Steps to Success: What Successful Principals Do Every Day is purposefully written for practicing and aspiring public and private school administrators who desire - on a daily basis - to gain relevant skills, specialized knowledge, and overall expertise associated with being a successful school principal. The text is organized into brief, single-topic-focused chapters and is intended to serve as an "essential necessity" providing current and prospective principal readership with relevant and practical applications as related to key daily "steps" a school administrator must master to ensure leadership success. Additionally, the text chapters reveal how successful principals must daily focus on quality, learn from others, make appropriate and effective decisions, solve problems, establish goals, develop highly competent teams, focus on students and instruction, inspire excellence, lead openly, honestly, and with transparency, and boost academic achievement. The book is designed and written to best ensure principals serve as visionary leaders who possess great ideas and who are honest, moral, ethical, and act legally in all actions.
Table of Contents Acknowledgments List of Tables Introduction Chapter 1. Daily Step #1 - Embrace the Day - Embrace the Leadership Role Where Have You Been; Where Are You Going? Yes, It's a Journey! Who Are You? Who Do You Want to Be? Where Do You Want to Go? Take Time to Think and Reflect Mastering a Set of Essential Leadership Skills to Embrace Daily Challenges Embrace Involved Service Involved Service Defined Initiating Successful Involved Service Essential Elements of Involved Service Factors Resulting from Involved Service Final Thoughts Discussion Questions Case Study Application - Chasing Lions: Embracing Involved Service Application Questions Chapter 2. Daily Step #2 - Be Organized and Prepared Getting Organized and Staying Organized - A Daily Process Why Being Organized Matters: Examining the Daily Benefits The Top-10 Daily Habits and Routines Essential to Becoming an Organized Principal A Dozen Daily Principal Leadership Practices Areas of Relevant Leadership Preparedness Successful Principal Preparedness Attributes Behaviors of the Organized and Prepared Principal: A Leadership Assessment Final Thoughts Discussion Questions Case Study Application - Prepared and Organized: One Principal's Journey Application Questions Chapter 3. Daily Step #3 - Lead, Delegate, but Never Dump! What Kind of Leader Do You Want to Be? The Situational Principal Shared Leadership Supporting Novice Faculty Investing in New and Experienced Faculty In with the New, Out with the Old: A Principal Conundrum? Delegating: A Mentoring Act, Not a Dumping Act Connecting to Students From New Principals to Successful Principals Encouragement, Inspiration, and Motivation Trust but Verify Final Thoughts Discussion Questions Case Study Application - "And I Wanted to Be a School Principal!" Application Questions Chapter 4. Daily Step #4 - Anticipate, Adjust, and Learn Anticipating the Work Day and Work Week Checking the Pulse Mindfulness Culture, Goals, and Honesty: Principal Guides to Better Anticipating, Adjusting, and Learning Adjusting for Everyday Events Handling Crises Mindful of "Top-Down" Dictates and Demands: Principals on the "Frontline" Understanding Similar Events May Have Different Outcomes Final Thoughts Discussion Questions Case Study Application - Strangers, A True Story of Principal Leadership: Anticipating, Adapting, and Learning! Principled Leadership Actions Application Questions Afterthought Chapter 5. Daily Step #5 - Recognize, Understand, and Embrace Diversity What Do You Bring to the Table? Unconscious or Implicit Bias Successful Principals and Implicit Bias Addressing Bias The Principalship and Marginalized Groups Communication: A Key to a Successful Principalship Juan's Story: "Yo Hablo Espanol?" Take Time to Think and Reflect Successful Principals Encourage Alternative Views and Embrace Opposing Views Never "No" but "Let's Arrange to Meet" Successful Principals Embrace Diverse Personalities and Perspectives How to Work with Difficult Teachers Final Thoughts Discussion Questions Case Study Application - What Are You Doing or What Should You Be Doing? Application Questions Chapter 6. Daily Step #6 - Meet, Greet, and Engage in Good Humor Do This First, Every Day - Smile! Do This Next, Every Day - Meet and Greet! The People-Centered Principal People Skills: An Essential Leadership Element - What Principals Must Do Daily to Lead and Succeed The Good Humor Man (Woman) Sells More Than Ice Cream! Final Thoughts Discussion Questions Case Study Application - Test Your People Skills Scoring Interpretations Chapter 7. Daily Step #7 - Build Capacity Building Capacity in Education Capacity Defined Car Analogy #1 Successful Principals Build Capacity for Everyone's Achievement, Everyday The How, and By What Means? Car Analogy #2 The Top 10 - 11 Capacity Building Tools Capacity-Building and Sustainability Final Thoughts Discussion Questions Case Study Application - Canadian Geese: An Educational Leadership Allegory Application Questions Chapter 8. Daily Step #8 - Self-Reflect, Understand the Power and Problems with Social Networking, Protect Against Cyber-Bullying, and Establish Professional Networking Being There Confidence vs. Ego Self-Reflection Tomorrow is Another Day Equality and Equity In the Era of Social Media and Social Networking Social Networking and Cyber-Bullying Bullying and Cyber-Bullying Prevention Informal and Formal Networks Social Movements and Critical Thinking Alternative Teachers with Alternative Training Leadership in a Changing World Final Thoughts Discussion Questions Case Study Application - Cyber-Stalked The Rub: Therein Lies the Trip! Application Questions References Index About the Authors
