Do you want to make a positive difference for others? You can! How? By focusing on your own learning, acting on opportunities for leadership, and deciding to embrace change.
Consider these vital What's more important, teaching or learning? Does learning drive change or does change drive learning? Who learns the most, the student or the teacher? Is everyone a leader, a teacher, a learner?
Lead. Learn. Change. will help you reflect on your work and your influence, regardless of the sector in which you serve. As you read, you will be constantly reminded that you have many choices when it comes to the work that you do–and the relationships you form–and that you can truly make a meaningful impact in the lives of others.
The stories and lessons in this book will challenge you to reconsider how you (and your team) approach problems, generate solutions, and make commitments. Anecdotes lifted from everyday occurrences are transformed into observations and commentary that will stir you to action. Questions for reflection, insights from others, and glimpses into one organization's example of true leadership combine to form a resource you will refer to again and again.
Lead. Learn. Change. provides an understandable, feasible, and flexible framework for you to confront entrenched practices, improve communication, and maybe flip the status quo on its head. Conversation starters and meeting agenda fodder can be found on almost every page. And what you discuss just might result in a complete transformation of the way you interact with colleagues, clients, customers, classmates, and students. What do you think of when you consider classmates and students? Do you remember your school or your teachers? Is there a difference between school and education? What is the purpose of school? Who decides? Who has a voice? These questions and others like them surface repeatedly, serving as tangible–not rhetorical–reminders that we should focus on the things that matter most.
What is your purpose and how do you fulfill it? Are you a teacher, medical professional, philanthropist, artist, scientist, homemaker, religious leader, parent, first responder, or do you serve your fellow man in some other way? What do you know now, that if you taught it to someone else, would change their life for the better?
We all have the potential to create positive change. Take advantage of the opportunity to do so. Great teachers do this all the time. Every day. Year after year. Teachers are leaders, learners, and the ultimate purveyors of change. They literally change hearts, minds, and lives. Teaching and learning are the central themes that run throughout this book, but remember, those facets of life appear in every corner of your workplace.
You can teach, you can learn, and you can lead. Go! Go make a change!