The Akribos team of Professional Associates include a number of former superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, university administrators and supporting professionals representing all phases of the contemporary educational endeavor. These professionals are widely recognized and highly respected in their respective areas of expertise and professional practice.
The Akribos Group has entered into a series of innovative partnerships to expand and enrich our depth of expertise and service delivery in the areas of educational research, strategic planning and grant seeking education, programming and management. The individuals and institutions that we have engaged in these partnerships are nationally recognized and highly respected in their respective areas of professional interests and practice.
The Akribos Group has introduced a publication, entitled “Thought Leader” specifically designed to motivate, inspire, and support those who currently serve or aspire to serve in positions of leadership. We fully recognize the challenges confronting leaders in today’s professional climate and we are prepared to offer expert opinion and relevant commentary from highly acclaimed and seasoned professionals who have lived the leadership experience.
Akribos, a Greek term, meaning more accurately, more exact, and more thoroughly investigated, clearly reflects the professional work ethic and commitment that we have embraced at The Akribos Group. We are a professional consulting practice specializing in accurate and precise research-based solutions through strategic planning applications, innovative organizational design, expert leadership training and highly effective professional development services. The work of The Akribos Group is filtered through the lens of experienced educators and supporting professionals representing all phases of the educational endeavor. The Akribos team of Professional Associates, in conjunction with our innovative planning and research partnerships, offer a broad and diverse perspective, extending from the classroom all the way to the boardroom. These professionals are impeccably credentialed and highly-respected in their designated areas of expertise and professional practice and they recognize the critical need for projects delivered on time and within budget. We invite you to explore our website to learn more about our professional team, innovative partnerships and the menu of professional services that we are equipped to provide.
We also invite your attention to our digital newsletter publication entitled Thought Leader, specifically designed to provide timely and informative content for those who aspire to or currently serve in various positions of leadership. Through this publication we are prepared to offer expert opinion and relevant content designed to inspire, motivate, and support your efforts as you navigate your own professional journey.
Thank you for your interest and we trust that you will enjoy your online experience with the Akribos Group!
Blog - Akribos Professional Associates and Guest Contributors
Over the course of this past year, we have continued to witness the innovative and compassionate
response of educators across the nation as they continue to accommodate the educational and social
needs of their student populations. Additionally, we recognize the current challenges facing educators
and we marvel at how these new challenges are being addressed with efficiency and effectiveness. We
fully recognize that this response would not be possible without the resolute professionals that serve
and support our educational institutions. On behalf of The Akribos Group, please know how much we
appreciate your dedicated public service and be assured of our prayers and best wishes as you continue
to navigate these professional challenges.
Last but certainly not least, as we approach the 2024 Christmas Season, we would like to extend to you
and your families our warmest wishes for a joyous holiday season and a productive new year. We look
forward to reconnecting in early January 2025.
Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience!
As previously emphasized, transformational leaders know how to encourage, inspire, and motivate
people to perform at levels that lead to meaningful results and successful outcomes. Therefore, it is
essential for the transformational educational leader to be both well-informed and appropriately prepared
to provide decisive and effective leadership.
As outlined in the previous blog, Transformational Leadership: The Challenge (Part I), there are
inherent challenges, and successful leaders are those who effectively and constructively influence people
and build capacity within their respective organizations to meet those challenges. Today’s educational
leaders are called upon to provide stable leadership in what can often be an unstable and rapidly
changing environment. In addition, educational leaders are often expected to raise the bar and
accomplish more in an environment characterized by declining resources and support, all in the name of
efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Transformational leaders know how to encourage, inspire, and motivate people to perform at levels that
lead to meaningful results and successful outcomes. Therefore, it is essential for the transformational
educational leader to be both well-informed and appropriately prepared to provide decisive and effective
leadership.
Without question, educational leadership can be one of the most complex and challenging areas of
professional practice in our 21st century communities and culture. Contemporary trends, leading to
increased normative pressure to bring measurable improvement to every aspect and component of the
educational process, coupled with an ever-changing political landscape and rising community
expectations and demands, have only served to heighten the enormity of those complexities and
challenges. Consequently, educational leaders are often confronted with nagging questions pertaining to
the appropriate and efficient use of available resources in the face of declining revenues and deficit
budgets. They are also required to navigate the challenges posed by competing interests and priorities
within their constituent communities and the inherent political tensions that often result. As an outcome,
the critical need for strategic thinking in conjunction with courageous and visionary leadership has never
been greater.
Interruptions during the school day eat away at instructional time in the classroom. According to a recent survey we conducted, 17.5% of U.S. K-12 educators report losing four hours or more of instructional time every week due to disruptive student behavior. This means almost 18 days out of every school year are lost, all while school is in session.
Nothing could be more true for K-12 education than this by a team of seasoned management
consultants writing in the MIT Sloan Management Review:
A fundamental assumption underlying traditional approaches to strategy is that industry
boundaries and economics remain broadly stable over time. This assumption is no
longer realistic...
Change, not stability, are the key drivers for most organizations today, and that was true
even before the triple tectonic shifts of 2020: pandemic, economic disruption, and
acceleration of the long battle against social injustice.
Four years ago when I published #EdJourney, I posited that significant changes at individual schools might take place over a period of 3-15 years, depending on leadership, intentionality, and focus. I have really never seen an example of significant change (other than in schools where a wolf is at the door) in the first year of a new principal or head of school. New leaders almost always use that first year to listen and learn the culture of the school, which is not only good, but very much in line with what we see as the successful “architect-leader”. Until now.
