The Skillful Team Leader

An educator for 30 years, Elisa B. MacDonald is the author of the best-selling book, The Skillful Team Leader: A Resource for Overcoming Hurdles to Professional Learning for Student Achievement. Her broad-ranging experience includes roles such as teacher, literacy coach, and assistant principal of instruction in the Boston Public Schools and adjunct professor for teacher action research at Boston College. As national director at Teach Plus, Elisa built up and led a program in six cities in which teams of teachers in chronically underperforming schools achieved rapid gains for students. Currently, Elisa consults with school districts and organizations, training and coaching team leaders and helping to transform teacher, school, and district-level leadership teams. When Elisa isn't championing students and teachers, she is on stage acting, driving her twins to soccer and theater, or experimenting in the kitchen, pretending she's on the Food Network. Contact Elisa if you want to learn more about skillful intentional team leadership, or if you just want a delicious fudge recipe. www.elisamacdonald.com skillfulteamleader@gmail.com (Twitter) @elisaBmacdonald (LinkedIn) Elisa B. MacDonald

Dilemma Questions Index List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments About the Author Part I. Foundations 1. A Skillful Approach A Note From One Team Leader to Another The Need for Skillful Team Leadership An Introduction to a Skillful Approach: Values, Mindset, Intelligence, Skill Important Information Regarding the Writing and Organization of This Book 2. Mindful About Mindset Mindset Deconstructing the Fundamental Mindset Questions The Developing Mind Can We Change Our Minds? Hurdles to Maintaining a Growth Mindset Consider School Culture: Shifting From a Fixed Mindset Culture to a Growth Mindset Culture A Final Word Application to Your Work: Connect, Observe, Explore, Act Part II. Hurdles 3. Alone Together: Overcoming Hurdles to Foster a High-Functioning, High-Impact Collaborative Team What Is Collaboration, and Why Is It Needed? Hurdles to Fostering a High-Functioning, High-Impact Collaborative Team Considerations for Group Agreements Consider School Culture: Shifting From a Culture of Alone Together to a Collaborative Culture Application to Your Work: Connect, Observe, Explore, Act 4. Not It: Overcoming Hurdles to Achieve Shared Leadership for Learning What Is Shared Leadership, and Why Is It Important? Hurdles to Achieving Shared Leadership for Learning Consider School Culture: Shifting From a Culture of Dependency to a Culture of Shared Decision Making Application to Your Work: Connect, Observe, Explore, Act 5. Seemingly SMART: Overcoming Hurdles to Set and Attain Impactful Goals What Are SMART Goals, and Why Are They Important? Hurdles to Setting and Attaining Impactful SMART Goals Consider School Culture: Shifting From a Scapegoat Culture to a Culture of Mutual Accountability Application to Your Work: Connect, Observe, Explore, Act 6. Off-Course Discourse: Overcoming Hurdles to Lead a Team in Rigorous Discourse What Is Rigorous Discourse, and Why Is It Important? Hurdles to Leading a Team in Rigorous Discourse Consider School Culture: Shifting From a Culture of Nice to an Honest, Up-front Culture Application to Your Work: Connect, Observe, Explore, Act 7. Inertia: Overcoming Hurdles to Lead an Action-Oriented Team for Continuous Improvement What Are Action-Oriented Teams, and Why Are They Important? Hurdles to Leading an Action-Oriented Team for Continuous Improvement Consider School Culture: Shifting From a Culture Acidic to Change to a Culture of Continuous Improvement Application to Your Work: Connect, Observe, Explore, Act A Closing Note Resources Resource 3.1 Function vs. Impact Resource 3.2 Team Function, Impact Matrix Indicators Resource 3.3 Compass Points: An Exercise in Understanding Styles in Group Work Resource 3.4 Hopes and Fears Exercise Resource 4.1 Adapted Consultancy Protocol Resource 4.2 Is Your School Leadership at Its Highest Leadership Capacity? Resource 5.1 Making the Shift From Seemingly SMART to SMART Resource 5.2 SMA-H-RT Guiding Questions Resource 5.3 Data Analysis Protocol Resource 6.1 Six Phases of Adapting Data-Driven Instruction References Index

"Teacher teams have become a common fixture of North American schools. However, not all teams make the best use of their meeting time by engaging in sustained, professional learning. Written in a clear, practitioner-friendly style, this book provides team leaders with an array of useful strategies to address common team hurdles and realize the promise of powerful, collaborative learning." -- Jim Knight, Author of Instructional Coaching "No matter what situation a leader or coach finds themselves in, the answer is going to be somewhere between the pages of this text. Having alternate routes to consider is a plus to the problem solving." -- Roxie Ahlbrecht, Math Intervention Specialist "This book is a fantastic resource for me someone who leads teams every day. The vignettes echo the very real challenges that I continually see in team meetings. The book is organized so that I can easily find practical strategies to apply right away when I am facing major challenges in my daily work." -- Karen Coyle Aylward, Literacy Coach and Team Leader "This book has become an indispensible guide for me and my leaders. MacDonald has masterfully drawn from her own experiences and from experts in the field to create a practical resource for anyone involved in leadership development or wanting to improve his or her own leadership skills." -- Emily Becker, School Innovation Partner "This book does an excellent job of living up to its title. The author addresses a variety of roadblocks leaders face-whether they are teachers or administrators-and offers suggestions to help overcome these obstacles." -- David G. Daniels, High School Principal "MacDonald's book provides "real talk" and real solutions to problems that arise in schools. She does not tip toe around issues. She confronts them and writes about practical ways to both avoid potential hurdles and deal with issues when they arise." -- Carline Kelly, Teacher