Summary: <br> This week I had the privilege of spending an afternoon with a team of new assistant principals. <br> <br> <br> <br> Photo by Matteo Vistocco – Creative Commons No known copyright restrictions https://unsplash.com/@mrsunflower94?utm_source=haikudeck&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=api-credit<br> <br> <br> <br> As we talked about their first semester, they shared the lessons they’ve learned in time management, communication, and problem solving. They are finding their unique places on new teams, understanding their new roles for the first time, and learning new lessons every day.<br> <br> <br> <br> Being a school leader involves an overwhelming number of daily tasks, requests from teachers for help, and situations with students that require thoughtful intervention and assistance. It’s no easy task. And it’s certainly not one for the faint of heart. At the same time, it is not one you can accomplish alone. No amount of self-determination or grit will accomplish as much as what happens when you understand the power of others on your team. <br> <br> <br> <br> Lessons from Rowing Champions<br> <br> <br> <br> As I talked to these new leaders, I was so impressed with their courage and determination. But I was also reminded of lessons in teamwork I’ve been learning from the book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Boys-Boat-Americans-Berlin-Olympics/dp/0143125478/ref=asc_df_0143125478/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312067454590&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=986036989160190696&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026246&hvtargid=pla-322454227651&psc=1">The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown (2013)</a>.<br> <br> <br> <br> Brown follows the life of one rower, Joe Rantz, whose struggles match the difficulties of so many during the Great Depression. Rantz led an especially difficult childhood, losing his mother at a very young age, and being left on his own for much of his youth and teenage years. His older brother helped him finish school and enroll in Washington State University. But the only way he could afford to attend college was if he could make the rowing team, which would allow him to work a part-time campus job as a janitor at the YMCA. <br> <br> <br> <br> Throughout his training, Joe was noticeably talented. He was strong, intelligent and tenacious. But he was also a loner. As a result, he and his team struggled to find just the right chemistry to be a champion rowing team. <br> <br> <br> <br> Brown describes the ultimate goal of any rowing team is to experience what rowers call “finding their swing”. But this only happens when rowers understand and execute their own individual roles while also relying on the other rowers to execute theirs with such trust and precision that they reach optimal rowing efficiency and speed – discovering the ultimate beauty, joy and glory of rowing.<br> <br> <br> <br> Why is developing teamwork one of the most important, but difficult tasks of school leadership? How do you learn to execute your own role as a leader while building a climate where others are willing to rely on each other to use their combined skills toward accomplishing something beautiful? <br> <br> <br> <br> What Makes a Great Rowing Team?<br> <br> <br> <br> In Chapter 10 of the book, Brown gives a description of the teamwork required in rowing that is so poignant, I want to quote a couple of paragraphs in full:<br> <br> <br> <br> “…the greatest paradox of the sport has to do with the psychological makeup of the people who pull the oars. Great oarsmen and oarswomen are necessarily made of conflicting stuff—of oil and water, fire and earth. On the one hand, they must possess enormous self-confidence, strong egos,
