Casey Reason - Leading a Learning Organization: The Science of Working with Others

THE SCIENCE OF
WORKING WITH
OTHERS

CASEY REASON

Copyright 2010 by Solution Tree Press

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction of this book in whole or in part in any form.

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Printed in the United States of America

13 12 11 10 2 3 4 5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Reason, Casey

Leading a learning organization : the science of working with others / Casey Reason.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-934009-57-4 (perfect bound) -- ISBN 978-1-935249-35-1 (library binding) 1. School management and organization--Psychological aspects. 2. Educational leadership--United States. 3. Learning. I. Title.

Solution Tree

Jeffrey C. Jones, CEO & President

Solution Tree Press

President: Douglas M. Rife

Publisher: Robert D. Clouse

Director of Production: Gretchen Knapp

Managing Editor of Production: Caroline Wise

Senior Production Editor: Edward Levy

Proofreader: Elisabeth Abrams

Text Designer: Amy Shock

Cover Designer: Pamela Rude

Parents Janice and Tuffy, wife Lisa, sons Brice and Kiah,
you fill each space with love.

My wife, Lisa Reason, met Solution Tree president Jeff Jones in 2006 and convinced him to listen to her husbands five-minute elevator speech on learning leadership. Jeffs enthusiasm, kindness, and belief in me in the years that followed have been a great inspiration, and I owe him and my remarkably supportive, energetic, and loving wife a great deal of thanks in helping make this book possible.

Rick and Becky DuFour have also been very generous with their time, suggestions, and encouragement over the past few years while bringing my work forward. Their contribution is an inspiration and sets a higher standard for us all.

While working in the Detroit area as an assistant superintendent, I had the pleasure of working with Joyce Fouts, the executive director of the Galileo Leadership Consortium. Joyce is an incredibly passionate leader, advocate, and friend whose authenticity, enthusiasm, and genuine concern for others inspired me to understand teacher leadership in a way that wouldnt have been possible without her guidance. Thanks to Joyce, I also had the chance to spend extended periods of time with Bob Marzano, Linda Lambert, and Eric Jensen, which has shaped my perspectives in a profound way.

Mike Carmean was the superintendent who believed that I could lead one of the largest schools in the state of Ohio at age thirty. He let me lead, learn, make mistakes, and keep trying to make things better. His passion for students and his desire to make a difference were with me throughout. My doctoral advisor, Eugene T. W. Sanders, talked me into studying leadership and out of studying school finance. Thanks to Dr. Sanders, I found my lifes work.

Robert Sornson is a writer, scholar, and friend who understands learning better than anyone Ive met, and his wisdom and encouragement have helped me discover so much about this profession. Finally, in my company, Ive received outstanding research and technical support from Brenna Burghardt, Shannon Gessner, Stephanie Grant, Mara Leahy, and Karen Tscherne. Thanks to each of you for your loyalty, friendship, and tireless support.

Solution Tree Press would like to thank the following reviewers:

Barbara J. Erwin

Clinical Associate Professor, School of Education

Indiana University

Bloomington, Indiana

Margaret Preston

Dean of Instruction

Waltrip High School

Houston, Texas

Arthur Stellar

Superintendent of Schools

Taunton School District

Taunton, Massachusetts

Robert Sylwester

Emeritus Professor of Education

University of Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Pat Wolfe

Educational Consultant

Napa, California

Casey Reason has worked with hundreds of educational leaders from all over the world, from inner-city Phoenix to Auckland, New Zealand, on breakthrough strategies designed to improve performance and overcome resistance to change. At age thirty, Casey was named principal of Whitmer High School, one of the largest urban schools in Ohio. Using innovative leadership and reform strategies based on collaboration, the staff of Whitmer led an impressive turnaround in student achievement and behavior.

In addition to leadership consulting and research, he specializes in instructional design, and since 2003 has developed more than fifty graduate- and doctoral-level distance learning courses.

Caseys work has been featured in Educational Leadership, and he has been a national presenter numerous times with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Southern Regional Education Board, and the University Council for Educational Administration.

Casey earned his PhD. in educational leadership from Bowling Green State University. He is president of Highpoint Learning, an Arizona-based consulting company he runs with his wife, Dr. Lisa Reason. The Reasons live with their twin sons, Brice and Kiah, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Deep, meaningful change in schools occurs when the sacred exchange between teachers and students is supported and nourished. That happens when the adults who come to work each day continuously strive to improve their individual and collective capacity to learn. By themselves, new schedules, teaching materials, and slogans will not generate change that lasts. Truly transcendent learning organizations are led by teacher leaders and principals dedicated to making thoughtful, strategic organizational learning a priority.