Leader Credibility: The Essential Traits of Those Who Engage, Inspire, and Transform

by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Cathy J. Lassiter, Dominique Smith

Overview

Passion, vision, relatability—can we ever quantify the facets of successful leadership? Is there sufficient "there-there" behind these feel-good words to transform a school into a culture of learning and bold hope? Yes, and yes!  Inspired by John Hattie’s impressive research, Fisher, Frey, Lassiter, and Smith bring their trademark clarity to turn aspiration into energized action.

For each of the five components that all effective leaders possess—trustworthiness, competence, dynamism, immediacy, and forward-thinking—leaders learn the first steps and bold leaps to mentor others.  Each chapter abounds with professional development tools, including: 

• Self-assessments so you know your baseline
• Pause and ponder questions to envision change
• REAL features to lead with alacrity
• Checklists to stay focused and strategic
• Relevant research to assimilate and share

Now more than ever, schools need to be places where openness and trust are baked into every hallway hello and every meeting, so collective talents can take us farther than we ever imagined. Let Leader Credibility be your guide to steering others to that greatness. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071889114
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	06/30/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is a credentialed English teacher and administrator in California.  In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design, as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook 2/e, Your Introduction to PLC+, The Illustrated Guide to Teacher Credibility, Instructional Strategies that Move Learning Forward: 30 Tools that Support Gradual Release of Responsibility, and Welcome to Teaching!

Nancy Frey is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College.  She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California.  She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. Her published titles include 50 Strategies for Activating Your PLC+, The Illustrated Guide to Visible Learning, Welcome to Teaching Multilingual Learners, Teaching Foundational Skills to Adolescent Readers, and RIGOR Unveiled: A Video-Enhanced Flipbook to Promote Teacher Expertise in Relationship Building, Instruction, Goals, Organization, and Relevance.

Cathy Lassiter, Ed.D., is an international consultant with over 35 years of combined experience as a public school teacher, principal, central office administrator, and consultant. Her areas of expertise are in Visible Learning, Teacher Clarity, and all aspects of school leadership. Before this role, she held various positions including Executive Director of Middle Schools and Senior Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Staff Development. She also was a successful middle school principal and was named Virginia′s Middle School Principal of the Year. Cathy has served as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, teaching graduate courses in educational leadership.
Dominique Smith, EdD, is chief of educational services and teacher support at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego, California. Smith is passionate about creating school environments that honor and empower students. His research and instruction focus
on restorative practices, classroom management, growth mindset, and the culture of achievement. Dominique also provides professional learning
to K-12 teachers in small and large groups that address classroom and school climate and organization. He holds a doctorate in educational leadership from San Diego State University with an emphasis on equity as well as a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California. Dominique also holds credentials from San Diego State University in administrative services, child welfare, PPS, and attendance.
Smith has been recognized with the National School Safety Award from the School Safety Advocacy Council. In 2018, he delivered a TED Talk
on building relationships between students and teachers.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Michael Fullan
Chapter 1: From Teacher Credibility to Leader Credibility
Chapter 2: Trustworthiness in Leadership
Chapter 3: Competence: The Language and Skills of Leaders
Chapter 4: Dynamism: Passion, Excitement and Self-Confidence to Build Credibility
Chapter 5: Immediacy: Verbal and Nonverbal Indicators of Relatedness
Chapter 6: Forward-Thinking to be Future Ready

Editorial Reviews

This book offers tangible ways to build your leadership credibility and concrete methods for building strong relationships that will cultivate a culture of trust and community.

Klein ISD - Betty Zavala

Leader Credibility is a must read for every educational leader. All too often school improvement plans and initiatives fail - not on their merits but on the credibility of the leader. Educational leaders need to be strategic about how they contribute to or derail the success of these initiatives. This book provides a frame for how to build leader credibility and provides many opportunities for structured self-reflection.

San Bernardino City Unified School District - Randy Clyde

The authors share relevant research, illustrations, and tools for self-reflection which can be used to impact the daily work of school leaders. By reading this book, leaders will be challenged to think more intentionally about how they build trust, competence, dynamism, immediacy, and how they become more forward-thinking.

Greenfield Exempted Village Schools - Alisa Barrett

I highly recommend this book. Teachers are yearning for great leadership. This book helps educational leaders analyze the skillset it takes to lead with credibility.

Okaloosa County School District - Dawn Massey