Good Leadership in any situation defines the success or failure of an institution. One of the most important challenges that a principal faces is that of understanding the strong points in all teachers and staff and taping into those strengths for the benefit of the organization. Being a faculty member and being a principal are similar in that as a teacher I hold myself personally accountable for the outcomes in my classroom. In order to do this I must consider the big picture by looking beyond my own behavior and beyond the things that happen from day to day in my classroom. I try to do all of the things I can to bring about the best possible results. I like to guard my turf, but I realize that if I am to accomplish the best for most of my students I must combine my efforts seamlessly with others. For example, I have an aide and a special education teacher who must also work with students in my class each day. Although they are very different from me they are also contributing to the overall achievements of my students and striving for the same outcomes. Linda Lambert (1995) defines leadership as a concept transcending individuals, roles, and behaviors. She states that everyone whether it is an administrator, a teacher, a parent or a student can engage in leadership. I believe in and live by this philosophy in my day-to-day actions as a teacher, parent, and a member of the community.

. The fact that one is hired as a leader or as a principal does not insure success at that job. A principal must be result oriented also. A good leader cannot depend on formal authority alone because that person will not be effective in the twenty-first century environment. A non-manipulative humanitarian use of authority is the most relevant way to manage a school. I feel that a good leader should encourage mutual respect by expecting teachers to communicate in a positive manner with the students, assign work to everyone equally, require others to work diligently toward the success of the students and write positive letters about students to parents of the students who deserve special recognition. As a principal I must strive to create a professional learning community where all stakeholders share in the responsibility and share in the implementation and the celebration of a successful end result. As the leader I must have a way of motivating faculty and staff to give one hundred percent.

I feel that some principals get input from everyone, actively listen to all ideas and then make what they deem to be the best decision based on all views. If a principal has a history of consistently making competent decisions many of the subordinates will feel positive about this form of leadership. I work under an administrator who, at one time, was interested in having all teachers teach by subject. After discussion and input from all upper elementary teachers the plan was dropped for third and fourth grades but implemented in fifth grade. This was a good decision because ultimately the teachers made the decision. The teachers were empowered to support the plan because they took part in making developing the plan. I plan to use this strategy as I lead my staff toward developing an excellent learning environment.

Pellicer (1999) quotes Sergiovanni (1992) stating, “the heart of leadership has to do with what a person believes, values, dreams about, and is committed to—the person’s vision, to use the popular term” (p.7). This connects the heart and the head of the leader, thus increasing the likelihood that others will be inspired to follow. Leaders must be authentic to the persons who are following them. According to Blase and Blase (2001) a model shared governance is optimism, caring, friendliness, honesty and enthusiasm. The end result is enhancement of the teacher’s self-esteem, confidence and self-satisfaction. I will always attempt to display the traits necessary to inspire others to feel better, to have a more positive self-image and to enjoy their jobs, thus creating a healthy work environment.

Flexibility and an open mind are important traits of a good leader. The leader should be result oriented. A principal who is intent on achieving targeted outcomes will be less tolerant of unnecessary work. A successful leader will be two-dimensional both task-focused and follower-focused. Owens (2004) discusses this type of leadership by describing the leader when he talked about being task focused. Some of the traits of the task-focused leader include the ability to initiate structure, provide information, determine tasks to be accomplished, set the rules, initiate rewards for compliance and initiate punishments for disobedience. I find that being task-focused comes very easy for me. I tend to dig in and get the job done. The follower-focused leader solicits advice and opinions from followers and shares the decision making process with the followers. The right blend of these two traits is imperative. I feel that I will have to work to develop the ability to be a follower-focused leader. A leader must have a vision, have the ability to communicate that vision and inspire the followers to have a desire to achieve the preferred outcomes. I tend to be a really enthusiastic person. I am also reasonable and share empathy with others easily.

Sergiovanni (2001) emphasizes that a good leader is one who knows the difference between having power over someone and having power to have someone achieve or accomplish a goal that they think is important. If a principal or leader enjoys having power over people, that person is more interested in power than in accomplishments. The leader must have power to inspire the subordinates to work hard to achieve the desired outcome. The principal of my school has enabled me to perform leadership tasks several times. She elicits my opinion on changes that she plans to make. She gives me the autonomy to make me feel that she respects my ability to do my job. She looks to me to help share her vision with others. I tend to behave in much the same way when dealing with others at my school. I also lead my classroom in this way. I feel that I have the power to inspire others to perform in necessary ways.

A principal, like a teacher, must always stay abreast of what is happening in the field of education. This is best completed by always updating one’s credentials. Studying, reading professional literature and attending seminars, in addition to taking courses are the best ways to accomplish this. I believe that accepting lateral transfers that broaden my knowledge has helped me gain much specialized knowledge. I feel that the more I know how to do and the better I do it, the more valuable I will become. A principal should put a concentrated effort into enabling the teachers to have the time and resources to broaden their horizons. There must always be awareness that everyone has something to learn. When administrators and teachers learn together they develop a shared vision (Blase and Blase, 2001).

Change is the only thing that is consistent in the professional learning community. People, by their very nature resist change. A good leader seizes the opportunity to encourage the teachers to realize that professional development is good for their career. An effective leader must have good problem-solving skills. Conflict comes with change. That conflict needs to be resolved quickly and with as little pain as possible. According to Blase and Blase (2001) there are seven helpful reminders for the leader. These include listening, making oneself available, teaching problem-solving skills, actively demonstrating faith and confidence in teachers and striving to bring the teachers into the discussion of the larger problems of the school, as well as always being prepared to move from problem solving to posing the problem and embracing the changing school community. This was exemplified in the recent actions of our principal. After noting that our school had several at-risk students, the principal researched mentoring programs. She then went out into the community and found businesses, business owners, and professional people who were willing to spend at least thirty minutes per week with a child.

“Successful shared governance principals sense that the school’s success lies in the skills and attitudes of the professional staff, not merely in the leadership capabilities of the principal” (Blase and Blase, 2001). There are several behaviors that cause stress for faculty, staff, and administrators. Lack of knowledge on the part of the principal is a competency that inevitably causes additional stressors in faculty and staff. Blase and Blase (2001) say that in order to keep teachers satisfied the administration must always be aware of teacher activities, such as professional development plans and contributions to the school. An exemplary principal would limit the assignments given to those already overloaded teachers and strive to award more authority not more work.

There are many avenues of reward that can be used for a teacher who does commendable work, top among those being regular verbal praise at meetings or during classroom visits. A teacher who receives a variety of extrinsic rewards will feel rewarded and have higher self-esteem, but the teacher will have more intrinsic rewards that are derived from their work if the work is equitably distributed in the school. “True empowerment leads to the increased professionalism as teachers assume responsibility for and involvement in the decision making process” (Blase and Blase, 2001). Verbal praise comes naturally to me and I am genuinely sincere when I compliment others. Being fair by nature has worked well for me in the classroom. My involvement in community activities will serve me well as a principal

As described by Sergiovanni, a successful leader must be equipped with the ability to enable others to function autonomously on behalf of shared purposes. The followers will be empowered to use the discretion they need to function autonomously for the organization. They will be given the support and training that will enable them to function autonomously and the leader will endeavor to remove all bureaucratic obstacles that so often prove to be stumbling blocks. Sometimes a good leader invests power in others in order to be rewarded with more power in return. The most successful leaders delegate and empower others frequently. If a subordinate has ability the leader invests in them the authority to make appropriate decisions. It must always be remembered that the purpose of empowerment is to increase motivation and commitment of the subordinate to share the mutual goals of the organization. When bonded together in a common cause there is a much greater likelihood of success. Accountability comes naturally when these procedures are followed. I am by nature a take-charge person. I am more likely to do the work myself than to delegate. Since I sincerely see the benefits of this delegation and of bonding others together to form a common goal, I am putting this on my list of traits to develop.

In conclusion, I feel that though there are many concepts of leadership, as a principal or coordinator, I must, more than ever, invest myself in to my job. My philosophy would be to encourage my staff to achieve, not only for me but also for themselves. Shared goals will be an important part of my administration. I feel I should express my vision in a way that others will completely understand how I feel and have them give input so that they will share the vision. I would endeavor to communicate my plans in an enthusiastic way so that others will pick up on my enthusiasm. All channels of communication will remain open at all times. I would hope to develop mutual trust and friendships among my staff by always exhibiting a legitimate concern for others. I will always be fair and objective in my dealings with faculty and staff alike. If I am successful, my subordinates will feel free to come to me with problems and concerns as well as with suggestions for improvement. I will have to commit myself passionately to the entire school community, be available nearly all the time and always strive for the best for my staff, students and faculty as well as for the system as a whole. By having this strong commitment to the school community, I will serve my best interests as well as the interests of the Jackson County School System. I will feel more satisfied. This commitment will empower me to bring out the best in the persons working with me. The principal, more than even the teacher must invest himself or herself passionately in his or her job.

References

Blase, J. J. & Blase, J. Empowering Teachers What Successful Principals Do.

Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, Inc. 2001.

Lambert, L., Walker, D., Zimmerman, D., Cooper, J., Lambert, M., Gardner, M., Stack,

P. J. The Constructivist Leader. New York: Teachers College Press, 1995.

Owens, R. G. Organizational Behavior in Education. Boston: Pearson Press, 2004.

Pellicer, L. Caring Enough to Lead: Schools and the Sacred Trust. Thousand Oaks,

California: Corwin Press Inc., l999.

Sergiovanni, T. The Principalship: A Reflective Practical Perspective, Fourth Edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2001.