No more unproductive meetings! The complete guide to getting the most out of every gathering of educators.

Do your meetings spiral angrily out of control? Or simply not make the most of the participants' talents? Lemons to Lemonade by Robert J. Garmston and Diane P. Zimmerman is the playbook you need to promote civil, productive discourse, detailing:

• How to prepare yourself to facilitate the discussion and keep it on task
• Best practices for squashing conflict without wounding pride
• Methods for dealing with "frowners," "interrupters," "subject-changers," "humorists," and other time-waster types

With this book, you will never waste another opportunity for problems to get solved by the combined powers of capable minds.

"Garmston and Zimmerman have written a book that is the perfect blending of theory and research with very practical, user-ready techniques for facilitating meetings AND for dealing with specific challenges. I would LOVE to see this kind of training offered for administrators!"
-David Chojnacki, Executive Director
Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools

About the Author
Robert J. Garmston is Emeritus Professor of Educational Administration at California State University, Sacramento. He is co-developer of Cognitive Coaching with Art Costa and co-developer of Adaptive Schools with Bruce Wellman. He has worked as an educational consultant and made presentations and conducted workshops for teachers, administrators, and staff developers on leadership, learning, and personal and organizational development in twenty-four countries on five continents. Formerly an administrator and teacher in Saudi Arabia and the United States, his work has been translated into Arabic, Dutch, Hebrew, Italian, and Spanish. Bob lives in El Dorado Hills, California, near his five children and five (bright and cute) grandchildren. DIANE P. ZIMMERMAN, Ph.D. is a writer and consultant focusing on entrepreneurial learning and schools that make a difference. She obtained her Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Development from the Fielding Graduate Institute. She recently retired as a superintendent of schools after a 36-year career in education that was rich in leadership, facilitation and conflict management. Trained originally as a speech therapist, Diane worked early in her career as a teacher, speech therapist, program manager, and Assistant Director of Special Education in Fairfield, California. She subsequently became a principal in Davis, California and served consecutively in two schools over 13 years before being promoted to Assistant Superintendent for Personnel. In 2002, she began a nine-year journey as a superintendent of Old Adobe School Union School District, a small suburban elementary school district in Petaluma, California. She prides herself in moving the district's teachers from contentious union interactions to cooperative collaborations as productive, interest-based educators who collectively set the highest standards possible for their school district. Diane has been an active in professional development all of her career. While obtaining her administrative credential, Diane was assigned to Bob Garmston as her intern coach. This early career interaction turned into a life-long intellectual partnership and Diane joined the Cognitive Coaching consulting consortium founded by Bob Garmston and Art Costa. Diane has taught in administrative training programs at several northern California universities and over the past 20 years has written and consulted in the areas of Cognitive Coaching, teacher supervision and evaluation, facilitation, stages of adult development, assessment of leadership skills, and constructivist leadership. Leadership and mediation of conflict has always been a part of Diane's life. She was encouraged to assume leadership roles throughout her career, from early work supervising in a family restaurant business, to her first teaching job in a new special education program, through her years as a principal. Throughout her career, she has been involved in handling divergent opinions and mediating conflict. She gained a substantive reputation as the "in house" expert in facilitation and her staff valued her ability to create learning communities long before "professional learning communities" were popularized

Reviews
"Reading Lemons to Lemonade is like having an expert at your side for every human occasion. Brilliantly to the point, Garmston and Zimmerman anticipate and deal with every issue imaginable when it comes to working with groups. Cycling in and out of principles and practical solutions (including providing sample responses) the authors have provided a succinct and comprehensive guide for becoming experts at working with people in all situations."
-- Michael Fullan, OC Professor Emeritus
"Garmston and Zimmerman have written a book that is the perfect blending of theory and research with very practical, user-ready techniques for facilitating meetings AND for dealing with specific challenges. In particular, I appreciated the focus on reflection, the notion of the levels of expertise, and the many concrete examples of specific facilitating challenges. I would LOVE to see this kind of training offered for administrators!" -- David Chojnacki, Executive Director
"Given that there is continuing turnover in educational leadership, it seems critical that effective practices be revived and renewed in order to sustain their impact. This book addresses that need not by simply reintegrating, but by refining and amplifying effective practices. More importantly the purpose of this book is to further the effectiveness of those 'being led,' and the interventions offer clear and powerful guidance for leaders wishing to amplify collective thinking power of a group." -- Mark Cary, Retired Principal
"This book's major strengths include: its focus on an area that needs much support, its use of cognitive coaching as the basis for strategies and techniques, and the focus on strategies and minimizing theoretical ideas." -- Dr. John F. Eller, Professor
"Before I opened this book, I tried to predict what I would find based on the authors' prior writings. Here's what I thought: The book will offer sage yet practical advice in response to common challenges faced by school leaders. It will offer specific and transferable processes and strategies to enhance individual and collective performance. It will be enjoyable to read.

Indeed, that is just what I found. I predict that you will too!" -- Jay McTighe, Educational Consultant
"I thought this was great! I got so many good ideas to help me become a better facilitator." -- Robbie Schranz, Literacy Coach
"Anyone who is in the position of facilitating team meetings will find Lemons to Lemonade: Resolving Problems in Meetings, Workshops, and PLCs, an incredibly useful resource. Authors Robert J. Garmston (co-founder of the Center for Cognitive Coaching) and Diane P. Zimmerman (a teacher, principal, superintendent and leadership trainer) share strategies and protocols for managing 'the unexpected occurrences that crop up when groups of people work together.' They seek to help readers use these events 'to build group cohesion, productivity, and learning.'

The strategies shared in Lemons to Lemonade help facilitators understand the needs of particular groups and address specific group dynamics in order to ensure collaborative efforts are fruitful and enjoyable for participants."
-- Lyn Hilt, Elementary Instructional Technology Integrator/Coach



Book Information
ISBN 9781452261010
Author Robert John Garmston
Format Paperback
Page Count 200
Imprint Corwin Press Inc
Publisher SAGE Publications Inc
Weight(grams) 260g