We designed the EntryPlan Approach for people who are looking for a proven way to get off to a successful start in a new leadership position, where success is judged by improvement in both a new leader’s practice and the performance of people in an organization. The book argues that the conflicting forces at work during entry predictably trigger unilateral rather than collaborative decision-making on the part of the new leader. These unilateral responses not only undermine the effort to build trust; they lead to simplistic responses to complex problems. An EntryPlan counters the forces that trigger unilateral rather than collaborative decision-making by providing a sequenced set of activities to guide a new leader in building trust, confronting complexity, and leading his/her organization in producing the collective new thinking required for successful change efforts.
The book aims to provide a person in a new position of authority with the content necessary to design and implement an EntryPlan, whether the new person has taken a position in an educational organization, business, or professional firm.
Praise for the Entryplan Approach and Leadership & Learning Books
REVIEWS AND COMMENTARY
"Entry has been a valuable tool for over 25 years. The new edition is a welcome addition to the literature on entering leadership positions in the education sector. I will add it to the list of required readings for my students in the Urban Superintendents Program and recommend it to new and aspiring leaders, as I have in the past. Well done!"
Robert S. Peterkin, Francis Keppel Professor of Educational Policy and Administration, Director, Urban Superintendents Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education
“In my work preparing educators to be principals and superintendents… … always recommend they read and use… Entry. I tell them that it is one of the best books on taking a new administrative position in a public school."
Harris Sokoloff, Center for School Study Councils, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
“Our district has found The EntryPlan HandBook enormously helpful to every administrator moving into a new position, as well as to those of us responsible for providing support.”
James H. Lytle, Superintendent of Schools, Trenton, NJ
“…the EntryPlan methodology arms new hires with knowledge they would have otherwise learned only after months – if not years—in their new positions.” Beverly L. Hall, Superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools, GA
Beverly L. Hall, Superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools, GA
“I returned home (to Singapore) and continued my work as a school principal where I am now looking over 95 schools. I introduced your book Leadership and Learning to the principals… They found the book really valuable in helping them develop self-awareness, an understanding of relationships, empathy, and patience.
I remember the impact that the book had on me when I first read it at Harvard. I have read the book many times over and every time I read it, I gain new insights. Thank you for the wonderful narration and learning nuggets that you have given us in the book.”
Chee Wah Sum, Ministry of Education, Singapore
“The final case in Leadership and Learning is a remarkable forty-page account of a principal’s successful confrontation with a teacher’s serious problems. This case is an exemplary combination of theory and practice and should be read by all school leaders.”