Share and Share Alike

At a school, the principal has to feel confident enough to release the controls and allow members of the staff to focus on areas of expertise and strength. There are lots of terms related to distributing.

It is not a secret that I have little understanding of the monarchical system of leadership at my school.

On the surface it looks as if there is a distribution of power but there isn't. There is one-way communication that informs the "subjects" of the demands. There is no flexibility.

If distributed leadership was used at my current school, student achievement would never come into question. In July, a new director of curriculum and instruction, a literacy coordinator, and I, the EL Specialist, were hired. In a distributive leadership model, each of us would still report to the head of school however, we would have targeted areas of supervision. We could even model and practice distributive leadership among the people we supervise. Under this model we could ensure that teachers would receive the appropriate level of support, as opposed to what happens now... no one is provided with support, professional development, or capacity building appropriate to their experience and knowledge level.

You Can't Lead If No One Follows

It has taken quite a bit of time to get this blog post written. Mostly because I am still unclear as to what my leadership style is, let alone try and figure out what leadership theory best explains my leadership style.

“... the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” --- Ralph Nader

In the mid 80's I worked for an organization that had every member take the Briggs - Myers assessment.  I wish I could remember what the profile was but along with the profile I was labeled Assertive/ Aggressive personality type.  It has taken many years to learn to be less aggressive and more assertive, but I think I have accomplished the balance.

Since then, in my professional and personal life I have worked from leading through positive example.  In the classroom, as well as out of the classroom, I have attempted to cultivate team environments so that both teachers and colleagues can reach maximum potential.

In 2007 the principal at the high school I worked at brought a consultant to the school and we were given the Briggs - Myers assessment.  I'm sure the one in the 80's and the one a few years ago were different but not by much.   The StrengthsFInder 2.0 places me in the same top two categories as it did in the late90's: Input and Intellection. Finally, Prentice Hall "What's my leadership style?"  places me at high people oriented and high task oriented. Align the numbers to the Blake and Mouton Leadership Grid, and you find the Team Leader quadrant.  

So, perhaps I am closes to transformational?  

Using the five forces of leadership matrix, I find that I have strong tendencies in each of the forces. The power behind teacher leaders is to help facilitate a change or preserve a change in the school culture.  At my current school, that won't be the case.  My head of schools believes in "management by walking around" (her words).  That's what she says but she really manages/ leads by intimidation and fear.  It is her policy that if you see or hear something that goes against what she believes then it is your responsibility to tell her right away. If you don't and she finds out, then she will hold it against you. At a recent meeting the consultant told the group "if you want to meet your life goals just align your goals to the head of schools, and you'll be fine."