The reality is that introversion has little to do with our levels of social comfort or verbosity. Rather, it reflects on our energy source. Extroverts are people who gain their energy from others. They walk into a room and feel energized, feeding off of the collective energy as they navigate through the crowd. They seek other’s company and feel somehow incomplete if they are left in isolation for too long.

Introverts, in contrast, gain their energy from quiet, private time. They love to think and reflect privately, with the door closed, and enter into public settings out of necessity rather than preference. While many introverts can be described as quiet, introverts are more than capable of speaking and engaging as circumstances dictate. It’s more about their preferences and inclinations rather than their disposition or capacity.

leadershipNaphtali HoffNovember 9, 2020Impactful Coaching & Consultingleadership, introverts, social, skills, energyComment

Lessons from My School Leadership Mastermind

When I launched my School Leadership Mastermind for school principals and administrators back in June, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It was my first time running a mastermind group of any kind and, while I had participated in and gained from other masterminds, running my own would be a totally different experience. Particularly in the throes of a COVID pandemic that had put school leaders back on their heels for months.

How to prepare your teachers (and yourselves) for a year of uncertainty

While uncertain times demand flexibility, growth mindset, and industriousness from all parties, it’s the leaders who need to create the nurturing, supportive environment for people to do their best work, while setting expectations for others to rise up to. Particularly in times of ambiguity, leaders are looked to for strength, clarity, guidance, and direction. Even when they, too, are unclear about how best to proceed and perhaps even scared, school leaders need to project feelings of confidence and calm and find ways to communicate them with others.

To lead in these conditions, start by controlling your own fear. Your people first need to believe that you’re in control of yourself if they're to have confidence that you can make smart decisions in tough times that affect others. One independent school headmaster I know made a calculated move back in March (just before the lock down) that he quickly came to regret. Apparently, some teachers had acted lackadaisically early on with their student supervision as the scope and severity of COVID was still being understood. The headmaster responded by raising his voice at a teacher meeting as a way of impressing upon his staff that COVID was serious and that children’s lives were at stake. The result was a fearful staff and an admonition from the school’s lay leadership.

The 3 I's of effective leadership

For leaders, the letter “I” represents three key elements in their ultimate success. These elements build from the inside out, starting with one’s core identity and purpose and extending far beyond self. They remind us of what we can do and become when we solidify our core and make others’ success our focus.

They are: (1) integrity, (2) influence and (3) impact.

Integrity helps us become the best versions of ourselves and communicates what we stand for.
Influence allows us to direct and augment the work of others.
Impact is all about results. We create impact when we achieve our goals.

These three do not exist in a vacuum. In fact, they lead one into the next.

When we’re in integrity (A), we become more influential (B). This, in turn, drives results, magnifying our impact (C).

How to prepare your teachers (and yourselves) for a year of uncertainty

While uncertain times demand flexibility, growth mindset, and industriousness from all parties, it’s the leaders who need to create the nurturing, supportive environment for people to do their best work, while setting expectations for others to rise up to. Particularly in times of ambiguity, leaders are looked to for strength, clarity, guidance, and direction. Even when they, too, are unclear about how best to proceed and perhaps even scared, school leaders need to project feelings of confidence and calm and find ways to communicate them with others.

To lead in these conditions, start by controlling your own fear. Your people first need to believe that you’re in control of yourself if they're to have confidence that you can make smart decisions in tough times that affect others. One independent school headmaster I know made a calculated move back in March (just before the lock down) that he quickly came to regret. Apparently, some teachers had acted lackadaisically early on with their student supervision as the scope and severity of COVID was still being understood. The headmaster responded by raising his voice at a teacher meeting as a way of impressing upon his staff that COVID was serious and that children’s lives were at stake. The result was a fearful staff and an admonition from the school’s lay leadership.

Shifting the Leader’s Mindset from Me to We

Too many new leaders also “have it all wrong,” at least in terms of how they view their new roles. They think of leadership as the next step in their ascent, one that represents an increase in responsibility and authority but not one that necessarily demands change in their core thinking and approaches. In truth, to assume a leadership post is to enter into a whole new professional arena.

Before assuming this new position, accomplishment was all about you and your performance. You worked hard to achieve success and hoped that you would get noticed and promoted. Time and effort were invested in self-promotion, with the understanding that your success would translate into the next step that you desired. Once you become a leader, however, achievement is measured by your ability to grow others, to make the people who work for you more capable and more confident. The game is no longer about you winning. It’s your team that must win for your term as leader to be deemed a success.

Tips for new sales leaders to hit the ground running

New sales leaders face a unique challenge. They rise from the ranks of top salespeople — the ones making the sales — to then be the one who must coach others to close more sales. They also pivot from being part of a group — often having five to 50 peers — to a more rarified air with fewer peers and no same-level colleagues to lean on.

Often, this shift occurs with little-to-no formal training, with the only insight on proper protocol being that which the previous leader did or failed to do. From metrics to staffing to accountability, the upwards move to sales leader is unlike anything these sales professionals have ever done.

Why you must know your "Why"

In a moving video talk, comedian Michael Jr. describes the power of knowing your “why.” In it, he showed an audience a clip from a different event, in which he asked a member of that audience to sing the opening stanzas from “Amazing Grace.” The gentleman, a music teacher, began in a deep baritone and sang the refrain flawlessly.

After praising his performance, the comedian asked the teacher to do it again, but this time painted a scenario of true appreciation, such as a family member being released from prison. Not surprisingly, the second performance far outshone the first. This time, the song was performed with added feeling and emotion. The words were more animated and the tone was deeper and richer. Michael Jr. concluded that, “When you know your ‘why’ then your ‘what’ has more impact, because you’re working towards your purpose.”

Leadership expert Simon Sinek calls this “the golden circle.” He says that it’s not enough to know what you do and how you do it. At our essence, we are most motivated by knowing why we do things. And it’s through that awareness that we can best connect with and sell to others.

Why principals should “loop” students back in

One of the big questions facing school leaders right now is what things will look like when the new school year begins. No one fully knows whether teachers and students will be able to fully or partially return to their classrooms and, even for those who can enjoy “business as usual,” the atmosphere at school is likely to be filled with uncertainty, unease, and lots of distancing.

While it can be difficult to build and maintain a learning atmosphere under such conditions, it may be even more challenging for teachers to develop the nurturing relationships that are so critical to student development, particularly after having endured so much uncertainty already in the previous half year. To expect teachers to connect with their charges and be able to support them during the formative first weeks may be too tall an order for many and could set students up for an even more challenging year.

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