Personal Theory of Leadership
Personal Theory of Leadership
Alan W. Nealley Jr.
EDEL 580B
June, 1 2006
Introduction: During this last year, as I have pursued my administrative credential, I have been inundated with theories and ideas about how to be a “leader” in a school. The amount of exposure has been immense. The tasks have been numerous and challenging. They have all been undertaken with idea that they would teach me skills and techniques that will be helpful when I attain my first administrative position. That being said, the process of developing a personal theory of leadership has been a yearlong journey with many contributing factors. The governance of a school is not an easy task and many variables need to be considered. This much is clearer to me now.
The purpose of this paper is to help forge strong identity of what issues are important to me as an educational leader. It will also help reveal to me how I will view my role in schools and how I will go about dispatching my duties as an administrator. Most importantly this paper will help identify my “compass” that will keep me on course, as I become a leader in my educational community.
Values: Values are the deep rationales that drive us in life. They shape our actions. Values affect how we perceive the events that surround us. Hyrum Smith states, “Each of us lives his or her life according to a unique set of governing values.” (Smith p 49) These values keep us grounded during times of turmoil and serve as a compass to ensure that we do not lose our way. When a school’s and it’s teacher’s actions are aligned with their values, wonderful things can transpire in a short period of time. When the actions are not aligned with these value systems, turmoil is often the result.
I believe that values are an important factor for educators and schools but they are often overlooked. Failure to address the values of a school can be a major cause of dysfunction in our schools today. Smith explains, “ Even though our governing values are our highest priorities, there often exists a gap between these ideals and our present reality.” (Smith, p 49) The explanation for this is simple. Every school has values. They are normally included in strategic plans and are posted on a wall. We can see them whenever we want to. The problem is that for most teachers, the values fail to attain any meaning. They are posted on the wall and summarily ignored or taken for granted. Problems can arise in two ways from this. The first arises when the values are “covered up” by all the day-to-day activities that take place in a school. The daily routine can push the reflection of the values to the side where they are quickly forgotten. They are never incorporated into the classroom. A second problem occurs when teachers assume that their personal interpretations of the schools values are consistent all over the school. This is not always the case and can lead to disagreements over misunderstanding of interpreted values.
The solution is simple in its nature but harder to implement. The values of the school need to be generated by the faculty and staff of the school. This gives the school “ownership” of the values. They are not imposed from the outside, but come from within and have more meaning. Once the values have been identified, they should be edited and reworded so that they are short, clear statements that are easily remembered. The values should be posted around the school in many conspicuous places so that it is difficult to get away from them. The values should found in all aspects of the school. When observations are being made of faculty in the school, the values should be taken into account. Decisions that are made at the school site should be gauged according to these shared values. The job of the administrators is to make sure that the values are in place and are being referenced continually. They can help facilitate this by “leading by example.” When teachers make decisions they should be asked the following question. “How does this correlate with our core values?” If it becomes apparent that “this is the way that the school works” teachers can fall in line and start using the values as a measuring stick to gauge their everyday practice. I don’t believe these last questions are asked nearly often enough in schools today.
Once the values of the school have been established, and they are in place, they need to be revisited periodically. Schools change, cultures change, faculties change, and it is logical to conclude that values change as well. Revisiting the values can keep them fresh in teacher’s minds and help ensure that they are still “shared” by the entire faculty. If a value is no longer relevant or needs to be changed it can be done in a collective manner so that all can share the new value or meaning.
Although I have my own set of values that I use to govern my life, one value that keeps coming to the surface is excellence. I try to make sure that I, and my students, excel in all of our undertakings. I am competitive in most things in my life. I do not like being “average” in anything. Why strive to be “average?”
I had teachers in the past that pushed me to achieve. I wasn’t happy about it at the time, but I thanked them for it later on. I try to do the same for my students at school. I have been accused, rightfully so, of being a “coach” in the class room and pushing students hard to be the very best they can be. When discussion educational goals I constantly try to think of ways we can excel. I have little doubt this trait is going to carry over into my administrative style. Once again I ask, “Why be average?”
The pursuit of excellence does not come at all costs. Other factors need to be in place in order to balance it out. You do not need to look very far into the media today to see examples of individuals in sports or companies that have broken the rules, or warped the system in order to get an advantage to succeed. This idea of “excellence in all endeavors” needs to be tempered with the values of truth, fairness and integrity as well.
Ultimately the trait that I value the most in schools is learning. If the students are learning, something good is taking place. Care should be taken that the learning is appropriate and close to what is being presented by the classes at the school. Many times in school today the learning that is taking place is not aligned with the goals of the course or the values of a school. I believe that this comes about from teachers that are not actively engaged in learning themselves but are only going through the motions. The solution to this will be addressed later on in my philosophy.
Leadership Style and Theory: School leaders come in a wide variety of types. I don’t believe that any one leadership style has an inherent advantage over others. That being said, certain leadership styles will have an easier time in some situations than others. The key is being able to recognize what type of leader you are and adapting that leadership style to the task at hand so that you optimize your results. Just because you have a certain style does not mean that you can’t use different techniques to improve your results.
The one type of leader that I know I am not is the “Savior on a White Horse.” Although this is a comforting image, I agree with Roland Barth when he states “If there was ever a time when, like John Wayne or Joan of Arc, the principal could save a troubled school by riding in alone on a white horse, those days are certainly over.” (Barth p.84) The job of school leadership has become too large for one person to do it all by themselves. A leader of schools needs to be able to leverage resources in order to be effective. The most valuable resource that a school leader has is the teachers that they lead.
I view myself as a leader that splits time between “telling” what needs to be done and “coaching” faculty on how they can improve. The “telling” part does not mean that I have all the answers for all the problems in a school. That job is for the “guy on the white horse.” The telling comes from keeping an eye on what is occurring at the school and how that relates to the school’s vision. I believe that most teachers are too busy to keep their eye on teaching their students and following the vision full time. It is very easy to focus on the students. I found through the course of this semester that my viewpoint has broadened. I look at the big picture now as much as I focus on the details. This was not a habit as a teacher. In this sense I would serve the faculty by being a “vision keeper.” Part of my job is to make sure that the school is headed in the right direction with all faculty pushing toward the common goal.
The “coaching” aspect comes naturally. I’m a coach at heart. Effective coaches take the team members they have and optimize their performance. They are driven by results. When you’ve done your job as a coach the team achieves more than they thought they were capable of. Coaching first requires building a trust relationship with the individual. Once that is established you can begin to work on improvement. The “art” of change comes in the ability to give the team member the viewpoint necessary to see that change is needed in a non-threatening manner and helping them affect the change necessary.
Another part of my leadership style is building teams. Sports are not the only place where a good team will consistently out perform a group of talented individuals. Teamwork requires a common goal and belief that the goal can be attained. Teams have a common set of values that they share. Interactions on teams are governed by “norms” for behavior and conduct. The norms can be either be stated or implied but they exist and need to be understood if success is desired.
I believe many teachers don’t know how to work together in teams. The conventional pattern of teaching is working in relative isolation in a classroom. The teacher might have periodic contact with other peers in department meetings. The alignment of a course to state standards might provoke some collaboration with other educators but for the most part, once the door to the classroom is closed, the teacher is on their own. Getting teacher to work in collaborative teams requires training. More important it requires a change in “thinking.” This change in thinking starts with the leadership of the school.
When problems arise within the team, it is the obligation of the coach to work with the individual to help correct the problem. Observation of the individual followed by reflection is important. Once the reflection has taken place, the lessons learned need to applied. The goal is to get the teacher to improve, but, if the improvement does not materialize, the documentation created by this process will allow you to try to replace the teacher with another that is better suited for the task. Jim Collins in Good to Great states that it is important to “get the right people on the bus” (pg. 41) You can’t build a great team if you don’t have good dedicated people on the team. In this sense it is important to be sure about teachers that are hired. It is much easier to replace a new teacher that is not working out that to try to fix a teacher that has tenure. To often marginal teachers are given the benefit of the doubt. More administrators should take Jim Collins practical discipline #1 to heart. “When in doubt, don’t hire – keep looking.” (Pg. 54) The overall performance of the team can suffer if you don’t have the conviction to be rigorous in this aspect.
Instructional Leadership: I found this aspect of school leadership surprising and inspiring. I had always viewed school administrators primarily as managers. I seldom saw them in the role as an instructional leader. My naïve view was generated by being “sheltered” as a beginning teacher by working in a department at my high school which functions well. The science program was in place when I started teaching and all I had to do was assimilate the curriculum and craft knowledge of teaching. My student teacher mentor was teaching right next door. Instruction was facilitated by peers in the department through casual conversation and by answering my questions. The administration took care of things like schedules, and discipline and policy. The only time I had contact with administrators concerning curriculum and instruction was a pair of cursory observations with some basic suggestions for ways that I could improve. When the observations occurred they carried the impression of some formality that needed to be endured. Some suggestions were given but no follow up was provided to look for improvement.
During the course of this year I have come to embrace the idea of a school leader being a “learning leader” and the concept of the professional learning community. These ideas stem from work by Roland Barth and Richard Dufour. I firmly believe Roland Barth when he states, “You can’t lead where you won’t go.” If learning is going to be the focus of the school, the administrators need to shoulder the mantle of “learners” and lead by example.
I find this idea very exciting. When a school becomes a learning community and energy begins to build. One of the best things that can take place in a school is to have it’s teachers “remember” the joy of learning. Students perform better because the teachers are impassioned. Students can tell when a teacher is excited about the lesson and what is being taught. When a school values the “learning” instead of the teaching the focus shifts.
Management: The day to day running of a school is the one aspect that will make or break a new administrator. An administrator needs to be able to stay on top of many different tasks at once. Managing all the theories and good intentions in the educational world are worthless, if the school doesn’t have paperclips. Dr. Potter’s wife told us this semester that “You will be hired for your philosophy but will be retained by your management skills.”
Management procedures need to be adopted that allow for an efficient processing of the tasks that are at hand. Some administrators get overly involved with the process and lose track of the purpose behind the task. Keeping the vision of the school in mind will help and administrator put first things first.
As a manager in the schools one of the biggest problems facing school administrators is to maintain funding. Administrators are asked to do provide more programs with less discretionary funding every year. Nothing is more demoralizing to a staff than a never-ending series of budget cuts. Making wise budget decision is crucial to the survival of a school.
As an administrator you will have to understand the sources of your income and categorical funding. There is money available to schools that is not utilized because administrators do not understand what is available and what it can be used to provide. Understanding the budget is just part of the problem. Schools need to ensure that they have other sources of income that can supplement the way that schools are funded. Working with the community to set up endowment funds, foundations etc are crucial to making sure that a school has enough resources to accomplish its goals.
When money does get tight it is helpful to analyze programs for their cost effectiveness. As a leader programs should be also looked at to see how well aligned they are with the school’s vision. From these two factors a prioritized list should be created so that the programs that are most cost effective and support the vision suffer the least amount of disruption.
School resources are not all about money. The community that surrounds a school is another good resource that is often under utilized. The community needs to be invited into the school to see what is occurring so that it can participate. When schools open their doors to the community and work to create climates that are conducive to community participation, the community becomes more involved. In this way the contributions of the community become another asset that make a school stronger.
Another resource that is important for schools are the faculty and staff that run them. Teachers are important without a doubt. They own the traditional contact time with the students while they are in the classroom. Teachers are valuable resources that have many of their talents locked up in the classroom. Teachers can and need to take on a much larger role in the governance of schools. This requires a paradigm shift on the part of teachers. Many teachers are not used to the idea of being a leader in the school. When teachers start to lead as the school moves toward its vision, the level of excellence increases because you now have multiple people on the site that are sweating the details. Many hands make light work.
The classified staff is not as “visible” to the public but is equally important. They need to be treated with respect and fairness. Expectations of the staff need to be in place. These classified people also need to be included with the vision creation of the vision as they are also part of the community that is the school. Care needs to be taken so that the classified employees don’t feel like second class citizens of the school community.
Conclusion: Looking back over the last year, I think I’ve learned a great deal about what it takes to become and effective leader. I’ve witnessed a shift in the way that I look at education today. I often find myself questioning aspects of teaching that I used to take for granted. The answer “why not” has been rising to the surface of my thought process much more frequently. When I hear someone being critical of a practice in a school my immediate response is to question back “What is your solution?” It is done not to put the person on the defensive but to try to pull out ideas for possible solutions to the problems that face schools.
What happens in the future will be dictated at how well I apply what I have learned and how well I learn as I move along the path that I have chosen. It will take all the skill and determination that I can muster as the administration of a school is a demanding job. When I retire I would like to be remembered by the follow epitaph:
Here was a leader that never lost the passion to stop and look at things in a new way in order to achieve excellence. His high standards were tempered by fairness and integrity. Through it all he never lost the ability to laugh at the humor found in each day.
Works Cited
Smith, Hyrum W. 1994. The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management. New York. NY: Warner Books.
Barth, Roland S. 2001. Learning By Heart. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Covey, Stephen R. 1989. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York. NY: Simon & Schuster
Dufour, Richard. 2002 The Learning Principal. Source: Educational v59 n8 p12-15 May 2002
Jim Collins. 2001. Good to Great. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
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