The Northerner

Although I am from Michigan, I am not talking about summers in northern Michigan, our wet summers and winters and extreme storms in the spring in fall. I'm also not here to brag about the Detroit Tigers or the infamous Lions.

This was week #1 at KIPP: Knowledge is Power Program. I moved to Denver to teach algebra at the new high school we are opening as a team. It is pretty daunting and exhilarating. At a lot of work places, there comes a day when the employees are asked to take a survey and discover their leadership styles. Well, the whole staff participated in an activity that revealed our leadership styles. The compass served as a beautiful analogy; there are always other forces working in all directions. Even at (0,0) there is a sense that all four directions are at play. The catch is that I had to pick one (north, south, east, west) direction that seemed to resonate with me.

In short, I am a northerner. I make decisions quickly and without hesitation, I would rather get the work done myself than delegate if I am unsure of others' ability or willingness. I thrive on challenges and new projects, seeing them through. I like the bottom line. I can be perceived as cold, aggressive or impatient. Got it. However - east was a close second. East was all about seeing a vision and the bigger picture, setting the details down but then moving onto the next project before the first was completed. It was about making sure there is meaning behind a decision and other perspectives were considered. It sounded nicer. I also totally relate to losing track of time - those easterners have no idea when the sun is coming up or going down.

Let's just say I am not South. Think opposite of north; the south is how I learned patience. I recognize that patience is a work in progress.

Many times these leadership style activities allow co-workers to see the other side and recognize why some people are easier to work with than others. Our school - and its staff - is using this knowledge and keeping it in the forefront of our thoughts as we discuss and make decisions regarding the opening of a new Denver public charter high school.

Question - as a young or experienced professional, how does your leadership style impact those around you? Where has your leadership taken you?
How can the opposite direction sometimes be the most sensible and right?

How much does your internal compass direct you?

Demise of iPhoto

No idea what happened but there are NO photos in iPhoto anymore. What the heck? Anyone out there with some Mac expertise that can tell me how I went from 3 years of photos to NONE? They are luckily still in the iPhoto library folders and stored on my external hard drive, Picassa and of course, facebook. But still. iPhoto is crap. This is the one application on my Mac that I just have grown to dislike more and more in our years together. Gr.
As a side bonus, I sifted through 99.9% of my photos to make sure they had a place on my computer and/or the Internet. Here a a few of my favorites from the years....

Venture on the Open Road

West of the Mississippi

I discovered an amazing trail this weekend that will surely be a great spot to clear and calm my head throughout the coming months of a stressful new job. When we arrived at the trail head there were sure signs of a Denver summer thunderstorm. The clouds darkened and quickly covered any sunlight. Raindrops were light but were growing in size and force. Of course I don't have rain gear yet. Phoenix stores don't have ponchos and water-resistant clothing. I asked Meg if she still wanted to head up the trail and she assured me we would continue on! Good! Our cotton would definitely keep us dry and warm in the event of rain (or hail) for 30 minutes.
Then there is also elevation to consider. Meg hails from the Windy City where water and land meet near sea level. Denver is a mile high but we had driven even higher to get to the trail head. Huffing and puffing a few minutes later, I asked her if she was good. In Meg's famous quote of the week, "it feels like breathing through a straw." I devised a thunderstorm plan - hang out under the tree cover until the storm passes. We never had to test out the safety of hiding under trees. We got to the glacier before the storm! The wind was strong but not enough to deter us off course. The trees and glacier lake were gorgeous even in the gray coloring from the storm clouds overhead. Colorado is beautiful. The hour drive outside of Denver allowed us to experience Colorado the way the settlers, trappers, and miners first saw the Rockies.
We hiked through the brush and along the glacial lake to reach the foot of the ice. People were actually skiing and boarding from the top of the ice field - in July. One man had his dog running along side him as he skied down. So cool! Maybe I will snowboard down with a dog, err hot dog is all I've got. St. Mary's Glacier is a far cry away from the urban hiking in Phoenix. I think I may like living in Denver.
And by the time we left - we were watching the storm roll across the rest of the Rockies as the lake glistened under the sunny skies.