New Book on Professional Development
Joellen Killion, Bill Sommers, and Ann Delehant share their current thinking, skills, and activities from years of experience. Check it out.
Chris Coffey
Conversations with Chris A dear colleague has passed. Morrie Schwartz in his book, ‘Tuesdays with Morrie,’ says ‘death ends a life, not a relationship.’ My learning has been expanded by learning with Chris. As a co-developer of Stakeholder Centered Coaching with Marshall Goldsmith and Frank Wagner, he was a practitioner […]
Emotional Anorexia
Great administrators and teachers are emotionally intelligent and connect with their students and colleagues. They understand that positive relationships are the bedrock of successful schools. This can be emotionally draining, and if we do not replenish regularly, then it can lead to what presenter, Dr. William Sommers, calls “emotional anorexia.” […]
10 Lessons from Daniel Pink
These notes are a blend of Daniel Pink’s presentation and some of Bill’s comments. Daniel Pink’s new book, The Power of Regrets came out February 1 2022. I have my copy. Get Yours. Best way to make a decision. A focusing question is, ‘what would I tell my best friend […]
4’E’s of Maintenance
By: Dr Cindy Zurchin, Positive Consulting, LLC The New Year brings thoughts of resolutions and ways to improve our lifestyles and create healthy habits. Many of us have experienced our best intentions end up in disappointments. There is no reason we have to pick the date of January 1 to […]
Compliance Cop to Culture Coach
Frederick Herzberg in 1959 studied intrinsic motivators and hygiene factors that inhibit performance in engineers. For many years educators and businesses have been evaluated on number. What are the test scores, what are the sales, what are the profits? How is that working? Now, people are leaving positions, organizations, and […]
On Right-Doing
I listen to the news and read the papers. I keep hearing assertions such as, “I am guilty of no wrong-doing.” Or, “I did nothing illegal, I broke no laws.” In the last few months I’ve seen an epidemic of such claims. And these comments are attributed to various people […]
Insights and Influence
INSIGHTS & INFLUENCE WORKSHOP Dan Heath Dec 13-14, 2021 Raleigh, NC What Bill thought were Highlights “If a system never learns it never improves.” When there is no systemic problem solving with individuals or organizations, tunneling occurs, e.g., narrowing of your focus to what you know or has worked […]
Laddering
LADDERING: FIND SOMEONE WHO HAS SOLVED YOUR PROBLEM Excerpt from Decisive (2013) by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Kevin Dunbar set out to understand how scientists think. How do they solve problems? Where do their breakthroughs come from? So, like a war reporter embedding himself with an army unit, Dunbar […]
You Can’t Give What You Don’t Have: Nov. 30 Webinar
Although last year became known as “the year like no other,” this year seems to be even more challenging! Navigating the daily ups and downs of COVID-19, economic cause and effect fallout from the pandemic, and the constant barrage of misinformation and attacks across the political landscape are all taking […]