How to avoid sending out mixed leadership messages
Leaders create waves of meaning; not only through formal speeches or written communication, but through what they emphasize, repeat, tolerate and reward.
Leaders create waves of meaning; not only through formal speeches or written communication, but through what they emphasize, repeat, tolerate and reward.
When leaders understand the boundaries of each compartment, they are better able to empower others to own their space without constant interference.
At FETC 2026, Kelsey Behringer and Quintin Shepherd will cover how antifragility enables districts to learn, adapt, and improve through disruption.
You cannot have multiple firsts. You cannot have several things that are the main thing.
The “Weber–Fechner law” describes the relationship between stimulus and human perception. Simply put, our ability to notice change is not linear.
In leadership, harmony isn’t about splitting the difference. It’s about choosing the melody first, then finding the rhythm that supports it.
For those of us who sit in the superintendent’s chair, the year is not a straight line. It is a series of cycles, each with its own tempo, tone and tension.
The work of district leadership is not just doing the hard things, but capturing how they were done so others can do them too.
In governance, as in leadership, movement without balance does not create progress; it creates circles.
When someone lands their first district leadership role, I like to offer a lighthearted welcome: “Congratulations! You now get to work half-days… you can choose the first 12 hours or the second.”
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