Edu-Leadership

The principal as Chief Learning Officer and 'leader of leaders' is the wave of educational leadership for high-performing schools. It requires new thinking, new beliefs, and new practices, and places a diminishing value on hierarchical and bureaucratic practices as currently exists in many schools today. Creating an organization of many leaders, and many leadership possibilities opens the door to greater teacher involvement and increased student achievement. Under the guiding principles of Formative Leadership, developed by Dr. Ruth Ash and Dr. Maurice Persall, Edu-Leadership presents Formative Leadership Tip of the Month! We challenge you to inspire your teachers and students to greater success and higher performance!

Formative Leadership Tip of the Month

Become a leader of trust. Trust is an essential ingredient in high performing organizations. Lack of it affects teacher morale, encourages rumors, feeds gossip, and destroys the foundation upon which a results-driven organization rests. Trust drives open communication, which in turn, drives initiatives and organizational change. Building trust into an organization starts at the top with the leader through clarity in communication, integrity, and an honest concern for the professional well-being of staff and faculty. Let mutual trust drive the working relationship between the principal, faculty, and staff.

What to do next?

Consider MBWA - Management By Walking Around - listen, learn, and build relationships
Confront gossip and develop methods for rumor control
Have an open door policy
Be respectful of the privacy of others
Build a Team Building Ropes Course on your campus
Apologize when necessary. It's good for the soul of the organization
Model trustworthiness

What to read?

Consider the following:

Tip-toe the Tightrope of Trust: A Manager’s Guide to Success by Jody Urquhart

Management By Walking Around: A Checklist for Managers by Robin Reid

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Revisited by Ian Bullock

Characteristics of High Performing Teams by Robin Reid

You Can’t Get There From Here: Why “Structural” Changes Won’t Cut It by Lawrence E. Wharton

The New Work of Formative Leadership. , and Maurice Persall, Director of Graduate Programs. Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama.