Chapter 26 begins with a quote from Albert Einstein which I believe is incredibly important an fitting ending to all we have studied in our leadership class. The quote is "We cannot solve the problems that we have created with the same thinking that created them." I'm optomistic when considering the future of leadership in education. The study of leadership theory reveals that leadership continues to change and transform. This occures due to the changing and transforming nature of education. As new leaders arise, new ideas come into play. It reminds me of "survival of the fittest." Those who are able to adapt to the everchanging environment are the ones who will find the most success in the field. Not only does it seem to requires adaptation but also risk and foresight. Leaders of education need to be able to foresee challenges and will need to take risks. Part of of readings including a section on depleting resources. Convenience in the long term often means using far greater resources than necessary. For example, the convenience of being able to travel at a moments notice with vehicles comes at a great price of pollution and depletion of fossil fuels. Those who succeed in leading education institutions will be the ones who use the least amount of resources to positively impact the greatest number of people. One of my interests in education relates to this very idea. Reducing educational costs and inputs to provide a more efficient, accessible educational system for those who seek is a goal which I believe is attainable. The way to do this will require leadership who are willing to take risks and think outside the box.
On a more personal note, this class has been beneficial, especially in the beginning of the doctoral program. My background is in business. After graduating with an MBA I worked as a financial management consultant for IBM. Since taking this EDL course, I have been challenged to think in ways that are uncommon to me. Of course, I have a great journey ahead of me but I look forward to taking what I have learned, asking further questions and applying it to practice.

women and minorities

Our recent readings concerning gender and race as factors in educational leadership particularly peeked my interest. Women and minorities in education are part of my topics of interests. I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised to learn that researchers assumed that their research could be applied to women and minorities mainly because women and minorities were not offered the same considerations. Role theory perhaps fits perfectly here. It is based on the idea that a role defines how individuals are expected to behave, how individuals occupying roles perceive what they are supposed to do and the actual behavior of individuals. Much of the text focuses on the leaders’ influence on others and leader behaviors. I believe it is also important to study the influence of followers’ behavior on the leader also. When considering role theory a follower may behave in a certain manner based on what they believe the leader role should be. For instance, I have worked in a situation where followers believed the role of the leader was to control every aspect of work. Also, many often thought of the role as women leaders as more as nurturers instead of leaders. This role often seemed to limit the upward mobility of women leaders. Perhaps higher level managers were seen as aggressive, cut throat, go getters and not nurturers. Role socialization is mentioned as important when considering women and minorities. It mentions that leaders learn to accept and adopt appropriate values, rules, and policies through their socialization into the profession and participation in professional organizations. Women and minorities have the potential to change the institution in which they work and colleagues. In this situation I believe the ability to change the organization and it workers has much to do with the culture. Many organizations may not be open to change at that time. Either way, the nature of the organization and the followers may have great influence over the leader. Maybe even more than the leader has over them.

8 roles of symbolic leadership

The text mentions that everyone including principals, parents, teachers, staff members, and community leaders, should be a leader. The eight roles of symbolic leadership are critical in their own right. The historian seeks to understand the social and normative past of the school. The culture is made of all events concerning the school including those in the past and present. And this is directly related to the future goals of the organization. The saying "you have to know where you've been to know where you're going" applies here. School leaders are anthroplogical sleuths. They pay attention to the culture which includes the rites, rituals, and values held by the organization. This gives tremendous insight to the path and direction of the organization. The school leader also serves as visionaries. Knowing the past and present events of the school allows the leader to clearly identify what the school can become. Not only this but visionary leaders continually identify and communicate the hopes and dreams of the school. School leaders also serve as symbols. Leaders, their actions, demeanor, communication style, etc are constantly being watched. The issues the leader tends to and their actions communicate meaning. Even the issues the leader choose not to pursue communicate what is important to them. School leaders are potters. They shape the elements of the school, always with a clear idea of what the organization will look like. School leaders are poets. Through memos, mottoes, and conversation, leaders communicate with language. When considering other symbolic roles this is important. For instance, the visionary leader will find it beneficial to effectively and poetically communicate the vision for the organization. School leaders are also actors, performing in dramas. Critical events or major transitions open up the stage for dramas to be publicly acted out. This public showing can reaffirm cultural values and beliefs which are critical to the organization. Lastly, school leaders are healers. Change is inevitable. School leaders play an important role is transitions. Their acknowledgement of special events serves as affirmation to the rituals and values of the school. Stakeholders will take their cues from how the leader chooses to celebrate or ignore key milestones.

The end of chapter 15 ends with the following: "Schools are cautious and confusing cages where teachers, principals, and students try to create pockets of safety and sanity for themselves, reluctant to leave these safe quarters for parts unknown. Schools are also storehouses of our memories. To radically transform them is not simply risky; doing so can feel like institutional homicide." This passage reflects the underlying culture of many organizations. Those in the organization may feel boxed in and afraid to go against the norm. Their is always safety in things that are familiar. It is when we try to explore places unknown that we encounter anxiety, resistance, and opposition. Whether good or bad we know the results of the status quo. However, delving into a new arena could possibly result in failure. No one wants to be associated with failure whether individual failure or institutional failure. To change inevitably means to reprogram thinking. Because schools are storehouses of our memories, this will prove a difficult task. We will have to stray from things we know and the memories of the way things use to be. It is up to the leader to create an atmosphere that welcomes change for the better.

6 leadership styles

Goldman identified six leadership styles. These included:
1. Coercive-the leader demands compliance. “Do what I tell you.”
2. Authoritative- the leader mobilizes people toward a vision. “Come with me.”
3. Affiliative- the leader creates harmony and builds emotional bonds. “People come first.”
4. Democratic-the leader forges consensus through participation. “What do you think?”
5. Pacesetting-the leader sets high standards for performance. “Do as I do, now.”
6. Coaching-the leader develops people for the future. “Try this.”


The text mentions that coercive and pacesetting styles negatively affect climate and performance in the study. Coercive style leads to resentment and resistance while pacesetting style results in people getting overwhelmed and burned out. Authoritative style includes enthusiasm and a clear vision. Goldman’s data show that the authoritative leader had a positive impact on climate and performance. In order to effectively implement change, it seems that affiliative style will touch people’s emotions, therefore they may be more likely to willingly be involved in the process. The same may be true for democratic style. This style gets people to participate and forms a consensus. In this instance, participants may feel as if they have a stake in the process, therefore may truly put forth an concerted effort to implement change. I question authoritative style because although the leader moves people toward a vision, they may not have a valued stake in making the vision work or be a success. I believe the key to implementing change is to get people to realize the value of that change and how it will affect them and the organization. Once workers can envision change and see it as valuable to themselves and the organization, they will have a vested interest in seeing it work. Pacesetting and coercive styles could delay or even prevent the change process. Perhaps a mixture of authoritative, affiliative, democratic and coaching styles is best for implementing change.
I have seen affiliative and coaching styles at work after implementing a new accounting system. Workers feared and resisted the new system and it was up to leaders to express the importance of the team and show them the way. I have also been in a situation where the leader assumed that their way of completed a report was correct. Instead of asking for the input of others who work with the reports daily, the leader displayed a coercive and pacesetting style.

Personal leadership landscape

How do I define my role as a leader? The role of leader is defined by not only the leader but those who are being led. One of the roles of leader is to progress the staff and organization. In order to do this, the leader must realize the abilities of staff. For leaders, this may require more or less hand holding or more or less input and directions. Once a leader realizes the staff's abilities, it is a clearer path to realizing their potential. Also organizations are constantly being bombarded with changing conditions and forces which require a response. Whether it is a tough economic climate which draws minimal financial resources or a new competitor, an organization must be able to adequately weather the storm. In these situations, it is the responsibility of the leader to ensure that the organization is able to come out on top. This includes the ability to predict hardships and foresee conflicts. It also means having a plan in place before problems surface. It means building a solid team of staff with the aid of confidence and trust. The role of leader is constantly changing with the ever changing environment. A leader's role is to guide her team through those changes.
What inspires the best in staff? To answer this question, I think it is best to ask who inspires the best in staff? It is the leader that is able to tap into what is important and what matters to staff. In order for this to occcur, the leader must intimately know what motivates and drives the staff and ultimately the organization. I have always believed that a company's best asset is its people. When they are put first the rest will align and fall into place. I firmly believe in human potential. It is up to leaders to guide staff in realizing their potential.
What are my strengths? I consider the ability to realize not only your own potential but that in others to be a strength. This is the only way that growth as an individual and an organization can occur. Although some may consider it a weakness, I consider my ability to realize my limitations is a tremendous strength. Another strength is helping to empower people. Helping someone to realize their own talents and potential is a rewarding feeling.

Jossey-Bass mentions that trustworthy leaders are at the heart of successful schools. Trustworthy leadership gets everyone on the same team, pulling in the same direction. The five facets of trust, the five functions of leadership and the various stakeholders work together to bring about change in schools. When examining change in schools morally based leadership is an adequate framework to utilize. According to Jossey-Bass, morally based leadership taps into what is important to people and what motivates them. In order for change to come, stakeholders must share in the commitment. When examining what is important to people and what motivates them, one is analyzing the forces which drive change. I believe it is only natural that people are moved by what is important to them. The trustworthy leadership matrix could be used to analyze data. For example, the model could be used to analyze teachers’ perceptions of their principals’ competence as it relates to developing and carrying out a shared vision. It is my belief that teachers who rate their principals as having low or no competence will not trust the principal to establish and carryout a workable vision for the institution. Should teachers have no confidence in the vision they will be less willing to go along with it or accept it as valid. This will perhaps result in conflict and chaos. In this example, one of the 5 facets of trust influences the teachers’ (one of the 5 constituents of schools) ideas and feelings as it relates to the principal’s vision (5 function of leadership). In another example, should the principal rate the reliability of her/his teachers as low when considering their commitment to the overall vision then that may result in a hands on approach of leadership. With mistrust a principal may feel a need to direct and micro-manage every decision. The result is inefficiency in the system.

Dev. a leadership identity

"Developing a leadership identity: A grounded theory" gives significant insight into the establishment of leadership identity. After reading the article, I couldn’t help but think of negative influences which perhaps aided in shaping the development of the participants leadership styles. The effect of negative influences may be as important as the positive influences for development of leadership identity. For instance someone may decide to be a more open, truthful leader as a result of being in a situation where the leader was closed and not truthful. It is perhaps natural that memories of positive leadership stick out in the minds of the participantss. However, the effect of all leadership experiences is important and worthy of study. Also after reading the article, it seems that certain people may have a greater influence in the development of leadership styles. Those with authority, usually adults, seem to have a significant influence on the development of leadership throughout every stage. Although adults seem to play an important role in the participants leadership development, it is important to know whether as they aged if participants' peers had an increase in the influence of leadership development also.

leadership

According to Jossey-Bass reader, the organizations that will succeed are those that will take on the role of learning organizations. These are the organizations that will foster learning at every level of the organization; from the lowest position to the highest. This is indeed true for any organization in any field and education is no exception. The book uses examples of leadership styles from the business community. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before business and education intertwine. I recall reading a Chronicle article which explored the need for new leadership in higher education due to the current economic climate. Some believe that governing boards will look to leaders in industry due to their business connections and ability to raise funds in a time where there are dramatic cuts and furloughs. I question the effectiveness of such leadership because although education and industry are similar, there are undeniable differences which could stifle progress. Jossey-Bass defines leadership as the process of persuasion or example by which an individual induces a group to persue objectives held by the leader or shared by the leader and his/her followers. One of the disciplines of the learning organization includes the building of shared vision which fosters genuine commitment and enrollment rather than compliance. When considering business and education, there are cultural differences which could hinder a leader’s ability to persuade and build a shared vision. Those in higher education may be weary of those with a business background. With industry the reason to be in business is to sell a product or service (to make a profit). In education the end product is a little less clear and the bottom line is not to make money (or so we’re told). Therefore, leadership could be somewhat different.

Go Tigers! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...