The Building Blocks of Effective Leadership

FROM–THE–OFFICE

The Building Blocks of Effective Leadership

At Illinois ASBO we have invested a good amount of time, energy and resources into leadership development. We have a Leadership Institute, Leadership Day, a Leadership Conference, a Leadership PDC, a Leadership Blog and a new Emerging Leaders program that launches every summer. We strongly believe that for our members (school district and Service Associate) to be successful and lead their organizations and staff well – leadership knowledge is foundational in their career. In our world today, just leading by your natural instincts can lead to failure of the greatest magnitude.

SIMPLY SAYING Micheal A. Jacoby, Ed.D., CAE, SFO

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/ CEO ILLINOIS ASBO

In our world today, just leading by your natural instincts can lead to failure of the greatest magnitude.

In this issue of UPDATE, there are some great articles that begin to open up your thinking on being a leader. In addition, I would also encourage you to check out “22 Ways to Become a Better and More Effective Leader” by Matt Mayberry. I posted this on Twitter recently and got a good amount of feedback. If you do not have a lot of time to read and contemplate, this is a brief list that hits the mark (in my opinion) for all leaders: 1. Understand the responsibility 2. Forget the title 3. Be authentic 4. Lead from the heart with hope and kindness 5. Lead with a servant mentality 6. Never stop learning 7. Overcommunicate 8. Focus on purpose 9. Obsess about culture building 10. Become a coaching leader 11. Show your face 12. Prioritize training 13. Engage your team often 14. Provide clear expectations 15. Practice being vulnerable 16. Don’t place a strong emphasis on competition 17. Be fanatical about driving alignment 18. Become more self-aware 19. Increase the frequency of performance reviews 20. Put your people first 21. Control what you can control 22. Take decisive action

In the “practice what you preach” arena – here are some of the values or agreements that the Illinois ASBO staff are embracing:

Communicate honestly

Accept feedback

Hold no grudges

Set clear expectations Make clear requests Speak directly with respect Be present Make it safe to share Be open to new ideas Encourage others Support the end game

There is definitely some congruence here with the “22 Ways” article. What about your staff? What about you? Do you lead by example? Do you look for ways to inspire? Would your team be effective without you? Read this UPDATE cover to cover and begin to make a world of difference as you influence others.

ADVANCE YOUR EDUCATION & GROW IN YOUR PROFESSION

ILLINOIS ASSOC I A TI ON of SCHOOL BUSINESS O F FICIALS

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Pursuing a school business degree?

There are multiple scholarships available to help ease the financial burden by covering a portion of your tuition or internship costs. APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY JUNE 15!

FOUNDATION GRANTS

Want to broaden your school business network?

Foundation grants allow you to travel to conferences including the Illinois ASBO Annual Conference and ASBO International Annual Conference & Expo. APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY OCTOBER 15!