Responding to Resistance

“In this easy-to-read text, Bill Sommers, a veteran administrator and voracious reader, has captured thirty key ideas around responding to resistance. It includes vignettes readers will relate to and strategies that will both affirm and stretch. Sommers summarizes key ideas on how to work with resistance that all educators need to know. Great reminders!”

“I can imagine no other time in the last fifty years when educators could benefit more from a book that enables them to understand and facilitate conflict. Fortunately, we have long-time respected educator Bill Sommers to support our journey in studying and gaining new perspectives and approaches to conflict resolution. Educators will revisit this book throughout their careers when they need new strategies to support their efforts.”

“Skillful leaders tap into a wide array of tactics and strategies to face change and its cousin, resistance, in their daily work. When equipped with the right tools and enough of them, leaders can turn the distress of resistance into opportunities for learning. Whether experienced in leadership or just starting, the approaches Sommers shares will easily fill a leader’s toolbox with both tried-and-true tools and new ones to update and refresh it.”

“Dealing successfully with different kinds of conflict has become a survival skill for all educators today. Bill Sommers has written an invaluable how-to book that is a must-read for every school and district leader.”

“As author of this book, Dr. Bill Sommers has a lot going for him. As an educational leader, he draws on vast personal experiences; as an avid reader, he builds support for his ideas from other leading authorities; and as a writer, he communicates his knowledge with clarity and practicality. This treasure should be within easy reach on the desk of every school administrator. Administering a school is a life of conflicts. This book provides numerous user-friendly examples about how to respond to those conflicts with a sense of justice, dignity, learning, and love.”

“Bill Sommers has merged his tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience as a school leader with empirical research from both education and business to produce an amazing resource of practical strategies, helpful hints, relatable case studies, and applicable models. Once again, Bill has provided aspiring, new, and veteran school leaders with a robust compendium of examples of how to manage the complexities around everyday conflict and resistance that can challenge and sometimes derail even the most talented and committed educational leaders. Bill has crafted a recipe for success!”

“As I read through this masterful work by Dr. Sommers, I could think of a scenario for every one of his examples that I could have handled more effectively if I had only had read this at the beginning of my career. I have taken copious notes and plan to reference these strategies as I move forward. Whether you’re just getting started or a veteran leader, this book should be on your desk!”

“Bill Sommers is the wise sage we all need in our lives. The skills, strategies, and insights he shares will profoundly change the lives of school leaders on a daily basis. Conflict will always be present in leadership. This text will equip you to manage it in the most skillful ways. This is a must-read for all leaders.”