Glen Hill

There are dramatic differences in the quality of teachers in every school. Every building has teachers who consistently engage students and deliver high-quality instruction. Every building also has teachers with varying ranges of ability. If all teachers could be more like the best teachers, then we would have significant improvement in every school.

In this important book, Todd Whitaker demonstrates how this can really be achieved. With inspiration, humor, and practical advice, Whitaker shares the qualities of the best teachers and how we can teach these qualities to others. He shows how the best teachers emphasize the learning relationship; focus only on what they can influence; and use effective classroom management involving filtering, proximity, redirection, and business mode. He then explains how we can coach other teachers by showing, not telling; by creating subcultures and learning experiences; and by leading the way. Finally, Whitaker describes the importance of hiring highly talented people who form new lines rather than fall in line. He provides strategies for asking the right interview questions, for choosing the right mentors, and for selecting the best hosts for student teachers.

No matter how education changes, there are always outstanding teachers making a difference. We can grow our schools by helping even more teachers become exceptional.

The world-renowned leadership experts that brought us the leadership classic Crucial Conversations have fully updated their bestselling Crucial Influence (originally published as Influencer). In these pages, they reveal that fewer than one in eight behavior change efforts is successful―and most produce nothing more than wasted resources and organization-wide cynicism.

The solution to this challenge isn’t easy, but it is simple. It’s all about the strategic application of influence―systematic and intentional actions aimed at helping people improve results by changing their behavior―a practice most leaders have yet to fully understand and embrace.

Crucial Influence walks you through the process of identifying the personal, social, and structural levers that influence both motivation and ability, then engaging these levers for directed behavior change.

“At the end of the day, leadership is intentional influence,” the authors write. “If behavior isn’t changing, you aren’t leading.” Whatever you’re seeking to change through effective leadership―from making virtual workforces work to tackling a social issue―influence, not authority, is what will get you there. You’ll learn to view leadership through the new lens of influence as you apply the lessons from this book to everyday challenges.

School marketing begins and ends with establishing a brand that is true to itself and delivers a consistent experience to students, parents, teachers, staff, administrators, and the larger community.