Improve overall school performance from start to Finnish! Finland’s consistent performance in international student assessments has caused much curiosity in recent years. Educators around the world are exploring what Finland does well and how they remain at the top. Pasi Sahlberg has hosted multiple delegations of educators in Finland seeking ideas and tools to apply to their home districts, and has determined real change can begin with four uncomplicated ideas. Focusing on leading learners, this book considers topics like: Physical activity is crucial for substantial learning Enhancing equity is an essential component of success Embedding ideas into your current leadership practices takes perseverance Finland’s particular brand of leadership culture in education is an ideal model for improving educational performance anywhere

Improve overall school performance from start to Finnish! Exploring and analyzing how Finland consistently places at or near the top of international student assessments, especially PISA, has become popular in recent years. Pasi Sahlberg now explores this phenomenon from the perspective of the educational leader. With the culture of general and educational leadership in Finland as a backdrop, this resource is packed with strategies and tools that travel well. Rooted in four main ideas, this book covers topics such as: Enhancing equity is an essential component of success Physical activity is crucial for substantial learning Embedding ideas into your current leadership practices takes perseverance

This book explores what specialists are saying about system leadership for school improvement. Case studies examine innovative approaches to sharing leadership and to leadership development programmes for system improvement.

“It is now time to break down the ideology of exceptionalism in the United States and other Anglo-American nations if we are to develop reforms that will truly inspire our teachers to improve learning for all our students—especially those who struggle the most. In that essential quest, Pasi Sahlberg is undoubtedly one of the very best teachers of all.” —From the Foreword by Andy Hargreaves, Lynch School of Education, Boston College Finnish Lessons is a first-hand, comprehensive account of how Finland built a world-class education system during the past three decades. The author traces the evolution of education policies in Finland and highlights how they differ from the United States and other industrialized countries. He shows how rather than relying on competition, choice, and external testing of students, education reforms in Finland focus on professionalizing teachers’ work, developing instructional leadership in schools, and enhancing trust in teachers and schools. This book details the complexity of educational change and encourages educators and policymakers to develop effective solutions for their own districts and schools.

Are you responsible for creating a leadership training program for your organization, but don’t know where to start? Do you already have experience in developing leadership training programs, but want to improve the efficacy of your current offering? Either way, Leaders – Start to Finish offers detailed, specific insight and instructions on how to develop highly effective leadership training programs that will produce engaged and authentic leaders in your organization. Within the framework of providing detailed, workable, real-world suggestions and examples for building or improving your leadership program, some of the specific topics covered in Leaders – Start to Finish include: developing authentic, engaged leaders closing the gap on generational leadership utilizing leadership competencies developing strategic and tactical plans planning for smooth, efficient succession developing human capital leading with integrity, values, intuition, and stronger ethics building stronger teams managing the talent cycle becoming an influential leader incorporating the “three P’s” – purpose, passion and performance – into your leadership training an overview of current leadership trends. With numerous case examples from the real world, as well as checklists, discussion questions, practical exercises, training tips, and more, Leaders – Start to Finish gives you everything you need to create a professional, effective, efficient leadership training program, whether you’re starting from scratch or are interested in improving your current training protocols.

The New York Times bestseller by the acclaimed, bestselling author of Start With Why and Together is Better. Now with an expanded chapter and appendix on leading millennials, based on Simon Sinek's viral video "Millenials in the workplace" (150+ million views). Imagine a world where almost everyone wakes up inspired to go to work, feels trusted and valued during the day, then returns home feeling fulfilled. This is not a crazy, idealized notion. Today, in many successful organizations, great leaders create environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things. In his work with organizations around the world, Simon Sinek noticed that some teams trust each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other. Other teams, no matter what incentives are offered, are doomed to infighting, fragmentation and failure. Why? The answer became clear during a conversation with a Marine Corps general. "Officers eat last," he said. Sinek watched as the most junior Marines ate first while the most senior Marines took their place at the back of the line. What's symbolic in the chow hall is deadly serious on the battlefield: Great leaders sacrifice their own comfort--even their own survival--for the good of those in their care. Too many workplaces are driven by cynicism, paranoia, and self-interest. But the best ones foster trust and cooperation because their leaders build what Sinek calls a "Circle of Safety" that separates the security inside the team from the challenges outside. Sinek illustrates his ideas with fascinating true stories that range from the military to big business, from government to investment banking.

“Urgent, timely, and inspiring biblical wisdom for Christian leaders who want to start strong, thrive fully, and finish well!” –W. Scott Brown, Christian Leadership Alliance “Too often technique and numeric growth are on the minds of young pastors. Learn from a veteran and seek faithfulness!” –Matt Schmucker, co-founder, 9Marks “A powerful and preventive message for every pastor who desires to hear ‘well done’ at the finish line.” –Cliff Clifton, North American Mission Board, director of Send DC As leaders, it’s our greatest desire: a life that honors God, strengthens our family, and draws those we lead to Jesus Christ. But behind our well-intentioned efforts and carefully prepared sermons, we also carry fear of failure, disappointments, hurts, and hidden sins. These can become slow leaks resulting not only in public failure, but more importantly, in devastation to those we love and lead. But here’s the good news: You don’t have to live in fear. The God who called you stands ready to empower you to confidently plug the slow leaks in your life, to vigorously flourish, and to finish well. In Beware the Slow Leaks, Pastor Steve King draws on over forty years of ministry to equip Christian leaders to build healthy, gospel-centered habits now so they don’t have to bail their ship later. With biblical wisdom, personal stories, and spiritual care, King inspires ministers to practice what they preach—providing eight pro-active strategies to help Christian leaders fully thrive and confidently finish. Now is the time to fortify your hull against the slow leaks. Join Pastor King as he points you to the God who has called you to sail the waters with Him, not just bail your boat.

Don’t rock the boat. Don’t make waves. Don’t offend anyone. There’s a palpable feeling that clouds many team meetings and keeps them from being productive: over-politeness. And while the conflict that naturally exists in most organizations hasn’t gone away, it manifests itself in passive-aggression, mediocrity, and a molasses-like inability to get anything done. Nice Teams Finish Last provides the antidote to this all-too-common tendency, giving managers, team leaders and members, and facilitators the practical support they need to battle “the nice trap” and start getting results! The book helps readers encourage skills such as constructive criticism, honest communication, and the kind of conflict that drives innovation and quality without hurting feelings or creating enemies. From giving clear, sharp feedback, to effectively challenging others, this book provides the eye-opening tools teams need to achieve very nice results!

A bestseller--more than 300,000 copies sold, translated into seventeen languages, and featured in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Miami Herald, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Fortune; Shows how discoveries in quantum physics, biology, and chaos theory enable us to deal successfully with change and uncertainty in our organizations and our lives; Includes a new chapter on how the new sciences can help us understand and cope with some of the major social challenges of our timesWe live in a time of chaos, rich in potential for new possibilities. A new world is being born. We need new ideas, new ways of seeing, and new relationships to help us now. New science--the new discoveries in biology, chaos theory, and quantum physics that are changing our understanding of how the world works--offers this guidance. It describes a world where chaos is natural, where order exists ''for free.'' It displays the intricate webs of cooperation that connect us. It assures us that life seeks order, but uses messes to get there.Leadership and the New Science is the bestselling, most acclaimed, and most influential guide to applying the new science to organizations and management. In it, Wheatley describes how the new science radically alters our understanding of the world, and how it can teach us to live and work well together in these chaotic times. It will teach you how to move with greater certainty and easier grace into the new forms of organizations and communities that are taking shape.

*Major New York Times Bestseller *More than 2.6 million copies sold *One of The New York Times Book Review's ten best books of the year *Selected by The Wall Street Journal as one of the best nonfiction books of the year *Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient *Daniel Kahneman's work with Amos Tversky is the subject of Michael Lewis's best-selling The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds In his mega bestseller, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, world-famous psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. The impact of overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning our next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems shape our judgments and decisions. Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives—and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble. Topping bestseller lists for almost ten years, Thinking, Fast and Slow is a contemporary classic, an essential book that has changed the lives of millions of readers.