Ready to lead? Shifting thinking about leadership of our schools AIS Executive Conference May 2007...
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Transcript of Ready to lead? Shifting thinking about leadership of our schools AIS Executive Conference May 2007...
Ready to lead? Shifting thinking about leadership of our schools
AIS Executive Conference
May 2007
Helen Wildy
Murdoch University
H Wildy 2007 2
Overview
1. Shifts in thinking about leadership
2. Delegation
3. Leading or managing?
4. Standards-based reform
5. WA Leadership Framework
6. Summary
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1. Shifts in thinking about leadership
Trait theory 1900-1950 Leadership style 1960s Situational theories 1970s Transformational leadership 1980s Distributed leadership 1990s Sustainable leadership 2000s
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Trait theory 1900-1950
Assumed leaders were born, not made Leaders were different from non leaders
Physical traits AbilitiesPersonality
Challenge: find the person for the job
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Leadership style 1960s
Background research: Hawthorne studies Ohio State University studies 2 dimensions of leadership
Consideration (people) Structure (task)
Example: Blake and Mouton 1964 (authority, team, country club, impoverished)
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Blake and Mouton 1964
Country Club
Team
Impoverished Authority
High
High
Low
Low
People
Task
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Hersey and Blanchard 1970s
Support Coach
Delegate Direct
High
High
Low
Low
People
Task
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2. DelegationI delegate
what?
to whom?
how?
when?
with what effect?
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Three big concepts behind effective delegation
Authority
Responsibility
Accountability
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Authority
Give authority by ensuring sufficient Resources esp time, motivation Skill Knowledge of context and importance Understanding of rationale Discretion
Involve delegatee in making these decisions Giving appropriate authority shows you value
the work and the person
Giving authority says I trust you
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Responsibility
Be clear about responsibilities: the buck stops with the delegator but the delegatee has responsibilities eg outcome, timeline, quality
Delegators are responsible for informing others Delegatees are responsible for seeking clarification
Sharing responsibility shows you value the work and the person
Sharing responsibility says We’re professionals
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Accountability
Decide on accountability processes in advance meeting targets being on time staying within budget achieving quality reporting achievement (when and how)
Accountability relationships show you value the work and the person
Accountability says You, and your work, matter
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Transformational leadership 1980s
In contrast with transactional leadership (power, position, politics and perks), Transformational leadership assumes people are motivated
by intrinsic factors: shared goals, sense of belonging, identity by being part of a vision, mission, values
Highly popular today as the path to organisational change
Deeply embedded in the rhetoric of organisations
Based on the concept of heroic, charismatic, singular, visionary leadership
But can one person do it all?
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Distributed leadership 1990s
Terms also used Networked leadership Collaborative leadership Shared leadership Team leadership
Assumes Flatter structures Decentralised control Increased ownership Expanded responsibility
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Sustainable leadership 2000s
Leading for sustainability based on three key concepts
Personal resilience Embedded organisational change Future orientation
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3. Leading or Managing
What is the relationship between leading and managing? Is one a subset of the other? Or are they different processes?Do they involve different skills?
Draw a diagram to represent the relationship
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Leading
Establishing direction
Aligning people Motivating and
inspiring Producing growth,
improvement, change
Managing
Planning, budgeting Organising and
staffing Controlling and
problem solving Producing order,
predictability, stability
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4. Standards-based reform
Argument Student performance improves when
outcomes of learning are made explicit Teachers’ performance improves when
practices of teaching are made explicit School performance improves when
practices of leaders are made explicit
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Standards for leaders: UK
NSH (National Standards for Headteachers) developed for National College for School Leadership
6 categories, each with 4 subcategories, each with between 3 and 13 subcategories plus invitation to add your own to reflect their contexts
Total 159 elements (at least)
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UK - NSH: 6 main categories
Shaping the future Leading learning and teaching Developing self and working with others Managing the organisation Securing accountability Strengthening community
(compare with WADET Leadership Framework)
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UK - NSH : subcategories
Knowledge Knows about
Professional qualities Is committed to Is able to
Actions
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NSH example Leading learning and teachingKnowledgeKnows about:
Strategies for raising achievement and achieving excellence The development of a personalised learning culture within the school Models of learning and teaching The use of new and emerging technologies to support learning and teaching Principles of effective teaching and assessment for learning Models of behaviour and attendance management Strategies for ensuring inclusion, diversity and access Curriculum design and management Tools for data collection and analysis Using research evidence to inform teaching and learning Monitoring and evaluating performance School self evaluation Strategies for developing effective teachers
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NSH example (Cont) Leading learning and teachingProfessional qualities
Is committed to The raising of standards for all in the pursuit of excellence The continuing learning of all members of the school community The entitlement of all pupils to effective teaching and learning Choice and flexibility in learning to meet the personalised learning needs of every
childIs able to
Demonstrate personal enthusiasm for and commitment to the learning process Demonstrate the principles and practices of effective teaching and learning Access, analyse and interpret information Initiate and support research and debate about effective learning and teaching
and develop relevant strategies for performance improvement Acknowledge excellence and challenge poor performance across the school
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NSH example (Cont) Leading learning and teachingActions
Ensures a consistent and continuous school-wide focus on pupils’ achievement, using data and benchmarks to monitor progress in every child’s learning
Ensures that learning is at the centre of strategic planning and resource management Establishes creative, responsive and effective approaches to learning and teaching Ensures a culture and ethos of challenge and support where all pupils can achieve success
and become engaged in their own learning Demonstrates and articulates high expectations and sets stretching targets for the whole
school community Implements strategies which secure high standards of behaviour and attendance Determines, organises and implements a diverse, flexible curriculum and implements an
effective assessment framework Takes a strategic role in the development of new and emerging technologies to enhance
and extend the learning experience of pupils Monitors, evaluates and reviews classroom practice and promotes improvement strategies Challenges underperformance at all levels and ensures effective corrective action and follow
up Add your own context specific actions
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Standards and accountability
To what extent are such ‘standards’ helpful to school leaders in rendering an account to their line managers and the public at large?
What counts as evidence of meeting these ‘standards’?
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Problems with ‘standards as lists’
fragmented leads to checklist false dichotomies decontextualised
A fulsome list of duties, but where are the standards?
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Short shrift to long lists which only show•Fragmentation, not interrelationships•Reduction, not complexity•Dichotomous, not variable•Duties, not essential qualities•Descriptions, not standards
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Alternative approach
Research 1996-1997, 2003-2005 funding by ARC and WA DET (Wildy, Louden, Andrich)
Judgements about the quality of performance depicted in 200 narrative accounts of school leaders at work
More than 2 000 ratings and 5 000 descriptions
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5. Leadership Framework (WA)
Developed over 9 years Grounded in leaders’ practice Based in rigorous research Funded by commonwealth and state
grants Developed collaboratively
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Rasch analysis
Narratives arrayed on continua Narratives clustered High, middle, low performance Three levels of performance i.e. standards
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Qualitative data
Attributes that distinguish quality of performance of leaders Fair Decisive Collaborative Flexible Innovative Supportive Tactful Persistence
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Not what but how
Factors that differentiate performance relate not to what leaders do but how they do what they do
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Attributes of leaders
Attributes are how leaders do what they do (competencies) in particular contexts
And we use attributes for reflectionprofessional development selection
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WA Leadership Framework
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/lc/standards.html
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6. Summary
Thinking about leadership has shifted dramatically over the past century.
This approach to standards Based on a few easily remembered attributes Provides richly illustrated levels Takes account of variation in context Acknowledges complexity Recognises dilemmas Identifies balance between competing pressures
To what extent are you ready to lead and to develop others to lead in your school?