Reframing the Path to School Leadership

The best leaders use multiple frames to view common challenges and to solve the most difficult problems. A series of dialogues between a novice and a master teacher and between a new and a seasoned principal demonstrate how framing—and then reframing—challenges brings clarity.

Lee G. Bolman is the Marion Bloch/Missouri Chair in Leadership at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. An author, teacher, con­sultant, and speaker, he has written numerous books on leadership and organizations with coauthor Terry Deal, including best-sellers Leading With Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit (1995, 2001) and Reframing Organiza­tions: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership (1991, 1997), as well as The Path to School Leadership (1993) and Becoming a Teacher Leader (1994). Bolman holds a BA in History and a Ph D in Organizational Behavior from Yale University. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with his wife, Joan Gallos, and the two youngest of his children, Christopher and Bradley.

Terrence E. Deal is the Irving R. Melbo Professor at University of Southern California’s Rossier School. He is an internationally known lecturer and author who has written numerous books on leadership and organizations. In addition to those written with Lee Bolman, he is the coauthor of Corporate Cultures (with Alan Kennedy, 1982) and Shaping School Culture (with Kent Peterson, 1999).