Happy First Monday Moanin of Fall 2016. Over the last year, I read an article written by Paul Warren discussing the positive qualities that teachers want in their principal. One of those qualities written about was effective communication. It is an essential skill that all principals need to enhance to be a productive leader. Listed below in bold are some great questions from Warren for you to focus on over the coming weeks. Read more

Happy Monday Moanin  to all of  you on this beautiful , crisp Michigan September morning. Today, most schools in the Midwest are in their initial weeks of the  2016-17 school year. Building principals and their staffs have been busy welcoming students and dealing with all of the tasks that go with starting a new year. As I reflect back on my years as a building principal , I remember  experiencing the first  few weeks with students and staff exhausted due to supervising, planning and facilitating the opening. You may be feeling something similar. Read more

Happy Final Monday in August 2016. Many of you are busily preparing for your opening staff meeting or are well into the new year. After meeting with several building and district administrators during the month of August, two topics were common during our conversations. Consistency and quality decision-making.  As you embark on a new year , consider focusing on these two areas of  leadership. Read more

Happy mid August 2016 Monday Moanin to all of you. For many of you in the Midwest your initial staff meetings will be the week before Labor Day while some of you have already started the 2016-17 school year. Either way, this recipe is something you can try at any time and enjoy success. It is very simple and doable. Sometimes we may over think plans for opening staff meetings and really all meetings. We may get disappointed and the positive tone we want to set can go flat and miss the mark.  The ingredients are listed in bold below.  Only you and your team can determine the amount of each item needed to have a successful recipe and a positive opening meeting. Read more

Happy first Monday Moanin of August 2016. This week over 100 educators from the tri-county of Detroit will attend the 5th Annual Hickey Leadership Planning Summit. It is during the Summit that participants begin to do some focused planning with their teams for the upcoming 2016-17 school year. Every year the Summit begins with an opener. I wanted to share part of the opener with you. Please consider it as a prompt as you plan your year. It is;

Does your organization have a positive culture/ climate? Reflect individually and then as a group of the following quote from Jim Rohn:

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

Good luck as you begin a new year and that your planning is productive. Have a great week and keep finding the good stuff.