Leading From Below the Surface

A Non-Traditional Approach to School Leadership
Theodore B. Creighton - Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, USA
Leading From Below the Surface
June 2004 | 112 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9781483360577
Available from January 0001
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780761939528
Available from January 0001

Description

"Creighton gets leaders to look further and more deeply at what is going on within an organization. He clearly demonstrates that looking 'below the surface' at motivations, struggles, and challenges is imperative."
Pamela Flood, Assistant Professor
Florida State University

A groundbreaking model that digs deeper to uncover the root of effective leadership!Filling the gap between existing theoretical models and real-world practice, this landmark guide introduces a fresh paradigm shift that will shape the future of successful school leadership. Brimming with straightforward how-to's and practical examples, the book draws upon the latest influential best practices of effective business management and tailors them to meet the needs of educational leaders at all levels.

Leading From Below the Surface offers a deeper exploration of the more subjective, intangible aspects of leadership to get to the real issues, moving decision making outside the confines of school boardrooms and offices and into the dynamic hallways, community centers, school kitchens, and playgrounds.

Special features include:

  • Tools for expanding beyond data-based to evidence-based decision making for an enlightened perspective
  • Tactics for building political capital
  • Time management tips
  • Reader-friendly text and real-life scenarios for practical application

Leading From Below the Surface empowers educators to take a more comprehensive approach to managing schools that can boost teacher morale, student achievement, and community perceptions for overall success.

Contents

Preface

  • What This Book Is Not About
  • Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Author

1. Introduction

  • First, What Is the Surface?
  • OK, Now What Does "Below the Surface" Mean?
  • Leadership Is Both Objective and Subjective

2. What Does Traditional Leadership Look Like, and How Did We Get Here from There?

  • Behavioral Leadership
  • Situational Leadership
  • Contingency Leadership Theory
  • Path-Goal Theory of Leadership
  • Transformational Leadership Theory
  • A Conceptual Framework for Leading From Below the Surface

3. What Is Leading From Below the Surface?

  • Bending the Rules Without Breaking Them
  • Managing Your Portfolio of Political Capital
  • Bourdieu and Capital

4. Evidence-Based Decision Making

  • Below the Surface: Data- or Evidence-Based?
  • Data-Driven vs. Evidence-Based Decision Making
  • Attendance Rates vs. Absence Rates
  • Narrowing the Achievement Gap
  • Dropout Rate: 2% or 28%?
  • Concluding Thoughts

5. Institutional Effectiveness vs. Strategy

  • A Closer Look at Strategy
  • How Does Strategy Relate to School Leadership?
  • Describing the Strategy
  • Identifying Positive and Negative Forces

6. Cooperation vs. Collaboration

  • Closing Thoughts

7. Looking Beyond the Obvious

  • From Superintendent to Secretary of Education
  • The SAT Story
  • Not Settling for Embroidering the Edges
  • Concluding Thoughts

8. Creating Leadership Behaviors: A Leadership Practice Field

  • OK, On to a Leadership Practice Field
  • Defining a Practice
  • A Practice Field Further Defined
  • Practicing Leading From Below the Surface
  • Practicing Listening
  • Practicing Respecting

9. Implications for Practicing School Administrators

  • Accountability
  • Leading From Below the Surface
  • The Disjuncture Between Societal Use and School Use of Technology
  • The Virtual Classroom

References

References

Index

Index

Additional materials

Description

"Creighton gets leaders to look further and more deeply at what is going on within an organization. He clearly demonstrates that looking 'below the surface' at motivations, struggles, and challenges is imperative."
Pamela Flood, Assistant Professor
Florida State University

A groundbreaking model that digs deeper to uncover the root of effective leadership!Filling the gap between existing theoretical models and real-world practice, this landmark guide introduces a fresh paradigm shift that will shape the future of successful school leadership. Brimming with straightforward how-to's and practical examples, the book draws upon the latest influential best practices of effective business management and tailors them to meet the needs of educational leaders at all levels.

Leading From Below the Surface offers a deeper exploration of the more subjective, intangible aspects of leadership to get to the real issues, moving decision making outside the confines of school boardrooms and offices and into the dynamic hallways, community centers, school kitchens, and playgrounds.

Special features include:

  • Tools for expanding beyond data-based to evidence-based decision making for an enlightened perspective
  • Tactics for building political capital
  • Time management tips
  • Reader-friendly text and real-life scenarios for practical application

Leading From Below the Surface empowers educators to take a more comprehensive approach to managing schools that can boost teacher morale, student achievement, and community perceptions for overall success.

Contents

Preface

  • What This Book Is Not About
  • Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Author

1. Introduction

  • First, What Is the Surface?
  • OK, Now What Does "Below the Surface" Mean?
  • Leadership Is Both Objective and Subjective

2. What Does Traditional Leadership Look Like, and How Did We Get Here from There?

  • Behavioral Leadership
  • Situational Leadership
  • Contingency Leadership Theory
  • Path-Goal Theory of Leadership
  • Transformational Leadership Theory
  • A Conceptual Framework for Leading From Below the Surface

3. What Is Leading From Below the Surface?

  • Bending the Rules Without Breaking Them
  • Managing Your Portfolio of Political Capital
  • Bourdieu and Capital

4. Evidence-Based Decision Making

  • Below the Surface: Data- or Evidence-Based?
  • Data-Driven vs. Evidence-Based Decision Making
  • Attendance Rates vs. Absence Rates
  • Narrowing the Achievement Gap
  • Dropout Rate: 2% or 28%?
  • Concluding Thoughts

5. Institutional Effectiveness vs. Strategy

  • A Closer Look at Strategy
  • How Does Strategy Relate to School Leadership?
  • Describing the Strategy
  • Identifying Positive and Negative Forces

6. Cooperation vs. Collaboration

  • Closing Thoughts

7. Looking Beyond the Obvious

  • From Superintendent to Secretary of Education
  • The SAT Story
  • Not Settling for Embroidering the Edges
  • Concluding Thoughts

8. Creating Leadership Behaviors: A Leadership Practice Field

  • OK, On to a Leadership Practice Field
  • Defining a Practice
  • A Practice Field Further Defined
  • Practicing Leading From Below the Surface
  • Practicing Listening
  • Practicing Respecting

9. Implications for Practicing School Administrators

  • Accountability
  • Leading From Below the Surface
  • The Disjuncture Between Societal Use and School Use of Technology
  • The Virtual Classroom

References

References

Index

Index

Additional materials

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Leading From Below the Surface

A Non-Traditional Approach to School Leadership

Theodore B. Creighton
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June 2004 | 112 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Hardcover 27/02/2023 9780761939528 $62.95
Paperback 01/02/2026 9780761939535 $37.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781483360577 $35.00

"Creighton gets leaders to look further and more deeply at what is going on within an organization. He clearly demonstrates that looking 'below the surface' at motivations, struggles, and challenges is imperative."
Pamela Flood, Assistant Professor
Florida State University

A groundbreaking model that digs deeper to uncover the root of effective leadership!Filling the gap between existing theoretical models and real-world practice, this landmark guide introduces a fresh paradigm shift that will shape the future of successful school leadership. Brimming with straightforward how-to's and practical examples, the book draws upon the latest influential best practices of effective business management and tailors them to meet the needs of educational leaders at all levels.

Leading From Below the Surface offers a deeper exploration of the more subjective, intangible aspects of leadership to get to the real issues, moving decision making outside the confines of school boardrooms and offices and into the dynamic hallways, community centers, school kitchens, and playgrounds.

Special features include:

  • Tools for expanding beyond data-based to evidence-based decision making for an enlightened perspective
  • Tactics for building political capital
  • Time management tips
  • Reader-friendly text and real-life scenarios for practical application

Leading From Below the Surface empowers educators to take a more comprehensive approach to managing schools that can boost teacher morale, student achievement, and community perceptions for overall success.


Table Of Contents:

  • Preface
  • What This Book Is Not About
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Author
  • 1. Introduction
  • First, What Is the Surface?
  • OK, Now What Does "Below the Surface" Mean?
  • Leadership Is Both Objective and Subjective
  • 2. What Does Traditional Leadership Look Like, and How Did We Get Here from There?
  • Behavioral Leadership
  • Situational Leadership
  • Contingency Leadership Theory
  • Path-Goal Theory of Leadership
  • Transformational Leadership Theory
  • A Conceptual Framework for Leading From Below the Surface
  • 3. What Is Leading From Below the Surface?
  • Bending the Rules Without Breaking Them
  • Managing Your Portfolio of Political Capital
  • Bourdieu and Capital
  • 4. Evidence-Based Decision Making
  • Below the Surface: Data- or Evidence-Based?
  • Data-Driven vs. Evidence-Based Decision Making
  • Attendance Rates vs. Absence Rates
  • Narrowing the Achievement Gap
  • Dropout Rate: 2% or 28%?
  • Concluding Thoughts
  • 5. Institutional Effectiveness vs. Strategy
  • A Closer Look at Strategy
  • How Does Strategy Relate to School Leadership?
  • Describing the Strategy
  • Identifying Positive and Negative Forces
  • 6. Cooperation vs. Collaboration
  • Closing Thoughts
  • 7. Looking Beyond the Obvious
  • From Superintendent to Secretary of Education
  • The SAT Story
  • Not Settling for Embroidering the Edges
  • Concluding Thoughts
  • 8. Creating Leadership Behaviors: A Leadership Practice Field
  • OK, On to a Leadership Practice Field
  • Defining a Practice
  • A Practice Field Further Defined
  • Practicing Leading From Below the Surface
  • Practicing Listening
  • Practicing Respecting
  • 9. Implications for Practicing School Administrators
  • Accountability
  • Leading From Below the Surface
  • The Disjuncture Between Societal Use and School Use of Technology
  • The Virtual Classroom
  • References
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

"Creighton gets leaders to look further and more deeply at what is going on within an organization. He clearly demonstrates that looking ‘below the surface’ at motivations, struggles, and challenges is imperative."
Pamela Flood, Assistant Professor, Florida State University

Recommendations