Can you be a likable educator? It seems on the surface that this is an easy task: give everyone what they want when they want it and do it well. Everyone from administrators and parents to students and teachers will like you and you will embark on a long career happily ever after.

This book is about being a well-liked, effective, and productive educator, which is, of course, a journey and no formal destination. We all seek to be ever more productive and effective and—for many of us—to develop a better relationship with all those who cross our paths. It is a road that requires a delicate balance of developing parental trust, patience, colleague bonds, and student...

The surest way to develop walls around being liked is to not like others. Judging others around you will assure this pretty quickly with a great degree of certainty. We all have preferences of one type or another that serve to distinguish us from the other faculty members in our school and district. Whether it be the type of personality you have, your opinions, or your work ethic, when these...

In the world of education, one must be careful that the term “likable” does not mean weak, meek, or shallow. That being said, going too far in the other direction brings you into the realm of the very antithesis of being liked. Likability and effectiveness are, in fact, a delicate balance and a scaled concept rather than an absolute trait.

Schools can be difficult places to navigate. As politics, policies, and leadership shift, so can the climate, values, and vision of the school district. Some leaders may have values that bend what you consider ethically or morally viable. From this, you will see two types of faculty: those that “follow orders” dutifully and others that stand up for their opinions and beliefs and...

If you are a rule follower, like myself, you will be very careful as you traverse the world around you. A “rule follower” is diligent to make certain that they do not step over the bounds of the vast array of laws, policies, and boundaries that surround the world of work, society, and community that they inhabit. It is pretty simple to find what the regulations are in any aspect of the...

As more and more is expected of administrators and educators throughout the country, it is very easy to become overwhelmed with the abundance of job responsibilities that are stacked upon you.

As an educator or administrator, time is a commodity. With so many expectations and responsibilities tugging at us in every direction, we can become stretched and extended to a point that it is hard to recognize what are the priorities and what is the horizon.

Many of us in helping professions such as education, social work, counseling, and medical fields do not recognize the high emotional toll that such jobs take on our psyche. It is very difficult to ask a person to put the work of caring for students in one aspect then shut your eyes and heart to what you see many of the students (and faculty) going through on a daily basis, especially when you see...

How much of our day is wasted away at time-consuming empty meetings, at meaningless professional development, or just in idle time? Your time is ever more precious, and the way that you manifest how you use that time is ever more critical.

It is easy to utilize one particular skill when attempting to be likable, productive, or effective. It is like remembering to ride a bike by reminding yourself to simply pedal. Of course, there are other skills such as keeping the handlebars straight, looking ahead, and learning how to stand up on the pedals while going up hills.

As an educator, in whatever role you play, you have the most important job in the world. You are the one shaping the next generation of learners and thinkers, and you are preparing each of your pupils for jobs that we may only have a vague grasp of based on our current knowledge.

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Brett J. Novick holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from LaSalle University in Philadelphia and a master’s degree in family therapy from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, as well as postdegree work and certification in school social work from Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, and education leadership from the NJEXCEL Program in Monroe,...