MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 1

My Philosophy of Educational Leadership

--
Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership
and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
--
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement for the
Master of Arts in Education
--
by
Erica K. Barclay
The American School of Bombay
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
February 19, 2013
--
Dr. Timothy Gilson




MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 2
My philosophy of leadership has been shaped by the experiences I have had
through my 11 year teaching career. In his book Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way,
Robert D. Ramsey (2006) suggests that anyone can learn to be a leader. He points out
specific skills, attitudes, and habits that separate effective school leaders from people who
are simply managers of schools. The leaders I have come in contact with during my
career have given me definite ideas of what I believe works and does not work in a
school setting. Through this first course, Orientation to ISSL and Educational Leadership,
I have gained a greater understanding of what it means to be an effective school leader.
It was reassuring to see that many of the qualities and skills Ramsey (2006)
suggests a good leader needs to possess were already inherent of myself. I tend to be
very well organized and can keep a running mental list of what needs to be accomplished.
My grade level team often looks to me to be sure we meet deadlines and complete tasks
in a timely manner. Two years ago when a new head of school came to the American
School of Bombay (ASB) he did an activity with all the teaching staff, trying to get a feel
for the culture of the school and gain insight to how we viewed the people we work with.
My name came up in the colleague you can rely on to get things done category. I feel
comfortable speaking in front of large groups and have often lead workshops within and
outside of my school. Writing informational newsletter to parents is something I enjoy
and feel comfortable doing. These skills are found in good leaders.
It is my belief that it is the responsibility of everyone at a school to work towards
continuous improvement in teaching practices for improved student learning. This is
reflected in the Teacher Leader Model Standards Domain I (Teacher Leadership, 2011).
ASB is a fast paced school and the instant someone joins, they are encouraged to speak
MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 3
up about their passions and get involved. It is written into teacher contracts that everyone
will take on two additional responsibilities outside of classroom expectations such as
leading a team, coaching, creating and/or leading an afterschool activity, joining a task
force, or engaging in pilots of new practices. No one is allowed to sit back and be an
observer. Everyone must participate. This is a solid practice and one I would promote as
a leader in any role.
Ramsey (2006) suggests that people are able to grow by taking on responsibilities.
As a leader, I believe that as many things that can be delegated to others should be. This
pushes others to get involved and helps form collegiality. It lets those whom you lead
understand that you trust their opinions, knowledge, and experience, but also gives a
collective feeling of responsibility of what happens in and to the school. Taking this
approach also frees a leader to move on to bigger or more pressing items. No one person
is able to handle every little thing nor should they have to. This is modeled well at ASB.
I believe that every leader should model, promote, design, and facilitate
professional learning both in line with the schools mission and improvement goals and
also opportunities that arise out of staff passions. The Teacher Leader Model Standards
Domain III emphasizes that due to the dynamic nature of teaching and learning it is
important for leaders to design collaborative, job-embedded professional learning to keep
schools moving forward (Teacher Leadership, 2011). Ramsey (2006) states that leaders
should be champions of lifelong learning and all staff members should be given all the
training they want. Whenever possible, experts on current practice that reflect the culture
of a school should be brought in and purposefully used to teach and train staff members
on how to improve their teaching for better student learning. A leader should know their
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staff well on a personal and professional level so that when they come across
development opportunities outside of the school they can suggest or promote them to
appropriate people. Leaders should be open about their own professional learning and
share how they are growing. This connects to Chuck Martins idea of the Law of
Expanding Urgency (as cited in Ramsey 2006, p. 43) and can be a good motivator for
others to seek out further opportunities for growth.
In my opinion, a good leader has to model a balanced lifestyle and be family-
friendly. They have to understand that people have a life outside of work and that when
people are unable to give things outside of work the proper time they need, performance
at work suffers. One practice that I will promote wherever I work is the idea of providing
working mothers with a baby crche at school. I have seen how powerful it is for other
mothers and experienced for myself how having your infant under the age of one at
school puts your mind at ease and enables you to work more positively and productively.
This can tie in with the Teacher Leader Model Standards Domain VI (Teacher
Leadership, 2011) as well, knowing that the families of the staff at each school help
shape and form the greater school community.
Leadership is not about one-upmanship and as a leader it is important to think of
everyone on staff as a valuable person. About four years ago, a colleague and I were in
constant odds with one another. We both held strong opinions about what should and
should not be happening in the classroom. I could not see what others found so appealing
about them nor could they of me. Our problems came to the attention of our principal
who suggested we both read a book called Leadership and Self-Deception, Getting out of
the Box, written by the Arbinger Institute (2005). The book talks about how easy it is to
MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 5
blame others for problems you have and the idea of self-betrayal. An act contrary to
what you feel you should do for another is called an act of self-betrayal (Arbinger
Institute, 2005, p. 65). Self-betrayal can be present for anyone, but it is especially a
problem for leaders to whom others look for guidance. When blaming others for your
problems you are unable to see possible solutions to help solve them. When you start
looking at others as valuable people who can contribute to solutions you see things from
their perspective and in turn, they come to see from yours. After reading the book I was
able to shift my perspective and see what others had been seeing all along in this
colleague. It was a valuable lesson in self-awareness and being open-minded, a lesson
that I have carried forward with me and believe is an important one for a leader to
remember.
As a leader, I hope that I can model what I see in practice with my current
administrators and provide the opportunity for some fun, be approachable, and let others
know that I can be trusted to do what I have said I would. When the situation calls for it
and tough decisions need to be made, the groundwork will have been laid for people to
know I value their opinion, will consider it, and ultimately will do what needs to be done.
I will also hopefully be able to rely on those I lead to do great jobs themselves because I
have empowered them.
In reflecting upon my career, I do not know if I was ready to be a leader in a
broader sense until more recently where I have begun to apply the skills and attitudes of a
leader on a daily and more wide spread basis in my current teaching position. Ramsey
(2006) puts forth the idea that the opportunity to be a leader picks the person and comes
to those who are ready to receive it. He further says, Leadership isnt a title or an
MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 6
entitlement. Its not a right or a gift. Its your decision (Ramsey, 2006 p. 174). I feel
like the door for my opportunity to be a leader on a broader scale is opening and by
pursuing this degree I am making a decision to be a leader.




















MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP 7

References
Arbinger Institute, Inc. (2005). Leadership and self-deception: Getting out of the box.
New Delhi, India: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited

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