Sharing the Lead: Creating a Climate of Excellence

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Sharing the Lead Creating a Climate of
Excellence

• Michele Atkins, Ph.D.
• Kenneth Newman, Ed.D.
• Ann Singleton, Ed.D.

Union University
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Hula Hoop
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The Academic Leader

• Has no agenda except to facilitate.
• Is enthusiastic about all students and teachers.
• Has an open-minded management style.
• Is transparent in decision making.
• Represents the school well to higher
  administration and to colleagues.
• Provides constructive feedback.
• Is politically astute.

PKAL Summer Institute Newsletter (2002, June).
Characteristics of the Ideal Academic Department
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The Myth of Effective Leadership

• There is a myth that an organization can find
  salvation through efficient management.
• Thus, the model of leadership is one of
  omnicompetence the skilled classroom
  practitioner plus curriculum leader, plus
  technical expert, plus all the manifestations
  associated with being the figurehead.
• It is no wonder that so many leaders in education
  seek early retirement or suffer a range of
  work-related illnesses.

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Being a successful school leader is not about
controlling your faculty. Most schools are
essentially archaic, resembling bureaucracies
that lack flexibility and adaptability
(West-Burnham, 1997). But the world is complex
and chaotic and we must adapt. Likewise, the
children and adults that enter our schools are
complex and we must learn to be flexible and
adapt to their needs.
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Effective Academic Leaders are

• Committed and enthusiastic
• Competent
• Possess self-knowledge
• Authentic
• Empathetic communicate care

These characteristics become interrelated. When
we are not empathic leaders, others around us
stop being authentic, stop bringing talent and
energy into the workplace, and stop using
feelings to support personal work-related goals
(Cooper Sawaf, 1997).
Leadership Reconsidered, 2000
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• The Empathic Academic Leader acknowledges the
  teachers/staffs competence and value, thereby
  creating an atmosphere of reciprocal giving. When
  adults feel they give more to a relationship than
  they get in return, they feel distress and
  typically either reduce inputs (dont do lesson
  plans, come in late, miss meetings, careless
  work), increase complaints (whiny behaviors), or
  end the relationship (quit trying).

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The Power of Influence

• If you want to have power in your
  school/district, then earn influence rather than
  demand control.
• Influence is only obtained through mutual
  respect.
• Mutual respect must be initiated by the leader.
• Mutual respect is gained through the display of
  empathy for others.

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Do As I Do
Research indicates that when leaders model
desired empathic behaviors, others are more
likely to adopt these behaviors themselves than
when they are merely told to behave in a certain
manner.
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Why is Empathy Important for Children?

• Characteristic of the successful learner (Jones,
  1990)
• Foundation of social intelligence (Mead, 1934)
• Significantly related to self-esteem (Davis,
  1983)
• Related to prosocial behavior (Hoffner Haefner,
  1997)
• Related to cognitive development and moral
  development (Atkins, 2000)
• Related to grade point averages (Bonner Aspy,
  1984)
• Related to critical thinking skills and creative
  thinking (Gallo, 1989)

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The Payoff of Empathic Leadership

• When children feel safe, cared about, and
  relaxed they will learn more, not less. Our
  children are able to grapple with higher-order
  thinking questions because they dont face the
  petty disturbances that arise in mainstream
  schools. We resolve conflicts as they come up,
  thereby reducing the childrens distractions.
• Shlossman

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The Profile of an Empathic Academic
LeaderAttitude

• Open, warm, relaxed, good-humored, ensures
  fairness, models and expects common courtesy,
  explains how faculty/staff should work or behave
  in an understanding way rather than criticizing

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The Profile of an Empathic Academic
LeaderFacial Expression

• Frequent smiles, lots of eye-contact, generally
  positive demeanor, expressive face which shows
  emotions and can switch emotions quite quickly,
  can influence others emotions as well

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The Profile of an Empathic Academic Leader Voice

• Positive, encouraging, expressive, clear
  directions and explains the meaning of directives
  when necessary

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The Profile of an Empathic Academic Leader Body
Language

• Uses gesture, animated, tactile, moves around,
  uses body for emphasis and explanation

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The Profile of an Empathic Academic Leader
Positioning

• Generally gets closer to those he/she is speaking
  to, less distance, less formality and provides
  one-to-one support when possible even in a large
  setting, moves around quite a lot, sits down with
  the community members, lowers whole body down
  below students level

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The Profile of an Empathic Academic
LeaderResponses

• Knows and uses names frequently, listens
  carefully to others, gives them sole
  concentration when possible, elicits
  understanding from them, echoes and affirms their
  comments, tries to give a positive response but
  asks them to elaborate or develop response if
  weak, prompts and helps them when necessary

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The Profile of an Empathic Academic Leader
Content of Interactions

• Conveys relevance of topic, uses personal
  interest, reflection, and humor in meetings the
  personal used as a vehicle into topics

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The Profile of an Empathic Academic
LeaderMiscellaneous

• In touch with community members interests, form
  personal relationships with each member,
  considers the informal significant, very aware of
  individual social and emotional aspects, puts
  time and effort into relationships, concerned
  with out-of-school life of members, maintains a
  long-term view of the member s well-being, good
  listener

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Trust begins with a personal commitment to
respect others, to take everyone seriously.
Respect demands that we first recognize each
others gifts and strengths and interests. Only
then can we reach our common and individual
potentials. Max De Pree
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Royalty for a Day
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REFLECTION
A Key to Developing Greater Self-Understanding
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Reflection is the beginning of reform. There
can be no reform without reflection. If you
dont reflect when you commit a crime, then that
crime is of no use. It might just as well have
been committed by someone else. Mark Twain The
Watermelon Speech 1907
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• Reflection is so critical there can be no
  higher growth for individuals or for society
  without it. Reflection is the very process of
  human evolution itself.
• David Sawyer
• Berea College
• Berea, KY

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The term reflection is derived from the Latin
term reflecteremeaning to bend
back. Webster defines reflect as to think
seriously contemplate ponder.
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Dewey (1933) is acknowledged as the key
originator in the 20th century of the concept of
reflection. He considered it to be a special
form of problem solving, thinking to resolve an
issue which involved active chaining, a careful
ordering of ideas linking each with its
predecessors.
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• Many people, both students and teachers,
  think of reflection only in terms of
  touchy-feely group discussions. However,
  reflection need not be limited to the release of
  emotional energy, the sharing of feelings, or
  attempts to feel good.

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• Rather, reflection is decidedly educational.
  It is an opportunity through which one can learn
  from experience. Reflection can take numerous
  forms and can touch on an endless variety of
  issues.
• It furthers learning and inspires provocative
  thought and action. Most of all, it can benefit
  both the individual and the larger community.

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• Simply put, reflection involves getting people
  talking/thinking about their experiences.

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• Donald Schon (1983) in Reflective
  Practitioner How Professionals Think in Action
  calls for professionals to better understand
  their actions by thinking about their actions.
  He says we must get into the habit of thinking
  about our thinking.

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• The Tennessee Evaluation Model does just what
  Schon (1983) suggests with such items as
• As you reflect on the lesson, what are your
  initial impressions? What did you see your
  students doing or hear them saying that support
  your impressions?
• In your reflection, how did the lesson actually
  unfold as compared to what you had anticipated
  happening as you did your planning?

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• As you reflect back over this lesson/reflection
  and previous lessons/reflections, what ideas or
  insights are you discovering about your teaching?

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Some Forms of Reflection

• Journals
• Logs
• Reflective Essays
• E-mail Discussion Groups
• Portfolios
• Book Clubs/Discussions

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• Costa and Kallick (2000) maintain that
  Building in frequent opportunities for faculty
  and students to reflect on their teaching and
  learning enriches education for all.
• How often is this done in our schools?

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• They further state
• In teaching as in life,
• maximizing meaning from experiences
• requires reflection.

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• And, finally
• Despite a reflective facultys best intentions
• to focus on the past,
• the tradition in education is to simply discard
• what has happened and move on to new topics.
• It is up to us to break out of the box.

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• Reflection.
• What are faculty meetings like the majority of
  the time in your school?

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• What do you think would happen in a school if
  faculty meetings became a time of reflection
  instead of a time for announcements and gripe
  sessions?

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Lets reflect
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• What are your real goals of education?
• How would you define the differences between
  learning and knowledge?

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How should we be preparing kids for the real
world? What is the real world, anyway? Can you
identify some real-world skills or knowledge that
every child should learn or know? If our
society committed itself to the idea that we care
about kids more than we care about schools, what
would need to change?
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If you agree that the ability to believe in
yourself and to love learning are important
skills schools should teach, how would you go
about teaching them? What is your definition or
vision of a great school? How would you go about
measuring each of the qualities you choose?
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Do you and your colleagues share the same
philosophy or vision about your school or
workplace? Why or why not? How does this
influence the way you work together and think
about your work? What would a school that was
a little more human look like to you?
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• Reflections taken from
• Littky, D. (2004). The big picture Education
  is everyones business. Alexandria, VA ASCD.

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Every man must decide whether he will walk in the
light of creative altruism or in the darkness of
destructive selfishness. Lifes most persistent
and urgent question is, What are you doing for
others? Martin Luther King, Jr.
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• Never doubt that a small group of
• thoughtful, committed citizens
• can change the world
• indeed, its the only thing that ever has.
• Margaret Mead
• Anthropologist

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At the last great meeting of the species, the
dinosaurs voted not to change.
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Sharing the Lead Creating a Climate of Change

• Michele Atkins, Ph.D.
• Kenneth Newman, Ed.D.
• Ann Singleton, Ed.D.

Union University