In the North Middlesex Regional School District, located in north central Massachusetts near the New Hampshire border, teachers knew that the district had urgent challenges. Isolated programs provided rigor to only some students, student achievement scores showed room for improvement, and a recent accreditation review had raised questions about…

In an interview, business professor Jane Dutton talks about her book, "Energize Your Workplace: How to Create and Sustain High-Quality Connections at Work" (Jossey-Bass, 2003). She organized her book around what she describes as a "deceptively simple" premise: "The energy and vitality of individuals and organizations alike depends on the quality…