The leadership paradox:

The role of the school principal has shifted drastically in recent times. Today's principals are forced to be less concerned with developing character and more occupied with controlling behavior, moving students through the process, and sorting them into academic and vocational tracks - while also increasing scores on standardized tests. This image has brought calls for changes in the principal's role - from one that centers on providing order and efficiency to a more inspiring, value-based focus on building collaborative relationships and energetic, meaningful enterprises. But these new demands often overlook the need for managing details and coordinating complex and diverse programs and students. The Leadership Paradox shows how principals can combine the skills of administering a complex organization with sensitivity and passion - to be simultaneously efficient managers and effective leaders. Terrence E. Deal and Kent D. Peterson bring together knowledge and wisdom from organizational theory, management literature, and the experiences of practicing principals to illustrate how principals can adopt a bifocal approach - blending managerial tasks and other daily activities with the process of shaping a powerful, value-focused culture. The authors explain how, through a mixture of "knowing about" and "knowing how, " principals can integrate both important sides of their work. And by blending and harmonizing the technical and symbolic aspects of their roles, school leaders can ultimately amplify their impact on the learning and development of all their students.