Philosophy of Educational Leadership

--
Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership
and Post Secondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
--
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement for the
Master of Arts in Education
--
by
Sridevi Natrajan
The American School of Bombay
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
July 17th, 2013
--
Dr. Timothy Gilson










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A leadership philosophy is how we envision ourselves as leaders. This
philosophy will pave the path to our actions, our behaviors, and our thoughts.
Everyone has a philosophy on leadership, which is created through experiences and
knowledge. These philosophies keep changing as they grow to understand how they
can connect with the leader in themselves. Having said that, I would like to state
that I have constructed this philosophy of educational leadership on the basis of
reflecting on the experiences and knowledge I have gained over the course of my
teaching career.
As I began thinking about what my philosophy of leadership was, the first
question that hit my mind was, "Why did I choose the Teacher Leadership
Program?" As I kept mulling over this thought, a few reasons that jumped out at me
were that I wanted to be a role model, a guide, an inspirer, a visionary and give
back what I learnt to the educational industry a few years down my career. Now as
I started to place these words together, the big picture that struck my mind was -
"LEADERSHIP". I knew that if I wanted to be all this, I needed to envision myself
as a leader.
As I began to do so, the next step was to work towards that goal. This course,
Orientation to ISSL and Educational Leadership, has exposed me to some great
reading materials like Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way, by Robert D. Ramsey
(2006), Teacher Leader Model Standards (Teacher Leadership Exploratory
Consortium, 2011) and various case studies which have helped me identify with
many of the qualities of a Teacher-Leader that already exist in me and thereby
helped me believe that I don't have to be the head of an organization or be elected
to a political office to be a leader. All it takes is to realize the embedded leadership
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qualities within oneself, nurture them, enhance them and apply them as and when
the situation demands.
During the second semester of our school year, the teacher (my colleague) of
the other 3 year old classroom had to leave for a maternity break and the EC 3
Department welcomed a new expat teacher from Australia. This was her very first
experience working in an International setting, teaching Primary Years Program. I
was summoned by my Supervisor, who put me in control and asked me to take a
lead role and thus began my first hand experience as a lead teacher. "The surest
way to move beyond perfunctory school management to a higher level of leadership
is to make planning a priority" (Ramsey, 2006, p.18). I started planning and getting
organized with all the materials, information and resources needed to make the new
teacher's transition smooth.
I believe that a leadership role is not just about throwing your weight around
people but is about how one can work well with people and get the best out of them
to achieve the common goal. As Ramsey (2006) reminds us, "The secret is to give
what you like to get" . (p. 42).
A teacher leader should create an inclusive culture where diverse perspectives
are welcomed in addressing challenges (Teacher Leadership Exploratory
Consortium, 2011, Domain I). I believe that working in an international setting, a
leader should always encourage collaboration and create a solution oriented
environment in order to get the desired output.
Coming from an international school, we teachers always encounter changes.
In such a setting a leader should be open-minded and flexible since change is
inevitable and it's the only way to have more scope for improvements. I believe that
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the true skills of a leader is displayed when he is able to convince the stake holders
in his organization and inspire them as well, to be adaptable to changes and provide
them with necessary training skills needed to transition smoothly. As mentioned in
the Teacher Leader Model Standards III - The teacher leader understands the
evolving nature of teaching and learning, the established and emerging technologies
and the school community. The teacher leader uses this knowledge to promote,
design and facilitate job embedded professional learning aligned with school
improvement goals (Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium, 2011).
In my opinion, a leader who understands that every employee has a life
outside of school, needs to model a healthy balanced life to get the best from others
as well as themselves. At the American School of Bombay (ASB), administrators
believe in delegating their duties to their subordinates and this creates an
environment of confidence and trust in the minds of the employees. A leader needs
to make the best use of his time and this can only be done when work is delegated
to the concerned departments so that the leader can focus on the big picture.
The one leader I have always admired and would love to follow is Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi. He was a man who stuck to his core beliefs on every instance
and continued towards his goals without letting the setbacks affect his vision. This
characteristic of Gandhi reminds me of the Acronym of fear that states, Face
Everything and Rise. Gandhi was an authentic leader who was open, honest and
true to his word. This takes me back to Ramsey's (2006) description about how
authentic leaders lead with a sense of purpose and value principals over ego. (p.
xxii).
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As a lead teacher, I have always been approachable and have created a
trustworthy environment for my subordinate teachers. I have always encouraged
learning by actively involving them in planning, researching, decision making and
have also modeled the same by updating my knowledge through reading or
registering for specialized courses. At ASB, I have always seen my administrators
encouraging and introducing their employees to a wealth of knowledge. I believe
that if I expect dedication, honesty, adaptability, open-mindedness, collaboration,
and many other skills from my students, staff and community, as a leader, I first
need to model and possess these skills. Also, a leader needs to create an
environment where such skills can be developed. Resources need to be provided for
further enhancement and last but not the least, make sure that he/she is able to
foresee and prepare back up plans to remove any obstacle that might come in the
way of their performance and learning. Most importantly, a leader needs to set up a
school culture that helps everyone to grow, nurture and learn which will lend itself
to achieve the school goals.
My supervisors have always recognized me for my effective communication
skills. This is a key skill that is always looked for in a leader. I was also selected to
work with the Parent Communication Group for the Early Childhood Strategic
Planning Team where I was asked to sit with a group of parents to discuss and
collaborate about how communication can be made more effective and consistent at
ASB. Parents and co-workers have always enjoyed communicating with me in
various informal and formal meetings.
Having said so much about the employees and students, I strongly believe
that a leader should also maintain healthy relationships with the parents and be
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approachable. It is imperative that a leader model his personality in a manner that
the parents of the children can sense the values and culture of the school in him. A
leader should always bear in mind that he is the representative of the school and
should always conduct himself in a manner that is acceptable and respectful.
I firmly believe that as a leader, it is important that we sow the seeds of good
citizenship and provide ample opportunities where the staff, parents and the
students get to serve the society in which they live. With the current trends and
evolving changes in the education scenario, I can foresee changes in the leadership
roles to meet the needs of the 21st Century educators, students, parents and
community. Hence as I envision myself as leader in the years to come, I have to
continue to learn to keep up with these challenges. In the words of John F.
Kennedy, Learning and Leadership are indispensable to each other.
An effective leader needs to understand that overall leadership effectiveness
is a balance between Personality and Character supported by Intellect. The stronger
the intellect the greater the potential but strong personalities tend to be less
tolerant, more willing to take risks and potentially less ready to accept criticism.
In the end, I would like to say that a person can preach many things. But he
only becomes a leader when he can inspire and be the change he wants to see in
others.





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References

Ramsey, R. D. (2006). Lead, follow or get out of the way: How to be a more effective
leader in todays schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium. (2011). Teacher Leader Model Standards.
Retrieved from
http://www.teacherleaderstandards.org/downloads/TLS_Brochure_sm.pdf