Bingo: School. This book discusses leadership for school administrators.
My father was a teacher for about 20 years, before he moved into school administration. He received a second administration Masters at Bankstreet College and the book Causing Others to Want Your Leadership was one of his texts. The book is quite old: it was first published in 1976. There isn’t a single rating for it on Good Reads (though it will get mine soon enough). But the book has remarkably modern guidance and is a very valuable resource for those who are interested in the human side of management, specifically in schools.
I have worked at my university for almost 20 years, and have an upcoming opportunity to apply for a leadership position when my director retires. I have always loved what DeBruyn calls “technical management” (which he uses as the other side of human management). That’s the management of things and resources. It is most concerned with actions related to projects. I was an admin assistant for 30 years, and was able to move up to program manager six years ago. “Mechanical management” (another term coined by DeBruyn) is my strength. I am really good at processes, implementation of projects, and the technical side of managing things. Luckily, I also have strong interpersonal skills. But I wanted to learn more about becoming a good leader in an educational environment. While this book mostly deals with K-12 schools, it still had lots of relevant, useful information to impart.
The book is mainly structured as a series of lists and “laws” of management. It does a deep dive into the management of people. It talks a lot about human behavior and priorities as a jumping-off point to being a good leader. These lists and laws are certainly DeBruyn’s personal creations, but they do tend to make a lot of sense. He first goes over general human priorities, such as autonomy, introspection, sympathy, and endurance (I will note here that the last priority he lists is very odd–heterosexuality. He describes it as the need to interact with the opposite sex and to show others they are “beautiful people.” Eek! It’s the only misstep in the book).
DeBruyn then goes on to talk about what motivates people to follow leadership (e.g., personal gain, pleasure, imitation, among others). The second section is called “You and Management.” He talks extensively about the foundation, laws, and principles of management. He mentions the Law of Origin, which is maintaining an awareness of the fundamental purpose of the institution–in this case, student-centered learning. There is an interesting one on Top Down Management. I came into that chapter with resistance, since top-down management almost always is a negative, heavy-handed, non-inclusive form of leadership. But what DeBruyn means is that leaders must own their responsibilities and institutional priorities. He specifically mentions that staff inclusion and creativity are welcome and important. But that leaders who leave setting the direction solely to those they oversee are not as strong as those who have a clear vision that they can first present to those under them. He also talks about ownership–that a good administrator must be willing to listen non-defensively, own their responsibilities, and provide guidance and help from a position of strength.
There are lists for “The Laws and Principles of Self-Management” and “The Laws and Principles of People Management.” He also covers the five “C’s” of administration: competency, cooperation, control, communication, and caring. As didactic as his lists and directives can feel, the content is useful and does account for flexibility.
My only critique is I wish there were more case studies and examples. There are virtually no concrete situations that show the application of the principles. But the book is a good introduction to human-centered management in schools.