July 2013 – The Leadership Professor

An amazing leadership story is that of Karen Tal and her work launching the highly successful public school in Tel Aviv, Bialik-Rogozine.

Listen to Karen speak about the school and herself. http://www.tedxtelaviv.com/2010/07/18/karen-tal-thriving-on-turmoil/

I had the pleasure of meeting her recently; and Karen’s passion, commitment, and authenticity were palpable. You can also learn more about the school in the Academy Award winning short documentary “Strangers No More.”

Karen set out 7 years ago as a new principal to merge two failing schools in the poorest section. She brought strong belief that it is our duty to help all children to learn. She found within herself the courage to manage her own fears and doubts. She shared a clear vision with the teachers and school staff: in 5 years, the school will become an educational miracle where every student can increase his or her potential. She offered a challenge to the school, government agencies, and diverse partners: “Join me, support us, or I will support the closing of these schools.”

Statistics show Bialik-Rogozine has more than succeeded by objective educational measures of retention, graduation rates, college admission, etc. Images of the diverse and caring community created for the 800 students from 48 nations and their families tell an even bigger story more.

Efforts are underway, working with successful entrepreneurs from the business community, to find ways to up scale this model of education and community building. Nothing could be more important as we confront the complexities of peace and harmony in an increasingly diverse and global world.

The Leadership Professor is back

It’s been a long year since The Leadership Professor has been active online. The reason: a time of major transition, change, learning, relearning, and settling into a new job, institution, city, home, life, and career stage.

The good news: not just surviving, but thriving and with a range of experiences that have deepened understandings of how and why we lead – and how we can (and must) better manage the inevitable stresses and strains in daily life.

From this last year, I am convinced more than ever that:

1. One person can change the world – and we’ll only solve those nagging, audacious problems when we each accept and act on that reality.

2. The heart of leadership rests in the heart of the leader: we lead best when we find jobs that use our true talents and issues to which we can bring passion and energy.

3. We are stronger than we think – and accepting that gives us the courage to lead and the grace to manage the inevitable challenges along the way.

As I prepare to work next week with a group of higher education leaders, I ran across a quotation from Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky (Leadership on the Line, 2002) that captures the essence of leadership: offering hope, insights, possibilities, encouragement, and learning.

“The hope in leadership lies in the capacity to deliver disturbing news and raise difficult questions in a way that people can absorb, prodding them to take up the message rather than ignore it or kill the messenger.”

Onward!