Assignment #2

By: Diana Wilkes Leadership Essay: The need for a unique and evolving blend of leadership PROF540-13C, Professional Learning and Development Waikato University

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. ~ John F. Kennedy I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. ~Ralph Nader A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. ~Douglas MacArthur If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. ~John Quincy Adam

Professor: Jane Barnett

Word Count- 2546

September 27, 2013

WILKES, Leadership Essay, Assignment #2 Introduction Current trends in leadership paradigms indicate that school leadership is facing many challenges. Kiwi Leadership for Principals (2008) indicates that schools have to respond to different and greater challenges than ever before. The principals who lead our schools need to have the personal and professional qualities, knowledge and leadership skills required to meet these challenges.(p. 9). Sustaining leadership leads to sustained school improvement and this process demands that principals: set a vision that all students will be successful; establish a climate and culture of respect; focus their time on instruction; manage the building to support instruction; and monitor and evaluate continually (Chenoweth & Theokas, 2012). As leaders navigate the shift from managing systems to leading the learning in their community, the requisite for a contextualized blend of leadership becomes apparent. While principals have been required to autonomously craft a leadership style that amalgamates the hangover from the competitive Tomorrows Schools model with cultivating an effective learning culture, teacher leaders, facilitators and student leaders are also developing their leadership niche. The metamorphosis from transactional leadership to more a transformational approach has empowered those in leadership roles to employ the principles of a variety of leadership styles including distributed leadership, instructional leadership, adaptive leadership and pedagogical leadership. Bolstad and Gilbert (2012) explain that different types of leadership and different leadership models are needed so that the system can learn from what works when, and know when it is necessary to switch approaches and start building capacity in different ways.(p. 47). Therefore, leaders need intimate knowledge of many leadership styles to meet fluctuating contexts. The concept of ako- teacher as learner-learner as teacher (Robertson, 2011) is an essential layer of 21st century leadership. We know from the sociocultural learning theory of leadership that we cannot distinguish leadership practice from leadership learning. Empowering relationships, patterns of leadership distribution and leadership for the improvement of teaching and learning are three important threads that must be woven into the fabric of leadership: educational leadership is not about the position one holds, but rather the actions taken to improve opportunities for learning (Robertson, 2005, p. 40). The conditions for a healthy ecosystem of leadership are diverse because of the changing nature of the school leadership landscape and the inherent challenges that result from a flexible, fit for purpose approach. This paper explores how principals who: shift from transactional to transformational and instructional leadership; enable and mentor aspiring leaders; partner with the temporary leadership of a facilitator; and embrace the challenge of leading learning with a future focus can ultimately strengthen their learning communities.

WILKES, Leadership Essay, Assignment #2 Transactional-Transformational-Instructional Leadership Principals who have shifted from transactional to transformational and instructional leadership have strengthened their learning communities by enacting a more inclusive, flexible, people and learning focused approach. Their shared leadership and emphasis on capacity building engages stakeholders in meaningful involvement. Robertson (2005) emphasizes that the word leadership signals the energy, incentive, and collective action required for change to transpire and that the word leadership itself signifies transformative practice. Kiwi Leadership for Principals (2009) suggests that New Zealand principals are now responding positively to the challenges of a devolved system and decentralized decision making, clearly utilizing this flexibility (p.10). In view of research findings (Bendall, 2009), the transactional approach to leadership is no longer appropriate and the principals of todays schools are reshaping themselves as they review their roles and responsibilities. On the other hand, Raes, Decuyper, Lismont, Van den Bossche, Kyndt, Demeyere, and Dochy (2009) specify that transformational leadership empowers team members, invites members to share ideas, challenges assumptions and promotes critical thinking in a safe environment where the principal facilitates learning in a more indirect and less visible manner. Bolstad and Gilberts (2012) work on the Future Oriented Themes indicates that educational leadership requires more complex skills and capacities, suggesting that transformational change requires different forms and types of change management and leadership at different times (p. 47). Principals are faced with the challenge of fashioning a unique blend of leadership in their own context because one size does not fit all; and to unlock the change agent in individual principals, different methodologies will be required. Often with transformational leadership, the focus is on relationships among the adults within the system, rather than on the students they are serving. The gap here is connecting the dimensions of transformational leadership to outcomes for students. Instructional leadership supports interactions that are distributed across multiple people and situations (Timperley and Robertson, 2011), clearly bridging that gap. Thus, there is a real need for elements of instructional leadership in many schools. Even more significant, is that instructional leadership does not originate from a business model but from empirical studies of schools in high poverty areas that succeeded against the odds (Robinson, Bendikson & Hattie, 2011, p. 132). Robertson et als meta-analysis (2008) also supports this: the impact on students of those types of leadership that are characterized as instructional are three to four times greater than those characterized as transformational (as cited in Robinson, Bendikson & Hattie, 2011). This situates instructional leadership in a strong foundation of research. Hence, an emphasis on goals and expectations for student achievement, keeping track of teachers professional development needs and creating

WILKES, Leadership Essay, Assignment #2 structures and opportunities for teachers to collaborate (Leithwood, 2011, p. 52) is what many schools require. Whelan (2009) states For every 100 schools that have good leadership and management, 93 will have good standards of achievement. For every 100 schools that do not have good leadership and management, only 1 will have good standards of student achievement (as cited in Southworth, 2011, p. 72). So, there is a direct relationship between leadership and student achievement. The Kaiako leadership role promotes this sentiment as well and calls for innovative leadership that involves being both a learner and a teacher, exchanging roles with learners in order to better understand teaching and learning dynamics (T Rangatira, 2010, p. 28) which is in line with instructional leadership. Building Leadership Capacity Principals who are mentoring aspiring leaders are embedding elements of distributed leadership, adaptive leadership and pedagogical leadership exemplifying that a leader is someone who cultivates other leaders while developing themselves. This enables them to enhance their learning communities through a relational and capacity building approach recognizing that leadership transcends individuals, roles and behaviours. Therefore anyone in an educational community teachers, administrators, parents, students can engage in leadership actions. (Lambert et al., 2002, p26). It is important for the education sector to recognize that leadership can and should be a reciprocal process that is entrenched in relationships. Effective educational leadership builds the pedagogical, administrative and cultural conditions necessary for successful learning and teaching. Principals do not do this alone. They use their leadership and management skills in ways that motivate and develop the capabilities of others so that responsibility for strengthening and sustaining the work and direction of the school is shared (Kiwi Leadership for Principals, 2008, p. 7). Building capacity, whether through the mentoring of aspiring leaders, the empowerment of teachers to exercise leadership roles or engaging support from external providers, is vital. In the BES: Leadership and Student Outcomes, Robinson, Hohepa & Lloyd (2009) describe pedagogical leadership as being inventive, moral, inspired, deliberate, and focused on improvement and when compared to transformational leadership their research indicates that the impact of pedagogical leadership is nearly four times that of transformational leadership. Even so, they argue that both approaches are needed because transformational leadership emphasises vision, relationships and inspiration but, pedagogical leadership focuses on curriculum and learning achievement.

WILKES, Leadership Essay, Assignment #2 Before leaders can foster leadership they must give respect, demonstrate integrity and earn trust, this in turn fosters risk-taking, inquiry and collaboration. Robinson et al (2009) propose that leadership rather than leaders is what is needed (p. 47). Distributed leadership refers to the sharing of leadership across a community based on skills, need and expertise. Leadership is required at all levels, and teachers who lead the learning in their classrooms are enacting distributed leadership just as the leadership of those in middle and senior management positions and external partners do (Ki Te Aoturoa, 2009). Chenoweth & Theokas (2012) suggest there is only one way to get it all done: develop the leadership capacity of every adult in the building and empower all to make decisions appropriate to their jobs.(p. 32). In her book Coaching Leadership Robertson (2005) describes how leaders must develop educational leadership initially within themselves and then coach leadership in others, thereby synergistically building the capacity of the learning community. Robertson (2005) believes that developing leadership in others is an essential role of leaders for this is how leadership capacity is constructed. Thus, leadership development and capacity building depend on continuous growth of all members. This collective growth is time consuming but this time empowers peers to learn together and from each other; sharing expertise, responding to learning needs and leading by default (Collinson, 2008). Harris (2009) suggests that: leadership is primarily about inuence and change, about providing spaces and opportunities for creative, future leaders to develop (p.10). Ultimately, leadership, like energy, is not finite, not restricted to formal authority and power; it permeates a healthy culture and is undertaken by whoever sees a need or an opportunity (Lambert , Walker, Zimmerman, Cooper, Lambert, Gardner, & Szabo, 2002, p. 43) therefore, a key role of the principal is to nurture this leadership within their learning communities. In Leading by learning, learning by leading Collinson (2012) outlines how teacher leaders are learners first and lead as a result of their commitment to their own lifelong learning and that of their students. Their leadership is a derivative of their own learning process; the leadership and learning are mutually inclusive. Interestingly, Garmston & Wellman (2009) describe how shared leadership in adaptive school communities involves wearing fur hats which include: the facilitating hat- where leaders endeavour to make learning easier; the coaching hat- where leaders help a group take action; the consulting hat- where leaders share their expertise so it may be used by others and; the presenting hat- where leaders explicitly teach. When leadership is truly distributed, these hats are worn by various people, at different times, to best meet the needs of the learning community.

WILKES, Leadership Essay, Assignment #2 Temporary Leadership and Professional Learning Working with and embracing temporary facilitator leadership to promote quality professional learning enables principals to lead learning more efficiently and strengthens the capacity for growth within their learning communities by employing pedagogical and instructional leadership. When school leadership partners with the temporary leadership of a facilitator they build their own capacity to lead learning. Recognition and utilization of this temporary or situational leadership is often beneficial for the professional learning communities in the school as the facilitator will initiate new learning when necessary but will always endeavour to empower the group (Hunter, 2007). Facilitators and school leaders are continuously working directly on their indirect influence through modelling, monitoring and dialogue- basically building in their own redundancy, while wearing the four hats as appropriate. In addition, external facilitation plays a significant role in professional learning communities because outside perspectives can challenges existing assumptions (Stoll, 2011). Collinson (2012) also advocates temporary leadership explaining that effective leadership can revolutionize pedagogy when professional learning explores new learning through the vehicle of internal and external partnerships. Good leaders understand that the more leadership is distributed the more leadership development moves from being an option to an obligation ( Hargreaves, 2011, p. 82). They understand that leading learning is about creating powerful learning experiences for teachers with the intention that it is transferred to the classroom (Chenoweth & Theokas, 2012) and the use of a facilitator enables this. Furthermore, effective educational leadership requires in-depth knowledge of the core business of teaching and learning which is strengthened through contributions from internal and external expertise within and beyond professional learning communities (Robinson et al., 2009).

Leading Learning with a Future Focus Instructional leadership, distributed leadership and temporary leadership can be important components of leading learning in a school. However, leading learning is also about future focused leadership and embracing change to promote connected learning. Principals who rise to this challenge place their learning communities at the core, directing their leadership at cultivating a climate of learning, where educators inquire into their practice and are held accountable for continuous improvement (Timperley, Wilson, Barrar & Fung, 2007). Current research indicates that there is a positive relationship between improved learning outcomes and the involvement of teachers as leaders of pedagogical change (Leading from the Middle, 2012). Leaders have a huge range of responsibilities as outlined in Bishops (2011) GPILSEO model which involves co-construction of strategic goals, managing pedagogic change, reforming the institution, distributing leadership, spreading the reform, using evidence strategically and creating ownership of the reform (p. 28). In addition, there also needs to be an emphasis on the human 5

WILKES, Leadership Essay, Assignment #2 dimensions of leadership; the value of community and collaboration in professional learning; and the relational dimension of teaching and learning (Mitchell, Riley & Loughran, 2010, p. 544). When we look to the future of educational leadership- what do we expect as a society? We need principals who see themselves as learners so they can lead learning intrinsically and explicitly. Bolstad and Gilbert (2012) suggest that an emphasis on coherence, diversity and connectedness can help create a path for tomorrows leadership. These ideas serve as a guide that can enable leadership to move the New Zealand education system forward. Leaders who focus on these ideas, coupled with their unique blend of leadership, will maximize learning in their schools. Brookhart & Moss (2013) propose that in the future the principals primary responsibility is leading learning: When principals lead learning in their buildings, the school culture transforms (p. 17) and this, quite simply, is what must happen. Conclusion Leadership is an exercise of influence (Leithwood, 2011) so in order to provide effective support for communities, school leadership must approach their work with a level of adaptability and personalization, in line with the future oriented themes of learning. Leadership is a contextual, evolving state that is inherent in a healthy, synergistic learning community. It is never static; rather it demands continuous reworking to meet ever-changing needs. Principals, even those who employ shared leadership strategies, have the combined responsibility of acting as leaders of learning while simultaneously managing systems. They work with a wide variety of stakeholders, including the temporary leadership that external facilitators can provide, and must do so effectively, ultimately crafting a fit-for-purpose approach that must also remain flexible. Leadership, in both theory and practice, does not adhere to one method or style. Leadership must be differentiated, contextualized and adaptable: moving towards a fusion of leadership principles and practices that seem right for the leader and the leadership challenges that he/she is facing in a particular time and place (Hargreaves, 2011, p. 229). We must see educational leaders as facilitators, collaborators and learners who are informed, open-minded, proactive, resilient and value-driven in this ever-evolving, post-modern didactic space. In conclusion, in order for schools to develop their learning communities, leadership must continue to employ tenets from a variety of leadership models in order to: build a culture of inquiry; nurture leadership in others; embrace internal and external partnerships; maximize professional learning communities and lead learning with the future in mind. Building leadership capacity and prioritizing learning will help those in leadership roles manage change efficiently.
Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. ~Warren Bennis

WILKES, Leadership Essay, Assignment #2

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