ORLA+4199+Words+Matter+-+Developing+Your+Voice+as+a+School+Leader

Next offered
Fall 2013

Professor
Robert J. Weintraub

Syllabus
Not available

Course description
As leaders – in schools and most organizations – our constituents often make us feel, “We’re only as good as our last performance.” As a long-time elementary and high school principal, those words both intimidated and inspired me. Organizational leaders are public figures and we ARE judged by our “performances” – our human interactions, our memos, our blogs, our tweets, our newsletters, and our speeches -- by a demanding community of colleagues, parents, students, and citizens-at-large. Every performance is judged. (And today, any performance can go viral!) We need to be literate, if not literary. We need to be reassuring and encouraging, if not inspiring. We need to be empathetic; we need to be caring; we need to be focused; we need to be smart. And, we need to bat 1.000!

//Words Matter// is a course that recognizes that successful leaders know who they are, know what they believe, and communicate often and well, reflecting who they are and what they believe, to all of their constituencies. //Words Matter// is a course in the practice of leadership. Most class assignments are the real interactive, writing, and speaking requirements of a school/organizational leader – from the summer letter to students and parents, the summer letter to the faculty, the opening day address to the faculty, to the speech you will make at Graduation in the spring. In between are predictable communications throughout the school year, and a series of communications that will be necessary as the school leader responds to and manages the inevitable “crises.” It is a course for current and aspiring school leaders, and it should be interesting, and will be accommodating for leaders in other fields where communication is an important part of the leadership role. Throughout the course, your writing will receive the careful attention of the professor.

For more information, please contact bobw9090@gmail.com.

Review
Not available

Student contact information
Not available