YOU ARE A LEADER IF you are spending the majorityof your time facilitating program quality and professionaldevelopment improvement plans, researching systems forbetter recruitment and retention of families, acting as aresource for the strategic plan task force, systematicallyassessing the needs and satisfaction levels of all school con-stituencies, working with the board to plan the future of theschool over the next 10 years, and offering encouragementand appreciation to those who need and deserve it.

YOU ARE A MANAGER IF you are spending the major-ity of your time responding to staff and parent problems,dealing with facility upkeep and maintenance issues, talk-ing with upset or unruly children, trying to keep the boardorganized and in check, tracking down late tuition pay-ments, and ironing out the logistical details of educational,social, or fundraising events.

The next natural question is, “How does a schooladministrator as busy and overwhelmed as I am move frombeing a manager to being a leader?”

In the leadership consultation and organizational devel-opment work we do with schools and business organiza-tions around the world, and in creating the curriculum forthe Course for Leading Schools at Houston MontessoriCenter, we have identified seven essential principles of“convergent” school leadership, each of which can befound in the educational philosophy of Maria Montessori.

Leaders Cultivate “Convergent” Learning CommunitiesWhat does it mean to have a “convergent” school

community? A Montessori school is comprised of sixconstituencies: students, staff, parents, administrators,trustees, and alumni. Each of these groups comes to theschool community with a distinctly different set of needsand expectations. Students want to have fun learning withtheir classmates. Teachers require the time, space, andresources to create a vibrant prepared environment. Parentsexpect their children to be safe and secure, and to reachtheir personal and academic potential. Administratorswant satisfied students, staff, and parents, full enrollment,and a balanced budget. The board aspires to keep the

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Are You Leading,or Just Managing to Get By?What is the difference between being a leader and being a manager of a Montessori school community?

LEADING MANAGING

By Jonathan Wolff, Michael Eanes,and Dana Kaminstein

school stable and growing into the foreseeable future.Alumni wish to enjoy pleasant memories of their time inthe school community and like being kept abreast of goodthings happening at their alma mater.

Each of these groups functions within its own distinctframework. Picture these constituencies as six parallellines. One might go so far as to say that these constituen-cies live in parallel realities within the school community.Many times, however, as a school grows, these groups donot remain parallel. They may begin to diverge from oneanother as their desires and dreams begin to surface. Orworse yet, we may find these groups in conflict with oneanother concerning the direction of the educational pro-gram or institution.

Sometimes Montessori administrators inherit schoolcommunities that have constituencies that have gone fromfunctioning parallel to one other to operating on divergingor conflicting paths. Needless to say, diverging or conflict-ing constituencies do not produce a happy, harmonious, orsustainable school community.

It is the job of the leader to cultivate a “convergent”culture throughout the school community, one in which allpopulations share the school’s mission, operating values,standards of program quality, and vision for the future.When the six constituencies share common goals forhuman development as well as for institutional advance-ment, the school community energizes all participants.Such school communities tend to attract and maintain thehuman and financial resources required to deliver and sus-tain an authentic Montessori program well into the future.

Seven Principles of Convergent LeadershipWe have identified seven principles of leadership that

empower individuals and school communities to fulfilltheir potential. In the Montessori classroom, where childrenshare common goals and guidelines, and in the processgain independence and maturity, the teacher moves frombeing a manager of capricious behavior to acting as thefacilitator of self-disciplined learning. Similarly, in a Montes-sori school community, where everyone shares a commoneducational vision and language, the administrative para-digm changes from one of managing people and problemsto one of leading people toward their dreams and destiny.

Principle 1Convergent leadership focuses first on what is working effectively.

Defining Questions: What is working effectively in ourschool community? What assets and accomplishments canwe build upon?

Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: “She [the teacher] mustlearn how to appreciate and gather in all those tiny and deli-cate manifestations of the opening life in the child’s soul.”(Eugenie, 1975)

Principle 2Convergent leadership views the school as a system, notdisparate parts. All parts are interrelated. When one partis affected, the whole system is affected.

Defining Question: What impact will this decision, plan,or policy have on the entire school community—children,teachers, parents, administrative operations, programquality, enrollment, financial well-being, and school growth?

Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: “All mankind forms asingle organism . . . Humanity forms a single unit—a singlenation. This single nation has opened the whole world andbrought all men together.” (Montessori, 1972, pp. 116–7)

Principle 3Convergent leadership is committed to gaining a clearunderstanding of the needs and aspirations of each con-stituency participating in the school community (students,faculty, administrative staff, parents, trustees, and alumni)and of that community as a whole.

Defining Questions: What are the needs and dreams ofeach constituency? What touches them? What brings themmeaning and fulfillment?

Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: “Follow the lead ofthe child.” (Eugenie, 1975)

Principle 4Convergent leadership guides the school community toachieve a clear vision of educational outcomes. Thisincludes achieving consensus on Montessori “BestPractice,” communication agreements, and strategic goals.

Defining Questions: What is our vision of human devel-opment and human potential? How will we support oneanother and resolve our differences respectfully? What arethe essential elements of Montessori education for ourprogram? What makes the experience of our learningcommunity special and compelling?

Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: “The Montessoriteacher is constantly looking for the child who is not yetthere . . . In her imagination she sees the single normalizedtype, which lives in the world of spirit.” (Montessori, 1967,pg. 252)

Principle 5 Convergent leadership creates and follows a strategicplan for program and institutional enhancement. The

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plan covers all essential systems and functions: finances,administrative structure, program quality, staffing, enroll-ment, board development, and marketing/communications.

Defining Question: What is our blueprint for growthand greatness?

Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: “Teach teaching, notcorrecting.” (Eugenie, 1975)

Principle 6 Convergent leadership develops the leadership capabili-ties of others in the school community.

Defining Question: How can I empower others to takethe lead and become leaders?

Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: “To aid life, leavingit free, however, to unfold itself, that is the basic task of theeducator.” (Seldin & Epstein, 2003, p. 18)

Principle 7 Convergent leadership demands personal growth andself-improvement. It means a leader must become a rolemodel of “normalization,” an individual who exempli-fies consensus building, handles conflict with honestyand empathy, and acts as a catalyst for excellence andinnovation.

Defining Questions: Am I honestly working to become ahappier, healthier, more effective, and supportive humanbeing? Do people in the school community see me as alifelong learner, striving to improve my capabilities?

Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: “The first essentialis that the teacher go through an inner, spiritual prepara-tion—cultivate certain aptitudes in the moral order. Thisis the most difficult part of her training, without whichall the rest is of no avail.” (Eugenie, 1975)

Creating a “Prepared Environment” for School LeadershipIn the Montessori classroom we guide children to manage

their own lives and learning by designing “prepared envi-ronments” that focus students’ attention on what we wantthem to explore and experience. Our carefully constructedclassroom environments produce both the stimulation andisolation required for successful learning.

Similarly, there are strategies for preparing an adminis-trative environment that can move us from being managersof constant conflict and contingencies to being leaders whoempower people to work responsibly and collaborativelytoward common goals:

1. Give yourself “long, uninterrupted work (and play)periods” on a regular basis. This is what leadership expertStephen Covey calls Quadrant II, self-management activity(Covey, 1989, p. 162–3). Many Montessori school leaders

are so busy putting out fires and trying to make peoplehappy or accountable that they have little time left forreflection, research, creative thinking, or recreation. Dr.Covey sees this as time for improving one’s “productioncapability” (Covey, 1989, p. 288–9). Other organizationaldevelopment experts emphasize the importance of takingtime for reflection and gaining perspective. We know thateffective Montessori teachers take time from their instruc-tional activities to observe, assess, and document thelearning and social dynamics of their classroom commu-nities. Similarly, effective school leaders create time fordeep reflection and systems thinking about the needs andtendencies of the school community.

2. Build relationships early and often with all your con-stituencies. If you don’t make time to build bridges ofunderstanding with students, staff, parents, trustees, andalumni, you cannot expect to get support and commitmentfrom these people when the time comes to build a newschool, improve the quality of the program, or respond toa crisis. Effective school leaders are proactive in showingan interest in the happiness, health, ideas, and aspirationsof everyone in the school community, from the presidentof the board to the part-time aftercare or assistant teacher.When we reach out to the people who contribute to ourschool community to understand their needs and perspec-tives, we foster invaluable allies for the future.

3. Know what is important and make your decisionsaccordingly. In Houston Montessori Center’s The Coursefor Leading Schools we propose the following rubric forall school decision-making, whether it be educational,operational, or strategic in nature: We suggest that if theMontessori philosophy is based on what is good for thechild and for healthy human development, then the orderof inquiry in considering any change must be:

a. Will this decision support the healthy and wholedevelopment of the child?b. Will this decision support the delivery of an authenticMontessori program and the staff that facilitates it?c. Will this decision support the development of astable and sustainable school community?d. Will this decision meet the needs of the familiesserved and those you wish to serve?

When school leaders and boards make decisions based pri-marily or solely on what parents want, or what a faction onthe board wants, or what a group of veteran teachers wants,they are no longer advocating what is best for the child, forthe program, or the institution. They have forgotten theprinciples and values that drive the Montessori train.

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4. Understand the anatomy of your school community,then delegate and systematize. Some Montessori schooladministrators delegate program, business, or strategicfunctions to other people and groups before they fullyunderstand the characteristics and interrelationships ofthese institutional domains. This is dangerous, as there isno knowledgeable oversight or quality control. Certaingroups or factions invariably get out of control and offtask. Other administrators understand the systems andfunctions that comprise a school community but are afraidto relinquish control and delegate responsibilities to provenand capable people. This produces a micromanaged climatein which people feel oppressed and the over-controllingleader rarely has time to focus on big-picture programgoals and strategic vision.

5. Stop providing answers and rules. Pose questions thatfacilitate clarity, standards of quality, and consensus.People who think deeply and innovatively, solve problemscreatively, and work collaboratively tend to be surroundedby leaders who ask penetrating, focused, and imaginativequestions. Managers keep people on task and on timewith rigid rules and ready answers. Leaders foster adapt-able and motivated learners through the art of facilitativequestioning.

6. Build your school community on a foundation of grati-tude and dreams. Leaders help people focus on what ismost valued, who should be thanked today, and thepotential for doing greater good in the future. Research on employee satisfaction, loyalty, and retention indicatesthat workers care as much if not more about positive andsupportive feedback from leaders and professional peers as they do about compensation and benefits.

7. Champion innovation and experimentation. Managerswant people who merely stay on task. Like a good Montes-sori teacher, leaders encourage people to expand theirproficiencies by testing new ideas and trying “extensionsand variations” of proven practices.

8. Be aware of the world beyond Montessori. Leaders keepthemselves abreast of research and discoveries outside oftheir own organizational and philosophic frameworks.Learning about emerging trends and practices in leader-ship, organizational development, global economics, andeducation helps everyone in the school community toexpand his or her horizons and abilities.

The Bottom Line Many school administrators were raised in families

and educated in schools that operated from “command-and-control” paradigms. Do what the authorities tell youto do, or else! As children we may have been managed byour caregivers, and not led to the life skills of self-manage-ment. This sort of programming is difficult to overcome.Many of us tend to supervise adults in our school commu-nities in a manner that mirrors our own upbringing aschildren. To move from being a manager to being a leaderrequires the same degree of trust in the capacity of adults(including yourself) to learn and grow that Dr. Montessorihad for every child.

Leading a Montessori learning community requiresmore than an understanding of school management. Itcalls for the ability to stay focused on the principles, priori-ties, systems, and strategies that can produce an authenticand sustainable Montessori program.

References

Covey, S. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York:Simon & Schuster.

Eugenie, I. AMI Early Childhood Course, 1975, MontessoriInstitute of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.

Montessori, M. (1964). The Montessori method. New York:Schocken Books.

(1966). The secret of childhood. Notre Dame, IN: Fides Publishers, Inc.(1967). The absorbent mind. New York: Delta.(1972). Supernature and the single nation: Education and peace.

Chicago: Henry Regnery.(1973). From childhood to adolescence. New York: Schocken Books.Seldin, T., & Epstein, P. (2003). The Montessori way. Sarasota, FL:

The Montessori Foundation.

Suggested Reading

Ackoff, R. (1999). Re-creating the corporation: A design of organiza-tions for the 21st century. New York: Oxford University Press.

Covey, S. (1990). Principle-centered leadership. New York: Simon &Schuster.

(2004). The 8th habit. New York: Simon & Schuster.Miller, A. (1983). For your own good: Hidden cruelty in child rearing

and the roots of violence. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.Oakley, E., & Krug, D. (1992) Enlightened leadership. Denver: Stone

Tree Publishing.Watkins, J., & Mohr, B. (2001). Appreciative inquiry: Change at the

speed of imagination. San Francisco: Jossey Bass/Pfeiffer.

DANA KAMINSTEIN is a Fellow at Wharton ExecutiveEducation, University of Pennsylvania. MICHAEL EANES is aformer president of the Council for American Private Education(CAPE) and former executive director of the American MontessoriSociety. JONATHAN WOLFF is director of Learning for Life,an organization dedicated to enhancing staff performance,program quality, and institutional development.

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