Stronger Together: Answering the Questions of Collaborative Leadership (Creating a Culture of Collaboration and Transparent Communication)

With foreword by Robert J. Marzano

What kind of leader am I? What is my leadership style? How do I best tap into others' skills? How do I build collaborative leadership teams? New and veteran leaders alike ask themselves these questions. Stronger Together will help you face your current reality and determine action steps for improvement. You will discover how to engender trust and empower teams, creating a collaborative culture and, ultimately, improving student achievement.

Build a healthy culture of collaborative leadership in education:

• Understand your own leadership style so you can play to your strengths and improve weaknesses.
• Adapt your leadership style to a collaborative culture that values transparent communication.
• Learn how collaborative leaders build the right kinds of collaborative teams and create common goals.
• Use collaborative strategies to create a common vision statement and garner buy-in from team members using the elements of trust: integrity, empathy, and humility.
• Develop ongoing transparent communication among school leadership, team members, faculty, parents, and students.

Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: What Kind of Leader Am I?
Chapter 2: How Can I Earn Trust?
Chapter 3: How Do I Build Teams of Collaborative Leaders?
Chapter 4: How Can I Help Develop a Vision?
Chapter 5: How Can I Support Collaborative Teams?
Chapter 6: What, When, and How Should I Communicate?
Concluding Thoughts
References and Resources
Index

Terri L. Martin is executive vice president of business development at Solution Tree and Marzano Research. Terri recently served as the director of the Regional Education Laboratory for the central region, where she supported the creation of resources and deliverables to meet regional needs. Previously, she was vice president of field services at Solution Tree, where she directed several large-scale projects to develop models, content, and approaches for providing professional development. As director of school improvement initiatives at Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, she led large projects to develop training programs and create professional learning communities statewide. She has developed and taught several courses as an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri and Columbia College and serving as an elementary teacher and principal for almost twenty years.

Terri has provided professional development in over thirty states and several Canadian provinces and Australian states. She has presented at Solution Tree, ASCD, NAESP, and NSDC (currently Learning Forward) conferences. Terri is the author of Increasing Student Achievement: An Educational Leader's Guide to a Purposeful School and has authored a chapter in the anthology The Collaborative Administrator: Working Together as a Professional Learning Community.

Terri earned a bachelor of science degree from Stephens College. She earned master of education degrees in early childhood education and middle school administration, a specialist degree in elementary administration, and a doctorate in education in general administration from the University of Missouri.

To learn more about Teri s work, follow @drtlm on Twitter.

Cameron L. Rains, EdD, is the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation in Whiteland, Indiana. In this role, he is part of a team working to ensure that all students in the district learn at high levels. Cameron also serves as an associate for Marzano Research, where he delivers professional development on a wide range of topics across the United States. Cameron has served as a teacher and instructional coach and has almost ten years of administrative experience serving as a director of elementary education and director of curriculum and instruction.

Cameron is passionate about school and district leadership and the application of research findings in the school environment. He coauthored an article on the importance of reading fluency for Reading and Writing Quarterly and Leading High Reliability Schools.

Cameron earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education and a master of science degree in educational leadership from Indiana University. He also holds an educational specialist degree and doctorate in educational leadership from Ball State University.

To learn more about Cameron s work, follow @CameronRains on Twitter.