Analytical Paper : Leadership And Leadership Development

Achieving a school district’s mission and vision requires the commitment of its stakeholders. In order to involve them in the process, it is necessary for educational leaders to “motivate staff, parents, students, board and community members” (Educational Leadership Constituencies Council, 2002, p. 4). The transformational leadership theory emphasizes the importance of educational leaders acting as role-models in order to motivate and inspire the school community. This approach has the potential to involve all stakeholders, leading to increased student success (Bush, 2007). The Assistant Director of Special Education in Northwest ISD directly supervised the school district’s assessment staff. Her education, experience, and passion set an example for her subordinates, stimulating them to achieve more, leading to her promotion to Executive Director of Student Services.

There are two kinds of people in this world, followers and leaders. Followers are the people that never take a leadership role in any activity. "They are more valued by followers and have higher performing teams." (Cherry 2014) However, leaders are the ones that use their leadership skills to make a difference in this world, such as presidents, teachers, or even college graduates. Leadership is not something you can learn from a book, but you have to gain this skill through experiences such as holding an office, organizing an event, speaking in front of people, or participating in a leadership program.

A dirty little secret of leadership development is there are few truly new and innovative ideas. Recently published books, tools, and concepts repackage ideas from decades or centuries ago to address the needs of twenty-first century leaders and organizations. For example, Amazon lists Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin as the current best seller in business management and leadership. Willink and Babin’s ideas are solid and their stories are both inspiring and compelling. Nonetheless their concepts are not new. Academicians, practitioners, and leaders have highlighted these same principles for decades: check the ego, prioritize and execute, and decisiveness amid uncertainty, to name a select few. This is not a criticism, rather a reality of the leadership industry. Accordingly my contributions to the field are not uniquely inventive. Rather I excel at packaging existing ideas in creative, simple, and applicable ways that address my clients’ needs and inspire impactful leadership. I recently shared a set of risk taking tools with a client that demonstrates this skill.

A vital individual when it comes to initiating change is the person willing to take action in order to construct something different. A person willing to own the outcome and lead the change is the critical element in producing change. Without the leader of change stepping up and accepting responsibility, all others have is an awareness of the problems that exist, therefore, change doesn’t transpire. There are countless people who are constantly eager to share all of the items which they believe need to change, with anyone who will listen. There are far fewer who are willing to step up and lead that change. Teacher leaders have the vision to generate change in their schools, and are a vital asset to change. Catalytic leaders are needed throughout schools in order to make change happen. Leaders with an expertise in the area of change are authentic, initiative, and influential.

This paper will highlight and reflect, on some of my nursing experiences working in the healthcare industry. However, I would like to state nurses in practice face a plethora of conflicts, ethical and moral stress. I reference more importantly ethical and moral stress, because each day a nurse clocks in to work, must diligently place duty and obligation as the driving force to care for patients. However, working within an organization, has many constraints that stem from policies and regulations, resulting in a system based on traditional values and beliefs. The systems found in the healthcare organizations are systems with departmental responsibility based on checks and balances that provides systems for responsibility and accountability. In observation and practice, I have discovered, that the systematic structures in place, are also necessary, to reinforce standards of care, quality assurance and safety of patient care. Any adverse conditions can result in costly fines and loss of licensure for the healthcare organization.

Principals are under increased pressure to create systemic change within their school. Providing leadership coaching will give principals the tools they need while on the job and can improve their interactions throughout their workday. The purpose of coaching is to move from one place to another (Reiss, 2007, p. 54). The coaching model in the executive world has various models which supports the concept of helping leaders reach their next level with improved thinking skills or clarifying purposeful action to achieve challenging goals. Coaching develops leaders or gives leaders an additional edge (Allison-Napolitano, 2013). The coaching process is successful in helping individuals and organizations through change (Reiss, 2007, p. 56).

Successful administrators possess the necessary attributes that help them make decisions and solve various problems. All school leaders, regardless of their title or role in a building or district, will face obstacles involving individuals, community members, staff, and students. In order to address these challenges, leaders must understand the issue, formulate and apply a solution, and then reflect on their implementation of the solution to decide whether or not it is improving the situation. By no means is this an easy task, but effective leaders must strive to make sure their students, personnel, and constituents are being led down a path that will lead to overall academic and personal success. According to Young (2008), “as such,

In some situations, leaders are viewed as someone who simply gives orders and others do the majority of the work. This perspective is far from the reality of becoming an effective principal. I feel it is vital to delegate tasks to others; successful principals must take control of the important situations and lead by example in their buildings. This course has shown me how essential communication, planning, and becoming a focused leader truly is to the success of a school. I have a great deal to learn and skills to develop to become an effective leader. This course has helped put leadership into perspective and the qualities required to develop into the best possible educational leader. Throughout my final courses I will continue to develop skills and create an even higher level of leadership

Numerous people in today’s society believe that a principal’s only occupation is to “be in charge" of the school where he/she is employed. In reality, the principal of a school is considered to be the “leader of the pack”. “Leadership, as moral action, is a struggle to do the right thing according to a sense of values and what it means to be a human being” (Sergiovanni, T.J. 2005). The leadership that a principal provides should demonstrate that he/she cares about the staff/students, that he/she learns daily from their accomplishments/failures, that he/she is willing to take risks that could lead to school improvement, and that he/she is a trustworthy person. Based on past experiences, the previous discussion, and the review of literature,

Leadership is often times confused with management, but they are in fact two separate and equally important aspects of successful organizations (Kotter, 2001). Leadership applies “power to influence the thoughts and actions of other people” (Zaleznik, 1992, p.2), while management is more concerned with handling problems as they arise (Kotter, 2001). Kotter (2001) and Zaleznik (1992) both discuss how leaders may be developed in different settings. The school district I work in practices growing leaders. Employees are identified for their leadership qualities and then the school district assists them with acquiring their administration degrees. Finally, they are transitioned from the classroom to administrative positions within the district

This influential work on “A Vivid Illustration of Leadership: Principals” Actions Propel Struggling Schools Turnaround work grew out of an urgent need to transform a high poverty high school. The author of this research discovered a framework between leadership, classroom teacher and learning. And so, this article discloses research that indicates the effectiveness of leadership and the kind of leadership needed to improve student achievement. Therefore, a leader must be a visionary and move with urgency to transform the learning environment. The purpose of this study was to explain the impact of effective leadership on school reform and to show how effective leadership methods are used to improve a high poverty high school. Because the leader

The focus of this study is to garner qualitative data concerning principals’ leadership practices and how these practices impact the retention of teachers. The research design will concentrate on the strategies implemented by principals with teachers. The strategies may include, but are not limited to opportunities for collaboration, the evaluation process socialization, professional development, mentoring and communication. Administrators in the district will benefit from the

Leadership can be difficult to define because it has different meanings dependent on the audience. As an administrator, it is important to assist teachers in educating students’ growth of knowledge and help them understand that learning is a continuous process. Learning is not something that happens overnight, but something that happens as a result of continuous practice and the development of skills in a classroom. In my experience, teachers act as guides to field questions, provide logical directions to assignments, and help students have confidence. These are three important factors that have influenced my decision to become an administrator. This positive leadership philosophy of education believes that the purpose of schooling is to provide an opportunity for all students to acquire a quality education in a safe, nurturing, and positive environment. Education is the sole means for breaking down barriers. Finding the appropriate leadership style

In the field of education, many issues seem to be converging simultaneously. Budget, technology initiatives, alignment to core standards, AchieveNJ, PARCC, HIB and a myriad of others are ongoing while educational leaders also have the responsibility of running a department, school or district. Being a school leader is often like laying railroad tracks while the train is barreling toward you. Regardless, as district leaders, we need to be prepared and always look toward the future in order to educate our students to the highest degree possible. Therefore, successful educational leaders should possess the skills and background in the areas of curriculum development, evaluation, public relations, goal-setting, integrity and articulation

Marzano, McNulty and Waters propose five steps for a plan of effective school leadership. The first step is developing a leadership team with purpose. The definition used for a purposeful community is one with the collective efficacy and capability to develop and use assets to accomplish goals that mater to all community members through agreed-upon process (Marzano, et. al, 2005). The second step is distributing some responsibilities throughout the leadership team. The third step is to select the right work. The fourth step is to identify the order of magnitude implied by the selected work. The last step is to match the management style to the order of magnitude of the change initiative. The last step incorporates whether this is first or second order change.