Strategic Listening for School Leaders » (New Edition)

Dr. Jeannine Tate is principal of Clermont Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia. During her 25 years in public schools, she has served as an elementary school teacher, a middle school teacher, an elementary school counselor, a middle school counselor, an elementary assistant principal, an elementary school principal, and in various central office positions. She is active in the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the International Listening Association and Phi Delta Kappa. She has presented papers internationally and conducts inservice presentations to local, state, and national audiences.

This is Dr. Tate's first book with Corwin Press. She received her Ph.D in Education Leadership from George Mason University. Her area of research was in leadership and communication, and her dissertation was on school leaders and the value of listening. She holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Oklahoma State University and a master's degree in guidance and counseling from the University of Oklahoma. Her public school endorsements include elementary and middle school teaching; elementary, middle, and secondary school counseling; and elementary and middle school administration.

Dr. Dennis R. Dunklee is Associate Professor in the Education Leadership Department in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University.  During his 25 years in public schools, he served as a teacher, elementary school principal, junior high and middle school principal, high school principal, and central office administrator.  He teaches courses in education law, school administration, and school business management and serves as an advisor and chairfor master's and doctoral candidates in school leadership and community college leadership.  Because of his expertise and practical experience, he is frequently called on to consult in the areas of effective schools, school law, administrator evaluation, instructional supervision, school-community relations, problem solving, and conflict resolution.  In addition, he has been involved as a consultant and expert witness in numerous school-related lawsuits nationwide.  As a university scholar and researcher, he has published seven textbooks, two monographs and more than 75 articles on issues in the fields of school law, business management, administrative practice, and leadership theory.  He is active in a number of professional organizations, has presented papers at national, regional, state and local conferences, and is a widely sought-after clinician for inservice workshops. He received his Ph.D in school administration and foundations from Kansas State University.  His major area of research was in the field of education law, and his dissertation was on tort liability for negligence.  He holds a master's degree in elementary and secondary school administration from Washburn University.

"The author's observation and analysis of the various aspects of listening certainly point out the 'art of administration'.'Knowing how to listen and accurately interpret what is heard is a true art. Readers should study this very closely."
Richard Flynn, Assistant Professor
College of Education, Murray State University

"The author understands and listens to the needs of the educational leader and provides useful tools for coping with the diverse needs and challenges of the educational environment."
Michael Purdy, Professor of Communication
Governors State University

"Tate and Dunklee provide insights into the needs of the speakers and strategies to improve listening effectiveness, illustrating how enhancing listening skills would benefit the entire school culture."
Katherine Taber, Principal
Jefferson Elementary School, Norman, OK

Develop strategic listening skills to help advance your overall communication expertise!

The ability to communicate effectively with multiple constituencies is recognized as an essential characteristic of effective leaders. Listening strategically is a way of showing parents, students, faculty, staff, and others that their ideas and beliefs are of value. Jeannine Tate and Dennis Dunklee's practitioner-friendly book concentrates on the importance of listening as a critical interpersonal skill for school leaders in guiding their organizations. Strategic Listening for School Leaders offers valuable, practical insights and research on how listening, serious conversation, and thoughtful dialogue strengthen school leaders' ability tounderstand others' strengths, motivations, and weaknesses. By learning to listen, the authors demonstrate how a leader can bring out the best in everyone.

Focusing on an effective style of listening, the authors present:

• The basic theories underlying strategic listening
• Succinct examples of strategic listening in practice
• The positive impact of strategic listening on school leadership and school climate

Strategic Listening for School Leaders will help advance your overall communication expertise and open up a whole new world of possibilities for student success. A powerful way to build a professional learning community is to build a community of strategic listeners!

	Foreword	ix
	Preface	xi
	About the Authors	xvii
Part I	Strategic Listening in Theory	1
1	Understanding the Basics of Strategic Listening	3
	Do You Have a Minute?	3
	Listening to Understand	5
	Listening for Shared Meaning	7
	Listening to Understand Assumptions	9
2	The Listening Process and Different Ways We Listen	11
	The Process of Strategic Listening	12
	Different Ways We Listen	14
	Discriminative Listening	14
	Comprehensive Listening	15
	Therapeutic Listening	15
	Critical Listening	17
	Listening as a Responsive Process	17
	Intuitive Ways of Listening	19
3	Barriers to Effective Listening	20
	Emotional Triggers	20
	Strategic Listening Problems	24
	Intrapersonal and Extrapersonal	24
	Listening to Ourselves	25
	Listening for Point of View	26
	Misunderstandings	28
	Nonverbal Messages	28
	Body Language	30
	Nonverbal Actions	30
	Body Postures	31
	Facial Gestures	32
	Matching and Closeness	32
	Communication Differences	33
	Cultural Differences	33
	Religious Differences	35
	Gender-Based Differences	36
Part II	Strategic Listening in Practice	39
4	Strategic Listening in Difficult Situations	41
	Listening in a Nonlinear Culture	41
	Listening for Conflict
	Management and Resolution	43
	Questioning	43
	Feedback	44
	Reframing	44
	Summarizing	45
	Listening From a Distance: Telephone, Letters, Notes, and E-Mail	46
	Listening to Lies	48
	Interrupted Listening	51
	Working With ASL Aides to Ensure Correct Message Delivery	54
5	Listening to Your Constituencies and Managing Your Allegiance	56
	Listening Strategically to and Interacting With Your Multiple Constituencies	58
	Students	59
	Teachers	60
	Support and Staff Personnel	62
	Custodians, Secretaries, and Clerks	62
	Counselors	63
	Program Coordinators and Department Heads	63
	Librarians and Media Specialists	64
	Specialist Teachers	65
	Assistant Principals	65
	Central Office Administrators	66
	Board of Education and the Local Community	67
	Listening to All of Your Constituencies	68
	Managing Your Allegiance	69
6	Strategic Listening to Build Trust	71
	Listening to Span Boundaries	71
	Leadership and Listening: Positioning Yourself for Trust	72
	Your Aggregate Impression: Building Trust Over Time	73
	The Perception Process	74
	General Impression	74
	Primary Impression	74
	Secondary Impression	75
	Tertiary Impression	75
	Aggregate Impression	75
	Managing Others' Perceptions (Aggregate Impression) Through Role Assumption	76
7	An Insider's Look at Strategic Listening in Action	77
	What Research Demonstrates About Strategic Listening	80
	Building Community	81
	Staying Informed and Making Decisions Through Strategic Listening	82
	A Case Study: Strategic Listening on a Schoolwide Scale	84
	Strategic Listening as a Tool for Change	85
	Getting Started	86
	Listening Strategically to the Whole Group	86
	Listening to Create a Vision	87
	Strategic Listening to Create a School Vision, Mission, and Values	89
	Next Steps	90
	Resources: Excerpts From Interviews With Effective Principals and Selected Faculty Members	90
8	Listening to and Presenting Data	95
	Listening to the Language of Statistics	96
	Comparing SAT Scores	97
	The Importance of Statistical Error	98
	Listening to the Language of Display	99
	Listening to the Language of Presentation	102
	Listening to and Leading With Data	104
9	Considerations for Your Own Practice	105
	The Essence of Strategic Listening	106
	References	113
	Index	115