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Friday, December 9, 2011

Growing leaders, not just graduates

Every year in June for the past 5 years, Growing Leaders has hosted the National Leadership Forum in Atlanta, GA.

We intentionally designed the National Leadership Forum to be unique compared to any other conference or event.

Each year, we purpose to:

• Select a specific theme for executive leaders, then stick to it
• Allow several gifted and notable speakers to address the themeLimit the number of attendees so they can interact with the speakers
• Enable those executive level attendees to meet and share best practices
• Equip them to practice the theme in the most current and innovative ways.

It is, in reality, a forum. Interactive. Innovative. Inductive. Inspiring.

Last year’s National Leadership Forum was an incredible event. I wanted to share a few videos today from that event:

NLF 2011 Attendee Interviews from Growing Leaders on Vimeo.

NLF 2011 Highlight Video from Growing Leaders on Vimeo.

Our Theme for 2012: “Growing Leaders Not Just Graduates”

Leadership is a misunderstood buzzword in our culture today. Some love it. Some hate it. With so many opinions on what it means, there is one view almost everyone agrees with in schools, campus organizations, churches and universities:

There is a shortage of healthy, effective leaders among our supervisors, staff, and students. We need more and better leaders.

On June 28-29, 2012, we plan to host a conversation on how to cultivate leaders:

1. How to spot and attract potential leaders
2. How to develop leadership among staff teams
3. How to build healthy leaders in your student body
4. How to nurture a leadership culture in your organization
5. How to ignite leaders naturally so that they flourish on your campus

We believe one great way to help students succeed is not merely targeting their graduation, but enabling them to see where they will flourish in life. When this happens, they naturally become people of influence…leaders in their own right. Graduation is a by-product of a student on their way to a meaningful life.

This is the perfect environment to bring your entire leadership team. The National Leadership Forum is great opportunity for your team to be inspired, refreshed, and exposed to new ideas. The smaller format of the Forum is specifically designed to encourage interaction with the speakers and other attendees.

Join us in this venture. Register now for the 2012 National Leadership Forum.

Today is the last day to receive the lowest price on registration. Take advantage of this special offer by clicking here.

Tim

In: Education, Leadership

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

What Makes Education Valuable

This past week, I had the privilege of working with two great national organizations.

I participated in a three-day “think tank” with the national FFA, in Indianapolis. Our goal was to think strategically about what student leaders and staff needed to know and do to become effective leaders.

Then I flew to Omaha, Nebraska for the weekend, to speak at the Central Region event for DECA. I spent Saturday with faculty talking about how to connect with students and provide what the need to be healthy leaders as adults.

In both cases, I met key adult leaders who were intensely passionate about doing what must be done to equip kids to be ready for life. I realize this sounds cliché, but I love it when I meet teachers and administrators who haven’t forgotten why they got into this “gig” in the first place. Continue Reading

In: Education

Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Most Important Factor When Leading Students

If you’re like me, you hear all kinds of theories about how to best lead and teach students today. There are countless books on the market with the latest suggestions on how to handle this different generation of kids, who grew up online, who now carry their phones around as though they were an appendage to their bodies and who seem to speak a different language than their parents and teachers do.

Some theorists suggest we need to toughen up. We need to become more strict, and put these lazy, disengaged, slackers in their place. Others suggest the opposite, saying these kids need some latitude and grace. They require adults to allow them some creativity as they bloom into the adults they’ll eventually become.

So, who is right?
Do our students need more rules or less rules? Do they need us to tighten up or loosen up? What do they need require most?

I believe the answer may surprise you. I’m convinced the most important factor is:
Consistency. Simple, raw consistency.

In our day of tumultuous change, where the only thing that is constant is change, adults must model consistent values and behavior, whatever the rules are. I actually don’t think the issue in our homes is whether to be strict and have a curfew or not, it is to simply stick to your guns and be constant. Don’t waiver. Don’t fluctuate.

The ingredient that fosters insecurity among children (old or young) is inconsistency in their adult leaders. We all know peers who grew up with different standards in their homes. Some of our friends remember very strict parents; others reminisce about parents who allowed them lots of leeway. In either case, I am not sure it was the rules that were important, but the fact that they were enforced in a steady manner.

So, my advice to parents, coaches, faculty and youth workers?

Choose your standards, and be consistent.
It provides security. It furnishes a model to follow. It allows them a stable environment in which to grow.

What do you think? How important is consistency? Leave a comment below.

Tim

In: Education, Generation iY, Leadership, Parenting

Monday, November 7, 2011

Did We Keep the Wrong Score Card?

Have you kept up with the latest research on graduates, and how they’re doing in the workplace? I just met with the executive staff of the Georgia Department of Education and we both are concerned. Somehow, regardless of how well we improve students’ math and reading scores—there is still a skill gap when they move from backpack to briefcase.

This problem isn’t limited to the U.S. It’s global. One report out of the U.K. revealed that almost half of employers failed to fill vacancies (did you catch that—they had job vacancies) last year because many university graduates lack basic communication and leadership skills. Even government departments experienced problems finding suitable candidates as graduates with often “very good degrees” were unable to impress anyone during interviews, said a report by the Association of Graduate Recruiters. According to the report, grads were unable to demonstrate the right combination of “softer” skills such as teamwork or emotional intelligence.

According to a report by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the two underlying reasons for this large “skill gap” are:

1. Jobs are changing

2. Education is lagging

What are employers looking for, according to the polls by ASTD? It won’t shock you, but they’re looking for leadership skills, basic people skills and communication skills. Hmmm. I wonder if we’re keeping the wrong scorecard? While I agree math and science are important—if this is all we teach and grade, we’ve failed our students. If we don’t teach relationship skills and how to lead a team—we’ve done them a disservice and will not keep up with our global economy.

Dr. John Barge is our Georgia State Superintendent of Schools. He has created a plan to focus on developing students’ Head, Hands and Heart. This means our focus is:

* Head: we will improve traditional scores on current subjects like math, science and reading.

* Hands: we will develop practical life skills in students that make them employable and valuable.

* Heart: we will equip them with a moral compass and help them build character, values and ethics as they enter a pluralistic society.

Let me hear from you. What’s your scorecard for evaluating how well you’ve led and taught your students? Are we measuring the wrong stuff?

Tim

In: Education, Generation iY, Leadership

Monday, October 31, 2011

Research-Based Principles for Student Growth and Success

Over the years, educators and researchers have searched for timeless principles that enable an educator or mentor to impact a student and make their training stick. If you are a teacher, a coach, a youth worker or…simply care about connecting with kids, check out the following ideas. Below are six conclusions from leading researchers and authors today.

1. Personal Validation – Student success is more likely when students feel personally significant, i.e. when they are treated as whole persons and recognized as unique individuals that matter to the school. (Rendon, 1994 / Schlossberg, Lynch and Chickering, 1989)

2. Personal Meaning – Student success is promoted when students find meaning or purpose in their college experience and see relevant connections between college, personal life and future goals. (Ryan and Deci, 2000 / Wlodkowski, 1998)

3. Active Involvement – Student success increases with the degree or depth of student engagement in the learning process; i.e. the amount of time / energy students invest in their experience, inside & out of class. (Astin, 1993 / Kuh, 1991, 2001 / McKeachie, 1986 / Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991, 2005)

4. Social Integration – Student success is deepened through human interaction, collaboration and formation of interpersonal relationships between the student and other members of the community. (Astin, 1993 / Bruffee, 1993 / Johnson, Johnson and Smith, 1998 / Slavin, 1996 / Tinto, 1987,1993)

5. Self Reflection – Student success is strengthened when students reflect on and internalize their learning experiences, transforming these experiences into a form that relates to what they already know. (Ewell, 1997 / Flavell, 1985 / Vygotsky 1978)

6. Developmental Relationships – Student success is fostered when a peer or adult mentors the student to accelerate their personal focus, critical thinking, problem solving skills and interpersonal skills. (Astin, 2007 / Marklein, 2008 / Cromie, 2008)

Does your teaching offer more than a mere download of information? What are you offering that engages your students and enables them to really learn?

Tim

In: Education

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