The work of educational leaders depends on relationships with people--faculty and staff members, students, other administrators, parents, and community members. This book presents a new way of viewing leadership: how to become person-centered leaders. Rather than relying on outdated ways of managing schools, principals and other leaders must take up the challenge of paying attention to the people issues of the school. Through many examples, the authors show how school leaders must * consciously seek the appropriate type of data to respond to; * increase their capacity for empathy; * develop healthy personal self-concepts; and * learn how to develop healthy self-concepts in others, both students and teachers. School leaders also should be committed to a broad purpose for schooling, should be informed about how their beliefs and behavior influence the organization of the school, and should be able to participate in interactions with authenticity. They also must be able to help create authenticity in their school organizations. In these ways, school leaders will create schools that are learning organizations for everyone. Universities that prepare future school leaders should spend more time developing leaders who are person centered in their approach to leading schools. This new way of thinking will require leader preparation programs to change their priorities for curriculum, academic activities, and field experiences.

This practice-orientated book explores the nature of leadership in higher education during three key stages of the leadership cycle: becoming, being, and leaving leadership. Providing perspectives on leadership from a range of professional sectors, this book presents considered views on contemporary and future leadership practices in higher education from a global network of contributors. Included within each chapter are prominent questions designed to engage the reader to think about their own leadership experiences to date and leadership development needs. Key points covered include: the complexities of leadership in higher education in a changing world discussion of internally resourced leadership development frameworks and programmes currently used across the sector leading complex education systems perspectives on leadership from a range of professional sectors such as corporate, military, elite sport, and public, that can be used to improve the quality of higher education leadership case studies of academics’ leadership practices that provide readers with authentic personal insights into discipline-specific leadership experiences from around the world. Full of practical examples of personal leadership experiences which can be used to help inform readers’ leadership aspirations, development, and legacy planning, this is the ideal read for anyone interested in understanding their identity and practice as a leader in higher education.

Starr Sackstein's insight will help you make the best decisions for yourself and those you serve, whether you have already made the move into leadership or are wondering whether a role in administration is right for you . In this honest and practical guide, Sackstein prompts you to reflect as you stretch for personal and professional growth.

`Keith Grint′s persuasive essay on the art of leadership in Effective Educational Leadership is uncannily accurate′ - Tim Brighouse, Times Educational Supplement `its unique contribution is the exploration of links between leadership discourses and the themes that have emerged from the school effectiveness movements since the 1980s. Riley and MacBeath provide one of the most valuable contributions to the volume by arguing that there are no generic recipes for educational leadership but ingredients which need to be carefully selected with a knowledge of specific contexts and needs. I would use this book with graduate students and practitioners seeking to develop a perspective about contemporary educational leadership. Its greatest contribution is its exploration of the links between effective leadership and effective education. The book also provides optimism in that many of the authors have not capitulated to the reductionist visions of the past two decades. There is still hope that educational theorists and practitioners view the life world as the true source of educational inspiration′ - Journal of Educational Administration `Leadership is the theme of this decade. This series provides an enormously valuable overview of all the critical issues involved in designing leadership as the main strategy for educational reform.... A great and timely collection′- Michael Fullan, Dean, OISE/University of Toronto `This book makes an excellent contribution to the current debate on Educational Leadership. It blends theory with practice and as such provides an important resource for many aspects of leadership development programmes at a variety of levels. Its ability to draw upon international perspectives along with examples beyond conventional educational parameters enhances its quality. The book contains a well documented account of how leadership has been studied which will appeal both to the academic reader, and to the professional provider of CPD in leadership, offering a wealth of information that can be practically adopted and adapted for a range of courses′ - Stephen Merrill, Journal of Inservice Education Educational management and administration studies focus on leadership as a key determinant of effective educational institutions; and currently, much leadership preparation is characterized by a rational skills-focused approach. Placing current thinking in leadership studies in its organizational and historical context, this book explores its implications for leadership preparation, leadership theory in action and examines some of the dilemmas and tensions facing educational leaders in practice. It draws on literature and research from both the private and public sectors. It is deliberately international in its content and focus, and examines a range of practice both within and outside education. Each chapter has a short introduction by the editors setting it in context. This book is for providers and students in higher educational institutions; for postgraduate level courses in educational management; and for leadership development provision for Headteachers induction programmes, NPQH and LPSH. It is also suitable for short courses and for practitioners occupying or aspiring to leadership roles in schools, colleges and other educational organizations.

′This book makes an important contribution to the literature on educational leadership and should help to shift the emphasis from rational and accountability-related models to an explicit recognition of the importance of emotions to effective leadership′ - Educational Management Administration and Leadership ′[This book] contains a wealth of case studies and vignettes to help leaders be more aware of the ways in which emotion impacts on their practice, and to develop a productive and sustainable set of emotional responses, experiences and leadership tools′ - Headteacher Update ′This is a highly readable and engaging introduction to both the importance and power of emotions in the life and work of headteachers. While leaders′ emotions have been badly neglected in the literature, the rich body of evidence the author shares with readers indicates how central such emotions are to sustaining improvement efforts in schools.′ - Professor Ken Leithwood, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, Canada ′The affective side of leadership is often forgotten as school heads and leaders strive for excellence and accountability. This extremely important book brings to the forefront the emotional attachments of leadership, the interpersonal relationships, and self-awareness that are at the core of leadership action and decision making. The case stories and reviews of multiple perspectives and theories provide the reader with a rich and essential resource′ - Ellen B. Goldring, Professor of Education Policy and Leadership, Vanderbilt University ′...The book is framed to illuminate how headteachers experience, and talk about, emotion and meaning in their daily interactions, and sets out to understand how emotion impacts on their leadership.′ (author′s introduction) Understanding the close relationship between leadership and emotion is essential for school leaders in creating, modifying and sustaining the emotional coherence of the whole school. Megan Crawford aims to help school leaders understand why emotion is such a powerful component of leadership. The author examines how school leaders experience emotion and meaning in their daily interactions, and presents a reflective journey, concentrating on the personal side of school leadership. The author shows how school climate depends on the personal emotional quality of the leader and his/her interface with other social relationships in the school, covering areas such as difficult people and situations, shame, loss and drawing on primary and secondary case studies, school leaders′ reflections and the influence of their life history, school context and emotional epiphanies. This book is for practising educational leaders and managers, tutors and students on Masters courses, EdD courses, and on programmes such as the National Professional Qualification for Headship, its equivalent for Children′s centres, and other national programmes in educational leadership and management

'Overall, and as one has come to expect from Fink, this is a readable text that thinks outside the box of leadership theory... I have no doubt that the text will be welcomed by many readers for an engaging style that places human interest at the heart of the discourse in the field' - Mark Brundrett, writing in Educational Management Administration and Leadership 'It is a 'must read' for those in educational leadership roles in schools, both to gain invaluable insights and to draw on a framework for individual reflection' - Professor Brent Davies, University of Hull `I enjoyed reading this book. The combination of critical reflection of his experience in the light of relevant literature makes for a lively and thought-provoking book. I was going to say "little" book, because at times I would have liked to have read more. But on the other hand, it is the sort of book one - the academic and the leader - could read in one sitting, enjoy and come back to for some ideas. I recommend you to do so' - ESCalate `This book provides a refreshing alternative to the rhetoric about 'superheads', and 'mavericks' that has been prevalent in some of the recent discourse about leadership. Dean Fink draws heavily upon the work of Andy Hargreaves, Michael Fullan and his own research with Louise Stoll so some of the ideas are familiar. However, what makes Leadership for Mortals interesting is the way in which he untangles the complexities of leadership by using genuine examples alongside the theory. Dean Fink's writing is accessible and his anecdotal style should resonate with his intended audience of current and prospective leaders' - LDR, The Magazine for School Leaders `This book is a welcome antidote to the notion of school leaders as heroic figures. Dean Fink's commitment to enhancing the life chances of young people shines through the pages' - Kate Myers, Times Educational Supplement `With great wisdom and insight, Dean Fink invites us into his leadership stories to masterfully illustrate that school leadership is no longer a person but an intricate network of 'mortals' working together to enhance learning experiences for students. They are truly leaders of learning, where commitment to successful learning for all students is the locus of their passion, perseverance and persuasion. Balanced with connections to respected leadership literature, this lucid and eloquent book will inspire current and future school leaders to reflect and develop their leadership practice to higher levels of effectiveness. An outstanding and optimistic read for all school leadership mortals, practitioners and scholars alike. I enjoyed it immensely' - David Eddy, Director, First-time Principals Programme, The University of Auckland `Practitioners will find this book at the same time reassuring and challenging. Fink includes stories of leadership that highlight effective strategies and some approaches that have gone wrong. They are real and ring true and therefore credible and instructive' - Ken Thompson Principal, Gladstone Park Secondary College, Australia `A great story about schools and their leaders progressing towards a knowledge driven world and the roads they choose to travel. Building sustainable communities of practice and the credible and varied examples of how the combination of leadership behaviour and enabling and disabling processes can make or break a successful school are clearly illustrated in Leadership for Mortals. A significant read for all aspirant and accomplished leaders' - - Jenny Lewis,Executive Officer, Australian Council for Educational Leaders 'Dean Fink brings together a wealth of learning from his own experience as a leader and learner to provide some powerful messages. This is a well-informed book with a strong theoretical basis but it is also personal and real, making sense of educational leadership in a way that is both profound and down-to-earth. School leaders in the UK and elsewhere will find inspiration, reassurance and challenge in this book' - Steve Munby, Chief Executive, National College for School Leadership 'Grounded in solid knowledge base and profound lived experience, Dean Fink's Leadership for Mortals provides deep insights on how ordinary practitioners could become great and sustainable leaders of learning. Fink's book is not a "quick-fix" how-to-do-it manual. It stimulates us to reflect on education leadership both as a personalized, value-laden journey and an art as well as reminds us of the imperative issues of extraordinary commitment, effort and determination in making a difference on leading students and teachers' learning. This is a must-read book for aspiring and serving leaders in the field of education' - Professor John Chi-kin Lee, Dean of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 'Its style is conversational and unpatronizing, yet it makes powerful statements about the key components that contribute to successful leadership. It is always practical, and readers will come away from this book knowing they have learned something that they will be keen to try out for themselves...Readers will recognise leaders good and bad that they have come across, at times being reassured that they are getting it right and at others despairing as they identify situations in which they, too, got it wrong. Fink's writing makes it clear that leadership is not exact science! He reminds us that, although we are mortals, with good mentoring and better training our own potential has a better chance of being realised, and that this is the best way to enable our students to achieve their own potential.' Journal of Research in International Education Leadership in recent years has become a growth industry. Politicians demand more of it, academics decry the lack of it, and potential school leaders are deciding 'to hell with it' .....we are making the business of leadership so complicated that we seem to need John Wayne at his mythological best or Xena the Warrior Princess to run a school. Most educational leaders are not 'heroic' but rather ordinary people who through extraordinary commitment, effort, and determination have become extraordinary, and have made the people around them exceptional. Educational leadership is more art than science; it is more about character than technique; it is more about inspiration than charisma; it is more about leading students and teachers' learning than the management of things This resource for prospective and practising school leaders: - motivates and inspires - addresses the challenges of contemporary school leadership - presents a model for leadership development, selection and succession - challenges existing and prospective leaders to develop and live by a set of core values based on students' learning - describes and explains the 'learnings' required by effective leaders of learning - describes the intellectual 'tool kit' that leaders can develop - describes the trajectories through which leaders proceed, and the 'learnings' required at each stage of the leaders evolution - presents a template for leadership development and succession.

Rather than asking students to memorize rote recipes for action, this new book enhances students' ability to encounter new situations, assess relevant factors and decide on effective courses of action on their own. It offers valuable vicarious experiences and insights by combining case studies of actual beginning superintendents with analyses by experienced, knowledgeable professors of educational administration.