Leadership Lessons from the Middle: Navigating Triumph and Disaster

Recently, I had a conversation with a superintendent who serves in one of the toughest situations I have ever observed. He is amazing to me. I always find him calm and resilient, beyond what anyone would expect. My question for him was how he does it? How does he seem steady and able to manage with grace the ongoing adversity that he faces, month after month? His answer was compelling and was confirmed through a recent post I read by Sean Covey (Stephen Covey’s son). The superintendent indicated his secret was that he operates from the middle. In essence, regardless …

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The Superintendent’s Zen: Finding Perspective and Calm in the Midst of a Politically Charged Environment

It has been a while (last March to be exact) since I have written a blog post and I was asked the other day when I might start contributing again. Life has been extremely busy but sitting outside in the cool 70-degree air on my back patio this morning I was motivated to write about maintaining perspective and calm in the superintendency. The position of superintendent has never been more challenging than it is today. A polarized political environment is leading to situations that are more extreme, which means superintendents have less time to spend on academic issues. Today, I …

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