According to the latest findings from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD), New Zealand performs exceptionally well in overall well-being, as shown by the fact that it ranks among the top countries in a large number of topics in the Better Life Index. A well-educated and well-trained population is essential for aRead More…
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An organizations most valuable asset is their people
This week’s blog post discusses productivity and profitability. Last week, I mentioned how hard New Zealand teachers and leaders work. The reality is, as a nation we work really hard. With the exception of Iceland (a country that enjoys icy cold conditions and 6 months of darkness a year), the average New Zealander apparently spends moreRead More…
Are educational organizations becoming more profit-focused?
My thoughts for the blog post this week were inspired by a couple of critical questions posed in a recent online discussion between education management professionals. The following two commonly held assumptions were made explicit: (a) Collaboration among teachers across disciplines for project-based learning is essential for real learning in schools, and (b) Real educationRead More…
Leadership can be a lonely place
A colleague once shared a wise Chinese proverb with me. Loosely translated it says ‘it is a cold and lonely place on top of a mountain’. He was talking about leadership. We need to make a clear distinction here between between leaders and leadership. Leaders are not lonely people, per se. On the contrary. LeadersRead More…
Experience is the best teacher
The following quote from Bolman and Deal’s Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership had me thinking: “Experience, one often hears, is the best teacher, but that is only true if you reflect on it and extract its lessons”. How true. Professional development is all about continually learning to be a better teacher, and what betterRead More…
