RG175 Blog

Too often we rely on some superficial definition of leadership: “She’s got presence” or “He’s got what it takes.” Without a doubt, there’s a part of leadership that arises from temperament or personality. But temperament and personality alone are not enough to sustain an effective and long-term lega... read more

In my May blog, “Turning Around An Underperforming School: Do You Have What It Takes?”, I wrote about the exciting research being done in England to uncover the leadership characteristics of headmasters that actually turn around underperforming schools. The authors (Alex Hill, Liz Mellon, Ben Laker... read more

I used to assume that quality decision-making was an innate leadership skill, more a matter of instinct and personality rather than something learned. Turns out, I was wrong.Recently, I read Chip Heath and Dan Heath’s book Decisive, which explores the nature of decision-making, delineates the inevit... read more

“My goal is to be the dumbest guy in this room, and I’m pretty smart,” said a successful C.E.O. to his senior administrative team. This C.E.O., a good friend of mine who started and sold two successful businesses, was recounting this story to me recently. At first it seemed an odd statement. Shouldn... read more

On the surface there is nothing exceptional about Karen Tyler’s professional background. Before becoming Head of School at Erie Day School in 2011, she was a Professor at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. Indeed, she does have a doctorate in education, but it was not from what the independent sch... read more

With declining or stagnant enrollments and the transfer of power to a new, albeit untested generation of heads, it’s imperative for independent school trustees and heads to connect strategy to innovation. And, more importantly, to make sure that first-time heads are trained to understand this connec... read more