Happy October, 2017 Monday Moanin to all of you. For most of you in Michigan, schools have been in session for over 6 weeks. As a result you should have a pretty good pulse on the culture of your organization. In this MMT edition I mention 4 potential culture killers caused by staff. In the future I will focus on Administrator behaviors that negatively affect culture. Read more
Happy October 16, 2017 and here is wishing you all a great Monday Moanin. Last weekend I was with my family in Traverse City for our annual northern Michigan trip. Though a little wet, it was a spectacular time. The colors were beautiful, the air was crisp, the weather still cooperated, the food was great, and our day trip up Mission Pointe was a highlight. Read more
Happy Second Monday of October 2017 to all of you. Over the last three months, July-September, I tweeted many opinions and quotes from many of the stars of leadership and education. Below are listed my top tweets during that time. Each of them had over 2500 impressions on Twitter. Consider using one of them to guide your work and planning this week. Read more
Happy October, 2017 Monday Moanin to all of you. It is hard to believe that for most of you the first month of the 2017-18 school year is in the books. Typically the first month is front loaded with many activities and a fast pace filled with adjustments and reactions. Read more
Happy first Monday Moanin of Fall 2017. Leadership is a relevant and hot topic. Visit any online magazine like Flipboard or website and you will find several articles and blogs filled with opinions of how to build a better organization. After reviewing several authors in preparation for this post, I decided to focus on three practical and rather unique areas of leadership. As a school leader, focusing on a few of these areas will certainly enhance your performance. Have a productive week by being intentional on the following 3 C’s. Read more
Happy mid September 2017 Monday Moanin to all of you. Back in January 2017, I wrote about what was going to be my one word to guide my professional work and personal life for the new year. I borrowed the idea from Jon Gordon and others by adopting one word instead of more ambitious resolutions and goals to focus on. Because I struggled in the past with losing my focus on more depth filled goals, on word seemed doable. I was right, I wrote then; Read more
Happy Monday Moanin to all of you on this beautiful , crisp Michigan September morning. A big shout out to all of the people of Florida and Texas as they deal with the aftermath of Harvey and Irma. You are in my prayers and thoughts, be safe. 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. Read more
Today’s Monday Moanin Thoughts is especially challenging because it signals the end of summer for many of you. It is also Labor Day 2017. A day when we celebrate working people across America. Even as we celebrate, there are many challenges across our country for workers including unemployment, right to work legislation, living wage issues, a shrinking middle class, changes in pensions, and declining pay and benefits for many Americans. Read more
Happy beautiful August 2017 Monday Moanin to all of you. For many the 2017-18 school year has already begun or it is about to very soon. As I reflected on my thoughts for this blog, I was reminded of how exhausting this time is for all educators and especially those leading others. There is the planning of opening meetings, registrations, athletic contests, and parent meetings to name a few. Just checking in on my twitter PLN is tiring. There are so many incredible posts and ideas to start the year off well it can be overwhelming just trying to figure out what to do. I know this will not stop you from having a successful kickoff to the year. My hope is that you can sustain the energy and maintain it throughout the year. So how about this simple mantra, finish what you start. To help with this, be reminded: Read more
Happy first August 2017 Monday Moanin to all of you. Recently I have started to reread The Habitudes Series , by Tim Elmore. His vision is that there are images that form leadership habits and attitudes. Below are five of my favorite quotes taken from the first two books in the series. Refer to them often this week and let them guide your practice and serve as a prompt to help set your goals for the 2017-18 school year. Read more
