Time to start my New Year's Resolutions

This summer I started several of my New Year's Resolutions. Yes, that's 6 months later than intended, but I rationalized it as being perfectly timed with the start of the fiscal year for schools. Exercise more and stretch my knowledge by listening to podcasts.

My family has a golden retriever. Summer has been the perfect time for extra long morning walks with her before everyone else is awake. Sprinkle in podcasts, and I've been able to stretch my mind, too.

My current favorite podcasts series are Read to Lead by Jeff Brown and The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry. Read to Lead podcasts are interviews with authors on topics related to business leadership and other valuable topics. They usually run 30+ minutes and offer a compelling summary of a book as well as interesting insights when Jeff interviews each author. Accidental Creative podcasts tend to run between 10 and 15 minutes and contain nuggets of wisdom drawn from Todd's own experiences, both as a creative professional and as an author (and I recommend both of Todd's books highly - The Accidental Creative and Die Empty).

For a great meeting of the minds, check out the Read to Lead podcast where Jeff interviewed Todd Henry when Die Empty was published - find the episode here.

Do you like listening to podcasts - if so, which ones do you recommend?

Are there any New Year's Resolutions you didn't get to earlier this year? Schools just started their new year on July 1st - what would it take to get started on one of your Resolutions today?

Fleisch

Dreamworks Animation and the power of relationships

This past weekend, my family and I were at the Hollywood Bowl. The occasion was a 20th anniversary celebration of Dreamworks Films. Clips from classic Dreamworks movies* were splashed across several giant screens while a live orchestra played the film score. At the beginning of the evening there was a montage of all the films with different themes like adventure, discovery, and friendship.

When the conductor, Thomas Wilkins, introduced the evening, he did a marvelous job of framing the importance of relationships as an essential element of the films. Both the relations that existed between characters on screen and the relationship between the animated movies and the film scores played by live musicians.

 It got me thinking about the role of a placement firm like CalWest. At our best, I hope we're an inspirational soundtrack that is playing behind the scenes as candidates and schools connect, interview and start a professional working relationship.

How do you see (hear?) a placement firm when you think about their function in the recruiting and hiring process? What role should a placement firm play? And if a soundtrack was playing in the background right now of your mind, how would it sound and what would you be hearing?

Until next week,
Fleisch

* I must confess that my favorite Dreamworks movie made it into a few montages but didn't get the prominence I felt it deserved. Monsters vs Aliens is a classic - at least in the Fleischner household.

Want to know more about the Emerging Leaders Program for independent school educators?

Earlier today we opened up registration in the Emerging Leaders Program, a one-day professional development event on October 22nd, 2014 with followup this winter. Curious? Click here to jump to the invitation.

Emerging Leaders sprang out of feedback several years ago from the CalWest Advisory Board. It serves as a step along the leadership path for independent school educators. This year’s curriculum is both deeper and broader than any past events we’ve had. The audience has been narrowed while the content and contact has been expanded.

Should you attend? We’ve geared the event to teachers who want to move into an administrative position within the next few years, as well as to current administrators who want to learn some skills and perspective to move into a more senior leadership position within the next 2-4 years.

Who should not attend? Teachers who want to be leaders from within their classrooms. We have enormous respect for this type of leadership, and a future version of Emerging Leaders will serve that audience.

We’re limiting the number of participants to 40, with each school being able to send 1 or 2 participants. Nominations from a head of school, division head, or other senior leader get the ball rolling - here is the registration form.

Care to know more? Contact my colleague Jui Joshi (jjoshi@calwesteducators.com) who is leading this initiative. Or you can reach me at fleisch@calwesteducators.com.

More details to come in the next few weeks. Have a terrific Tuesday!


Fleisch

What happens over the summer?

Wow, it's now early July and I realized that there has been no posting since an initial blog post last November when we first launched our new website. Time for some updated content!

This is a quiet(er) time of year in the educator placement industry. The peak hiring months have already passed but there are still schools every day with teacher or administrator openings. Some are part-time, for maternity, medical or other leaves. Others are full-time.

If you are thinking about making a move into an independent school setting and you are currently employed, it's best to take a long-term perspective and be aiming for a fall 2015 opening. If you find yourself currently looking for a position, although the odds are getting long, there are definitely openings available. And on the plus side, when a school has a vacancy to fill at this time of year they move very quickly to fill it.

If you are not yet a CalWest candidate please submit a copy of your resume to resume@calwesteducators.com and include a brief cover letter. When my colleagues review your materials if we have one or more potential openings we will encourage you to complete our online application. If we don't have relevant positions for you right now, please consider contacting us again in the late fall or early winter (November to January) when we being to ramp up the search efforts for the next hiring season.

All the best,
Fleisch

P.S. I'd welcome your thoughts and comments. Please email me at chris@calwesteducators.com