Thinkerbell…. My SuperHero name is Thinkerbell. A dear friend and colleague nicknamed me Tinkerbell as a joke one day because of my (slight) obsession with all things Pirate. (I’m still trying to figure out why she thinks I am that into pirates. HA! Kidding! Love this Pirate Fam!) Every once in a while, she’ll even reply to my Twitter posts with a Tinkerbell image or gif. It doesn’t really bother me because Tinkerbell is a pretty amazing little character! She’s stubborn, small, and sassy. She is a problem solver and likes to, well, tinker. She learns best when her hands are moving, and I’m the same way. I changed up the nickname to Thinkerbell for my superhero name as I analyze everything and focus on learning everything I possibly can. I ask [too many] questions and am sometimes accused of being a “creeper” because I can do insanely fast research and excel at deductive reasoning. (I am pretty good at Sudoku.) I thrive when I’m thinking. So I embrace the pirate obsession & overanalytical nature as strengths rather than deficits. Thus, Thinkerbell.

Why in the world am I creating SuperHero names and what does it have to do with #DBCBookBlogs? You’ll have to read the latest Lead Like A Pirate guide, Nili Bartley‘s Lead Beyond Your Title, to truly understand – it’s the perfect mix of inspiration and practicality!

Nili shares with us her journey from classroom teacher to technology integration specialist, using clear examples of leadership in every role. What I love the most about this book is that she is leading by empowering others to lead using their own superpowers. She shows specific examples of this throughout each page. Whether she’s talking about the exceptional students in SuperPIRATES of Crew 202 (Seriously, you’ve got to read about these kids in her book!), the teachers she serves, the administrators, or even her superintendent, she leads by passing the mic. It’s like the whole book is bragging on the awesomeness of others, which is exactly the kind of leader I want to be. I never want others to get the vibe that I’m a “Look At Me” leader, but rather want to known as a “Look At Them” leader.

When I was teaching in the classroom, I never would have considered myself a leader. Isn’t that ironic? I literally led dozens of 10 and 11 year olds every day, but never thought of it as leading. Every teacher is a leader. Truly every person is a leader. In some way or another, we are leading others. Even my 2 year old nephew is leading; my niece wants to be exactly like her big brother! Whether we choose to embrace that role as a leader is what makes all the difference. I choose to embrace my role as leader because it will allow me to have a more profound impact on those who feel empowered to lead based on my example. Nili did just that! She embraced her role as leader, regardless of her title. The president of Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc, Dave Burgess (author of Teach Like A Pirate) says you can’t announce change from the podium. In other words, true change will come from grassroots movements. Who are the grassroots in education? Teachers and students. This makes me pause and ponder, does a title actually give us a diminished authentic influence? Just food for thought.

Nili encourages us to lead through conversation, developing relationships. She speaks of building trust and rapport with those she is leading. She shares phenomenal and practical examples of opportunities she gave others to lead (students and teachers alike). She talks about defining and crafting your role. This particular chapter hit home for me because I am in the final year of a 3-year pilot position in my district. I was asked in the Summer of 2016, by my superintendent, to read a new job description which formally merged the roles of media coordinator and instructional/digital coach (aka, my dream job). After a couple of hours of wrapping my head around what he was asking and realizing that I would have to leave a school that I very much loved, I accepted the position. I had no idea what I was getting myself into – this new position meant that no one really understood what my role was. After several discussions on where we wanted to go with the position, we crafted a road map and made some big changes to “the way we did it last year”. The first year was one of the worst years I’ve ever had in education. I wanted to walk out more times than I can count. It was like no one was getting it. Well, of course they weren’t – we hadn’t even shared what it was, what the endgame looked like.

Standing here, looking back on the past 3 years, I am in awe of the changes that have occurred at my school with the students and teachers I serve. I am so proud of the exponential growth and the willingness to constantly move forward and get better. I love the educators I work with and the students are the reason I never feel like I’m going to work. Instead, I’m going to fun. This didn’t happen accidentally. I’d love nothing more than to sit down with Nili and hear more of her story and compare notes. We have so much in common. I knew I would love her book from the moment I saw the title, and I wasn’t disappointed in the least by the content within the covers!

Check out these phenomenal finds in Lead Beyond Your Title!

Well, that escalated quickly! Page 26 and y’all have to read this! Wow, wow, wow! This is solid, @nbartley6! #BookSnaps #DBCBookBlogs #LeadLAP #tlap pic.twitter.com/k7SmrTYK8h

— Alicia Ray (@iluveducating) January 19, 2019

Hold onto your dreams! @nbartley6 says it’s the most important thing we can do for ourselves and others, even when it feels scary! Love this reminder in the newest @dbc_inc book, Lead Beyond Your Title! #LeadLAP #DBCBookBlogs #tlap pic.twitter.com/VXN6kuHgOM

— Alicia Ray (@iluveducating) January 19, 2019

What are your superpowers? What are the qualities that make you stand out? Discover those, sharpen them, hone them. @nbartley6 #LeadLAP Guide: Lead Beyond Your Title

What makes you uniquely you?! Love Nili’s idea of brainstorming this with others! #tlap #DBCBookBlogs pic.twitter.com/57GiqbIPhE

— Alicia Ray (@iluveducating) January 19, 2019

Now the question is: how do I implement this book? This is a tough one, and not because it’s not practical. It’s TOO practical. I believe I could literally take any of these examples and tweak it to meet my needs and find success. This adventure (#DBC50Summer and #DBCBookBlogs) is more about pulling back and doing one or two things intentionally. One thing I did immediately to implement this book was check out Thrively.com and SuperYouFun.org! Both are as awesome as advertised! In Thrively, I completed my strengths profile (a real superpower discovery tool), and found it to be spot on with the other profiles I’ve done in the past. The best part is that the assessment questions to discover your strengths are written in kid-friendly terms! I love that! I found out that I am 110% Thinkerbell! Check it out!

Man oh man can you think your way out of anything!! You are like a Vulcan, breaking down problems piece by piece, even talking them through out loud if you need to. You are very logical and have a mind that works like a computer. You can analyze situations and problems with the best of them and will not let your emotions rule you. Distraction? Complexity? Too many moving parts? All in a day’s work! Problems are to be solved, and you are the one for the job!!

-Excerpt from My Thrively Results

My other implementation is getting students involved in professional development for teachers. I haven’t thought through the actionable plan just yet, but I want to make this happen. Whether it’s by survey, video, or having students physically join us to lead workshops, I feel that their voice needs to be heard. Nili shares this passion and offers examples of each of the options I mentioned. Stay tuned to see how we make this happen!

I highly recommend you go directly to Amazon to purchase this book. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. (Man, wouldn’t $200 be nice right now?! Can I get a witness?) Jump in the conversations already happening on Twitter about this amazing new book using the hashtag #LeadLAP and follow Nili at @nbartley6! Be sure to check out the Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc website for a preview of the book and more information about how to connect with the community! As always, the Flipgrid is available (thanks to Andrea Paulakovich for allowing me to copilot this space) for your reflections. Feel free to share your thoughts there, comment below, or connect with me via Twitter! I look forward to leading beyond our titles together!