Autumn 2005

Leadership

I'm not the person I once was or will be

Change is all around us; relentless and demanding. To make the most of these challenges we need to demonstrate a strong commitment to personal and professional growth—leading yourself first and then others, writes CHERYL DOIG.

HUMAN CELLS are constantly replacing themselves. In fact, over a seven-year period every cell in our body has been replaced. If change is a fact of life, then let’s make sure those seven years are full of constant learning and great leadership growth.

If teachers are to be great leaders they need to demonstrate their own ability to learn, to reflect on learning, set goals, look for next steps and work with others—learning from all ages and growing alongside their students.

While some people may lead naturally, everyone can benefit from ongoing development of leadership skills. In his latest book, Michael Fullan describes the new work of leaders is to develop other leaders in progressive and sustainable ways. He suggests that one of the ways to do this is by developing deep learning within the organisation by driving out fear; having systems for transparent data gathering and the mechanisms for acting on that data; and expecting that everyone learns from their experiences. These systems need to be built into the school’s professional learning systems and be evident within the whole school, starting with the principal.

The principal as leading learner

One of the most important roles that the school leader plays is in modelling—displaying lifelong learning and demonstrating strong leadership. Two years ago I asked for feedback from staff, parents, the board of trustees and students regarding my performance. I wanted to show that I was not afraid to receive feedback and that I was looking for ways to improve. It is important to demonstrate risk taking, gather data about your performance and learn from it. This is when deep learning really takes place.

Once the results had been collated, I reported back to the various groups, providing a summary of the feedback they had given. This summary showed the results of some 1–5 ratings and also reported on the things people wanted me to keep, stop or start doing, as well as a ‘So what next … goals from feedback’ section. A copy of the parent feedback was put in the enrolment information to new parents so they could see my focuses. This year I intend to repeat the exercise in May and October, also providing the opportunity for online feedback. This will be the next stage of my learning.

Professional learning journeys

At Fendalton School, each staff member keeps a professional learning journey, which contains everything from their job description, goals for the year and courses attended, to reflections on their performance and evidence of success. This becomes a talking point with peer coaches, teams and appraisers, and is used to set goals for the next year. We also use it to model the thinking tools that we expect students to use.

Below is a page from a professional learning journey. The focus is on the things we can change or modify. Teachers use this tool to evaluate their own performance and set their goals. Ideas, concerns and successes are discussed with team leaders and colleagues.

Quality learning circles (QLC)

Staff also benefit from the opportunity to work in cross-functional groups across the school. Staff have a say about the team they will be in and who their buddy will be. QLC groups meet to talk about pedagogical issues and to discuss new ideas. Each term, groups spend an hour after school visiting each other’s classrooms. In each room the teachers talk briefly about what they have been doing and show some of their completed work. Sometimes there is a theme such as written language or visual art. Afterwards, teachers are always buzzing with new ideas and have had an enjoyable get together.

These are just three ways that leadership skills can be grown in a school. While some staff may want more formal ways of developing leadership (they may want to undertake management positions in the future), others do not. Regardless, we present powerful role models to our students so we have an obligation to present ourselves as deep learners and sustainable leaders. It is important to know ourselves—our strengths and weaknesses and the way we interact with others as a result. The ability to give and receive feedback, peer coaching and critical friends protocol are some of the tools we have practised. Peer coaching is a powerful tool that helps people to reflect on their own performance, and this is when real change happens. This year we aim to train some staff in advanced peer coaching skills so that they can work with others on a more frequent basis.

And of course this all takes time! So where do you find the time (and the money) to allow this to happen? If it becomes an important component of what you do in your school, and you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, it no longer becomes a choice. The question then becomes how. Firstly, reflect on yourself as a leader and determine what small steps you can take. This may be extending your reading of leadership material, finding a mentor, asking staff, students or parents to review your performance; or perhaps asking a buddy on the staff to give you feedback. Start small, but believe in your own ability to lead. Don’t wait for it to happen—make it happen, and in that way you will be demonstrating your leadership strength. Keep building on this strength and in seven years time you really will be a completely new person!

Reference

Fullan, M (2005). Leadership & Sustainability, Corwin Press & Ontario Principals’ Council, Thousand Oaks, California.

Cheryl Doig is principal of Fendalton School in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au