Courageous Leadership
Muriel T. Summers
West Virginia Principals’ Institute
April 6, 2008
How committed are we
to change?
Commitment is what transforms
promise into reality.
It is the words that speak boldly of our
intentions.
And the actions which speak louder
than the words.
Abraham Lincoln
The Nature of
Leadership
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We need men who
can dream of things
that never were.
John F. Kennedy
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Leadership is about vision.
But leadership is equally
about creating a climate
where the truth is heard and
the brutal facts confronted.
Jim Collins
The only thing we
have to fear is fear
itself…
Franklin D. Roosevelt
At a time when Americans
seek strength in their
leaders, (we) should find
the strength to speak hard
truths about our schools
and support essential
changes.
Robert
Gordon
How do we typically
handle Crucial
Conversations?

We can avoid them

We can face them and handle them
poorly

We can face them and handle them well
Crucial Conversations, 2002
What
Courageous Leadership
Lessons
Have We Learned?
Leadership is about change.
It’s about taking people from
where they are now to where
they need to be.
Model the Way
How we spend our time
defines what we
value..
“It is not enough to be busy.
The question is:
What are we busy about?”
Henry David Thoreau
Our deeds are far
more important than
our actions…
Beware the
Paparazzi…
A leader’s
actions speak louder
than their words
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Remember:
People first follow the
person,
then the plan.
It is so easy to become
pulled from the school’s
focus with a myriad of
things to be done.
Focusing on what is best
for children is key.
You can say that
again….
Effective Communication
Demands
Quality and Quantity
Do we build the plane in
flight?
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Inspire a Shared Vision
Courageous leaders
breathe life into the hopes
and dreams of others and
enable them to see the
exciting possibilities that
the future holds..
Is your vision
known and owned by
all?
Does it inspire and
motivate?
Is it propelling your
If you don’t know where you
are going, any path will get
you there.
Student performance will
not improve over time
without a vision/mission
that means something to
the adults and students
in that setting!
The secret of success is
constancy of purpose.
Challenge the
Process
Old trees have deep
roots…
Commitment to the
past hinders change in
the future
An object at rest tends
to stay at rest…
Resistance is inevitable
Courageous leaders
take risks and look for
opportunities to
innovate, grow and
improve.
When Leading Change,
Consider the Environment

What do we want students to learn?

How will we how they have learned it?

How will respond when they don’t?

What will we do when they already know the
material?
DuFour
Knowing
Doing
Gap
Knowing what to do is the
easy part.
Actually doing it is what is
hard.
Why don’t we do what
we know in our heart
is the right thing to
do?
Do we have the courage to
remove those barriers that
prevent all students from
being successful?
If we want to change what
teachers do in the classrooms,
then we need to focus on
those actions directly.
Dylan William
Do we have the
courage to say,
“We are not in Kansas
anymore?”
Enable Others to Act
The role of the principal in
the 21st century is to be a
leader of leaders….
Rather than a leader of
followers
It takes a village….
Organizations change
when the people
within them change
If they build it, they will
come…
People support what
they help to create
Do we have the
courage to ask the
questions that will tell
us what we often do
not want to hear?
No involvement,
no commitment
An object at rest tends
to stay at rest…
Resistance is inevitable
Leadership must be a
relationship.
Encourage the Heart
Get to the heart of
it…
Connecting to the
head and heart builds
commitment
Courageous leaders
recognize contributions
by showing appreciation
for individual excellence.
Who are your
Grants?
Do we have the
courage to light the
way?
Christa McAuliffe
William Sanders
Liviu Librescu