As Real As It Gets

I'm just getting caught up after a ridiculously hectic last couple of weeks. My computer crashed, two classes ended (one that's graded on the portfolio method), my router locked up (how do we live without internet?), and I visited my brother, his wife, and their new baby down in Alabama (picture of me and my sweet new niece, Katelyn, included). In the midst of all that, I just plain forgot to blog. No different than the weeks that you all had, I'm sure, but it was distracting, to say the least. I loved meeting my new niece and was so happy to see my baby brother loving being a daddy.

I still want to chime in on the topic about leadership styles from pages 171-172, and I'd make a bet that I'm the only person in the class thinking about this blog after watching this week's episode of the Ultimate Fighting Championship: Heavyweights. I don't have time to watch much TV, but this reality show intrigues me, due in part because of my interest in MMA but also because of the difference in leadership between the two coaches, Rashad and Rampage. Rashad, the coach of the undefeated team, perfectly exemplifies the 4 positive leadership styles Goldman exemplifies; it shows in his successes and in the morale of his fighters.

How does UFC relate to Education Leadership, you may ask? Well, the fact that I can correlate this list to a sport that seems to be about as far from education as you can get shows these ideas really are about leadership and effective leadership styles, regardless of field.

Goldman's list and its implications reminded me of the material I learned about tranformative leadership, especially authoritative. If nothing else this semester, I think we've all learned from our readings that a vision, a goal, is an essential for effective leadership.