Author Gavin Grift proposes that successful leadership is, at its core, a deeply personal endeavor built on self-awareness. This book equips teacher leaders with the knowledge and insight they need to meet the leader within themselves. With newfound leadership thinking, educators can remove mental barriers, become empowered to tackle the daily challenges ahead, and begin the journey to leading schools impactfully.
This book will help K–12 teacher leaders: - Discover antidotes to persistent pain points in the work of a teacher and leader
- Develop self-knowledge to address beliefs, values, motivations, the perceptions of others, and more
- Learn how to use the unconscious and conscious responses of others to gain insight about their leadership identities
- Use the lessons of several archetypes—the ostrich, the imposter, the pleaser, and more—to establish levers to overcome them
- Engage in exercises for self-work to help the leader within emerge
Contents: Preface
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1: Clarity Precedes Competence
Chapter 2: Pain Points and People—Agents of Self-Awareness
Chapter 3: Where to Focus Your Self-Awareness
Chapter 4: Common Pain Points for Middle Leaders
Chapter 5: The Pleaser—Overcoming the Need to Be Liked
Chapter 6: The Ostrich—Overcoming the Overwhelm of Constant Change
Chapter 7: The Imposter—Overcoming Self-Limiting Beliefs
Chapter 8: The Dynamo—Overcoming Not Having Enough Time
Chapter 9: The Judge and Juror—Overcoming Difficult People at Work
Conclusion: Coming Into View
References and Resources
Index
Gavin Grift is the founder and CEO of Grift Education. Gavin’s passion, commitment, humor, and highly engaging style have made him one of Australia’s most in-demand presenters. Through his keynotes, seminars, and coaching services, Gavin connects with national and international audiences on cultivating authentic collaboration, building success in others, and genuinely committing to reflective practice. His belief in the development of defined professional autonomy for educators both challenges and connects with the heads and hearts of his audiences.
Widely considered one of Australia’s top authors, Gavin has a list of clients that include independent, faith-based, and government education systems; high-level executives; influential corporate brands; and cutting-edge international schools. Gavin also operates a private coaching practice that focuses on empowering executive and middle leaders in their roles.
Having taught in schools and coached educators for over thirty years, Gavin understands the specific challenges educators face. He is one of Thinking Collaborative’s most in-demand Cognitive Coaching Associates, having delivered the Cognitive Coaching Seminar® for fifteen years, working across three continents. He has specifically used his passion, experiences, and knowledge to design programs that assist middle leaders to overcome some of their most pressing challenges.
Gavin has become widely known as one of the most accessible and powerful education writers of today, thanks to the global impact of his best-selling books, including Collaborative Teams That Work, Five Ways of Being, Teachers as Architects of Learning, and Transformative Collaboration.
To learn more about Gavin’s work, visit grifteducation.com.
