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Bestseller!

Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way

How to Be a More Effective Leader in Today's Schools

Second Edition
By: Robert D. Ramsey

Now you can do more than just deal with the "crisis-du-jour."

Best-selling author Robert Ramsey gives you just what you need to avoid "simply managing" and to become a true leader instead! Leadership is learnable, and this comprehensive guide will show you how to:

Get the most out of people
Bring about change
Handle politics
Deal with setbacks
Think, look, and act like an effective school leader
Communicate effectively
Practice ethical leadership

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781412915854
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2005
Page Count: 216
Publication date: October 15, 2013

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Description

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

Author(s)

Robert D. Ramsey

Robert D. Ramsey is a lifelong educator who has served as a "leader of leaders" in three award-winning school districts in two different states. His frontline experience includes positions a teacher, counselor, assistant principal, curriculum director, assistant superintendent, acting superintendent, and adjunct professor. Most recently, he has served as associate superintendent in the St. Louis Park (MN) schools, where every school has been designated by the federal government as a National School of Excellence. Ramsey is now working full-time as a freelance writer in Minneapolis.

Table of Contents

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

Other Titles in: Principalship | Leadership | Superintendents & District Administration

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