Principle of School Leadership Rizza Mermejo

Sir Mark Ephraim Ayano

Module 4
Each leader has the potential to become his/her “better”, “more successful” self.
Leadership and excellence goes hand in hand. If you are a leader, you should aim for excellence
and not mediocrity. Leadership Excellence is the uncompromising commitment to value
creation. It means a commitment that primarily arises from the leader’s personality. Such a
leader is solution-oriented in every situation, is able to take decisions even under tough
circumstances, to undertake his decisions and to consequently make them happen. He is also
able to align different interests as well as short-term and log-term goals. He is not afraid of
changes, he understands the necessary direction of development and he shapes it.
They define the four frames of leadership as structural, human resources, political, and
symbolic. Structural leaders define clear goals, assign specific roles for their constituents, and
coordinate specific activities with specific policies, procedures, and chains of command. The
structural leader tries to align the internal processes of the organization to the external
environment while dealing with organizational dilemmas. The human resource frame focuses
on needs of people. The political frame focuses on individual and group interests. The symbolic
leader develops symbols and culture to shape human behavior and reflects a shared mission
and identity for the organization.
Leadership starts with communication. Effective communication is clear, transparent
and customized to the recipient. By communicating with your team, you build trust, rapport
and a culture of shared accountability. Communicate—often, clearly and honestly. Secondly, A
good leader knows his or her team better than anyone else—their strengths, their weaknesses,
what makes them tick and what motivates them. Take the time to get to know your team and
you’ll know how to talk to them—and how to get things done. Third element is that It’s not only
important to know your team; it’s important to know yourself. Is this just a job to you, or do
you truly want to be a leader?—Do you want to motivate, inspire and lead people? If you’re just
in it for the money or the prestige, you’re not a true leader. Your team most likely won’t be
happy or engaged, and neither will you. Fourth element of leadership is democracy. If you’re
simply telling people what to do, you’re not going to have engaged workers, and your results
will probably suffer, too. Sure, sometimes you have to make a tough call and push through an
unpopular agenda item, but for the most part you should try to show your team that they do
have choices. Listen to their needs, take suggestions and implement the democratic process
when it comes to projects. Lastly, is seeking out feedback. It’s hard to do an honest self-
assessment so regularly ask for feedback—not only from your team, but other managers,
mentors and other colleagues as well. Feedback helps you to understand what your strengths
and weaknesses are and how to use them to your advantage. When you grow, your team
grows!