1. 10 Skills for Successful School Leaders
Breaking Ranks
10 Skills for Successful School Leaders

3. Effective leaders know:
Managerial “stuff” gets in the way.
You can’t do it alone.

5. How did you get to be as good as you are?

6. Building Capacity Think of a successful leader you have worked with.
Jot down the traits and behaviors that made him or her effective.

7. What Does It Take? Context Talents (life) SKILLS Motivation KNOWLEDGE
ATTITUDES
Talents
Context
(workplace)
Motivation
(life)

8. How do you get better?

9. 21st Century Principal Skills
Setting Instructional Direction
Teamwork
Sensitivity
Judgment
Results Orientation
Organizational Ability
Understanding Own Strengths and Weaknesses
Development of Others
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
RESOLVING COMPLEX PROBLEMS
DEVELOPING SELF AND OTHERS
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Oral Communication
Written Communication

10. Three consistently weak areas:
Setting instructional direction
Written communication
Development of others

15. Because effective leadership practice is critical to school reform, principals and other school leaders must encourage aspiring leaders and staff members to engage in personal examination and development of their own professional capacity. In doing so, educators grow personally as they contribute to the sustainability of improvements to their schools. Breaking Ranks: 10 Skills for Successful School Leaders, NASSP

16. Not everyone can be a secondary school principal.

17. Most people don’t have the will to do your job.

18. 252 business organizations were studied, and ¾ of the executives interviewed were concerned about the quality of leaders they were getting.

19. Setting Instructional Direction: A Definition
Implementing strategies for improving teaching and learning including putting programs and improvement efforts into action. Developing a vision of learning and establishing clear goals; providing direction in achieving stated goals; encouraging others to contribute to goal achievement; securing commitment to a course of action from individuals and groups.

20. Behavioral indicators
Articulates a vision related to teaching and learning
Articulates high performance expectations for self or others
Encourages improvement in teaching and learning
Sets clear measurable objectives
Generates enthusiasm toward common goals
Seeks to develop alliances outside the school to support high-quality teaching and learning
Acknowledges achievement or accomplishments
Seeks commitment to a course of action

21. How do you put it in action?
To begin to assess your capacity in setting instructional direction, reflect on what it looks like when you perform each of the behaviors. List some specific examples from your own practice as evidence that you can and do perform each behavior.

22. Reflection
In which skills do you feel you are strongest? Give an example of why you feel this way.
Which skills will need further attention? Why?
What will you plan to do in order to increase your leadership capacity?

23. Additional Reading Mindset by Carol S. Dweck
Transforming School Culture by Anthony Muhammad
Leaders of Learning by Richard DuFour and Robert Marzano
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Confidence by Rosabeth Kanter

24. Contact Information
Phil Lewis
Kathie Lewis
LaVietta Prichard

25. Leadership: It’s a Process