Reflection #1

Visions need to look at the broader picture.

A Change in Leadership

The first article I read for this course was Kotter’s article, “What Leaders Really Do”. For some reason his words have resonated with me. My school has changed leaders this year, which is perfect timing with regards to this course. Talk about being able to put theory into practice as I have been applying every move and decision my new principal makes to the various types of leadership we have read and talked about. For the purpose of this reflection I am going to organize my thoughts into the three criteria that Kotter outlines. The first being a leader’s vision,the aligning and motivating those people who share in the vision. 

Vision - Are you really seeing the whole picture? 

The idea of community theory as a basis for school leadership can best describe how my school used to be led as Sergiovanni explains that, “community leadership emphasizes not who to follow, but what to follow” (p.83). Our school vision was co-constructed through our school success team and then modified at our staff meetings to truly reflect the voices of both staff and the parent community. Like the case study with Wanda Miller, we focused on a whole child approach as well as an academic focus. Many of our students require support beyond academics, and we as a staff truly believe that until some of those ‘extra’ issues are dealt with such as hunger, trauma and mental health, learning doesn’t really happen. This vision developed over years of data collecting and observing from both the staff, community and our administration. This year, with our new leadership we have been expected to follow our principal, (rather than an idea/goal) and have experienced power over versus power to (Sergiovanni, p. 133). This is evident in our collaborative planning as we as teachers have very little say in what we discuss, moderate and plan for. I find myself at times confused about how I feel. On one hand I am excited about some of the initiatives our new leader has presented,  however, on the other hand I am not always sure these visions serve our school community as a whole as our students needs are not at the forefront of these initiatives. Perhaps this is the difference between transformational leadership and transactional? Or, maybe this is the difference between a manager and a leader? 

Aligning and Motivating People. . . In all the wrong ways! 

Yes. My new administration is managing versus leading. A perfect example of this is with our school based team (SBT). Our new administrator has asked all the staff members to no longer participate in this weekly meeting, as it was not efficient. Kotter (2001) explains, “managers ‘organize’ to create human systems that can implement plans as precisely and efficiently as possible” (p. 7), which is precisely the case with regards to our SBT. This decision has aligned some of our staff members in more of a negative manner rather than with the new vision and direction of our school! This has caused tension and frustration on our staff, specifically with regards to our sense of community. It is important for me to state that I believe our new leader has good intentions, which leads me to reflect on our last class together where we discussed how good leaders possess a variety of traits, including sociability and credibility. To be social and relational would make servant leadership and democratic leadership more of a natural choice or direction. However, not all leaders are social in nature, which could result in a more managerial approach. Also, having a sense of credibility comes with time, trust and shared-experiences. With so many changes being made to our school without any staff input, there is a lack of trust and ‘following’ from the staff. I am experiencing organization versus alignment.  

So, with all this reflection, there needs to be some action on my part,  and the question then becomes, what can I do about this in my own school?  I have been choosing to take a back seat so far this year, however perhaps this is has been wrong as according to Kotter, our world today needs “more people to develop cultures that create leadership” (p. 11). Since our administrator’s leadership style and traits are not motivating and aligning, this could be a growth opportunity for myself with my colleagues as after all leaders are not born, but rather made through hard effort and work (Vince Lombardi)!! I guess my leadership journey has just begun . . .