The Four Foundational Deep-End Skills
A Deep Dive Into Self-Assessment Questions
Conclusion
Reflection Questions
Know Thyself
Know Others
A Deep Dive Into Self-Assessment Questions
Conclusion
Reflection Questions
The Seven Norms of Collaborative Work
A Deep Dive Into Self-Assessment Questions
Strategies for Responding to Resistance
Conclusion
Reflection Questions
Managing Yourself Through Change and Resistance
The Role of Resilience
A Deep Dive Into Self-Assessment Questions
Conclusion
Reflection Questions
Resources for Diving Deeper
Final Reflection Questions
Websites That Inspire and Support Resilience
Additional Recommended Websites
All Four Foundational Skills
Thinking Before You Speak
Preempting Resistance
Responding to Resistance
Managing Yourself Through Change and Resistance
About the Author
Jennifer Abrams is an international educational and communications consultant for public and independent schools, hospitals, universities, and nonprofits. In her twenty-six-year tenure at Palo Alto Unified School District in California, Jennifer led professional development sessions on topics from equity and elements of effective instruction to teacher leadership and peer coaching, and she facilitated teacher and administrator workshops at both the elementary and secondary levels. From 2000–2011, Jennifer was lead coach for the Palo Alto-Mountain View-Los Altos-Saratoga-Los Gatos Consortium’s Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program. Jennifer trains and coaches teachers, administrators, nurses, hospital personnel, and others on new employee support, supervision, being generationally savvy, having hard conversations, and collaboration skills.
In her educational consulting work, Jennifer has presented at annual conferences such as Learning Forward, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the New Teacher Center Annual Symposium, as well as at the Teachers’ and Principals’ Centers’ Summer Institutes for International School Leadership. Education Week’s blog Finding Common Ground recognized Jennifer as one of twenty-one women all K–12 educators need to know, and the International Academy of Educational Entrepreneurship named her Entrepreneur of the Year. She has also been a featured interviewee on the topic of professionalism for ASCD’s video series Master Class, hosted by National Public Radio’s Claudio Sanchez.
Jennifer’s publications include Having Hard Conversations, The Multigenerational Workplace: Communicating, Collaborating and Creating Community, and Hard Conversations Unpacked—the Whos, the Whens and the What Ifs. Jennifer writes a monthly newsletter blog, Voice Lessons, available on her website, www.jenniferabrams.com, and is a featured columnist for www.eSchoolnews.org writing about personal development for leaders.
Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Tufts University and a master’s degree in education from Stanford University. To learn more about Jennifer’s work, visit www.jenniferabrams.com or follow @jenniferabrams on Twitter.
To book Jennifer Abrams for professional development, contact [email protected].
Foreword
By Ellie Drago-Severson
Jennifer Abrams has given us another gift—Swimming in the Deep End: Four Foundational Skills for Leading Successful School Initiatives. It is, for sure, a gift of love, born from her rich and deep experiences as a coach, international consultant, teacher, leader, and friend, working with leaders in schools, educational systems, health care, and various nonprofits around the globe. Throughout the book, Abrams encourages us