Robert D. Ramsey is a lifelong educator who has served as a "leader of leaders" in three award-winning school districts in two different states. His frontline experience includes positions a teacher, counselor, assistant principal, curriculum director, assistant superintendent, acting superintendent, and adjunct professor. Most recently, he has served as associate superintendent in the St. Louis Park (MN) schools, where every school has been designated by the federal government as a National School of Excellence. Ramsey is now working full-time as a freelance writer in Minneapolis.

• Preface to the Second EditionPreface to the First EditionAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorIntroductionWhere Have All the Good Leaders Gone?Can Everyday Administrators Learn "Leadership"? You Bet!How Leadership in Schools Is DifferentThe Difference Between Effective School Leaders and Run-of-the-Mill ManagersWhat It Takes to Be an Effective School Leader Today1. Making DecisionsWhose Decision Is It?Where Do Good Ideas Come From?Input: How to Get It, Where to Get It, and When to Ignore ItData-Driven Decision Making: An Old Tool With New ImportanceProcrastination Is a Decision-Sometimes, the Right OneReal-World Steps in Decision MakingIntuitive Leadership: When to Trust Your Instincts2. Planning for the FutureThe Planning HabitHow Effective School Leaders Use the Visioning ProcessStrategic Planning by the NumbersThe "SMART" Model for Goal SettingA Flowchart for Effective PlanningPlanning Is a Secret WeaponPlanning for Success3. Getting the Most Out of PeopleWinning and Losing Leadership StylesMorale: Does It Matter Anymore?Shaping a School Culture That Works for EveryoneIs Teamwork All It′s Cracked Up to Be?How to Get the Most Out of StudentsHow to Get the Most Out of StaffHow to Get the Most Out of the District Office, the School Board, and the CommunityHow Effective Leaders Get the Most Out of Themselves4. Bringing About ChangeChange: Who Wants It?Don′t Confuse Cosmetic Changes With Real ReformWhen to Change and When to Leave Well Enough AloneUnderstanding the Evolution of a Revolution: The Many Faces and Phases of ChangeChange Strategies That Really Work in Today′s School ClimateHow to Sell New Ideas and Make Them Work5. Spending TimeWho Controls a Leader′s Time?Setting Priorities: Paper Versus PeopleHow Effective School Leaders Spend 1,440 Minutes per DayThe Ten Worst Time-Use MistakesWhen and How to Say NoOther Work-Smarter Ways to Save Time6. Handling PoliticsPolitics and SchoolsGood Politics, Bad PoliticsHow to Be Politically Savvy: "Street Smarts" for School LeadersEveryday Political Strategies for Today′s School LeadersTips on Working With Political LeadersHow to Get Noticed, Get Ahead, and Get Things Done Without Playing Politics7. Dealing With SetbacksSetbacks HappenWorrying Only Makes It WorseWhat It Takes to Bounce BackIs There a Spin Doctor in the House?Fear Less, Hope MoreBuilding a Reputation as a Survivor8. Thinking Like a LeaderAnticipatory Thinking: Getting the Jump on ProblemsWhat to Do When the Big Picture Is a KaleidoscopeMultiscenario ThinkingHow to Stay FocusedThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective School Leaders, With Apologies to Stephen CoveyMore Aids to Clear Thinking9. Looking and Acting Like an Effective School LeaderWalk Like a DuckImage ControlThere′s No One Right Way to Act-But There Are Lots of Wrong WaysMaintaining a Professional EdgeManners Still MatterPaying Attention to the Little Things That Mark a Leader10. Using the Tools of LeadershipSpeaking and Writing Like a LeaderHow to Make Meetings Work for YouGuidelines for Working With CommitteesManaging While Walking Around (MWWA): Leadership Up Close and PersonalDon′t Overlook These Other Leadership Tools11. Communication Tips for School LeadersUnderstanding the Elements of School CommunicationMore Writing Tips for School LeadersMore Speaking Tips for School LeadersTips on Nonverbal CommunicationYou Can′t Kill the GrapevineA New Wrinkle: The One-Minute Manager Meets the Two-Minute Mind25 Ways School Leaders Can Improve Communication12. Practicing Ethical LeadershipDo Ethics Matter Anymore?Why Ethical Leadership in Schools Is DifferentThe Concept of "Moral Hazard"Using Values as a Moral Compass: This Is No Time to Get LostPrinciples for Principals and Other AdministratorsA Code of Ethics for Today′s School Leaders13. A Final WordYou Know You′re a Leader When . . .Leadership Is a ChoiceResource A: 105 Ways to Be a Better School Leader TomorrowResource B: What Others Say About LeadershipResource C: A Beginning Bibliography for School LeadersIndex

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