Month: December 2017

Book: Two Awesome Hours by Josh Davis, PhD 

Key Takeaway: When moving on from a task, think of it as a ‘decision point.’ Maximize on these moments and CHOOSE what to do next. Do not run down a to-do list on autopilot.

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Other big ideas:

• Plan decision points in advance, don’t move forward unless you are consciously choosing the right one
• Choose what to ignore (selective ignorance), you can’t focus on too much at the same time
• Decide if you’re working for creativity or productivity
  • Creativity: get away from the ‘problem’ at hand, let your mind wander, listen to music, soft lighting
  • Production: focus, little to no noise/music/podcasts, plan decision points, bright lights

 

I’m learning that as a leader, professional development often means personal development.

It’s a unique role to be in. You are always on show to those that follow you; your strengths and your weaknesses.  As an educational leader, I’ve tried to grow by reading, viewing webinars and using twitter.
But, when I hear people talk about leaders, they rarely speak about job-specific functions or knoweldge; most feedback or discussions are about personality traits.

This week alone, I had someone mention that I’m shy, along with another person commenting that I am open-minded. Both are somewhat unrelated to my instructional knowledge or even my leadership abilities.

I made a list of the first few traits that came to mind about my past school leaders. Warm. Indecisive.  Funny.  Caring.  Inefficient.  These aren’t “education” terms – they are personality traits.

Sometimes, the best professional development we can give ourselves is personal development.  When I think about the most powerful best books I read this year – most are about becoming a better person. (see that list here).

School leaders need to be instructionally sound – keeping up with recent research and practices. But we can’t ignore the fact that personal development makes us better leaders; more suited to take on the challenges that instructional leadership brings.

I believe a next step is fostering this sense of personal development in others.  I’ll be thinking about how to do that in the coming years, and welcome suggestions.

I set a goal in 2017 to read one book per month.

But, 2017 was a year of productivity and personal development.  I gave up TV for forty days and social media for four months – leaving more time for reading – a total of 34 books this year.

I hope to get 5% better next year and read 36. Because I read quite a few, I decided to put them into categories, with my two favorites listed under each category. This rating is solely based on whether the book provided actionable advice, or change my thinking in some way. My complete list of books can be found at the end of this post. Over the holiday recess, I plan to create short summaries of these books (I have copious amounts of notes sitting in Evernote right now!)

What books do you recommend for 2018? Please drop a comment below or message me on twitter!

Best book I read all year: ‘Finish! Give Yourself The Gift Of Done’ by Jon Acuff

Runner-up: ‘I Am Number 8’ by John Gray

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Leadership:
1. Leaders Eat Last – Simon Sinek
2. Extreme Ownership – Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

School Leadership/Education:
1. The Innovator’s Mindset – George Couros
2.  Leverage Leadership – Paul Bambrick – Santoyo

Productivity
1. Organize Tomorrow Today – Jason Selk
2. Deep Work – Cal Newport

Personal Development/Health
1. Whole 30 – Melissa Hartwig
2. Food Freedom Forever – Melissa Hartwig

Spiritual
1. Jesus: A Pilgrimage – James Martin
2. Sun Stand Still – Steven Furtick

Hobbies
1. Understanding Exposure – Tony Northrup
2. Adobe Lightroom CC For Digital Photographers – Scott Kelby

Full list here