“We call them leaders because they go first.”

 

If Blockbuster was still around today, and you had to take out your life savings and invest in that company or Netflix, which one would you choose?

The answer is obvious.

But what about five years ago? Ten years ago?

Now it would be easy to say that Netflix would be the obvious choice, which would mean you are smarter than the leadership of Blockbuster at the time who turned down an offer to acquire Netflix.

The trick with leadership is to understand not only where they are, but the world around them, and what that means for where they have to go.

Still, many leaders go into organizations and focus less on leading, and more on maintaining. People often refer to this style of leadership as “managing,” but great leaders know they have to manage things, and lead people. “Maintainer” would be the more accurate description.

Unfortunately, if you act as a “maintainer” and focus on standing still in a world that continuously moves forward, you will fall behind.

Many educators hide their fear of future by saying everything has to be focused on the research of past practices. Research is crucial and should not be ignored, but many organizations have used evidence of success in the past to justify future direction, only to fail. Ask Blockbuster, Kodak, multiple music distribution companies, just for starters.  Past success does not ensure future growth.

In education, if you want to understand where learning can go, immerse yourself in the opportunities that your students have currently. I am not talking about throwing yourself in front of a computer and having a “choose your own adventure” type of learning experience that many schools now call “personalization,” but why not focus on what you can create because of what you consume? There is a difference between an opinion and an informed opinion, and while we encourage staff to take risks in their classrooms, leaders must model risks in their learning.

Leaders go first, and if they don’t, they are not leading. The best way to know what the world will need from our students is to immerse yourself in the opportunities the world provides and understand what you can do now and in the future.

• February 1, 2017 5 Arguments Against “Innovation in Education” and How You Might Respond
• June 11, 2011 For you or me?
• July 28, 2014 Investing in Individuals First
• September 8, 2016 The #InnovatorsMindset MOOC Starting Soon! #IMMOOC
• September 29, 2015 One School’s Impossible, Is Another School’s Norm

Source: George Couros

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2sdpK3x

“We call them leaders because they go first.”

 

If Blockbuster was still around today, and you had to take out your life savings and invest in that company or Netflix, which one would you choose?

The answer is obvious.

But what about five years ago? Ten years ago?

Now it would be easy to say that Netflix would be the obvious choice, which would mean you are smarter than the leadership of Blockbuster at the time who turned down an offer to acquire Netflix.

The trick with leadership is to understand not only where they are, but the world around them, and what that means for where they have to go.

Still, many leaders go into organizations and focus less on leading, and more on maintaining. People often refer to this style of leadership as “managing,” but great leaders know they have to manage things, and lead people. “Maintainer” would be the more accurate description.

Unfortunately, if you act as a “maintainer” and focus on standing still in a world that continuously moves forward, you will fall behind.

Many educators hide their fear of future by saying everything has to be focused on the research of past practices. Research is crucial and should not be ignored, but many organizations have used evidence of success in the past to justify future direction, only to fail. Ask Blockbuster, Kodak, multiple music distribution companies, just for starters.  Past success does not ensure future growth.

In education, if you want to understand where learning can go, immerse yourself in the opportunities that your students have currently. I am not talking about throwing yourself in front of a computer and having a “choose your own adventure” type of learning experience that many schools now call “personalization,” but why not focus on what you can create because of what you consume? There is a difference between an opinion and an informed opinion, and while we encourage staff to take risks in their classrooms, leaders must model risks in their learning.

Leaders go first, and if they don’t, they are not leading. The best way to know what the world will need from our students is to immerse yourself in the opportunities the world provides and understand what you can do now and in the future.

• February 1, 2017 5 Arguments Against “Innovation in Education” and How You Might Respond
• June 11, 2011 For you or me?
• July 28, 2014 Investing in Individuals First
• September 8, 2016 The #InnovatorsMindset MOOC Starting Soon! #IMMOOC
• September 29, 2015 One School’s Impossible, Is Another School’s Norm

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2E2L6le

Kindness Is the Most Important Indicator of Success

It was awesome to recently hold our first ever Jellybean Festival at our school. The Jellybean Festival brings together students of differing abilities to work with each other and perform for an audience. Think of it as Special Olympics meets the performing arts or even America's Got Talent.

It was great to see the celebration of ALL our students and the opportunity for our students with special needs to really shine in front of their peers. One student even commented after the event, "I feel like a star!"

Our school has an organization called Character Council that promotes acceptance, positive decisions, kindness, etc. They organized our event and served as coaches for the participants, helping them develop acts and performing alongside them.

We were thrilled to have Howard Martin, the founder of the Jellybean Conspiracy, in attendance at our program. He shared his story and some thoughts on kindness and acceptance. 

His comments were profound...

At the Jellybean Festival we celebrate two things. First, every life matters. Every life, every single life matters.The second thing is this—it is kindness that makes us most human and most divine.

I'm going to tell you something now I don't think you're going to believe. But I challenge you to put aside your doubts. The most important indicator of success in life is kindness. The most important thing you can learn in high school is to be kind.

You want a definition for kindness? Kindness is becoming important in the life of another human being, especially the one is most likely to be left out.

You want another definition of kindness? See what happens today at the Jellybean Festival.

 In my recent post, I presented 5 questions every person is trying to answer:

1. Am I important to someone here?
2. Do I belong here?
3. Am I good at something here?
4. Who will listen to me here?
5. Is my presence here making a difference?

We all have a responsibility to BE the answer to these questions for someone. We all must help others know they are valued and that they matter. It is so important to do this.

The Jellybean Festival was a way we could do that as an entire school. It was a way to show how we should value each other. We were able to celebrate differences and just have fun together. 

I think the Jellybean Creed really says it best.

I've included the video highlights from our festival. You can get an idea of what our event was like in case your school wants to do something like this too. If you want to bring a Jellybean Festival to your school, I am happy to share more about how to do that. 

        

Comments

• Comments

Related Stories

• 5 Questions Every Kid Is Trying to Answer
• Difficulties Make Us Bitter or They Make Us Better
• 11 Must-Have Qualities of Authentic Leadership

 

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2FHM0Ev

Letters to the Beast…or what I wish I knew at 16…

Recently my oldest, my beast, turned 16. 16, ya’ll. That’s OLD! That’s driving age, thinking about college age, preparing to be all grown up age. When I think back to who I was, or thought I was going to be at 16, I don’t know that I had any concept of the life I had […]

The post Letters to the Beast…or what I wish I knew at 16… appeared first on Technically Yours Teamann.

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2DWjJtc

Regan West by Marcon

Marcon is excited to announce Regan West, our next Coquitlam project, will be coming to market this Spring.Located steps from the Burquitlam Skytrain Station makes it an easy commute to downtown Vancouver, colleges and universities, entertainment, recreation and shopping throughout the lower mainland. This 6-storey contemporary building will feature 1, 2 and 3 bedroom homes with livable floor plans, a common rooftop patio, and timeless interior design. At Regan West, you are just a short stroll from parks, shopping, and new community amenities.

The post Regan West by Marcon appeared first on Vancouver New Condos.

from Buildings – Vancouver New Condos http://ift.tt/2E9VuuV

The Road Right in Front of You

Having a vision of where you want to go is not only crucial for leadership but in life.  It applies to so many different aspects of what we do daily, whether it is about our work, our family, our health, or a plethora of other focuses we may have on our mind.

But that big vision down the road can become overwhelming if we are not able to break it down into smaller chunks where we can develop competence and confidence along the way.

I was thinking about this as I was doing one of my long runs this past week.  It is a fantastic opportunity to run in new places and cities, but it also can be daunting as you do not know the paths or terrain in front of you.  It can be both exhilarating or anxiety-inducing depending on the day.

As I am focused on running a half-marathon soon, I had a 60-minute run, so I got a road and started running what seemed to be a continuous upward hill.  I looked up to the top of the hill, seemingly an endless distance away and became frustrated, and stopped my run to walk.  Although I got to the top, I was extremely frustrated with not achieving my goal for the day.  What I realized though was that when I started to look down and focus on the few feet in front of me, instead of focusing on the top of the hill, running the hill became easier.

Today, on a longer run, I wanted to conquer that hill, so I went out again.  Focusing the entirety of the run, I decided to focus on what I learned from the last time I went out and focused on the few feet in front of me instead of the top hill.  As I kept that focus, before I knew it, I was at the top of the hill, and actually now running faster on the downward slope.  Focusing on doing the work right in front of me, sticking to it, and being consistent, before I knew it, I was where I wanted to be.

As I worked with a few administrators this year that were frustrated with what seemed to be the slow growth of their organization, I told them to be patient and focus on the work in front of them, instead of setting their sights to the endpoint that was so far away.  They focused on those little things every day, and now they are on a much better path and are much closer to their end goal, with a lot less frustration.

Tony Robbins often talks about how humans crave growth more than anything, and if we look too far ahead, we lose sight of our growth in the journey for the vision in the distance.  

Focus on the few steps in front of you, do those well, and before you know it, you will be at the top of that hill looking for another one to conquer.

• November 10, 2011 Lost in Learning
• September 25, 2016 No Shortage of Road
• September 9, 2016 Education and Brown M&Ms
• August 6, 2017 3 Quotes on Becoming Successful
• November 19, 2015 “Systems Thinking” and “Systems Doing”

Source: George Couros

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2GFsCcC

The Road Right in Front of You

Having a vision of where you want to go is not only crucial for leadership but in life.  It applies to so many different aspects of what we do daily, whether it is about our work, our family, our health, or a plethora of other focuses we may have on our mind.

But that big vision down the road can become overwhelming if we are not able to break it down into smaller chunks where we can develop competence and confidence along the way.

I was thinking about this as I was doing one of my long runs this past week.  It is a fantastic opportunity to run in new places and cities, but it also can be daunting as you do not know the paths or terrain in front of you.  It can be both exhilarating or anxiety-inducing depending on the day.

As I am focused on running a half-marathon soon, I had a 60-minute run, so I got a road and started running what seemed to be a continuous upward hill.  I looked up to the top of the hill, seemingly an endless distance away and became frustrated, and stopped my run to walk.  Although I got to the top, I was extremely frustrated with not achieving my goal for the day.  What I realized though was that when I started to look down and focus on the few feet in front of me, instead of focusing on the top of the hill, running the hill became easier.

Today, on a longer run, I wanted to conquer that hill, so I went out again.  Focusing the entirety of the run, I decided to focus on what I learned from the last time I went out and focused on the few feet in front of me instead of the top hill.  As I kept that focus, before I knew it, I was at the top of the hill, and actually now running faster on the downward slope.  Focusing on doing the work right in front of me, sticking to it, and being consistent, before I knew it, I was where I wanted to be.

As I worked with a few administrators this year that were frustrated with what seemed to be the slow growth of their organization, I told them to be patient and focus on the work in front of them, instead of setting their sights to the endpoint that was so far away.  They focused on those little things every day, and now they are on a much better path and are much closer to their end goal, with a lot less frustration.

Tony Robbins often talks about how humans crave growth more than anything, and if we look too far ahead, we lose sight of our growth in the journey for the vision in the distance.  

Focus on the few steps in front of you, do those well, and before you know it, you will be at the top of that hill looking for another one to conquer.

• November 10, 2011 Lost in Learning
• September 25, 2016 No Shortage of Road
• September 9, 2016 Education and Brown M&Ms
• August 6, 2017 3 Quotes on Becoming Successful
• November 19, 2015 “Systems Thinking” and “Systems Doing”

from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2BOjaQh