Beyond Theory and Degrees

Book excerpt: This book is a must read for anyone who has a passion for leadership. Fitzpatrick’s style and story presentation could be a blueprint for any leader in any profession. His insights into building a culture of leaders, through mentoring and distributing responsibility in growing the capacity of an organization while celebrating and affirming people are the tenants of his approach to authentic accountability, where people when feeling valued become invested and perform at a high level! In the book Fitzpatrick shares the POCDICE theory, the seven key processes of Leadership that every aspiring and seasoned leaders must become good at, while never becoming complacent in improving in their roles. They are: planning, organization, communication, decision-making, influence, coordination, and evaluation. School Leadership and Governance in American schools is at a crossroads. Fewer candidates are entering this noble and honorable profession. We need great leaders for our schools and districts to flourish. This book is designed to inspire candidates to consider school and district leadership while giving insight into school governance from the principalship, superintendency, and Board of Education levels.