Have the Courage to Strive for Excellence

Mike Murphy has had a lengthy career in education. He spent roughly 25 years as the headmaster at a couple of different schools and now works as a consultant for Educational Directions . I’ve had some personal experience working with Educational Directions, and they do an excellent job at finding quality candidates! We met over zoom to talk about qualities of strong school leaders. There was an overall theme that is summed up in the title. Mike talked about how everything has an undercurrent of courage when it comes to school leadership. For those of us in education, we know how having the courage to strive to excellence makes all of the difference. Settling for the status quo can often be the easier route, but it takes courage to challenge others and accept nothing but the best from students, staff, and yourself!?

LITER Habits?

Mike talked about how LITER Habits are great for a school leader. He is a part of the Severn Leadership Group , and the LITER Habits are taught there as well.?

L - Love?

I - Integrity?

T - Truth?

E - Excellence?

R - Relationships?

Mike mentioned how many people wouldn’t use the word love. They would say having a concern for others, but when it comes down to it, it is love. Love of what you do and who you are working with and for. Mike mentioned how the LITER habits have helped him throughout his career. He also mentioned how there is always more than one way to do things, but these habits/values stay the same. Don’t be stuck with one way of doing things, but do stick to your habits/values.?

Surround Yourself with a Team of Mentors

Mike mentioned how having a team of mentors with different experiences is extremely important to helping you grow as a leader. For him, he found mentors who had served in the military. Their different experiences helped him find areas where he could improve. Additionally, he mentioned when you have a supervisor who puts you in positions to grow, you need to stick with that person! If they are giving you opportunities and challenging you, that will help you grow as fast as possible. Stick with that person as long as you can. On the opposite side of that, if you are able to choose who you work with, find someone who fits the above description. If you don’t think you are getting the right opportunities, ask to transfer within your organization or find a new place to work!?

How do I Make School More Interesting For Kids??

When I asked Mike what drives him, he said he is always looking at making school more interesting for kids. Furthermore, as a school leader, he felt the same way about helping teachers and parents. He asked himself how he could help teachers and parents grow along with kids. Schools are not places where only the students learn. Everyone involved should be continuing to grow. While talking about his drive and improving schools, Mike talked about the importance of having the courage to strive for excellence, which I talked about above.

Mike gave me some parting advice. Since he works with a consulting company that finds good school leaders, he said stay in one place long enough so people remember who you are. Search committees value loyalty.?

I always ask for a book recommendation when I talk with leaders. Mike encouraged me to read:

• Swing: Elite Leadership for High Performance Teams - Sig Berg?

Thank you, Mike, for your time and advice!