Chapter 23 begins with a quote from Seymour Fleigel saying "There are more vacancies for principals and a greater dearth of qualified candidates than I've seen in the last forty years."
Then chapter 26 begins with an Einstein quote "We cannot solve the problems we've created with the same thinking that created them."
Einstein's quote sums up the problem Fleigel was talking about. In my opinion, we continue to see the same problems within education because of the unwillingness to change the way things are done. If you have Dr Lindle's class on Wednesday nights, you've heard he say that for the most part, public schools look the same today as they did twenty, thirty or forty years ago. (probably even further back) Anyway, we aren't willing to change the way we address problems within our public schools because there are too many in leadership positions who shoot down innovation because of their attitudes of complacency and their unwillingness to adjust to a new generation of students.
We need to evolve as leaders and be willing to try new ideas within our schools and ignore the criticism that comes with the territory of trying something new.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Research Interest
One thing I'm finding out about myself is how little I actually know about a topic I thought I was an expert in about a year and a half ago. I guess my arrogance got the best of me, but I figured that since I worked in public education that I was an expert on NCLB. Well, some of you will not be surprised by this, I'm an idiot. NCLB is not a simple policy and I still know very little about the policy.
My research interest has shifted from a broad topic about NCLB and it's effect on public schools in SC to more about how educational leaders are involved in the process of policy development. For those of you who know Dr Brewer, I actually came up with this on my own before I even talked to him about it. Anyway, as you may have noticed during our class discussions, I tend to focus on political leadership and how it applies to education.
Well, foolishly, I decided to do my final paper on political leadership theory and found very little literature about this individual theory. I found myself attempting to create my own definition of Political Leadership Theory based on what had been said in class and by taking information from Discursive Theory and applying it to what political scientists have said about leadership. I only wish that I could've devoted more time to this paper because I get the feeling this is more of a reflection on what the lit review for the dissertation will be like. I was trying to take literature from various different subjects and create something a little bit different. But with prelims and everything else going on, I was not able to really dive in and do as good of a job as I would've wanted to do. I guess that might be a little brutally honest, but I hope Dr K doesn't hold it against me when grading the final paper.
My research interest has shifted from a broad topic about NCLB and it's effect on public schools in SC to more about how educational leaders are involved in the process of policy development. For those of you who know Dr Brewer, I actually came up with this on my own before I even talked to him about it. Anyway, as you may have noticed during our class discussions, I tend to focus on political leadership and how it applies to education.
Well, foolishly, I decided to do my final paper on political leadership theory and found very little literature about this individual theory. I found myself attempting to create my own definition of Political Leadership Theory based on what had been said in class and by taking information from Discursive Theory and applying it to what political scientists have said about leadership. I only wish that I could've devoted more time to this paper because I get the feeling this is more of a reflection on what the lit review for the dissertation will be like. I was trying to take literature from various different subjects and create something a little bit different. But with prelims and everything else going on, I was not able to really dive in and do as good of a job as I would've wanted to do. I guess that might be a little brutally honest, but I hope Dr K doesn't hold it against me when grading the final paper.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Some random thoughts on leadership
As a first year assistant principal, I have really done some reflecting on my own leadership style. I've written my first two lit reviews on Transformational and Situational Leadership. Clearly, any building level administrator has to be a situational leader to be successful and in theory, transformational leadership should be successful. But, it's so weird being a first year administrator, because I don't feel like I've built enough trust within the faculty to chase after any old change that I think would be beneficial for our school.
The principal has asked me to be the site coordinator for our Making Middle Grades Work school improvement initiative. At times, as a leadership group, we've received quite a bit of kickback from the faculty whenever we ask them to analyze what they've been doing and try something new even when suggestions are very minor changes. Sometimes, I wonder if we are only sensing the negativity because the "new guy" is the one that's been placed in charge of the MMGW initiative. It's just a different dynamic when you're a first year administrator. It's definitely a tough thing trying to quickly build the trust among the faculty during the first few weeks of school, but the important thing I've discovered is that any time I bring up a change or something new I have to always make it about one thing--the students. Focusing on the students makes any changes easier, no matter what leadership style I am.
The principal has asked me to be the site coordinator for our Making Middle Grades Work school improvement initiative. At times, as a leadership group, we've received quite a bit of kickback from the faculty whenever we ask them to analyze what they've been doing and try something new even when suggestions are very minor changes. Sometimes, I wonder if we are only sensing the negativity because the "new guy" is the one that's been placed in charge of the MMGW initiative. It's just a different dynamic when you're a first year administrator. It's definitely a tough thing trying to quickly build the trust among the faculty during the first few weeks of school, but the important thing I've discovered is that any time I bring up a change or something new I have to always make it about one thing--the students. Focusing on the students makes any changes easier, no matter what leadership style I am.
Monday, October 26, 2009
8 Symbolic Roles of Leadership
Not only do school leaders face the need to utilize differing leadership styles. They also have different roles to fill as noted below. I really like the way the authors describe these 8 symbolic roles of leadership. It really takes some self-assessment on how well I adapt to these roles in my role as an assistant principal.
Historian
No leader can be successful without knowing the history of whatever organization they are leading. In a school, the principal must take an interest in gaining an adequate understanding of what is important to the staff, students, and community of the school.
Anthropoligical Sleuth
A good teacher begins understanding the little immature jokes and intricacies of his/her students. A good coach does the same for his/her team. The same is true for an effective principal. You have to be aware of the underlying culture of the school. What's going on in the hallways? Where are the fires that need to be put out? Who needs a pat on the back?
Visionary
Everything about being a decent leader has something about being a visionary leader. The principal sets the tone for the school. Teachers set the tone for their classroom. Coaches set the tone for their teams. Northouse says that to be an effective leader, one must be able to create a vision, articulate the vision, and implement the vision.
Symbol
Everything a leader does is scrutinized and talked about...probably more than it should be. For a perfect example, look at Barack Obama. Everything he does is on the news. Well, on a smaller scale, an educational leader is the same way. In a school, everything the principal does is talked about in the teacher's lounge. Any leader must be aware of how they are watched and understand the importance of portraying the image they intend to.
Potter
This is so important for an educational leader. In Good to Great, Jim Collins states the imortance of getting the right people on the bus. It's essentially the same concept that Deal and Peterson are talking about here. The leader must mold the staff members they have into a productive staff that buys into what the leader is trying to do. In a school setting, many believe that the principal's most important task is hiring the best teachers possible. This is the principal's way of molding the staff into the group of people that can have the best impact on the students.
Poet
Any leader must have the ability to communicate. One cannot lead effectively if they are a poor communicator. In education, this ability is so essential because we are all in the business of communicating.
Actor
Again, schools are such integral parts of communities, the leaders are the main actors. We had a terrible tragedy over the weekend where I work that affected the entire community. While I did not know the student who was injured or the mother who was killed in the accident, I was still expected to know all of the details about what happened and to have an opinion about what happened. I feel as a leader in my school community that it's so important to show compassion in situations like this because we are all affected. The principal at the high school is so good at filling this role. He always portrays the perfect caring attitude for every situation he's faced with.
Healer
School leaders must have the ability to monitor and adjust as different situations present themselves. We are constantly faced with change and transition in schools and the leader must set the tone for how these changes are handled.
Historian
No leader can be successful without knowing the history of whatever organization they are leading. In a school, the principal must take an interest in gaining an adequate understanding of what is important to the staff, students, and community of the school.
Anthropoligical Sleuth
A good teacher begins understanding the little immature jokes and intricacies of his/her students. A good coach does the same for his/her team. The same is true for an effective principal. You have to be aware of the underlying culture of the school. What's going on in the hallways? Where are the fires that need to be put out? Who needs a pat on the back?
Visionary
Everything about being a decent leader has something about being a visionary leader. The principal sets the tone for the school. Teachers set the tone for their classroom. Coaches set the tone for their teams. Northouse says that to be an effective leader, one must be able to create a vision, articulate the vision, and implement the vision.
Symbol
Everything a leader does is scrutinized and talked about...probably more than it should be. For a perfect example, look at Barack Obama. Everything he does is on the news. Well, on a smaller scale, an educational leader is the same way. In a school, everything the principal does is talked about in the teacher's lounge. Any leader must be aware of how they are watched and understand the importance of portraying the image they intend to.
Potter
This is so important for an educational leader. In Good to Great, Jim Collins states the imortance of getting the right people on the bus. It's essentially the same concept that Deal and Peterson are talking about here. The leader must mold the staff members they have into a productive staff that buys into what the leader is trying to do. In a school setting, many believe that the principal's most important task is hiring the best teachers possible. This is the principal's way of molding the staff into the group of people that can have the best impact on the students.
Poet
Any leader must have the ability to communicate. One cannot lead effectively if they are a poor communicator. In education, this ability is so essential because we are all in the business of communicating.
Actor
Again, schools are such integral parts of communities, the leaders are the main actors. We had a terrible tragedy over the weekend where I work that affected the entire community. While I did not know the student who was injured or the mother who was killed in the accident, I was still expected to know all of the details about what happened and to have an opinion about what happened. I feel as a leader in my school community that it's so important to show compassion in situations like this because we are all affected. The principal at the high school is so good at filling this role. He always portrays the perfect caring attitude for every situation he's faced with.
Healer
School leaders must have the ability to monitor and adjust as different situations present themselves. We are constantly faced with change and transition in schools and the leader must set the tone for how these changes are handled.
Monday, October 19, 2009
pg 171-172
How do these leadership styles help or hurt the change process?
Coercive--this style of leadership can be very harmful to the change process. Not many people enjoy being told what they're going to do and how they're going to do it. This should be used as a last resort during the change process. There comes a point in the process where the leader does have to put their foot down and say "This is what we're doing and you are going to have to follow directions..." The coercive style of leadership should only be used when necessary.
Authoritative--the authoritative leader can be very successful when implementing change. This person can produce change because of the ability to mobilize everyone toward a vision. These types of leaders are important to achieving any goal because they can bring the "stragglers" along with the vision and get the folks who are on the fence to be a part of the change.
Affiliative--this type of leader is also important when trying to facilitate change. The affiliative leader is so important to any leadership team because they will remind the other leaders to keep the feelings of the other people in mind. In a public school, change cannot done effectively if teachers do not feel a connection or see the importance of whatever change is being implemented.
Democratic--the democratic leader can be effective, but I think the democratic leader has to be very cafeful when trying to achieve consensus. Sometimes, the democratic leader gets to caught up in trying to please everyone that nothing gets accomplished. However, the democratic leader is usually good at producing "buy-in" throughout the group because people feel part of the decision making process.
Pacesetting--the pacesetter better learn to slow down and let things happen or this type of leader will burn the people around them out. While high expectations are very important, especially in education, trying to push people too quickly to accomplish too many things will not produce the desired result.
Coaching--this type of leader is valuable when trying to maintain a culture of change because this person will train the next generation of leaders to be ready for what's coming up in the future. The coach is always looking to the future and trying to train up others to get ready and step into leadership positions for sustained improvement within any organization.
When would you use each style in your work setting?
Coercive--this is necessary when staff members are unwilling to participate in the vision as a last resort. I also see myself using this style of leadership when dealing with student discipline issues from time to time.
Authoritative--I see myself floating between authoritative and affiliative leadership most of all while at my school. For me to be effective, I have to have the ability to mobilize teachers toward a common goal.
Affiliative--While having the ability to mobilize teachers toward a common goal is important, I need to constantly remember to "Put people first" like the book says affiliative leaders do. Educators are in the people business and if we ever forget that, then we're not doing our job. Whether its students, teachers, parents or whomever walks into our school, as educational leaders, it is our job to make sure that whoever walks into our school feels important.
Democratic--This is necessary in a school setting, but it can also be a dangerous place to live, especially in larger schools. It is virtually impossible to to please everyone, but it is still necessary to attempt to build consensus when making any important decision within a school. You will not be successful as a leader if teachers feel they are constantly being told what to do without any input.
Pacesetting--This is part of any leader's job. Setting the pace, but it's important to remember to not move along too quickly.
Coaching--Any effective leader is always looking to coach up new leaders. It is so important to constantly be looking to identify other teachers in the building to help out with leadership tasks.
Coercive--this style of leadership can be very harmful to the change process. Not many people enjoy being told what they're going to do and how they're going to do it. This should be used as a last resort during the change process. There comes a point in the process where the leader does have to put their foot down and say "This is what we're doing and you are going to have to follow directions..." The coercive style of leadership should only be used when necessary.
Authoritative--the authoritative leader can be very successful when implementing change. This person can produce change because of the ability to mobilize everyone toward a vision. These types of leaders are important to achieving any goal because they can bring the "stragglers" along with the vision and get the folks who are on the fence to be a part of the change.
Affiliative--this type of leader is also important when trying to facilitate change. The affiliative leader is so important to any leadership team because they will remind the other leaders to keep the feelings of the other people in mind. In a public school, change cannot done effectively if teachers do not feel a connection or see the importance of whatever change is being implemented.
Democratic--the democratic leader can be effective, but I think the democratic leader has to be very cafeful when trying to achieve consensus. Sometimes, the democratic leader gets to caught up in trying to please everyone that nothing gets accomplished. However, the democratic leader is usually good at producing "buy-in" throughout the group because people feel part of the decision making process.
Pacesetting--the pacesetter better learn to slow down and let things happen or this type of leader will burn the people around them out. While high expectations are very important, especially in education, trying to push people too quickly to accomplish too many things will not produce the desired result.
Coaching--this type of leader is valuable when trying to maintain a culture of change because this person will train the next generation of leaders to be ready for what's coming up in the future. The coach is always looking to the future and trying to train up others to get ready and step into leadership positions for sustained improvement within any organization.
When would you use each style in your work setting?
Coercive--this is necessary when staff members are unwilling to participate in the vision as a last resort. I also see myself using this style of leadership when dealing with student discipline issues from time to time.
Authoritative--I see myself floating between authoritative and affiliative leadership most of all while at my school. For me to be effective, I have to have the ability to mobilize teachers toward a common goal.
Affiliative--While having the ability to mobilize teachers toward a common goal is important, I need to constantly remember to "Put people first" like the book says affiliative leaders do. Educators are in the people business and if we ever forget that, then we're not doing our job. Whether its students, teachers, parents or whomever walks into our school, as educational leaders, it is our job to make sure that whoever walks into our school feels important.
Democratic--This is necessary in a school setting, but it can also be a dangerous place to live, especially in larger schools. It is virtually impossible to to please everyone, but it is still necessary to attempt to build consensus when making any important decision within a school. You will not be successful as a leader if teachers feel they are constantly being told what to do without any input.
Pacesetting--This is part of any leader's job. Setting the pace, but it's important to remember to not move along too quickly.
Coaching--Any effective leader is always looking to coach up new leaders. It is so important to constantly be looking to identify other teachers in the building to help out with leadership tasks.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
pg 146
How do I define my role as a leader?
Marzano (2005) stated that “an effective school leader must attend to the needs of teachers and provide personal attention to individual staff members...communicate high expections and provide a model for teachers.” I think this is an excellent definition for my professional role as an instructional leader in my school.
What inspires best in staff?
I would answer this with communication, trust, and support. A staff must feel cared about and must feel informed about what the goals and vision of the organization are. I think the staff must feel apart of the the vision and goal setting process. As leaders, like I said last week, we need buy-in and not compliance. We want them to understand what we're doing and where we're going and WHY we're doing it.
What are my strengths?
I'm assuming we're supposed to answer this about ourselves. I always hate answering this question. I'm good at team-building and working within a group. I'm good at bringing people together to accomplish a common goal. I am good at taking data and analyzing an oraganizations strengths and weaknesses. I'm a pretty good communicator but I'm not always the best communicator when it comes to confrontation. Sometimes, I sugarcaot too much when I'm upset about something rather than just saying what needs to be said. I'm aware of this and doing my best to work on it though.
Marzano (2005) stated that “an effective school leader must attend to the needs of teachers and provide personal attention to individual staff members...communicate high expections and provide a model for teachers.” I think this is an excellent definition for my professional role as an instructional leader in my school.
What inspires best in staff?
I would answer this with communication, trust, and support. A staff must feel cared about and must feel informed about what the goals and vision of the organization are. I think the staff must feel apart of the the vision and goal setting process. As leaders, like I said last week, we need buy-in and not compliance. We want them to understand what we're doing and where we're going and WHY we're doing it.
What are my strengths?
I'm assuming we're supposed to answer this about ourselves. I always hate answering this question. I'm good at team-building and working within a group. I'm good at bringing people together to accomplish a common goal. I am good at taking data and analyzing an oraganizations strengths and weaknesses. I'm a pretty good communicator but I'm not always the best communicator when it comes to confrontation. Sometimes, I sugarcaot too much when I'm upset about something rather than just saying what needs to be said. I'm aware of this and doing my best to work on it though.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
busy
By the way, I hope you realize how busy I've been lately. I just posted to my blog on 8:50 the day of a Clemson home football game. What have I turned into?
I will go ahead and apologize ahead of time if what I posted made no sense.
I will go ahead and apologize ahead of time if what I posted made no sense.
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