We gathered today in the hopes of determining the nature of the relationship between the Center for Leadership in Education and its faculty. The original idea for a Center Faculty stems from the notion that by tapping the unique talents of a number of people, the Center could offer a wide array of programming.

We began the day with a discussion of Jim Collins’ Good to Great and the Social Sectors. We approached this work from the standpoint of the essential question of “What aspects of Good to Great are particularly relevant to the Center’s future?” The discussion was rich, and several new ideas emerged. A summary of those ideas is presented below. These represent the initial “test drive” of these notions. They are intended to provide a starting point for discussion:

1. Finding the right people is essential, we cannot rely on traditional HR techniques. Sometimes people do not know they are the “right people.” We have to encourage them to get involved. The group felt that this was paramount and that the Center must make this a priority.
2. Having the passion and courage to be great today and everyday. Our passion must be evident in everything we do. We must find ways “take care” of our people. In addition, we must find ways to stress the importance of taking care of teachers to our client districts.
3. Collaboration is key. We must look for, and exploit, opportunities to develop synergy by moving one another’s thinking.
4. Are we asking the right questions and are we solving the right problems?
5. We must continue our own learning. If we stop learning, we lose the ability to impact others. How will we continue to learn?
6. If we are about improvement, how can we show people that improvement is in their best interest?
7. Relationships are key, we must develop strong relationships among members of diverse groups. Potential connections must be identified and forged. Diversity of educational ideas is a strength and we must capitalize on it.
8. The Center cannot be a business. We must focus on being an organization.

After a delicious lunch we were able to have the folks from Ideas Unleashed visit us to go over the aspects of their services as they relate to the Center. Our next steps with regards to blogging appear to be:

1. How can we configure the website/blog to benefit ourselves, our clients, and the education community at large?
2. What exactly to we hope to do with these capabilities? If we know where we want to end up, maybe the path will become more apparent.
3. Ultimately how do we want the websites/blogs to be organized?

As a final step, we identified some potential next steps. They were:

1. Re-convening this group (interested people) to help develop the Center’s professional development model.
2. Deciding how to proceed in terms of technology.
3. Harvesting our collective intelligence in terms of what programs could be developed.

Please blog away and make your views known.