MESSY Leadership with Alyssa Gallagher

This is Season 5, Episode 16 of FocusED, and it features our guest, Alyssa Gallagher; we discuss the meaning of MESSY leadership, myths about readiness for a role, the need for coaching for all leaders…and so much more.

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Alyssa Gallagher Brings a Tons of Experience to FocusED Listeners

Alyssa Gallagher is the Head of BTS Spark. America, an education author, leader, and speaker. She has twenty years of experience in the public education sector serving as a teacher, principal and most recently an assistant superintendent.

In addition to co-authoring MESSY Leadership for School Leaders, Alyssa has also co-authored two books on Design Thinking for leaders. Alyssa enjoys working with leaders to design strategies that leverage the capability, creativity and intelligence of everyone on their team.

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FocusED Show Notes with Alyssa Gallagher

Leadership isn’t about showing up to feel good. ~ Alyssa Gallagher

Alyssa tells us that MESSY is an acronym that comes from more than 20 thousand experiences coaching school leaders to uncover and unpack their biggest troubles.

The book not only discusses the concept of “messy” school leadership but also provides leaders with tools on how to deal with an ever-changing environment.

Each letter in the MESSY acronym represents a shift in the way that school leaders need to think. We loved that part of the conversation given our book 7 Mindshifts for School Leaders.

Don’t miss what Alyssa says about what leaders are doing that used to work but doesn’t anymore.

She talks about underlying beliefs that are false about leadership, including the notion that we should just work harder…showing up first and leaving last.

She’s insightful about the strategic planning process being a “straight-jacket.” Leaders need to be much more nimble than a 3-5 year plan.

Joe asks Alyssa about how she coaches school leaders to work within uncertainty. Her company has certified coaches who do this work.

Key takeaway: The truth about uncertainty is that when there are times of stability, we can be clear that uncertainty is on its way.

One thing that she talked about that matters for all school leaders is planning for multiple scenarios and all possible outcomes.

We asked Alyssa to talk more about coaching structures and normalizing leadership coaching. We agreed that all school leaders need an affordable and accessible coach. Pay attention to her flexible one-on-one coaching process, which starts with a match-making procedure.

She mentions personalized coaching as well as small group coaching for like-minded leaders.

We talked about demystifying the “job-ready” leader philosophy that’s impractical and basically untrue. We need to do more to ensure that school leaders have growth opportunities on day one of the job.

Don’t miss what Alyssa says about her love of learning, her own coach, her mastermind group, and seeking out new ways to grow.

Alyssa mentions her relationship with books. She looks for inspiration in authors, including Liz Wiseman and Jane McGonigal.