Good to Great by Jim Collins

I recently had the opportunity to read Jim Collins's book entitled Good To Great. I initially came into this graduate program with the preconceived notion that leadership and management were synonymous. Personally having been a manager, I believed that I knew more or less what it took to be a great leader; or so I thought. After having read this book, my interpretation of leader vs. manager is a whole lot clearer now. Sadly, the conclusion I came up with is that a manager is NOT a leader. Here are some things I took from the book.

What did I learn?

Jim starts out by discussing what he calls a "level 5 leader." Level 5 leaders are individuals that posses certain qualities that enable them to turn a "good" company into a "great" company. Now, mind you, this is no easy feat and most of the level 5 leaders that were profiled in the book had attributes such as being quiet, humble, a good communicator, and even shy! This is a complete 180 from what I believed to be good leadership qualities. I always had the notion that top-down management was effective leadership. How wrong I was.

The book continues discussing how Level 5 leaders have the ability to get the right people on the bus; so to speak. The old notion that "people are your most important asset" is erroneous. People are not the most important element, "the right people are," (Collins, pg. 13). Looking at this concept through the lens of an educational leader, attracting and keeping the "right" staff is a critical first step in making a "good" school, a "great' school. Once the right people are on board, then it's time to decide which direction to take. Of course, all level 5 leaders had passion and a strong vision for what they wanted to accomplish. Vision is important.

Once the right people are on board, it's time to take a critical look at your "current situation." So, as a future administrator, I took this as, I need to look at my data, my building, my staff culture, my community, and determine what should be addressed first. Collaboration for this piece is paramount. Providing the staff the opportunity to give input is important. Jim calls this action the Hedgehog concept. The Hedgehog concept simply states that instead of doing many things at once, focus on only one thing, and one thing only and become really good at it. Ultimately, in the context of education, the end result of anything that is implemented is student achievement. Food for thought.

The rest of the book goes into further detail about the Flywheel, the Hedgehog concept, and the Three Circles. Really, what I got out of this book was that a level 5 leader is a servant to the company, and not the other way around. The leader is collaborative, trust-worthy, humble, passionate, motivated, and can create a culture where success happens naturally. The book ends with Jim discussing that all level 5 leaders left a legacy when they retired. This is probably one of the best books I have ever read in regards to leadership. Any current or aspiring leader should read this book.