Even Great Leaders Need A Coach

As a student, there were many teachers, coaches, and administrators that had an impact on my life. However, one of the most influential was my youth baseball coach. Mr. Basler was a kind, funny, caring man that taught me many things that I employ to this day. I remember as a 12-year-old right fielder coming to the plate in a pressure situation. Runners were on first and second, bottom of the last inning and two outs. I was not a pressure-cooker kind of kid. I was petrified. As I came to the plate, Mr. Basler called a timeout and wanted to speak with me. I knew there'd be some sort of wisdom that he would tell me to make me better. However, that was not what I found. As I approached him, he could see I was freaking out. He looked me dead in the eyes and asked one question. "Hey, do you know any good jokes?" I was stunned... Did he really just ask me that? I giggled, he rubbed my shoulder and sent me back to the plate with his parting words, "You can do this, I know you can." As if from a movie, on the third pitch, I placed a long line drive to the outfield and scored the two runners in front of me. As I came around third, I heard him say, "You got this...slide!" "Safe" the umpire yelled. That quickly, we were league champions, and I got the game-winning hit. To this day, I still believe, it was the humor and calmness that he brought to the situation that allowed me to calm down, breathe, and encouraged me to put forth a stellar effort. There are days in the middle of crises that I employ the strategy he taught me in a pressure cooker situation. Breath, laugh, and go hit a three-run homer. Are you a school leader? Are you an emerging or aspiring school leader? Do you find yourself lacking effectiveness or feeling overly stressed? This book will show you the skills and steps to develop a strategy to lead effectively. Additionally, this book will assist you in living a more fulfilled professional life as a leader. Ultimately, even great principals need coaching to be highly effective and live fulfilled lives. This book is divided up into 5 sections. Each section holds the individual skills a leader will need. Each individual skill is broken up into sections to enable the leader to navigate their own learning. First, there is an introductory summation called "Bottom Line". This brief section is intended to give an introduction and ease you into the concept being discussed. Next, leaders will find "Success Indicators". These are specific actions that leaders can employ to execute the skill. Finally, an "Example" of each skill is included from my life or career. The example is intended to bring a real-world application to each skill being taught. This area will get you started toward success. Each skill is intended to be a stand-alone section. Several themes are repeated within the individual skills as they are critical to great leadership. For example, feedback, communication, relationship-building, and humility are repeated actions. However, they are applied with various nuances and to varying degrees in each skill. These skills, among the many, helped me to develop 24 leaders into school principals and district leaders. These skills also helped me to develop my own skill set. As a result, I led the most prolific high school in the last 20 years in the state of Georgia. Our school excelled in athletics, academics, and the arts at a national level. There is a tremendous track record of achievements, however the focus on process in this book will mirror the emphasis placed on developing tremendous skills in staff and students. Each skill has an accompanying podcast episode. The Lodge of Leaders podcast series is called the Principal Mentor Series which corresponds with each skill.