The Listening Leader

The Listening Leader: Creating the Conditions for Equitable School Transformation supports teacher leaders, administrators, and district leaders to creatively tackle complex equity challenges, resulting in lasting change.  With powerful stories and practical tools you’ll learn how to leverage a vital yet often overlooked skill of listening, to transform classrooms into places of opportunity for every student.

Book Reviews:

“This luminous book guides school leaders in developing a school culture of trust, empowerment, and excellence. With compassion and clarity, Safir coaches the hard work of leading and sustaining change—while keeping our focus squarely on equity for every learner.”
—Kathleen Cushman, co-author, Belonging and Becoming: The Power of Social and Emotional Learning in High Schools

“Shane Safir has written a brilliant book. As engaging as it is informative and as revelatory as it is relevant. It is a must read for school leaders and those who aspire to lead.”
—Chris Emdin, associate professor of science education, Teachers College, Columbia University

“Shane’s book is a must read for new leaders as it underscores the often overlooked and under practiced power of listening in leadership. This interactive book offers an alternative and empowering path to creating humanizing spaces in schools and immediately changed the way I interacted with students, teachers, families and community members.”
–Tamara Friedman, assistant principal, Berkeley High School

“At a time when leaders are in search of different approaches to transform schools, we have a new approach. Shane Safir offers a compelling framework on how to engage in listening as an innovative approach to leadership. Through listening in caring, empathetic, and relational ways, the ingredients for equity can become a reality. An excellent read for school leaders. Read, listen, and learn!”
—Tyrone C. Howard, professor and associate dean, University of California Los Angeles

“Equitable school transformation is what is most needed in today’s schools, and The Listening Leader provides the guidance and practical tools for educators to achieve it. Shane Safir pulls on her deep knowledge of academic and professional learning communities in order to provide educators with a special resource that we can all readily use. This book is a ‘must-have’ for anyone seeking to positively transform their learning community.”
—Raquel Topete, Instructional Coach, East Side Union High School District