How to Have a Great Parent / Teacher Conference
it’s time to set some ground rules for a great parent / teacher meeting. There are four issues which are paramount.
Podcast #2: Communicating with the Next Generation
In the last episode of the Growing Leaders Podcast, we discussed a growing problem: students are getting stuck! In today's episode, we are changing topics and looking at how we can effectively communicate with the next generation.
Dates and Marriages for Leaders
Many of your decisions are smaller and frequent. Treat them like going on a date. Important and permanent decisions should be treated like a marriage.
The Haircut Principle
Yesterday I blogged about the decisions leaders must make. They are either like the decision to get an earring or a tattoo. Tattoos are permanent and must be handled with great care and forethought. Fortunately, most decisions we make as leaders are a bit more like getting an earring. Although you may pierce your ear, you can change out the earring or not wear it. Often, we take far too long and give too much effort to “earring” decisions and not enough on the “tattoo” decisions.
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Haircuts teach us another leadership principle. Haircuts are something that no matter how important or busy you are—you have to do them. Yourself. You can’t delegate them to your assistant. You can’t pass them off to a team. Haircuts are just one of those activities that you gotta do it yourself. In the same way, leaders must remember, there are “haircuts” in their organization—priorities that only the leader can do. They may delegate most of the work to a team member, but leaders must know the things that they must do, and only they can do.
Tattoos and Earrings for Leaders
Getting a tattoo is pretty much an irreversible act. So, you’d better think long and hard before you get one. When I see the millions of kids in Generation Y who now have one on their arm or leg or even face—I can only imagine what they’ll look like when those tattoos are sagging on a wrinkled eighty-year old body. The tattoo removal industry may be picking up in fifty years. But it will hurt.
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For leaders, some of your decisions are like tattoos. They are permanent. We must be careful to not make them too quickly or in a knee-jerk sort of fashion. Consider this thought. Because you are a leader, you are likely a person of action. That’s why you got asked to be a leader. You are a doer. I believe however that the world is full of two kinds of people: the doers and the thinkers. The thinkers need to do more and the doers need to think more. Which one are you?(click to tweet).
The good news is—just about every choice you make in your work doesn’t last forever.
Be Careful What you Depend On
Society demands that we learn interdependence. We all need each other to make it. Houses. Cars. Food. No one in my neighborhood hunted and killed an animal, then cooked it for their evening meal. Few of us built our own house or put our car together. We depend on other people to do that for us. At the same time, our
A Leadership Lesson From Ancient Egypt
We learn an intriguing lesson from ancient Egypt: unlike other cultures that prepare children for life, Egyptians prepared their children for death.
The Top Two Reasons You Need a Mentor
I often write about how you can better mentor the students around you. I believe it’s the greatest need of the hour—kids need a guiding adult next to them. But what about you? I believe everyone needs a mentor, including mentors. For years I’ve practiced a customary ritual in January. I take a day away from the noise and clutter of
Great Expectations
As you begin a new school year or sport season, let me ask you a question: Are you aware of how your expectations impact the performance of your students? Dr. Wayne Dyer once reported that during the 1960s, a teacher was given a roster showing the actual I.Q. test scores of the students of one class, and for another class a roster
I Will Do Your Homework For You
Today, I am announcing some changes. I hope you find them helpful. After reviewing the reading habits of our blog subscribers, our Growing Leaders team decided that my blogs should take on a slightly different flavor: Except for once a week, my blogs will be shorter and designed to be read more quickly. I will consistently share ideas, stories and solutions intended to
The 18 Year Old Who Skipped College
This story made me think. Last week in the Washington Post, Jessica Goldstein wrote an article about an 18-year-old young woman who is the consummate picture of a college-bound student. Her name is Noor Siddiqui. She just graduated from Robinson Secondary School in June, with a stellar grade point average. She was involved in extra-curricular activities and is very social.
What Meaningful Work Does to Youth (Part Two)
Yesterday, I blogged about what real “work” accomplishes in young people, and how scarce it is, among teens and even twenty-somethings. They often prefer the virtual. I asked you to consider the landscape we now live in. Youth today are growing up in a SCENE that adults created. Sadly, it can be summarized with the word SCENE: S – Speed. (Slow is bad) C
What Meaningful Work Does to Youth (Part One)
A few months ago, I sent a tweet about how good, hard work for a cause we believe in can transforms us. I got a re-tweet from a young person who cussed me out. He felt my thought was B.S. The young man (from overseas) obviously disagreed with my view. Am I safe in saying that? My challenge to everyone—young or
Four Lessons We Learn From Gabby Douglas
Her moment was both unbelievable and overwhelming. Gabby Douglas became the first African-American to win the Olympic all-round gold medal in gymnastics. It is the most coveted title in her sport…and she did it at sixteen years old. Gabby Douglas belongs to Generation iY. In a world where her peers are generally caught up in activities like Facebook, texting, video games,
Stop Six Thieves Before They Rob You
Today I want to do something a little different. As the new school year launches, it’s so easy to get sucked into the rat race again. Vacations are over, and the hectic fall schedule begins soon. I was musing about this recently, bracing myself for a fast-paced August and September. I often find I “lose” myself during this busy season. I
A Missing Step in Today’s Parenting Path
Last month I spent several hours with groups of parents, faculty, coaches and youth workers. It was eye opening, to say the least. Each conversation became a candid disclosure of the fears, the struggles and the preoccupation adults have with today’s youth. I made some observations along the way that may prove helpful to you. It became clear that over
Podcast #1: Help I’m Stuck
Today, we are officially launching the Growing Leaders Podcast. This is an idea that we've been kicking around at the Growing Leaders office for over two years. There are a lot of great podcasts about leader development. We specifically want to help people lead the next generation. I hope you enjoy!
Lights, Camera, Action: The Hollywood Effect
In 2006, the action movie Miami Vice was released around the world. It’s the story of two rugged cops who use unconventional methods to get their job done. The movie was actually a re-make of a 1980s television show, which starred Don Johnson. Don Johnson was “the man” back in his day. He was cool. He was tough. He shot
What’s Happening to TV Mirrors What’s Happening in Culture
The latest numbers are in. They probably won’t shock you. 65% of 16-24 year olds polled listed talking to their friends via Facebook and Twitter topped watching TV. 33% of the group spend more than three hours a day networking on-line, more than the hours they spend watching television. TV networks are aware of this trend and working hard to
Four Counter-Intuitive Insights for Effective Leaders
I lead a leadership-development organization—for the next generation. One of the easiest traps to fall into is to make leadership a set of pithy, quotable concepts or behaviors. It is so much more than that. It is an organic and dynamic relationship between a point person and a group of people who’ve agreed to work together to accomplish a goal.
Artificial Maturity Crowd Source Article: Karen Stella
A few months ago, I put out a request for readers to share stories of practical ways we can prepare students for adulthood. I was finishing up the manuscript for my new book, Artificial Maturity, and wanted to include real-life examples from people around the world. The response was absolutely overwhelming! I’m so thankful for everyone who took time to share ideas. There were so
The Role of Risk in a Teen’s Life
It’s been a fact for years—during the period of adolescence, young people are prone to take more risks than at any other time of their life. The pre-frontal cortex is developing during this period. The portions of the brain attuned to reward for risks are very high and the portions of the brain that signal consequences for risk are very
Student Development: It’s as Easy as Learning to Ride a Bike
Do you remember when you first learned to ride a bike? If you’re a parent, do you recall teaching your kids to ride a bike? I was reflecting recently with a group of school principals about how much this experience informs us as we lead kids and increase student development. May I remind you of the phases you experienced? At first, you