Excellence in Leadership

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Excellence in Leadership

• Gwinnett County Public Schools

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What does it truly take to achieve excellence as
a leader, in your career, and in your life?
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Studying the lives of people who have achieved
excellence, I have consistently noted that they
have defined their vision, established their
goals, and irrespective of obstacles, committed
themselves to their achievement. The moment in
which they fixed an objective in their mind and
decided to concentrate all their energies on that
objective, they began to surmount the most
difficult odds.
- Sir Edmund Hillary
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The Formula for Excellence

• Decided specifically what it is that you really
  want to achieve.

• Determine exactly what it will take to achieve
  it. (5 Ws and H)

• Focus every bit of energy and effort to achieve
  it.

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THE THREE WATCHWORDS OF EXCELLENCE
FOCUS
DISCIPLINE
ACTION
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What must you focus on to become an excellent
leader in the Gwinnett County public school
system?

• Let me give you a few ideas

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Johns Top 10 of Leadership
Tens of thousands of pages Hundreds of
books Hundreds of classes More than 350
organizations Dozens and dozens of leaders

• In no particular order!

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Communication

• Clear, specific, easy to understand
• Asks fantastic questions
• Superb listener
• Subordinates, peers, managers and especially
  students
• C.C.C.C.T.

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Vision

• Future oriented big picture
• Vivid, compelling, exciting, inspiring
• Not a job a quest!
• Extremely well communicated across all areas of
  influence down, up, sideways, other
  departments, parents, other schools, the
  community

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Best People

• Connoisseur of Talent!
• Organizer of Genius
• Not afraid of people wildly more talented than
  themselves
• Play well together in the sand box
• 2nd rate managers
• This is a KEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Self Aware

• They do NOT need to be right
• They know and admit their faults
• They ask for feedback
• They ask for help Level 5 Leaders
• They spend serious time on personal and
  leadership development

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Honesty

• Tell the truth all the time
• Transparency
• Say the tough things
• Confront the difficult issues
• Stockdale Paradox
• Keep people informed

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Credibility

• DWYSYWD
• Walk the talk
• People judge you by your actions not your
  intentions
• Leadership Challenge
• Build high levels of TRUST

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TRUST 4Cs
Consistently Communicate
C o n c e r n
TRUST
Affection
Dis-trust
Respect
Competence
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Embrace Risk

• Actually great Risk Minimizers
• Ask for help
• Do not cut off the limb
• Reward spectacular failures punish mediocre
  success!

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Responsibility

• Look out the window / in the mirror
• Incredibly high levels of personal accountability
  
• They understand Impact and Influence
• Nothing is small
• 25/8/366

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VERY Serious Students

• About their organization
• About their profession
• About their people
• About effective life skills
• About themselves

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Make Things Happen

• Leadership is actionnot position
• Culture of urgency
• Results driven / without driving people into the
  ground
• Relentless but never ruthless
• Want to put a dent in the universe
• Dont try to look like they are busy they
  simply get things done

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Personal Philosophy of Leadership

• Extremely well thought out
• Values driven
• Fully integrated
• Well communicated
• Lived in all aspects of their life
• 100 accountable

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Top 10 Leadership Summary

• Personal Philosophy of Leadership
• Communication
• Vision
• Best People
• Self Aware
• Honest
• Credible
• Risk Minimizer
• Accountable
• Serious Student
• Action Oriented

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To be an excellent leader of others, you must
first become an excellent leader of
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• Many people believe that just because you have a
  life that you should know how to live.

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• A successful life does not result from chance,
  fate, or good luck, but from a succession of
  successful days lived in pursuit of a clear,
  vivid and compelling Worthy Purpose

Hope is NOT a strategy!
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• 33

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Dr. K

• People do what seems
• easy and convenient
• not what is best for them.

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Brand new Harvard study of 5,000 high achievers
some of the most successful people in America

• Achievement
• Happiness
• Significance
• Legacy

• Self
• Family
• Work
• Community

How do you pursue all of these items, and keep
them all in balance?
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NO
Decisions Intended Outcome / Number of Options
NO
D IO
NO
NO
Op
NO
NO
YES!!!!
NO
NO
NO
NO
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The 3 Keys to Career Success

• K
• N
• L

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Knowledge

• What do I know
• What are my skills, abilities, talents?
• My unique information or experience?
• That is valuable in the marketplace!

Love is the killer App Tim Sanders
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Network

• Who do I know
• In the specific market I need to network in
• That is well connected and respected!
• A broad web of mentors, peers, teachers

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Love

• What are my personal and professional values?
• Am I a person of honesty and integrity?
• Am I a living example of my leadership values?
• Do I LOVE what I am doing? (The P word)

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The three questions for career success

• What did I learn today?
• Who did I meet today?
• Did I live a life of love today?

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The most important slide of the day
You become what you focus on and like the
people you spend time with.
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Information
Family Friends School Church Society
Advertising Work
Assumptions
Attitudes
Reactions
Other People Friends Society
Rules Beliefs Mental Maps
Actions
Behaviors / Focus / Attention
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Information People

• Curious
• Lifelong Learning
• Books / Tapes / CDs
• Newspapers / Magazines
• Seminars / Lectures
• Classes / CEUs
• Introspection
• Advice / coaching / mentors
• Life Career Planning

• Shared values
• Honest
• Focused
• Smart
• Dedicated
• Balanced
• Self Aware
• High achiever
• FUN

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The road to happiness lies in two simple
principles find what it is that interests you
and that you can do well, and when you find it
put your whole soul into it every bit of energy
and ambition and natural ability you have.
John D.
Rockefeller III
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Summary

• A great life does not happen by chance you must
  have a plan.
• You must define what career success truly means
  to you.
• Decide what you really want in your career,
  figure out everything you must do to make that
  actually happen, then get up every day and do
  what it takes to make that a reality.
• Knowledge -- Network -- Love
• You become what you focus on and like the people
  you spend time with.
• Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning
• Choose what is best for you, not what is
  convenient and easy.
• Focus / Discipline / Action Balance
  Excellence Happiness

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• The greater danger for most of us is not that
  our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it
  is too low and we reach it.
• Michelangelo

Thank You
Questions / Comments / Concerns????