What is the job of school leadership?
Who are the leaders in school?
When is the word leader used broadly and when is the word leader used more specifically?
How does a leader's work, communication, outreach, coaching, and conversation impact an organization?
When is a leader a manager and when does a leader inspire--can the two roles intersect?
When is leadership turned upside down so that we are led by those we serve rather than the other way around?
Who nurtures and coaches leaders? How do they get what they need to sustain and deepen their efforts?
Leadership is needed in every school and educational organization. We all need people that we look up to to help us navigate the path towards serving children well. In the best of cases, there's opportunity for shared leadership as well as leadership that fosters what Pink affirms in his book, Drive: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
Good leaders keep the conversation going about best efforts, forward direction, and growth--they help us to identify the shared vision, protocols, and efforts we collectively commit to and carry out. The voice, words, actions, and passion of a strong leader are known well to those they serve.
In this time of tremendous change and evolution in education, leadership is more important than ever. As educators we are looking in multiple directions, both private and public, via unions, public policy, and state/federal initiatives/speak, and to our colleagues and leaders in close proximity to chart the course.
It seems like many are discussing leadership today throughout multiple disciplines, and I believe this is an important discussion with respect to the potential schools and individuals hold to impact a positive education for every child. What do you have to say about this topic?
