LeadershipWashington State University
“Leadership Matters!”
It matters a great deal in leading a learning culture where staff and students improve in practice and
performance.
Adult behavior changes when . . .
If you want to change people’s behavior, “You need to create a
community around them, where these new beliefs could be practiced,
expressed and nurtured” (p. 173).
Fullan (2005)
COLLABORATION IS KEY!
Leadership
What is it?
“It’s just one darn thing after another!”
“The role of leader is to “mobilize people to
tackle tough problems.”
Heifetz (1994)
Every leader is telling a story about
what he or she values.
What do you value?
We must adjust to changing times,
but cling to unchanging principles
Unchanging Principles
With a partner, please identify some “unchanging principles” that “leaders” demonstrate in the performance of their practice?
What are some of the “big rocks” (leadership characteristics) you want to be sure you put into your jar (performance) each day?
Unchanging Principles Integrity Respect Accountability Service Responsibility Trust Gratitude Hope A focus on results Lifelong learner Role model Authentic listener
EDWARD R. MURROW -
This I Believe . . .
Leadership . . .
Good leaders change organizations.
Great leaders change people.
Leadership is . . .
Management view:
“Doing things right.”
Leadership View:
“Doing right things.”
Leadership is . . .
“Doing right things right.”
Kenneth Leithwood, 2004
As a leader, what are the
“right things?”
What evidence do you have that you are
“doing the right things right?”
Leading with the “Right Work”
“The right work at both the school level and the district level is to do something that
impacts the classroom.”
Waters & Marzano (2006)
Leadership
What is the purpose of
educational leadership?
“The purpose of leadership is the improvement of instructional
practice, regardless of one’s role.”
Richard Elmore (2006)
Leadership
How do leaders influence the improvement of instructional practice and performance?
Leadership Accountability
The necessary condition for success of school leaders in the future will be their capacity to improve the quality of instructional practice.
Richard Elmore, June 2006 Conference paper, OECD, (p. 6.)
What is improvement?
Improvement is increases in quality and performance
over time.
Richard Elmore, June 2006 Conference paper, OECD, (p. 6.)
Practice must be based on atheory of action.
A theory of action is a set of logically connected statements that connect the actions of leaders with their consequences for quality and performance in the organization.
They must be stated in order to be shared, and they have to be evaluated against evidence of their success in order to be judged.
(Chris Argyris and Donald Schon, 1978)
Leadership is . . .
The relentless pursuit
in the improvement
of practice.
June 26, 2002 Seattle P.I.
Germany ends South Korea’s dreamThree-time champs will face
Brazil or Turkey in final
BY JERE LONGMANThe New York Times
“South Korea was playing out a fantasy, while Germany is one of the world’s powers. Victory is a relentless expectation, not a delirious wish. While South Korea had a nation’s support, it could not match Germany’s skill and conviction.”
Leadership
Break
Leadership Priorities
Please select one or two leadership phrases or comments that most align with your view of leadership and reflect the culture of where you work, or would like to work.
Share with a colleague or at your table why you selected the phrase of comment.
A recent report (2007) from McKinsey & Company titled, How the World’s Best-performing School Systems Come Out on Top, concludes that :
1) the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers, and
2) the only way to improve outcomes is to improve instruction.
Great Schools Consist of . . .
Great teachers doing
great teaching.
McKinsey & Company (2007)
Great teaching consists of . . .
Teachers’ knowledge and skill,
Students’ engagement in their own learning, and
Challenging and meaningful content.
PELP Coherence Framework (2006)
Students achieve when:
there is a culture of high expectations,
teachers know how and when learning occurs, and
schools identify and support struggling students.
Urquhart, 2008McREL, Changing Schools
McKinsey & Company’s 2007 Report Findings . . .
Get the right people to teach,
Support their growth of their knowledge and skills, and
Ensure that every student performs to his or her potential focused around common (agreed upon) learning beliefs.
The Role of Leadership in Highly Effective Schools
Hire well
Develop people
Intervene early and often
Create a “high reliability” system(failure is not an option for any student)
McKinsey & Company ( 2007)
One child who does not learn what is needed for future success is
one child too many.
Urquhart, 2008
McREL, Changing Schools