Otherful

How to Change the World (and Your School) Through Other People

By: Mike Kleba, Ryan O'Hara

Narrated by: Mike Kleba, Ryan O’Hara

What’s the secret to becoming a successful, inspiring school leader? Learning how to unlock and support greatness...in others.

With apologies to the Navy SEALs, professional sports coaches, and Fortune 500 CEOs: Your leadership advice doesn’t always apply to what's going on in education.

Leading at school isn't like leading anywhere else. We should probably stop pretending that it is.

At school, we must serve any and all clients (whether they pay or not), it's nearly impossible to fire our people (we love tenure but there are downsides to everything), and we are often supervised by elected officials (many of whom have never worked a day in our profession).

From an extraordinary partnership between a teacher and an administrator, best-selling Otherful is the easy-to-listen (and laugh-out-loud) book for those who’ve discovered that influence is mightier than control. Research-backed and practitioner-tested, it’s a brilliant resource for in-school PD, administrator leadership classes, and faculty retreats. Otherful reveals an ancient truth of leadership: the most formidable power isn’t force; it’s relationship building.

Otherful will give you the tools to:

• Replace faculty complaining with proactive problem-solving
• Undercut conflict through active listening and tactical reframing
• Do less work, get better results, and be respected more

Don’t be selfless or selfish; be Otherful!

©2020 Mike Kleba and Ryan O'Hara (P)2023 Mike Kleba and Ryan O'Hara

Critic reviews

"Desperately needed in education...Otherful is nonstop takeaways, action plans, and fun with insights that defy the confines of school and will impact your work in any organization." (Greg Rosenbaum, Senior Director of SXSWEDU)

The Perfect Pep Talk!

I've read Otherful by Mike Kleba and Ryan O'Hara a few times. I've purchased multiple copies for my colleagues. I've even led a book study on their leadership principles. It's no secret that this book has influenced me and motivated me to be the best, most human (student)-centered teacher/leader I can be.

Still, there have been times in the last few years where I feel low. The pressures of being an educator are great: under-resourced, overworked, and expected to perform miracles. It's so easy to become cynical and demoralized.

It is in these moments when I need someone to sit with me and tell me that the "kid is more important than the carpet", my job is to understand my students, not fix them, and that I need to trust myself because I will always do what I think is right.

Since I can't call up Kleba and O'Hara, I downloaded this audiobook to listen to on my way into school each morning. It feels even more inspiring listening them talk to me, ground me in what is most important, and give me a pep-talk before the bell rings. They did a fantastic job creating the audio for this book; it feels like a radio drama with music and sound effects to make me feel like they are in the car with me.

Otherful is still one of the most influential resources I've used to improve my craft as an educator. Please download this book and listen to it when you are feeling burned out. It's the perfect pep-talk!

Otherful is a well crafted, insightful, comedic, and thought provoking lifeline for us all!

Otherful is an elegant handbook for anyone looking to improve their leadership skills, or looking to better understand the people in charge. This book gave me so much to consider and work on as a leader in my roles as teacher, parent, friend, coworker, etc., but it also provided insight into the effects that great (and not so great) leaders have had on me. I can think of three reasons someone should pick up this book: to develop as a leader, to help them appreciate the great leadership they have benefitted from, and to (as much as possible) inoculate them from the effects of poor leadership. The truth is that everyone is either currently leading others, being lead by others, or (much more likely) doing both at the same time, and Otherful is a well crafted, insightful, comedic, and thought provoking lifeline for us all!

On the Audiobook production: Otherful is one of the best audiobook performances and overall productions I’ve ever heard! O’Hara and Kleba, both trained actors as well as teachers have an engaging back and forth, sharing the text throughout the book which is punctuated with sound effects and music that turns it into a complete audio experience. The delivery is funny and heartfelt and shines light on great ideas and nuances that I had overlooked in the print edition.
Otherful is written toward school administrators, but any manager, teacher, parent, friend or leader of any kind will most certainly find more than a few nuggets to chew on that might just change your life.
I read the print edition in one sitting, but I used my commute to listen to the audiobook, and it was useful to have some time after each chapter to think about how I have or have not been using each skill and mindset in my life and as a teacher. It can be a lot to digest in one shot because the wisdom, anecdotes and comedy are so streamlined and pithy that they can fly by before you get a chance to really internalize them. It’s definitely a book to keep nearby, and read, reread, or listen to in chunks any time you have a few minutes.