Visionary Leadership Platform

RECEPTIVE

Communication is the single most important part of being a leader.

Communicating ideas, establishing a rigor that sets the standards high for teacher

expectations, and maintaining professionalism and collaboration are necessary. I will

strive to be a responsive leader.

RATIONAL

I know that earning my employees’ respect and trust will come with hard work,

confidence, and follow-through on my part, in everything I do. I will handle situations

that arise by involving my staff in making decisions that are deliberate, purposeful and

wise. I will strive to be a rational leader who makes decisions not on a whim, but with

clarity, consideration and conciseness.

RELATIONSHIPS

In a leadership role, I will need to find the right balance between tough love and

earned praise. If I set the bar high for myself, I will expect my staff to be held to those

same standards. I am the type of person that wants people to want to work hard for me

out of sheer work ethic. I want people to follow in my footsteps because they believe I

am doing the right things for the right reasons. It takes a lot of time, energy and patience

to build a strong repertoire and nurture relationships with staff, and at the same time, an

administrator cannot make everyone happy. I know that there will be times when I have

to speak directly with a staff member because they are not delivering instruction at a rate

that is consistent with common core standards. I know there will be times when I must

address issues with attendance, or with an accusation that a student has made against one

of my teachers. But I believe those moments will be easier when I can tell the person to

their face, “I am telling you this because I care.” Being a leader who cares, in my opinion

and from my own personal experience, is better than being a leader who is a dictator, who

does not develop relationships based on mutual collaboration and expectation. According

to Farina & Kotch (2008), “Leaders who don’t make time for personal conversations

often meet large-scale resentment and negative feedback because no personal connection

has been established as the foundation for building relationships” (p. 22). I will strive to

be a leader who develops relationships through respect and trust.

RESPONSIBILE

An instructional leader must take responsibility both for the successes and the

failures in their school. I will be a leader who puts the needs of others in front of my own.

I will always look for ways to make improvements in my school, no matter how difficult

or challenging those improvements might be. My leadership will define how successful

our school will be. I will strive to be a responsible leader.

RELIABLE

I must be fair and consistent, across the board. I believe nothing can take away

my credibility faster than being inconsistent in how I handle similar situations. It is a

guarantee that people will question my reasoning and my decisions. It will be my

responsibility to make sure I handle student discipline in the same manner each time,

depending on the situation – otherwise I will get called out on any discrepancies. When I

tell people I'm going to do something, I do it. I will strive to be a reliable leader.

RESOURCEFUL

I want to be organized and prepared, so that when situations arise, I will be ready.

It is not possible to predict what each day will look like. In situations of crisis, I will need

to have a level head and a precise plan of action, which are consistent with policies and

procedures that clearly outline what needs to be done. I will have a list of things I need to

do on a day-to-day basis, with the knowledge that I realistically might only get one-third

of those things done. I will strive to be a resourceful leader.

References

Farina, C. and Kotch, L. (2008). A school leader’s guide to excellence: Collaborating

our way to better schools. Portsmouth, NH.