The relevance and importance of leadership not only reflects one's core values, vision and mission in educational leadership, but it is also an on-going and growing development that can be obtained through practice, experience, and further readings.

Cobb F., & Krownapple J. (2019). Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity: The Keys to Successful Equity Implementation. San Diego, CA: Mimi and Todd Press.

Equity is a word that is thrown into the educational world very often these days. This book, Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity speaks about the importance of treating the person first and then the situation. I feel that throughout my leadership course work, this has always been a principle that was spoken about. Once I entered my internship, I saw this shine through in the way my mentor guided me in great leadership qualities and roles. John Krownapple and Floyd Cobb speak about the importance of establishing relationships in order to acquire trust. In this trust comes better work ethic, a sense of belonging, and ultimately a need to want to belong and contribute. As a leader, it is important to establish relationships and care within your establishment. Floyd Cobb and John Krownapple speak about how honoring dignity which according to them is, “the innate, equal worth of each human being simply because that person is human,” is the way to equity and leadership in schools and all school systems. I feel that this book brings in the social and emotional leadership qualities that great leaders truly encompass and it is something that I feel is important when entering the field of administration. It is part of our job to treat others well and remember that with equity, comes trust and a sense of belonging. This will ultimately lead to a better quality of schools and administrative leadership.

Obama, M. (2018). Becoming. New York: Crown Publishing Group.

Becoming is a memoir of the former United States first lady Michelle Obama. This book talks about her roots and how she found her voice, as well as her time in the White House, her public health campaign, and her role as a mother Figuring out “Who you are, with where you come from and where you want to go." Michelle Obama speaks about her role as the first lady and establishing a role for herself as a leader. It was a change for her at first, but she states some important factors that led her to find her voice. She states that you either give up or you work for change. Failure is a feeling long before it's an actual result. If you believe in something and find meaning behind it, then you are not going to fail. There will always be doubters and that noise doesn’t go away. The most successful people have figured out how to live with it and lean on The people who believe in them and push onward towards success. In part of her memoir, she speaks about transitions, which I believe are an essential part in all leadership roles. She states, "A transition is exactly that a path to something new, closets are emptied and refilled, and there are new heads on new pillows. New temperaments new dreams, and when your turn is up, your left to find yourself again. I am now at a new beginning and a new phase of life." I truly believe that in leadership, new goals, new ways to success all come from understanding that transitions take time and there is always room for improvement and finding meaning behind things. Obama mentions that true leaders are always progressing and for myself, I hope that I am always progressing as well. Becoming is equal parts patience and rigor and that just means that there is more growing to be done. To relate to this title and memoir I have realized that for me becoming isn't about arriving somewhere or achieving some aim, I see it somehow ss arriving somewhere as a means of evolving, and a forward motion. In leadership, it is a way to reach a continuously better self. Her memoir reminded me that as a person pursuing a leadership role, it is not about being perfect. It’s not about where you get yourself in the end. There’s power in knowing and letting yourself be heard and owning your values and morals and where you see yourself wanting to go. That is the true passion in what you do and according to Obama, this is how we become.

O'Reilly, B. (2018). Unlearn: Let Go of Past Success to Achieve Extraordinary Results. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Unlearn may sound like a title of a book that does not point toward influential leadership. However, this book could not be more on point about how to become a great leader. This book talks about how to unlearn the behaviors and mindsets that prevent you and your business from moving forward. It also talks about how we can then relearn new skills, strategies, ain order to be a successful learner and promote change. Breaking away from behaviors that are not working anymore and unlearning them can help bring new information and insights that guide your behavior, perspective and mindset. Good leaders Invest in experiences that enable them to grow. Great leaders cultivate a capability within themselves a way to innovate, adapt and anticipate the future. I learned that good leaders seek situations that make them uncomfortable, uncertain, and the results unknown. At first this did not make sense to me. However, after reading further, I realized that as a great leader, you are taking risks, thinking outside of the box and getting out of your comfort zone in order to be successful and work towards greatness. As a leader, we should always be wanting to evolve into something better. Great leaders know that it’s not how smart they are how much they know, but the ability to recognize when to "unlearn" and when to let go.

Patterson, Kerry. et al. (2008). Influencer: The power to change anything. NY: McGraw-Hill.

Influencer is a great book to show how we can all influence change in our lives and the lives of many others. Kerry Patterson talks about The Influencer Change Model, which is about changing behaviors to achieve measurable results. As a result, you change behavior by changing motivation and ability across personal, social, and structural aspects. He talks about becoming an agent of change and letting go of serenity to create a change and action. Overall, this made me question why I say, do, and feel the things that I do. In leadership, it is important to always questions why we do things and what we want to achieve. It is important to always search for a solution and educate ourselves in the process. In the book, it also speaks about what drives us? I also felt that is was truly influential in understanding that others behave differently as well and there are reasons behind behaviors. As leaders, if we can take the time to understand "why" others" act the way that they do, then we can become better influencers and guide them with us on our journey and through the process of success. Ultimately, this book showed me that as a leader, principles, values, and morals are all important when leading a team of people towards greatness. I want to become a change agent and by understanding the "why" in influential leadership could help mold me into a better person and leader.

Willink, J., & Babin, L. (2015). Extreme ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs lead and win (First edition.). New York: St. Martin's Press.

This Autobiography by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin established a unique take on military leadership and how leaders must encompass certain aspects while being incharge. I felt that it was a great read, that truly showed the importance of "leading up the chain of command." I also understood through this autobiography, that you should take ownership, cast no blame, complaining about setbacks doesn’t work, developer solutions, and to cast your egos aside. Once people stop making excuses and casting blame on others to take ownership of their lives, they can take action to solve their problems. A true leader takes 100% ownership of everything in his domain, including the outcome and everything that affects it. This is the most fundamental building block of leadership that cuts across all other principles. It applies to leadership at any level, in any organization. I feel that this is an aspect of leadership that I can take into the administration realm. The principles of good leadership do not change given where you are. Being humble, realizing that without a team, there is no leadership and that the sum is far greater then the parts are all things that good leaders realize and take into their line of duty. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin also speak about the fact that leaders always ask "why." Ego's are checked at the door and asking why establishes a meaning to why certain things are done. Leaders operate with a high level of humility. They admit mistakes and take constructive criticism, involving others in the process. Ultimately, they both mention that leaders must fully believe in the mission for others to believe as well. This is a great read for future leaders and current leaders to understand that once again, the principles of good leadership do not change given where you are and what your career is.