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Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way
How to Be a More Effective Leader in Today's Schools

Second Edition
Edited by:

July 2005 | 216 pages | Corwin
Now you can do more than just deal with the "crisis-du-jour".

Leadership is learnable, and this comprehensive guide will show you how to be proactive, prevent crises, create dreams, push the envelope, and focus on the future instead of just reacting to crises, spending all your time putting out fires, or coping with the current system—whether it works or not. In this updated second edition, best-selling author Robert D. Ramsey gives you just what you need to avoid "simply managing" and to become a true leader instead!

Unlike other manuals that give you bits and pieces on how to develop a particular curriculum or handle specific day-to-day discipline problems, this unique handbook offers administrators practical, time-proven lessons on how to think, act, plan, set priorities, manage time, and make decisions—skills that will help you navigate through the unique challenges of leading in a school environment. Included are guidelines on:
  • Getting the most out of people
  • Bringing about change
  • Handling politics
  • Dealing with setbacks
  • Thinking, looking, and acting like an effective school leader
  • Communicating effectively
  • Practicing ethical leadership

Being a school leader can actually be exciting, rewarding, and fun again, once you're equipped to tackle today's challenges!

Other books by Robert D. Ramsey:
What Matters Most for School Leaders
School Leadership From A to Z
How to Say the Right Thing Every Time, Second Edition
Well Said, Well Spoken


 
Preface to the Second Edition
 
Preface to the First Edition
Acknowledgments

 
 
About the Author
 
Introduction
Where Have All the Good Leaders Gone?

 
Can Everyday Administrators Learn "Leadership"? You Bet!

 
How Leadership in Schools Is Different

 
The Difference Between Effective School Leaders and Run-of-the-Mill Managers

 
What It Takes to Be an Effective School Leader Today

 
 
1. Making Decisions
Whose Decision Is It?

 
Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

 
Input: How to Get It, Where to Get It, and When to Ignore It

 
Data-Driven Decision Making: An Old Tool With New Importance

 
Procrastination Is a Decision-Sometimes, the Right One

 
Real-World Steps in Decision Making

 
Intuitive Leadership: When to Trust Your Instincts

 
 
2. Planning for the Future
The Planning Habit

 
How Effective School Leaders Use the Visioning Process

 
Strategic Planning by the Numbers

 
The "SMART" Model for Goal Setting

 
A Flowchart for Effective Planning

 
Planning Is a Secret Weapon

 
Planning for Success

 
 
3. Getting the Most Out of People
Winning and Losing Leadership Styles

 
Morale: Does It Matter Anymore?

 
Shaping a School Culture That Works for Everyone

 
Is Teamwork All It's Cracked Up to Be?

 
How to Get the Most Out of Students

 
How to Get the Most Out of Staff

 
How to Get the Most Out of the District Office, the School Board, and the Community

 
How Effective Leaders Get the Most Out of Themselves

 
 
4. Bringing About Change
Change: Who Wants It?

 
Don't Confuse Cosmetic Changes With Real Reform

 
When to Change and When to Leave Well Enough Alone

 
Understanding the Evolution of a Revolution: The Many Faces and Phases of Change

 
Change Strategies That Really Work in Today's School Climate

 
How to Sell New Ideas and Make Them Work

 
 
5. Spending Time
Who Controls a Leader's Time?

 
Setting Priorities: Paper Versus People

 
How Effective School Leaders Spend 1,440 Minutes per Day

 
The Ten Worst Time-Use Mistakes

 
When and How to Say No

 
Other Work-Smarter Ways to Save Time

 
 
6. Handling Politics
Politics and Schools

 
Good Politics, Bad Politics

 
How to Be Politically Savvy: "Street Smarts" for School Leaders

 
Everyday Political Strategies for Today's School Leaders

 
Tips on Working With Political Leaders

 
How to Get Noticed, Get Ahead, and Get Things Done Without Playing Politics

 
 
7. Dealing With Setbacks
Setbacks Happen

 
Worrying Only Makes It Worse

 
What It Takes to Bounce Back

 
Is There a Spin Doctor in the House?

 
Fear Less, Hope More

 
Building a Reputation as a Survivor

 
 
8. Thinking Like a Leader
Anticipatory Thinking: Getting the Jump on Problems

 
What to Do When the Big Picture Is a Kaleidoscope

 
Multiscenario Thinking

 
How to Stay Focused

 
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective School Leaders, With Apologies to Stephen Covey

 
More Aids to Clear Thinking

 
 
9. Looking and Acting Like an Effective School Leader
Walk Like a Duck

 
Image Control

 
There's No One Right Way to Act-But There Are Lots of Wrong Ways

 
Maintaining a Professional Edge

 
Manners Still Matter

 
Paying Attention to the Little Things That Mark a Leader

 
 
10. Using the Tools of Leadership
Speaking and Writing Like a Leader

 
How to Make Meetings Work for You

 
Guidelines for Working With Committees

 
Managing While Walking Around (MWWA): Leadership Up Close and Personal

 
Don't Overlook These Other Leadership Tools

 
 
11. Communication Tips for School Leaders
Understanding the Elements of School Communication

 
More Writing Tips for School Leaders

 
More Speaking Tips for School Leaders

 
Tips on Nonverbal Communication

 
You Can't Kill the Grapevine

 
A New Wrinkle: The One-Minute Manager Meets the Two-Minute Mind

 
25 Ways School Leaders Can Improve Communication

 
 
12. Practicing Ethical Leadership
Do Ethics Matter Anymore?

 
Why Ethical Leadership in Schools Is Different

 
The Concept of "Moral Hazard"

 
Using Values as a Moral Compass: This Is No Time to Get Lost

 
Principles for Principals and Other Administrators

 
A Code of Ethics for Today's School Leaders

 
 
13. A Final Word
You Know You're a Leader When . . .

 
Leadership Is a Choice

 
 
Resource A: 105 Ways to Be a Better School Leader Tomorrow
 
Resource B: What Others Say About Leadership
 
Resource C: A Beginning Bibliography for School Leaders
 
Index

Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

Chapter 1: Making Decisions


For instructors

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ISBN: 9781483351650

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