The key element that sets the incredibly effective leader apart from everyone else is their commitment to never settle for less than the very best. This internal drive is what fuels the grind and what allows for the seemingly impossible to be done. This drive indicates one thing. It is a daily symbol of the leader's firm recognition that they are unfinished. It is the personification of never being satisfied. It is the commitment to drain every last ounce of talent from our bodies while we have an opportunity to serve.
In The Unfinished Leader: A School Leadership Framework for Growth and Development, PJ, Nick, and Mike leverage decades of school and school system leadership and national and international leadership development and share the what, the how, and the why on the leader's journey. This book highlights the key characteristics of an effective leader: humble, vulnerable, courageous, open-minded, and inclusive and shows how these characteristics mixed with the mindset that personal development is never finished is necessary to achieve the lofty goals required to best support our kids and our communities.
This book asserts that leadership is not an event to be conquered and checked off of a list. Leadership is a journey, and the zenith of our individual journeys is never quite attainable as the very best among us continue to drive forward tirelessly to become better versions of themselves. This book is a guidepost to help leaders understand they are works in progress and to help create a vision for their individual futures.
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Dr. Michael Lubelfeld has served as a public school superintendent in Illinois since 2010 and currently leads North Shore School District 112, serving the communities of Highland Park and Highwood, IL, just north of Chicago. A nationally recognized educational leader, Dr. Lubelfeld is deeply engaged in leadership development and professional growth, collaborating with state and national associations to inspire the next generation of educational leaders.
A sought-after speaker, he has presented across the United States and internationally on topics including leadership, student voice, global service learning, and innovative educational practices. Dr. Lubelfeld has co-authored several influential books, including The Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow's Schools (2017), Student Voice: From Invisible to Invaluable (2018), The Unfinished Leader: A School Leadership Framework for Growth & Development (2021), and The Unfinished Teacher: Becoming the Next Version of Yourself (2024). His latest work, Leading for Tomorrow's Schools Today, is currently in publication and will be released this year.
Dr. Lubelfeld's leadership has been recognized with multiple awards, including 2025 Rotary Service Above Self Award, the 2021 Administration and Supervision Distinguished Alumni Award from the Loyola University of Chicago School of Education, and the 2017 Lake County Superintendent of the Year Award. In addition, he was recently accepted into the 2025 ISTE-ASCD Generation AI Fellowship, and he was selected for the 2025-2026 Google-GSV Fellowship. In 2025, he was also named as one of the top 100 Influencers in education, and he received the Delta Award for innovation from the Illinois Educational Technology Leaders (IETL).
Mike and his wife, Stephanie, have two children and live in suburban Chicago, where he continues to champion educational excellence and leadership development.