Beyond Today: The Transitive Power of Educational Leadership

05 Friday Sep 2025

Posted by in Actions, Culture, Education, Educational Leadership, Leader, Leadership, Legacy, Memories, Transitive Power, Trust

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I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s The Bomber Mafia, and I was particularly interested in one idea (the entire book is full of fascinating knowledge by the way). Gladwell describes how ideas and memories rarely remain with the individuals who first hold them. Instead, they move, transitive in nature, living on in the lives of others. Though he applies this concept to military visionaries, it got me thinking about the work of educational leadership.

As leaders, the choices we make, the words we speak, and even the ways we handle pressure often become part of the memory banks of those around us, becoming a powerful motivator on how we lead. A teacher remembers how a principal treated staff with dignity during a crisis. A student recalls the fairness of a discipline decision long after graduation. A young educator shapes their own leadership style based on how they once watched a mentor navigate conflict. These moments are not fleeting; they migrate, they live on.

This realization reframes how we can see daily leadership in schools. Schools are not just institutions where knowledge is delivered but also where memories are forged. Those memories are carried forward, reinterpreted, and acted upon in the lives of others. With this thought of transitive action, leadership, then, can become less about immediate outcomes and more about shaping a lasting legacy of influence, one that helps define the climate and culture for the future, trusting the process. 

The sobering truth is that we don’t control which memories will stick. Sometimes a single act of impatience can overshadow months of encouragement. But the hopeful truth is also there: small acts of kindness, humility, and consistency often become the anchors others draw on years later. As I sit here writing, I realize the transitive power of my mentors, how their wisdom lives on in me, how it continues to influence my leadership, and how it extends to others.

Educational leadership, then, is memory-making work. The question for each of us becomes: What memories am I leaving behind that others will live into?

As you step into your role today, remember that you are not just an educator and leader but a shaper of the future. Your actions and decisions profoundly impact the lives of those you guide. Go, be the great educator and leader that our future needs.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2025 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… X @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

A Sacred Work Prayer

22 Friday Aug 2025

Posted by in Christian Worldview, Education, Educational Leadership, Encouragement, Gift, Grace, Jesus, Kindness, Know Your Why, Leader, Leadership, Respect, Sacrifice, Servant, Teacher Appreciation, Teachers, Thankful, Value

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Well, the start of school is here. Many are in full swing of five weeks now, a few a couple of weeks, and colleges just started… So, I wanted to wait until everyone was back to start sending out blogs again. I hope you had a great, restful summer, and you school year has started well.

For my first blog of the new school year, I thought I would write a prayer of sorts to get us thinking about the role of what we do, who we do it for, and why. Yes, what we do is a sacred work. I hope you enjoy. If you want a printable copy, click here: A Sacred Work Prayer

A Sacred Work Prayer

It is a privilege to speak,
of the work educators do.

For the lives enriched and challenged,
by their hands, their voices, their countless prayers.

Lord, give us wisdom, give us courage,
to stand beside those who educate.

As they lead in their schools,
for the betterment of society.

We pray for our schools,
let grace dwell among all who shape the future.

Day after day teachers give of themselves,
yet they are not alone…

For we walk with Jesus, the Master Teacher,
the One who never leaves, never forsakes.

Remind us daily this work is sacred,
a testimony to the power of education to change lives.

We remember those teachers who have gone before us…
who encouraged us, supported us, shepherded us.

Now strengthen us to serve,
to be salt and light in our schools.

That families and children,
may be profoundly blessed.

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of teaching,
may we not squander what You have entrusted to us.

Thank You for making us part,
of the ministry of Your grace.

As we model Your love,
to those we educate.

© J Clay Norton, 2025

As you step into your role today, remember that you are not just an educator and leader but a shaper of the future. Your actions and decisions profoundly impact the lives of those you guide. Go, be the great educator and leader that our future needs.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2025 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… X @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

“Asset-based narrative” – It’s what we need in educational leadership for our schools…

25 Wednesday Jun 2025

Posted by in Accountability, Achieve, Actions, Advice, Appreciation, Attention, Choice, Culture, Education, Educational Leadership, Effective, Emotion, Emotional Temperature, Empower, Encouragement, Expectations, Idealist, Importance, Know Your Why, Leader, Leadership, Students, Teachers, Trust, Value

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I was sitting in on a dissertation defense a few weeks ago, and the phrase “asset-based narrative” came up. This phrase, it got my head tingling, and I began to think about a connection to educational leadership. So, here’s what I came up with…

In education, leadership is not about what we meant to do, it’s about what we actually do. Good intentions are noble, but outcomes are what matter. Our schools, communities, and students live in the reality of our actions, not in the shadows of our intentions. That’s why we must begin to define leadership through an “asset-based narrative,” one that sees strength, not deficiency, and leads through what is possible rather than what is lacking.

Society often pressures leaders to control the narrative. Headlines, social media, and political climates push school leaders to respond quickly, to spin, to protect optics. But real leadership resists this impulse. True leadership defines the narrative… rooted not in fear or reaction but in clarity, purpose, and evidence of care. It says: “Here is who we are, what we value, and how we’re building something better.”

An “asset-based narrative” invites us to lead through celebration and contribution. It shifts our focus from what educators or schools “aren’t doing” to what they are accomplishing against real odds. It sees teachers as resilient, students as capable, and communities as partners. It reframes setbacks as opportunities to grow, not indictments of failure.

When we define the narrative, we move from defense to offense. We stop chasing reputations and start building legacies. And we do so by aligning our actions with what we say we believe. Because in education, as in life, leadership isn’t measured by the stories we wish had been told, it’s measured by the stories we choose to write with courage, consistency, and hope.

The question is not, “What did we mean to do?” The question is, “What did we do, and how did it build a better story for those we serve?” I think it’s worth taking a look at to see if we can find and define more of what we do in education based on the thought of “an asset-based narrative.”

As you step into your role today, remember that you are not just an educator and leader but a shaper of the future. Your actions and decisions profoundly impact the lives of those you guide. Go, be the great educator and leader that our future needs.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2025 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… X @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

A Tribute for Dr. Tom Williams… The Epitome of Servant-based Leadership for Education…

23 Friday May 2025

Posted by in Educational Leadership, Leader, Leadership, Servant, Tribute

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I found out yesterday that one of my mentors, Dr. Tom Williams, suddenly passed away. I have been very fortunate to have such people who have influenced and mentored me outside my family. Dr. Williams is one of those.

I first met Dr. Williams when I started my master’s degree at Mississippi College. I remember him saying, “Glad you are here; when you finish your Master’s in Math, you start the Ed Leadership program.” I was like, “Sure…” and ever since then, I have had a leadership mentor who was always there to listen first and then give advice. I do not know what I did to befriend Dr. Williams beyond the student-professor relationship. I do not understand why he took an interest in me. I did not know, at the time, how much of a mentor he would become and how much of his influence I would develop into my leadership style. Looking back, I still do not know, but I will forever be thankful. Even now, at 53 years old, I value the influence and mentoring Dr. Williams provided me.

So, here is my tribute to Dr. Williams…

I’m writing today to tell of a person who modeled servant-based leadership to its finest degree. I only knew Dr. Williams as a college professor at Mississippi College and as a friend now for 20-plus years. Looking at his resume would make you dizzy with all he had done in education and almost every possible role, and he is one of the best I have ever seen on this front. His ability to encourage is textbook-worthy. My friend Nason Lollar and I were reminiscing last night on the phone about Dr. Williams, along with a few other greats we have both had in our lives. We concluded that if we can be half the encourager for future educators that Dr. Williams was, not only for us but for all, then we will succeed. While we can never replace them, we can only stand on the shoulders of these educational leadership giants.

Dr. Williams fits the mold of “often imitated but never duplicated.” His heart for education transcends into many lives he touched, and as an educator, he valued education while serving others, and he did just that. Education needs more educators like Tom Williams because people like Tom Williams are extraordinary educational leaders. As a lifelong educator, Dr. Williams helped shape my future through his influence and so many others, which we must remember to do and value as well.

So, I am sad that I lost someone I adored, admired, respected, appreciated, loved, etc. However, I am glad I am a better educational leader because of Dr. Williams. I will miss the many talks we had when we saw each other or on the phone. By far, he is one of servant-based leadership’s greats. I am grateful for the time I have had as his student and colleague, as I am sure many of you have also had him as a professor and worked with him. His impact on our lives leaves a legacy that will ripple through education for years to come. Dr. Tom Williams was my professor, my colleague, an inspiration, one of my leadership heroes, and my mentor. Most importantly, Dr. Williams was my friend, and I will miss him…

To take this quote from the movie The Emperor’s Club is to embody what Dr. Williams is:

“A great teacher has little external history to record. His life goes over into other lives. These men are pillars in the intimate structure of our schools. They are more essential than its stones or beams, and they will continue to be a kindling force and a revealing power in our lives.” 

I hope you have a mentor in your life like the ones I have had and currently do. It will make you better, regardless of your age. Allow someone to invest in you so you can invest in others. The value of a mentor is needed in all areas of life, including education.

As you step into your role today, remember that you are not just an educator and leader but a shaper of the future. Your actions and decisions profoundly impact the lives of those you guide. Go, be the great educator and leader that our future needs.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2025 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… X @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.