Happy early Monday Moanin! Today we celebrate a wonderful Mother’s Day. Every one of us can reflect on how our mom’s have influenced us as people and leaders. When I think of my mom, I am filled with many examples of how she helped shaped my life and those of my five brothers. Luckily, she still influences all of us  to this day. Rose Hickey is a  94-year-old dynamo. Her gifts are many and she still is the leader of our family. After my dad passed away in 1991, my mom modeled for all of us resiliency and strength.  It was not an easy time, yet she led us through our grief and though missing him, continued to enjoy and live a rewarding, full life. Read more

Happy first Monday Moanin of May 2017.  This week I kept reflecting about the numerous challenges that leaders face working in public education. Some of my thoughts included that leading is overwhelming, thankless, more top down decisions, less control, everything’s urgent, and poor staff morale. So, how do you deal with these and other challenges and  still keep your organization effective and growing ? This week, how are you going to lead? Consider these three areas to focus on as you continue to wind down the 2016-17 school year.

• Lead by taking care of the little things. Be well planned and organized for the week. John Maxwell writes; ” Don’t try to conquer the world until you’ve taken care of things in your own backyard.” 
• Spend this week leading from your strengths. Reflect on what you do well and stay in that lane. Enhance your practice. Maxwell shares; ” Set your priorities and focus on your strengths today.”
• Lead with the right attitude this week. Lead with your glass half full. Your staff doesn’t need to hear you blame others for the challenges everyone faces. Take responsibility for your attitude. Maxwell reminds; “Life is full of surprises, and the adjustment of our attitudes is a lifelong project. The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”

Lead this week by focusing on the little things, strengths and attitude. All doable and in your control. Have a great week and keep finding the good stuff.

Happy April 2017 Monday Moanin to all of you. Hopefully you had a relaxing Holiday weekend with your family and friends. As I mentioned last week, April signals the beginning of the path to the end of the 2016-17 school year. This is the time of year of many year-end activities that simply put,  are filled with  lots of emotions and distractions. As a result, dealing with the complexities of this time of year can be challenging and some times paralyzing. Let’s simplify our leadership and enhance our effectiveness by focusing on MVP. Let’s break it down:   Read more

For many of you this will be the final week of school before a much deserved spring break. Several years ago I read a blog by Sheryl Nance-Nash about things leaders should say. As a result, I thought it would be a great time to post something similar by listing 5 things we should here often in schools from all leaders. I believe  these are  some of the right words and phrases that can keep your organization growing and moving in a positive direction. Read more

Welcome to another March 2017 Monday Moanin. Hopefully this will be a positive and productive week for you and your staff.  Positive and productive are always challenging during the month of March and coming up with an idea or focus for this blog is no different. After some reflection, I am posting three excerpts from my previous 244 Monday Moanin Thoughts. Hopefully they will timely and helpful as you begin your week.

From May 31,2015 #160

One thing is certain, there are no easy answers during this difficult time. However, I would emphasize and remind you that Leaders Don’t Hide!  It is critical to fight the invitation to disappear. When your organization is hurting it is important to be hopeful and I believe you can do this without acting pollyanna. You can be respectful without cheerleading. You can be supportive without trying to fix things for people. You can be a listener and fight the urge to be a nervous over-talker. You need to be present in order to be compassionate. Read more