In 1964 while ruling on an obscenity case, United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously asserted that he would not attempt to define hard-core pornography, but stated simply, "I know it when I see it." Leadership can be a nebulous term for us to define, be we certainly know it when we see it. My personal experiences with leadership are a mixed bag. Some endeavors have gone well, while others could have gone much better. Growth has been appropriately represented by a squiggly line. Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset appeals to me because it helps frame setbacks as learning experiences and opportunities to improve. I do not have to look far to observe stellar examples of leadership, I'm surrounded by them. My wife, Natalie, a second-grade teacher of twenty-plus years, spends a couple hours each evening providing feedback on her students' classwork. She also spends several hours each Saturday at her school preparing lessons, updating ...
Ruminations about lifelong learning.