Prioritizing Health and Well-Being: Self-Care as a Leadership Strategy for School Leaders is focused on the importance of health and wellbeing for the nation's school superintendents. This book is based on strategies developed in the author's professional role as superintendent. Each chapter highlights a key self-care strategy and is grounded in the day-to-day work of superintendents. Prioritizing Health and Well-Being explores the importance of health and well-being through both personal and professional perspectives. With the national focus on social and emotional well-being and work and life balance, a discussion focused on the superintendency with simple and practical strategies is offered. This book is written for any aspiring, novice, or veteran superintendent to utilize and gain an appreciation for the importance of their own health and well-being in terms of their overall effectiveness as a leader.
Brian K. Creasman, EdD is currently superintendent of Fleming County Schools in Kentucky and is the 2020 Kentucky Superintendent of the Year. He is a published author and has served as an assistant superintendent, a high school and middle school principal and assistant principal, and an instructional technologist and classroom teacher.
Foreword by Kerry Robinson Preface Acknowledgments All Call to Action by Dan Domenech Introduction Chapter 1: The Transformative Three Chapter 2: The Sun Will Rise Tomorrow Chapter 3: Be Comfortable in Your Skin Chapter 4: Put Your Oxygen Mask on Before Helping Others Chapter 5: Use the Chisel Chapter 6: Value Your Scars Chapter 7: The Importance of Mondays Chapter 8: The Rejuvenating Walkabout Chapter 9: The Healing and Rejuvenating Power of Faith Chapter 10: Disconnect to Connect More...With Yourself Chapter 11: Don't Believe You Must Have All the Answers Chapter 12: Don't Be So Hard on Yourself Chapter 13: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Chapter 14: Discover Your Release Chapter 15: Listen to What Your Body is Telling You Chapter 16: Embrace Personal Accountability Chapter 17: You Are Only the Superintendent, Not Superhuman Chapter 18: The Missed Art of Happiness Chapter 19: Never Lose Hope or Abandon Your Dreams Chapter 20: Exercise and Leadership the Missing Connection Chapter 21: Prevention, Not a Reaction Chapter 22: Life After the Superintendency Conclusion Afterword by Susan Enfield Appendix Bibliography About the Author
Prioritizing Health and Well-Being: Self-Care as a Leadership Strategy for School Leaders is a timely, must-read book for superintendents and other executive leaders. Countering the common and dangerous notion that executive leaders must give everything to the job, Brian K. Creasman reminds leaders that their own health and well-being is central to their ability to lead well, and cautions us that we owe it to ourselves, our families, and the people and organizations we lead to take care ourselves and model self-care. The Voices from the Field and Practical Strategies sections for self-care make this book a valuable resource for all current and aspiring school district superintendents. -- Wayne D. Lewis Jr., president, Houghton College; former Kentucky Commissioner of Education Brian K. Creasman's Prioritizing Health and Well-Being is the book that you need to read whether you know it or not. As superintendents, we are always called on to care for others, but we rarely attend to our own self-care. This book provides practical strategies and real superintendent testimonials that are applicable to all of us. Every school leader should read this book because each of us deserves the wisdom that it provides and each of us deserves to be healthy. -- Nick Polyak, superintendent, Leyden Community High School District 212; co-author, "The Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow's Schools Today" Creasman does it again! This is a must-read and must reference book for superintendents, boards of education, educational leaders, and community members. Prioritizing Health and Well-Being is a call to action for superintendents to take back their health so that they can better lead their school districts. If we are learning anything from the events of the past few years, it's that we must take care of ourselves so that we may serve and lead others. This book is an outstanding call to action and how-to guide. -- Michael Lubelfeld, superintendent; co-author of "The Unfinished Leader: A School Leadership Framework for Growth and Development" The job of a school superintendent is important but keeping the job in perspective requires recognizing that so is your health and well-being. Brian K. Creasman has captured the practical strategies that can help all superintendents improve the quality of their work and personal lives by taking care of themselves. -- Jack Hoke, executive director, North Carolina School Superintendents Association As challenges and difficulties increase, it becomes exceedingly difficult for superintendents and educational leaders to endure in the work. Once-promising leaders fail to achieve their potential and crumble beneath the pressure to be all things to all people. Their fortitude and longevity are weakened by a lack of focus on their well-being and ultimately students, schools, and districts suffer through a leadership churn as leaders come and go. In his latest book, Brian Creasman offers hope to leaders and provides the tools to build endurance and the ability to sustain in the work. Self-care is a leadership strategy that all superintendents need in their arsenal. -- Rob Jackson, superintendent, Carteret County Public Schools, North Carolina
