Reflection Log: Week 8 - Final Reflection

One idea that I found particularly interesting from the readings and discussions during the Effective Leadership course is that a leader must be trustworthy in order for people to follow him or her. Before I actually saw it in writing, I never thought that trust played such a pivotal role in leading people. “Trust is a significant factor in successful schools (Tschannen-Moran, 2004).” For some people, they lead by fear or intimidation and that is what makes subordinates follow them. But are the subordinates truly invested if they are only following a leader for fear that they will lose their job?

According to Evans (1996), “We admire leaders who are honest, fair, competent, and forward-looking.” As subordinates, we look to our leaders to direct us and we trust them to lead us in the right direction.  Because that trust is present, we are then willing to put in the extra time and effort to reach our goals. “Even when school leaders work to build a common vision and foster acceptance of group goals, without trust these leaders do not inspire their constituencies to go beyond minimum requirements (Tschannen-Moran, 2004).” In an educational system that is losing more and more funds every year, those within schools have to take on additional responsibilities in order to sustain the school environment.  There is no room in many schools for working to the rule.

As stated by Evans (1996), “Genuineness and effectiveness make a leader authentic, which is a credible resource who inspires trust and confidence, someone worth following into the uncertainties of change.” By no means will the leader always be correct, but when an authentic leader shows a “we are all in this together” attitude, it allows subordinates to feel comfortable taking risks and asking questions when clarification is needed. As a professional teacher, I have witnessed and experienced the effect that not trusting those who are leading you has on a staff member’s self-confidence and on the overall morale of the school. This type of environment causes competition between staff members to determine who the better teacher is and causes attempts to outperform one another as opposed to working collaboratively. Teachers also do not take constructive criticism well and will be highly defensive about what they do in their classroom. They are constantly worried about being judged too hard or unfairly because it is not the exact way a leader might do things. Ultimately, good teachers end up leaving the school and flourishing somewhere else.

As a teacher-leader, I show my teachers that not only have I had to struggle like them, but that I am not so far removed that I cannot bring myself back to where they are. According to Tschannen-Moran (2004), “Trustworthiness had to do with concern for relationships combined with a concern for the task.” I do not tell people to do something without providing them with clear instructions and clear goals and I would not want someone to allow me to stress over something that could have easily been explained. When you are not concerned about how your subordinate gets tasks completed, then it sends a message not caring about the well-being of your people. “To consistently serve as a model of trustworthy leadership, it is important for educational leaders to reflect regularly on their words and actions (Tschannen-Moran, 2004).” Subordinates are watching every move you make and every word you say to observe acts of guidance. Just as I tell the students applying for internships, everyone is watching everything you do. Whether someone is watching you or not, your actions and words should be consistent. Consistency from a leader allows for people to know what to expect and be comfortable with the fact that a different personality shows up every day. I remain the same person I always am no matter what. My teachers know what to expect from me and that they can trust me. They are able to feel comfortable enough to tell me when they are struggling without fear that those same words will show up in an evaluation.

Facilitating the creation or revision of a vision is one of the most challenging concepts I encountered. According to Shipman, Queen, & Peel (2007), “A living vision provides a focus that engenders strategic directions for leading the organization.” All stakeholders must be involved in the development process so that each group has an investment in the vision. Developing a vision takes into account “common causes, interests, goals, aspirations, and direction (Dufour, Dufour, & Eaker, 2008). All creators of the vision should be able to precisely convey what their role will be to contribute towards the success of the school (Shipman et al., 2007). A vision must ensure that all students are included so that a collective effort can be made from all stakeholders. According to Shipman et al. (2007), principals to need to ensure “that all students are being prepared to meet the national and global challenges and possibilities.”

By all means, I do believe that everyone involved in the school should convey the same message and work towards the same goals. The challenging part is coming to a consensus and having agreement with the vision. Knowing that all stakeholders must be represented and have input with the vision creation seems like a daunting task to have to facilitate. It is also very obvious that the process is not something that can be completed in a short period of time. It takes absolute commitment, patience, and diplomacy to truly implement and motivate stakeholders to see the process through to the end. Although, I have not had the experience of participating in the process of creating or revising a vision, our school will tackle the task of revising our vision this school year.

Simply put, effective leadership is showing your subordinates that no matter what titles people have or how many years experience certain people have, everyone should be trying to reach the same goal. An effective leader understands how to lead EVERYONE and not just a small group of like-minded individuals. I thought it would have been easier to have a team of people who think the same, but I have come to realize that type of setup stunts the growth of the team members and ultimately the remaining staff and most importantly the students. Disagreements do not equate to defiance. There is more than one way to complete a task and an effective leader has to be flexible and open-minded to be able to take into account everyone’s opinions that are attempting to be in alignment with school mission or goals.

As far as educational technology is concerned, there has to be mind shift to truly embrace the integration of it throughout a school. Not only is it expensive investment equipment wise, but it also a mental investment. It has to be realized by the whole staff that students cannot graduate and be technologically illiterate in our society. Technology has become such an integral part of our daily lives that it is not something that can be ignored anymore. An effective leader has to find the people and the means that can make things happen even when the school is plagued with a small budget. This is where partnerships and community links play an important role. An effective leader needs to show that not only are we concerned with graduating students, but graduating them with the 21^st century skills they will need to be successful after they leave us for the real world.

Just as with teaching, knowing the ins and outs of becoming an effective leader is not an exact science, but being able to examine and reflect on the responsibilities and actions of successful leaders is half the battle. Actually communicating that message to the subordinates is where the real challenge lies.

Dufour, R., DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting Learning Communities at Work™: New Insights for Improving Schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Evans, R. (1996). The Human Side of School Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Shipman, N. J., Queen, J. A., & Peel, H. A. (2007). Transforming School Leadership with ISLLC and ELCC. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Tschannen-Moran, M. (2004). Trust Matters. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.