Includes bibliographical references and index.

Your chosen journey: Building a better leadership carrer on purpose -- Is this what you want? -- Are you leadership material? -- What's a career? What's not? -- Who's in control? -- What should you expect? -- What's the plan? -- The seven critical choices that shape your leadership -- Choosing core values -- Leading with attitude -- Defining stretch goals -- Getting priorities straight -- Finding role models -- Associates by choice -- Picking when It's confusing -- Overcoming self-imposed limits, career blockers, and false ceilings -- False ceilings -- False ceilings and self-made limitations -- Other self-sabotaging behaviors -- Natural Laws of Lifelong school leadership -- Natural laws you can use -- Natural laws of career desing -- Natural laws of school leadership -- Ignorance Is no excuse -- Navigation tips for lifelong journey in school leadership -- The journey begins in your mind -- Seeking, starting, stopping, and switching, job as a school leader (or growing where you're planted) -- Becoming indispensable, promotable, and transferable -- The most important skill of all for today's (and tomorrow's) school leaders -- How to step up, stand out, and stand apart as a school leader staying the course and staying motivated -- Finding your soul as a school leader -- Success ''secrets'' for career school leaders -- The power of thinking big -- Leading others: Building relationships to get results leading yourself: Managing the most difficult person of all -- Stepping stones and stumbling blocks to effective school leadership -- Common stepping stones and stumbling blocks for school leaders -- The most Influential career stepping stones and stumbling blocks -- The boss factot -- The job itself as a stumbling block -- The resilient school leader: Overcoming stumbling blocks and turning obstacles into apportunities -- Making tough calls and hard choices -- Deciding to decide -- Career-changing choices -- A how-to-decide guide -- A permanent state of transition -- Evolution of a lifelong career and leaving a lasting legacy -- Developmental phases of successful school leadership -- Every phase adds value to the legacy -- Definition of legacy -- Planting seeds for lasting impact -- How to design a legacy to be proud of