DECISIVE: summer reading reflection

I give the Scott Elementary Staff lots of credit for my development as a school leader. Last year they shared that decisiveness was one area in which I could improve as a leader. So I am taking their suggestion and reading DECISIVE by Chip and Dan Heath.

Notes, Quotes, and Redlections.

Introduction

"We are quick to jump to conclusions because we give too much weight to the information that's right in front of us."

This is called the spotlight effect.

"What's in the spotlight will rarely be everything we need to make a good decision, but we won't always remember to shift the light."

Decision making is a large part of being a principal. We make hundreds of decisions that impact our community and our children. This introduction discusses the importance of having a process. 

A good process is what makes a difference. This process should include shifting the spotlight. "Exploring alternative points of view, recognizing uncertainty, searching for evidence that contradicts their beliefs- can help us."

At Scott this year my focus will be on two things- instruction and culture.

To build our school culture I'll be using a few things, one is found in Lencioni's work. He writes that groups do not become high performing teams when there is an absence of trust. When we have a good process for making decisions- we build trust. "A better decision process substantially improved the results of decisions." 

This book study holds promise to make a huge positive impact on our school culture!