Episodes
Sunday Oct 05, 2014
Episode 35: The Law of the Inner Circle and Team Building
Sunday Oct 05, 2014
Sunday Oct 05, 2014
According to John Maxwell, "A leader's potential is determined by those closest to him."
John notes, "When you have the right staff, potential skyrockets."
The team or organization leader needs team members he/she chooses. Many times they can inherit and/or have someone from higher up in the organization want to add people to the team. This is unfortunate and can cause issues of with results orientation and effectiveness. When given the opportunity to select his/her own team mates the leader needs to take advantage of this to select the best and the brightest that will bring their special attributes to the team.
It is important for the leader to recognize that he/she wants to select those individuals who address the weaknesses of the leader not clones of the leader.
( Patrick Lencioni )
The leader has to take time to support and develop that team that will become his inner circle. This is the group that will connect with each other and will develop a deep sense of trust to the organization, the leader and accomplishing the mission. Check out Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of the Team.
This does not happen overnight it requires the leader spending time developing his team.
This means interacting with each other not just in meetings and eating together. It means having an opportunity to laugh and play together and to experience turmoil and difficulty together.
Check out my thoughts about playing soccer, racing cars, the fluer-di-lis, and the lightening bolt.
It also means that the leader needs to find out what training and coaching they need and insure that they get it.
As a note, it is possible that you will make a bad selection for the team, the leader has to be willing to address that because it is a weakness for the team that will disrupt success.
I hope that you enjoy this episode and I challenge you to take the time to examine your organization and ask yourself …
Do you have an inner circle?
Do you support them?
Does someone not need to be on that team?
Some words of wisdom from John Maxwell:
"One of the mistakes I often made early in my career as a team leader was that I thought everyone who was on my team should remain on my team."-John Maxwell
"Hire the best staff you can find, develop them as much as you can, and hand off everything you possibly can to them."-John Maxwell
Recommended Reading:
John Maxwell's:
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork
Patrick Lencioni's:
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Also, you can subscribe to John Maxwell's Minute with Maxwell.
A daily dose of leadership advice from John at no cost to you.
Enjoy!
Length: 31:21
Thursday Sep 25, 2014
Thursday Sep 25, 2014
This November, Georgia will elect a State Superintendent. The group has been down sized since the campaign trail started. The candidates for the office have been reduced to two: Valerie Wilson and Richard Woods.
I recently attended The State of Education in Georgia Conference at the University of Georgia. During lunch the two remaining candidates were each given 15 minutes to speak.
The podcast today is my recording of their talks. Listen to their thoughts and comments. Keep in mind that if you are a Georgia registered voter that you will have a chance to vote for either candidate this fall.
I refrain from doing too much editorializing. The only edits involve the time between candidates and then at the conclusion of each talk. Otherwise, you are hearing exactly as the audience heard them.
I have included links to each candidate’s websites as well as a link to my blog article about the coming election.
Enjoy!
Length: 34:04
Wednesday Sep 17, 2014
Episode 33: Six Apps for the Classroom with David Lockhart
Wednesday Sep 17, 2014
Wednesday Sep 17, 2014
David is a high school teacher at North Atlanta High. This summer we met at the Georgia Virtual School Symposium in Athens, Georgia where I had the chance to attend his awesome class titled,
…30 Apps in 30 Minutes.
David has always had an interest in Tech… he says, “I found something that I was good at…”
In our interview we focus on four points…
1) His 6 favorite apps
2) The cost of apps (In a word…cheap!)
3) Engaging!
4) Ease of use…
David advises…in looking for apps, “Find what works in your classroom…and then find an app that will help you. If it doesn't work…then adjust.”
Most importantly…David comments, “Don’t be afraid!”
He has amazing advice for apps to use and why as well as how to find the best apps.
I know that you will find this episode brain food!
Here are the 6 Apps that we talk about and their websites.
1) TouchCast http://www.touchcast.com/
2)
Google Drive https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2424384?hl=en
3) Symbaloo http://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOcK1fiV
4) Weebly https://education.weebly.com/
5) Tackk https://tackk.com
6) 81dash http://81dash.com/
Follow David on Twitter @ld112265
And read his blog at www.edtechspeeddating.com
Seasame Street Song, “There’s An App for That! Find it at www.sesamestreet.org or on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhkxDIr0y2U
Enjoy!
Length 30:37
Monday Jul 14, 2014
Episode 27: Teaching Tip/ Learning the Kids' Names
Monday Jul 14, 2014
Monday Jul 14, 2014
It is extremely important that the classroom teacher get to know and use the names of the kids.
The children need to know that you know who they are.
The better teacher has strategies for doing this as soon as possible. Whether it is the beginning of a new semester or school year, the better teacher takes time to learn and use the names of the kids.
Today, instead of an interview...it’s just me talking about getting to know and use the names of the kids.
What ways do you have for learning and using the names of the kids?
Please share them with me. I would love to hear your ideas about this.
Take care.
Enjoy!
Here are the links to the works by Deborah Meier.
The Power of Their Ideas by Deborah Meier
In Schools We Trust by Deborah Meier
Length 22:53
Friday Jun 20, 2014
Episode 25: Do You Have a Teacher You Would Like to Thank?
Friday Jun 20, 2014
Friday Jun 20, 2014
This episode is quite a bit different than our others. This time you will hear many different people share their thoughts about a teacher who made a difference in their lives. You will hear recollections of good deeds, of persistence, of faith, of inspiration, and of encouragement. You will hear commonalities in most cases. You will hear sincerity and even though you can't see those telling their stories you will feel their tears and sense their smiles.
What about you? Do you have a teacher from your days in K-12, that if you could, you would say thank you? If so, what would you say?
If its not too late...why not reach out and take the time to say thank you...you made a difference in my life!
I hope that this episode ignites memories and that it entices you to go find that special teacher and say...Thank You!
Enjoy!