to web hits.
Second, if you like the site and find it useful, tell three other people. Again, this blog is much more interesting as a dialogue.
Finally,
Thank you so much for reading and responding. Who knows what we will discuss in the next 100 posts.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
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