The Complex Role of Educational Leadership

"Influence comes not from role or title, it emanates form your soul and thus your presence...I am present." ~ Carolyn McKanders. 

I ran across this quote from a Facebook Friend, who had posted about Carolyn McKanders stepping down as director at the Thinking Collaborative to Director Emeritus.  It struck me as the essence of leadership.  Leadership is an interesting phenomenon in organization and none more prevalent than in school systems. At the heart of leadership is influence, and many people are influential though their titles or their roles may not be labeled as "leader."

A while back, I was observing and scripting in Cognitive Coaching.   Learning is a glorious thing indeed.  Part of the day was devoted to theory building and Trust.  Trust, of course is so important to leadership. Part of the research that we looked at was the amount of time it takes to build trust.  According to Tshcannen-Moran, it can take 2 years to build trust.  School systems are not usually places that allow this time to cultivate trust!  In her research, Tschannen-Moran also names 5 facets of trust:

Benevolence,Honesty,Openness,Competence,Reliability: These are tall orders for leaders to maintain, but they are critical. I have been in situations both as a leader and the led, and I can say that these are definitely values that I have tried to hone and that I expect in the leaders I work with.  One of the facets that strikes me is Benevolence.  Time and time again, I am astounded by the fact that leaders do not support the work of those they lead with gratitude and kindness.  One thing that I can say for certain is that it is important to acknowledge and validate the work that people are doing. 

I am very independent when it comes to working.  As I have written about I am an introvert, and I am a perfectionist.  I have high efficacy for work that I do, and I know that I can do a job and find creative solutions.  Sometimes I think these qualities send the message to leaders that I am OK, and I do not need validation, but WE ALL NEED Validation.

I would almost like to add autonomy and passion as a facets of trust.  Some of the best leaders I have seen allow autonomy in those they lead.  When you give others autonomy, you are giving time and space for creativity to happen.  When leaders show passion (genuine passion), it motivates others.

Leadership is a state of being. I love Carolyn McKanders quote so much because leading is a state of being.  There is the old adage that "leaders are born" and I think that there are people out there with natural leadership skills, and leaders understand when and how to assert leadership without arrogance.   I do firmly believe that leadership development is a process, and it is important to help others develop their leadership potential. I have been fortunate to have had some leaders in my professional journey that have allowed time and space for leadership to grow and develop. I have also been fortunate to be able to grow into leadership.  Like with students, the growth process is gradual and needs to be scaffolded.  Leaders should be able to hone skills at low stakes levels and move upward.  The best case scenario is for the emerging leader to have good role models and support on this journey that is both a journey of action and one of cognition.  There is the act of leading (what you do and say) and the cognitive understanding of what leadership is and is not. It is in the cognitive process where leaders gain understanding and consciousness about themselves and others and the impact that they have on others.

Leadership requires varying skills at the right times: I have written a lot about skills that people need, and I have fully on board with coaching skills, and I have written in a previous post, we are all coaches so we all need these skills.  Leaders need a broader set of skills, I think, we have to know how and when to coach but also when to consult.  Leaders need to know when to deploy these skills to help others.  For example, when a leader in a school is making an investment in humans (which is often) and helping them reflect on practice, coaching is likely the better option.  There are times when leaders will need to be very clear about what needs to be done and when. A skillful leader is able to quickly transition between the different roles.

Leadership is about human interaction: This is probably high on my leadership attributes.   Every leadership interaction is with people, and people and development of people is the single most important aspect of what a leader does.  This one is hard for some, and frankly, I have had to learn more about this in myself.  So many leaders don't think about the human interaction piece, and this comes off as arrogant. Educational Leadership is a different realm of leadership because the educational leader must delicately balance  supporting processes, cognition, and emotion.  People know when you are genuinely invested in them, and are concerned about their well-being and development.  So many leaders involve others because they have to, and spend energy playing the role of collaboration when they have already made decisions.  There is a place for leaders to make decisions and place them on the table,but this must be done in transparent ways.  During the last couple of years when I was a school leader, I made some decisions about programs particularly, but I brought it to others for feedback and inquiry.  I was very clear that this was my vision, and I wanted input.

Leaders Walk the Walk....Leadership is a process: Leadership is hard work. People look to you often to have the answers or the ability to find the answers.  Leadership is not about a title.  Too often in education, we have leaders who move up the ranks or who fall into leadership roles before they have gone through a process for leading.  I know that I would not be an effective school leader without having been a teacher for ten years and a department chair for three of those ten years.  I have the experience and the understanding to support others.  When I say I understand where the teacher is, I have been there.  I think school leaders in particular need to think about how they are leading.

Schools are places that are filled with philosophies and theories and practices.  Those ideas do not often mesh.  I was conscious of keeping my feet in the classroom and in the realm of theory. Twice in my administrative career, I went back in the classroom to teach students.  These times were the most rewarding and humbling of my leadership career.

Leaders understand people....This idea goes back to human interactions above, but this idea has more to do with understanding the how and why of people. In educational institutions this idea is very important.  Most teachers came into teaching because they loved content or wanted to help others or both.  Teaching is a very personal process; we are talking about the craft that someone invested time and energy into.  The good school leader understands how people process.  Some of the most powerful work that I have done over the last year involves work with States of Mind, Reflective Judgment and the DILTS model of logical thinking.  All of these are about human understanding.  As a school leader I must understand where others are in the process of their craft.  If a teacher is a "pre-reflective" teacher, he or she is not a lesser teacher; however, they are at a different place to take in new knowledge and understanding.  As a leader, when we understand that the teacher who lectures as a means of curriculum delivery, we must understand that this methodology is a deeply held belief, and the teacher is wondering (usually) why kids just won't pay attention and listen or why students just aren't getting it.  This is a real struggle for the teacher, and it is not easily fixed by saying, "You need to do _________________," or "You need to go watch Mr. so and so to see how he does it." The likelihood of transformative practice is very low.  Understanding people and underlying motives and beliefs gives the leader an opportunity  to truly support them.

Leadership in schools is a complex journey.  There are moving parts that are visible and often invisible.  One of the passions that I have is to see that leaders are grown in schools and that they are supported to be the diverse leaders that we need. Leaders in schools need to understand what teaching looks like, how teachers approach teaching and learning, how students and parents approach teaching and learning, how to be genuine and not arrogant.  Leaders need to be people who support other people in being our best selves every day on this journey.