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Ignore the Critics; Do the Work

(Excerpt from The Power of Positive Leadership by Jon Gordon)

Positive leaders don't lead because they want recognition or enemies. They lead because there is something they must do, build, create, transform, and change. They lead because it's who they are and what they are meant to do. However, with leadership comes scrutiny, praise, critics, and attacks. A leader could find a cure for cancer and would still have some people criticize them for it. There was even once a leader who transformed the world by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and loving the unlovable, and yet he was killed for it. If you are a leader, expect to be attacked. Positive leadership doesn't mean you won't be criticized. It means you have the grit and belief to overcome it. Positive leaders don't lead in a tranquil sea of positivity, but through the storms of adversity and negativity.

Leadership is knowing that the critics will criticize you while still saying what needs to be said and doing what needs to be done. History doesn't remember the critics. It remembers the one who withstood criticism to accomplish something great.

In our modern social-media-driven world, you will have more fans and critics than ever. The keys are: Don't let praise go to your head and don't let critics into your head. Be so invested in your craft that you don't have time to listen to the naysayers. No time for negativity. You're too busy creating the future. If I would have listened to the naysayers and critics, I would have stopped working on my craft years ago. I want to encourage you to never let the opinion of others define you and your future. Your identity doesn't come from what the world says about you. It comes from who you are on the inside. Your work, leadership, and mission are too important to allow others to define your destiny.

No matter what anyone says, just show up and do the work.

If they praise you, show up and do the work.

If they criticize you, show up and do the work.

If no one even notices you, just show up and do the work.

Just keep showing up, doing the work, and leading the way.

Lead with passion.

Fuel up with optimism.

Power up with love.

Maintain hope.

Be stubborn.

Fight the good fight.

Refuse to give up.

Ignore the critics.

Believe in the impossible.

You'll be glad you did.

True grit leads to true success.

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Ignore the Critics; Do the Work (Excerpt from The Power of Positive Leadership by Jon Gordon) Positive leaders don't lead because they want recognition or enemies. They lead because there is something they must do, build, create, transform, and change. They lead because it's who they are and what they are meant to do.

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In this section school leaders from throughout New Zealand give their perspectives on leadership.
by Rory O'Rourke
Experienced principal Rory O'Rourke has been leading Kaitao Intermediate School in Rotorua for 20 years. Here he tells his story about the decisions the school made in 2012 around moving to an academy structure and to e-learning using one-to-one computing.

In this interview Dr Margie Hohepa, a co-writer of School Leadership and Student Outcomes: Identifying What Works and Why Best Evidence Synthesis reflects on the importance of this BES, the impact it has on schools and future educational leaders and what still needs to happen in order that all student outcomes are improved.
by Brian Hinchco
Brian Hincho is principal at Papatoetoe Intermediate. At the start of 2010 senior staff at the school began trialling a change in their management structure. The trial was based on the research findings in School Leadership and Student Outcomes: Identifying What Works and Why BES. The key change that they made was to disestablish the roles of the deputy principals, and to create a Leading Learners team. Here Brian tells the story of the thinking behind the change.
by Hamish Ruawai
Managing self and relating to others are really important for all students, but to Māori students in particular. We know that for Māori students to be effective learners they need effective relationships with people who are teaching them. This knowledge influences how Hamish Ruawai and his team work at Kaikohe West School.
by Juliette Hayes
Principal Juliette Hayes moved from a deputy principal's position in Hamilton to take up a principal's role in rural South Canterbury. She reflects here on how her first year is going.
by Louise Anaru
In this story Louise Anaru, principal of Flaxmere College in Hastings, writes about her journey towards becoming a principal, her own learning, the importance of mentors and the moral imperative to achieve equity for her students that underpins her leadership practice.
by Corinne Hansell
With her staff, board and community Corinne Hansell is providing leadership that is turning Tamaki Primary School around. This is their story.

The Experienced Principals Development Programme (EPDP), 2009-2010, focused on leading change and creating conditions to support effective teaching and learning for every student. These In Your Own Words stories highlight experiences from two rural and two urban participants in the Canterbury EPDP.
by Lisa Morresey
First-time principal Lisa Morresey moved mid-year from her deputy principal position at Fairfield Intermediate School in Hamilton to become principal at Mt Maunganui Intermediate School. Here she writes about how important regional and national aspiring principal programmes have been in helping prepare her for principalship.

Cashmere Primary School in Christchurch was already well set up in terms of school development and review processes. Principal Jacqui Duncan used her sabbatical time to think about ways to advance their practices of critical school-wide self-review. This article examines the process that she used.

Fiona Dwyer, principal of Mataroa School and Chair of the Taihape Principals' Cluster talks about how the cluster functions and how Kiwi Leadership for Principals (KLP) shaped their meetings.

Tell a colleague | Back to top

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Stories from school leaders / Professional information / Leadership development / Home - Educational Leaders

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In this section school leaders from throughout New Zealand give their perspectives on leadership. by Rory O'Rourke Experienced principal Rory O'Rourke has been leading Kaitao Intermediate School in Rotorua for 20 years. Here he tells his story about the decisions the school made in 2012 around moving to an academy structure and to e-learning using one-to-one computing.

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My students don't care what anyone thinks about them

After considering my words, one of my students asked, "What does it mean to remove all doubt?"

My students understand biology

Victoria-Chudinova/Shutterstock During my eighth-grade sex education class, no one could answer the question "What happens to a young woman during puberty?" So I rephrased it: "What happens to young women as they mature?"
One student answered: "They start to carry a purse."

These are things your child's teacher won't tell you.

My students have all the answers

wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock Teacher: What is an evangelist?
Student: Someone who plays the evangelo.

Teacher: Why can't freshwater fish live in salt water?
Student: The salt would give them high blood pressure.

Teacher: Mira went to the library at 5:15 and left at 6:45. How long was Mira at the library?
Student: Not long.

Teacher: What do we call a group of stars that makes an imaginary picture in the sky?
Student: A consternation.

Teacher: List up to five good facts about Abraham Lincoln.
Student: After the war ended, Lincoln took his wife to a show.

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My students are intent on improving their english skills

Teachers truly play incredible roles in student's lives. Read this heartwarming story.

My students are confounding

My students are strivers

Syda-Productions/Shutterstock Just before the final exam in my college finance class, a less-than-stellar student approached me.
"Can you tell me what grade I would need to get on the exam to pass the course?" he asked.
I gave him the bad news. "The exam is worth 100 points. You would need 113 points to earn a D."
"OK," he said. "And how many points would I need to get a C?"

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My students have ideas

zkruger/Shutterstock For Martin Luther King Day, I asked my fifth graders how they'd make the world a better place. One said, "I'd make potato skins a main dish rather than an appetizer."

My students are inquisitive

Dragon-Images/Shutterstock Spotted on Facebook:
Student: I don't understand why my grade was so low. How did I do on my research paper?
Teacher: Actually, you didn't turn in a research paper. You turned in a random assemblage of sentences. In fact, the sentences you apparently kidnapped in the dead of night and forced into this violent and arbitrary plan of yours clearly seemed to be placed on the pages against their will. Reading your paper was like watching unfamiliar, uncomfortable people interacting at a cocktail party that no one wanted to attend in the first place. You didn't submit a research paper. You submitted a hostage situation.

My students are honest

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My students are understanding

Nickolai-Repnitskii/Shutterstock When our school librarian announced she was changing schools, my fellow teacher asked a student, "Why do you think Ms. Richardson is leaving?"
The third grader opined, "Because she's read all our books?"

My students are buttinskis

Monkey-Business-Images/Shutterstock When a nosy fourth-grade student wanted the scoop on what another teacher and I were discussing in private, I decided it was time for an impromptu lesson in manners.
"Do you know what 'minding your own business' means?" I asked pointedly.
He didn't, but a student clear across the room shouted, "I do!"

My students can teach me

Syda-Productions/Shutterstock While reviewing math symbols with my second-grade pupils, I drew a greater-than (>) and a less-than (<) sign on the chalkboard and asked, "Does anyone remember what these mean?"
A boy confidently raised his hand. "One means fast-forward and the other means rewind."

My students are worldly

Syda-Productions/Shutterstock My father began teaching business classes at the local prison through a community college. On his first night of class, he started a chapter on banking. During the course of his lecture, the subject of ATMs came up, and he mentioned that, on average, most machines contain only about $1,500 at a given time.
Just then a man in the back raised his hand. "I'm not trying to be disrespectful," he told my father, "but the machine I robbed had about $5,000 in it."

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My students are creative with language

Dean-Drobot/Shutterstock Gauging from these exam excerpts, my college dance students had better stick with pliés.
* "The costumes were vindictive of the style of dance."
* "I commend Bill T. Jones for his acts of true kindness and selfishness."
* "Dancers must have long limps."
* "At first, I had a hard time understanding and interrupting his movement."
* "Savion Glover's purpose is to cross all racial and ethical barriers with his dance."

My students keep me out of trouble

My students call it like it is

"I don't appreciate being singled out," he told me

I was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what the 'oxy' part means, but I know what a 'moron' is, and you looked straight at me when you said it."

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My students understand the wealthy

"It is?" he asked.

"Yes, it's very dirty."

He thought about it a moment. "Is that why they call people who have a lot of it 'filthy rich'?"

My students love finally getting it right

Lopolo/Shutterstock Jimmy had trouble figuring out when to use I instead of me. Then one day, while creating a sentence in front of the first-grade class, Jimmy haltingly said, "I ... I ... I shut the door." Realizing that he was right, he jumped up and down and shouted, "Me did it!"

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My students will always find a way to get my attention

The classroom got quiet. Then, from the back, a soft voice said, "Um ... Cyndi?"

My students communicate well

"Use your turn signal," I reminded her.

"No one's coming," said the student.

"It doesn't matter. It might help those behind you."

Chastened, the student turned around to the students in the backseat and said, "I'm turning right up ahead."

My students are logical

"Grant?" he asked tentatively.

"Good. Now, who discovered Pikes Peak?"

"Grant!"

My students are thoughtful

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm having a hard time reading."

One of my students said, "Just sound it out."

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My students are problem solvers

Michelle-Lee-Photography/Shutterstock The kids were painting a project for social studies and got some paint on the floor. Fearing someone might slip, I asked a student to take care of it.
A few minutes later, a piece of paper appeared on the floor with the words Caution-Wet Paint.

My students are sassy

One little boy suggested, "Maybe that's why she teaches first grade, because she's just a little bit smarter than you."

My students believe people can transform into insects

JakubD/Shutterstock "In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis," I said to my sophomore English class, "a man, discontented with his life, wakes up to find he has been transformed into a large, disgusting insect."

A student thrust her hand into the air and asked, "So is this fiction or nonfiction?"

My students are realists

"What's that?" I asked.

He replied, "That's Columbus, way out to sea."

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My students don't remember my lessons

"But you know," he said, after mulling it over, "I thought some of this seemed familiar. I just couldn't remember where I'd heard it before."

My students confuse their g's and j's

"OK. Let's calm down," I said, kneeling beside her. "Now, exactly what were you called?"

Between sobs she blurted, "G ... g ... jerk!"

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My students are insightful

When one girl had finished the English portion of the state exam, she removed her glasses and started the math questions.

"Why aren't you wearing your glasses?" she was asked.

She responded, "My glasses are for reading, not math."

My students don't understand me

"I don't know. I just don't understand Ms. Behr," the boy said. "It's like she's speaking another language."

My student's parents are a hand full

Monkey-Business-Images/Shutterstock During a parent-teacher conference, a mother insisted I shouldn't have taken points off her daughter's English paper for calling her subject Henry 8 instead of Henry VIII.

"We have only regular numbers on our keyboard," she explained. "No Roman numerals."

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My students shouldn't learn from their parents

"I'm sure it was taken accidentally," I said. "What does it look like?"

"It's white," said the parent. "And it says Holiday Inn on it."

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Hilarious School Stories for Teacher's Appreciation Day | Reader's Digest

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After considering my words, one of my students asked, "What does it mean to remove all doubt?" Victoria-Chudinova/Shutterstock During my eighth-grade sex education class, no one could answer the question "What happens to a young woman during puberty?" So I rephrased it: "What happens to young women as they mature?"

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Bill George and Daniel Goleman: Identifying authenticity during an interview

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In the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead, students are planning mass walkouts to protest gun violence and call for more gun-safety measures.

But across the country, the responses from school and district administrators have varied.

A 17-minute nationwide walkout is planned for March 14, and another protest is planned for April 20, the 19 th anniversary of the Columbine, Colo., school shooting, which left 13 dead.

In the Needville Independent School district in Texas, the superintendent has said that the district will not allow students to protest during school hours and warned students that they will face a three-day suspension if they chose to do so.

While there were no threats of suspensions, Peoria, Ill., Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat wrote on the district's website that teachers and students in Peoria, will not be participating in the upcoming walkouts and protests against gun violence. There were other ways to show support for the victims of gun violence without disrupting school, she said.

"We remain concerned about our children's mental and physical safety," she wrote. "Elementary-aged children are not equipped to fully process and understand such events and participation could possibly lead to an increased sense of fear and helplessness. Likewise, it would be impossible to supervise and adequately protect our students from potential harm. Our schools must remain safe and focused on learning."

But the superintendent in the nearly 8,200-student East Penn district, in Emmaus, Pa., took a different approach.

"We will neither encourage nor discourage student walkouts, nor will we prevent students from participating or discipline them if they do," Superintendent Michael Schilder wrote on the district's website. "Administration will facilitate any walkouts so that they are carried out in an organized and safe fashion. "

Administrators, Schilder said, will also meet with students to listen to their concerns and "offer additional ways to express their views such as letter writing and fundraising," he said.

"We want any type of protest to be a positive learning experience for students," he said. "Above all, we want their voices to be heard."

Given the variety of responses from school administrators, several universities have said publicly that students' admissions will not be affected if they are disciplined for peacefully protesting gun violence.

What should principals and superintendents do?

Two organizations representing principals and superintendents offered some guidance.

For one, teachers and principals should not endorse or participate in walkouts, according to the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

"Specifically in the case of a walkout, school officials' participation sets a harmful precedent for endorsing a flagrant violation of school or district policy," the group wrote in a blog on its website. "Moreover, students with differing views might feel alienated or compelled to participate against their will if school officials are perceived as supporting the protest. Teachers can, however, reduce the negative academic effects of the protest by, for instance, not assigning tests or work that cannot be made up if an absence is unexcused. More appropriately, teachers can provide opportunities for remaining students to have their voices heard as well by writing a letter to a legislator, leading a structured conversation about the topic of protest, and so forth."

Administrators' number one priority during any such protests or walkouts was to keep students safe-away from busy streets, for example, the group said.

The group advised principals to try to keep students on campus grounds, if possible, and discuss with students alternatives-including options that may be less disruptive and safer-to achieve their goals, the NASSP said.

But educators should also remind students that their protests and walkouts are acts of civil disobedience and that they could face consequences as a result, the group noted.

The AASA, the School Superintendents Association, says it supports the April 20 Day of Action to Stop Gun Violence in Our Schools, but stressed that it is not affiliated with any of the planned protests and walkouts.

Instead, the AASA urged "acts of advocacy and civic engagement," where educators can engage in a host of activities. They can wear orange as a sign of support for peaceful schools; organize a sit-in or a teach-in before, during, or after school; and encourage students to write policy letters to organizations they support. Educators can also invite local elected officials to campus for discussions on mental health and bullying and create lessons plans on social justice that explore gun violence, how communities of color and those in poverty are affected by gun violence, and the history of student-led movements, the organization said.

You can find both sets of advice here:

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Students Are Walking Out to Protest Gun Violence. What Should School Administrators Do?

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In the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead, students are planning mass walkouts to protest gun violence and call for more gun-safety measures. But across the country, the responses from school and district administrators have varied.

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Companies that claim to be transforming seem to be everywhere. But stories of successful change efforts are exceptionally rare. A study of S&P 500 and Global 500 firms reveals that those leading the most successful transformations - creating new offerings and business models to push into new-growth markets - share five common characteristics and strategies: Transformational CEOs tend to be "insider outsiders;" they use culture change to drive engagement; they strategically pursue two separate journeys; they communicate powerful narratives about the future; and they develop a roadmap before disruption takes hold.

Companies that claim to be "transforming" seem to be everywhere. But when you look more deeply into whether those organizations are truly redefining what they are and what they do, stories of successful change efforts are exceptionally rare. In a study of S&P 500 and Global 500 firms, our team found that those leading the most successful transformations, creating new offerings and business models to push into new growth markets, share common characteristics and strategies. Before describing those, let's look at how we identified the exceptional firms that rose to the top of our ranking, a group we call the Transformation 10.

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What the Best Transformational Leaders Do

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Companies that claim to be transforming seem to be everywhere. But stories of successful change efforts are exceptionally rare.

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This is Part Four of Six in our series on Emotional Intelligence.
Part 1 - Why it is Essential to Develop Emotional Intelligence
Part 2 - Self-Awareness: The Foundation of Emotional Intelligence
Part 3 - Managing Emotions for Success

Consider the following situations:

When involved in a negotiation or a high-stakes conversation, are you able to see things from the other person's perspective and use that information to find a mutually beneficial solution faster?

Do you tend to take what people say at face value and then find yourself surprised that you missed key information?

Have you witnessed leaders alienate or condescend to others either in person or on social media without realizing the impact they had?

Affirmative answers to these scenarios reflects potential lack of social awareness, the third characteristic of emotional intelligence in this series of articles.
Individuals with well-developed social awareness accurately read others and pay careful attention to how their own communication impacts the feelings, perceptions, and behaviors of other people.
People with fine-tuned social awareness notice things that others don't. They can walk into a room and feel tension or pick up on subtle changes in how others feel as they talk with them. They are also very good at understanding another's perspective even when it is very different from their own.

Well-developed social awareness helps leaders communicate more effectively, build trusting relationships, and collaborate more fluidly with diverse teams. Social awareness comes more naturally for some than others, but everyone can develop it by applying the three exercises below and practicing them consistently.

1. Empathy: the foundation of social awareness

Empathy gives us insights into what others may be feeling or thinking, helps us build trust, helps us understand why people react the way they do, and influences our decisions.

Empathy involves listening with the goal being to clearly understand someone, not necessarily agree with that person. During our Maximum Influence course, we teach 5 approaches to listening. Of the 5 approaches, evaluative listening is the most likely approach to undermine empathy. The primary purpose of evaluative listening is to judge what is heard. Empathy requires that you suspend judgment as you listen and simply try to understand the other person. If you're not careful, your evaluative listening will inhibit your ability to empathize.

After attending Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence, Tim chose to focus on developing his social awareness. One opportunity he saw to practice empathy was during a national sales meeting. He spoke with a leader from a different part of the company who had been driving an initiative that wasn't going over well, and that Tim didn't buy into. As Tim spoke with this leader, he prioritized listening without judgment over addressing his own agenda. He said the impact was immediate and significant. He not only understood this initiative for the first time, he saw an opportunity to help get others in his region on board. Tim's focus on empathy was the catalyst for what will likely be a mutually beneficial partnership across two teams that would not have happened if Tim had gone to that meeting pushing his agenda instead of understanding others.

There are countless opportunities throughout the day to empathize that will help you be more effective and help save you time, whether you are negotiating, engaged in a high-stakes conversation, meeting new team members, or delivering a difficult message.

In addition to listening without judgment, asking questions is another powerful and effective tool you have to understand others.

"I've never tried that approach. Can you walk me through how it worked for you?"

"What is your greatest concern with this approach?"

"Can you help me understand what your team needs to do to make this happen so we can find the best way for our teams to work together?"

The more you ask questions with the goal of gaining a clear understanding, the more open others will be and the faster you will build trust and get things done.

2. Become fluent in body language

The vast majority of communication is conveyed through body language and tone. People rarely tell us how they really feel, especially in a business setting, so we may miss that they are overwhelmed, skeptical, disinterested, etc. unless we listen beyond their words. What tone of voice are they using? What is the person's facial expressions and body language telling you? In order to increase social awareness and pick up on this information, it is important to become fluent in body language.

If you've talked with someone who tells you they understood what you said, but they look confused, do you take their words at face value? Or do you use their facial expression as a cue that more communication is needed?

If your team looks bored in your meetings, do you press on and assume they are really attentive? Their boredom may indicate that it is time to change your approach.

If one person on your team looks excited about a change, do you leverage that nonverbal excitement to help get others on board?

Keep in mind that when it comes to understanding others, especially how they feel, it is important to pay attention to their nonverbal communication in addition to what they say.

3. Remember that social awareness includes both your interpersonal and online presence

Leaders are always being watched interpersonally and online. Are you aware of the emotional impact you have on others? Do you intimidate them? Do they feel valued? Do they perceive you as a leader with high integrity that they want to perform at their best for?

One regional manager I worked with had no idea that the way he carried himself, looked at people, and sounded came off as intimidating. The impact was that his team was very reluctant to come to him with questions, problems, and even ideas. Your overall effectiveness is impacted by how others perceive you and feel about you. Are you aware of the impact you have?

Our online impact has become just as important as our interpersonal impact. I recently read a post by someone on LinkedIn that was very disrespectful of a former employer. Was that person unaware that a post like that would make him look childish at best and compromise his integrity at worst? Most people will lose at least some respect for a person who makes derogatory, rude, or distasteful comments on social media toward others, and that can have a lasting negative impact. Again, I would ask you, "Are you aware of the impact you have on others?"

I have coached many leaders who have been oblivious to how others think or feel about them. They simply had no idea that their behavior shut people down in meetings or that online comments caused people to view them as insensitive or unprofessional. Paying attention to how others respond to you both interpersonally and online will give you important information to help guide your interactions for greater success.

Social awareness, like the other characteristics of emotional intelligence, can be developed. Our course, Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence, focuses on very practical ways to begin developing social awareness immediately for increased effectiveness personally and professionally. If you'd like to learn more, join us for a public session on Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence or contact Heather Johnson to discuss options for bringing this topic to your team.

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3 Keys To Social Awareness - Klassen Performance Group

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This is Part Four of Six in our series on Emotional Intelligence. Part 1 - Why it is Essential to Develop Emotional Intelligence Part 2 - Self-Awareness: The Foundation of Emotional Intelligence Part 3 - Managing Emotions for Success When involved in a negotiation or a high-stakes conversation, are you able to see things from the other person's perspective and use that information to find a mutually beneficial solution faster?

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School District News. Urban Education. School Funding. Principals. Superintendents. Leadership. Management. Reporters Corey Mitchell and Denisa R. Superville discuss and analyze what's happening in the nation's school districts and dissect trends in education leadership and management.

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Jarrod Henry

Clare is an office manager at an elementary school who had an experience with a hostile parent last year. The student, a sixth grader who is usually picked up from school, was supposed to take the bus to the Sunshine childcare center on that particular day. Unfortunately, the girl forgot and the office manager was not given documentation indicating that she was supposed to go to Sunshine.

As it turns out, the mother was in the hospital having minor surgery. As part of normal school policy, the office manager tried contacting the girl's mother on her cell phone. However, the mother had written down the wrong cell phone number on the emergency card. Likewise, the girl's stepfather was next in line to be notified that he needed to pick the sixth grader up from school.

The stepfather was not home when Clare called. The girl's stepbrother answered the phone and claimed to have no idea how to contact his father. Clare then politely explained that the office closed at 4 p.m., and that if the girl was not picked up by that time, the law dictated that she would have to call the sheriff to come and take custody of her. As it turns out, the stepbrother did reach his father and he picked up the girl before the sheriff became involved.

The next day, the girl's mother arrived at school and confronted Clare. She was extremely upset over the fact that Clare "threatened to call the cops" and expressed her belief that Clare was incompetent. She insisted that her cell phone number was, in fact, written correctly on the emergency card and that Clare was no more than a "stupid little secretary."

Clare responded by saying, "I don't need to listen to you talk to me like that. You wrote the number down wrong."

The mother insisted that her cell phone number was, in fact, written correctly on the emergency card and that Clare was no more than a "stupid little secretary."

Upon hearing the rude remarks of the mother, the principal stepped in and said, "You need to treat my employees with respect. If you cannot do so, then you need to leave campus before I actually do call the cops." The mother then stormed out of the office without another word.

In reflecting upon the incident, Clare admits that she should have done more to try to calm the parent down. She realizes that she should not have responded defensively to the mother's rude comments. If she could do it again, she would put more effort into understanding the parent's perspective and would have allowed her to vent anger. If the mother continued to be disrespectful, she would call the principal in at that time to help resolve the problem.

Susie is the assistant childcare director at an elementary school. One day, she learned that three of the boys in the after school program were exposing themselves to one another. Immediately, Susie attempted to get into contact with the parents of the three boys. She was able to explain the situation to the parents of the first two boys and they thanked her.

However, Susie was unable to get in touch with the mother of the other boy. She did reach the mother's boyfriend by phone, but she felt that it was not appropriate for her to discuss the situation with him. The boyfriend sensed that something was wrong and became extremely upset that he was not being told the entire story. The next day, when the boyfriend dropped the boy off at day care, he confronted Susie and shared his belief that he "had every right to know what was going on in that boy's life, and that she better think twice before refusing to share information in the future."

Susie was able to contact the boy's mother that day and the problem was resolved.

In retrospect, Susie is very happy that she documented the entire incident so that she could protect herself in case anyone questioned her about it. Susie believes that it is extremely important to know the parents that she works with because she can then prepare herself for how they may act in any given situation. Her only regret is that she made the call to the boy's home first, rather than to the mother's work, because she knew ahead of time that she really didn't want to discuss the incident with the boyfriend. She could have saved herself a little grief if she had considered the possibility that the boyfriend might answer the phone.

Mary is an instructional aid at an elementary school who is also in charge of coordinating the after-school enrichment program for the students. While holding the sign ups for the latest enrichment session, Mary was confronted by an irate parent.

Standard policy with regards to enrichment sign ups had always been that if a parent volunteered his or her time to help out with the sign up night, that parent was rewarded being the first one to sign up their kids for enrichment.

On this particular night, Mary continued with the past practice of giving the parent helpers the first opportunity to sign kids up. Once the helpers had been given that opportunity the doors were opened for other parents to sign their kids up. As the first lady walked through the door, she asked, "What were you just doing? Were you letting those ladies sign up first?"

Mary responded by saying "Yes, it is one of the perks for helping me out."

The woman reacted by inquiring, "You mean if I volunteer, I can sign my child up first."

"Yes!" Mary replied.

"Well, I want it in writing or in the next enrichment cover letter," the woman insisted.

"I'll try to do that," Mary quipped in an agitated voice.

While reflecting upon this confrontation, Mary wishes that she had approached the situation a little bit differently. She admits that she was caught completely off guard by the woman's anger and hostility.

Also, Mary is aware that the promise she made to the woman was unrealistic. "No way can I offer pre sign ups to everyone who wants to volunteer; I only need eight helpers. Also, I cannot do what that woman wants me to do. I cannot advertise."

"I should have offered her the opportunity to attend any PTA meeting that she can make it to because that is when I ask for volunteers to help with enrichment sign-ups."

"Finally, I should have slowed down and taken a step back to assess the situation before I reacted to it. I know that I was a little bit rude to her, and just because she treated me poorly does not mean that I should have done the same, especially when I am representing the school."

Cindy is a kindergarten teacher who had an unpleasant altercation with a parent. A few years ago, Cindy had a student who was extremely immature and had severe social, language, and speech problems. At the goal setting conference, Cindy handed the mother a progress report which alerted her to the fact that her child was struggling to meet grade level expectations in several areas. The mother read the report, crossed her arms, and demanded, "What is this all about?" Cindy remained very professional and gave the mother several examples of the type of behavior that had caused Cindy to become concerned.

From that moment on, this particular mother questioned everything that Cindy did. Eventually, another altercation occurred. In Cindy's class, the students use a lot of food in their centers which gives them the tangible objects that they often need to grasp new math concepts. About midyear, Cindy's classroom funds were running low, so she asked the parents for voluntary donations to the food fund. Unfortunately, this particular parent did not think too much of the idea and she set up a meeting with the principal.

The parent complained: "I don't see the children eating food! Where does the money go? I thought public school was free!"

After hearing the mother's comments, Cindy confronted her. "I heard you had some questions about the food fund," Cindy snapped in an unpleasant tone. Fortunately, the mother backed down and was quiet for the rest of the year.

While reflecting upon the incident, Cindy realizes that she let her emotions get the best of her and that it was wrong for her to speak to the mother in such a rude manner. She believes that had she communicated how the child was performing from the beginning of the year before the goal setting conference, the mother would have been prepared for what was coming. By establishing good relations early on, Cindy believes that she could have created a more pleasant and better working relationship with this parent.

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Jarrod HenryClare is an office manager at an elementary school who had an experience with a hostile parent last year. The student, a sixth grader who is usually picked up from school, was supposed to take the bus to the Sunshine childcare center on that particular day.

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Leadershipby Michelle Taylor Angelo State University Leadership is:Inspiring peopleAchieving positive results123Influencing with a purpose(Mora, 2012)Transformational LeadershipAuthentic LeadershipAuthentic Leadership defined:Authentic Leadership is "a reciprocal relationship where the leader has a sincere interest in being understandable to others, while seeking to understand those being led." (Glowacki-Dudka & Griswold, 2016, p.

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9 Practices that Make

Great Leaders Great

Positive leadership is not Pollyanna leadership. Positive leadership is the way to lead if you want to build a great team and organization. It's the stuff that makes great leaders great. In this spirit here are 9 practices that make up the positive leadership framework that you can begin to implement today.

1. Positive Leaders Drive Positive Cultures - Leaders who drive the culture and create a culture that is strong on the inside will withstand the forces trying to sabotage it from the outside. Culture is not just one thing. It's everything.

2. Positive Leaders Create and Share a Positive Vision - Positive leadership is all about seeing and creating a brighter and better future. It's about inventing, innovating, creating, building, improving, and transforming every aspect of our lives and the world in which we live. A positive leader sees what's possible and then takes the next steps to rally and unite people to create it.

3. Positive Leaders Lead with Optimism, Positivity and Belief - Pessimists don't change the world. Naysayers talk about problems but they don't solve them. Throughout history we see that it's the optimists, the doers and the positive leaders who transform teams and change the world. Positive leaders don't lead in a sea of tranquil positivity but through the storms of negativity and adversity. That's why optimism and belief are so essential.

4. Positive Leaders Confront, Transform, and Remove Negativity - One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is that they ignore the negativity within their team and organization. They allow it to breed and grow and it eventually sabotages them. This chapter includes everything I have learned since writing The Energy Bus. A key piece of advice is "Don't be negative about negativity." There's a better way to deal with it.

5. Positive Leaders Create United and Connected Teams - It's the leader's ability to unite and connect people that truly creates great teams and organizations. Positive leaders create unity which is the difference between a great team and an average or dysfunctional team. The more united and connected a team and organization is the more they are able to accomplish together.

6. Positive Leaders Build Great Relationships and Teams - When you focus on building relationships with your team, performance, morale, and engagement rises. It's about making time to communicate, encourage, connect, commit, serve and care about those you lead. It's probably the most important chapter in the book.

7. Positive Leaders Pursue Excellence - Some think that positive leaders are just about having fun and don't care about winning. This couldn't be further from the truth. Positive leaders are very competitive. They pursue excellence, build greatness and often try to accomplish the impossible. You don't have to choose between positivity and winning. Positivity leads to winning.

8. Positive Leaders Lead with Purpose - There will be days and nights when you wonder why you chose a leadership position at all. That's why you need a purpose to fuel your positivity. We don't get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget WHY we do it. Positive leaders are driven with a bigger purpose and they inspire others to live and work with purpose.

9. Positive Leaders have Grit - A leader will face countless challenges, failures and setbacks that will become roadblocks unless they find a way forward. Positive leaders have grit and find a way to navigate the roadblocks or run through them to move closer to their vision and goal.

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9 Practices that Make Great Leaders Great

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9 Practices that Make Great Leaders Great Positive leadership is not Pollyanna leadership. Positive leadership is the way to lead if you want to build a great team and organization. It's the stuff that makes great leaders great. In this spirit here are 9 practices that make up the positive leadership framework that you can begin to implement today.

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The theory of emotional intelligence was introduced by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer in the 1990s, and further developed and brought to the lay public by Daniel Goleman. The concept, also known as emotional quotient or EQ, has gained wide acceptance. However, some psychologists argue that because EQ cannot be captured via psychometric tests (as can, for example, general intelligence), it lacks true explanatory power.

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Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify and manage one's own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.