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This is the other book my DS gave me when I began serving a small church. It helped me understand the dynamics and how to help them leverage who they are to achieve more effective (and therefore) satisfying administration of their church.

1. a person who manages or has a talent for managing. So, you don't have to do it, as long as you know how to do it!

As someone with a day job in higher ed (and who has been a college professor) I am always very interested in how gender intersects with higher ed leadership issues - and I do think these include the professorate as well as college administrators. An overlap I note here with the Northouse chapter on gender is the article's observation that some believe that the attempt to hire women necessarily means that standards are being compromised - reminiscent (to me anyway) of the textbook's observation that male raters tend to rate male leaders as more effective than female leaders. Both the article and this aspect (and some others) of the chapter point to the continued dilemmas of sexist structures and culture, where women (and other traditionally powerless groups) are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

A helpful reminder about e-mail (and, perhaps, moodle posting) communication for leaders/administrators

I don't know, Debbie. I think addressing someone on email by their first name followed by a colon (or not) isn't stiff and cold. I think starting an email with no salutation is cold. (Different strokes for different folks, perhaps.)

I think I agree with you, Judy, or at least I appreciate your reflection of different strokes. My sense is that it differs depending on a whole lot of variables, including sender, reader, topic, and so much more. For example, when someone who doesn't know me is asking for something from me, I tend to respond better to an e-mail that begins with "Dear Dr. Creamer" and then is well written and somewhat formal (but not too long). On the other hand, if it's someone I know sending me something like a brief piece of information, simply including my name (at the beginning with, or without, a colon, or in the first line) is more than sufficient. And when it's the introduction to a forwarded message ("Saw this and thought you'd appreciate it") or a quick reminder ("Just to follow up on what I just told you in the hallway, our meeting will be Tuesday at 2"), I wouldn't need (or expect) my name to be there at all. Maybe what I most appreciate from this post, then, is the reminder to be thoughtful about not just what we say but how we say it, particularly in a space like e-mail that can so easily carry misunderstandings.

The Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District will have a new superintendent starting in June. The school board voted last week to hire Michael Reid to replace Interim Superintendent Thomas Anthony at the end of the school year, according to the district. The board used a recruitment agency to field candidates for the seat. Anthony is a retired administrator from San Diego and was brought in to act as interim superintendent after former Superintendent Douglas Oliveira left for a coaching position at College of the Redwoods. I posted this little article from my home town newspaper, The Times-Standard. I thought it was interesting and relevant because I grew-up with the former supervisor, Douglas Oliveria. Doug was a leader, even in high school. Captain of the basketball team, very bright personalble and intelligent. I had lost track of Doug after I left Humboldt County at the age of 27, but I know he followed in his father's footsteps and went into educaiton. I wasn't surprised to see that he was still a leader and had accepted a job as a coach at the junior college, College of the Redwoods. This appeared to me as if Doug had left his leadership position as superintendent for his dream. Coach. Another leadership position, but with less "acclaim" and more fun. Doug would be about 60 years old now. It was time to follow his dream... I wish him only the best.

Bought this book when I got my current mid-level college administrator job. I like Grove's definition of a (middle) manager: "individual contributors who gather and disseminate know-how and information."

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration warned Wednesday that a federal shutdown would undermine the economic recovery, delay pay to U.S. troops fighting in three wars, slow the processing of tax returns and limit small business loans and government-backed mortgages during peak home buying season. As I read this article, it again reminded me of the awesome responsibility of President Obama - or the president of any country for that matter. Weather or not the federal government remains open for business is now a major issue. As the leader of our country, how does the president deal with this? So much depends on him. The whole world is watching and especially those whose paychecks depend on the U.S. government. As a leader, I would think it would be time to pull out all the stops on this one and I believe that is exactly what is happening. This article is not only trying to appeal to our pocket books, but our hearts as well. This will garner attention, that's for sure. A good leader does, in part, come from the heart, and then there are those desperate moves sometimes...

"Republicans have hired an Atlanta law firm to defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, risking their budget-cutting message to support a law that denies same-sex couples benefits given to heterosexual married couples." Okay, let me get this straight (pun intended). The GOP is will to risk their "budget cutting message" to what, save marriage? To deny citizens of this country their rights? This is not a good example of leadership. Take a stand (budget cuts) but then ride high on the crest of emotion and spend money on a big law firm. Oh, yeah. Here we go again. How many ways can we say homophobia?

It's depressing, isn't it?!

On the other hand (to play Devil's Advocate - pun intended) this is how our country has an official discussion. The Justice Department, whose legal task it is to defend the laws passed by Congress (and that's what DOMA is, like it or not), has opted to not defend this one. There are good political reasons for this administration to take that stand, but it cuts off the conversation. I would rather continue the conversation than enforce my view. I will especially appreciate this when my view is the minority view, and I will have the power and right to continue the legal conversation.