Carlos G.

Fernandez January 5, 2023

MaedCIN Section 4

List down your three main takeaways in the assigned readings/learning materials.

Addressed the need for instructional leadership regardless of the school’s organizational structure and
concluded that even if an instructional leader were not packaged as a principal, such a leader was
imperative. He concluded from his review of the research that, “The leaderless-team approach to a
school’s instructional program has powerful appeal, but a large group of professionals still needs a single
point of contact and a active advocate for teaching and learning”.

Weber’s point is especially poignant in today’s educational arena of shared leadership and site-based
management, and he emphasizes the conclusion that instructional leadership is necessary regardless of
the hierarchical nature of a school organization.

Weber (1996) identified five essential domains of instructional leadership based on his review of the
literature: defining the school’s mission, managing curriculum and instruction, promoting a positive
learning climate, observing and improving instruction, and assessing the instructional program. His
model is consistent with the two earlier models and incorporates many of the same elements.

Five Steps of Supervision

It seemed to me that a more helpful system of management would focus on making the employment
relationship work well. It would take into account what employees need in order to do their job well. It
would also consider what responsibilities the managers have toward their employees, what the limits of
those responsibilities are and what responsibilities employees have toward their managers. The system
of management that I developed is based on five steps of supervision.

Provide employees with the tools they need to do their jobs. From computers and fax machines to
pencils, ring binders and patient education brochures —the tools can be anything tangible that is
needed for the job.

Provide employees with the training they need to do their jobs. The key thing to remember is that the
learning process is often more difficult than we realize. While some people are quick studies, others
need a lot more time to absorb training. For tasks that are complex—handling an irate patient, for
instance—try repeating the training every few days or weeks. One common error is to take an approach
to training that is too informal. Suppose, for instance, that you hire a new receptionist and she sits with
the departing receptionist during his last week on the job. She is learning from someone who may have
no natural aptitude for training, who may already have his mind on his next job and who has no
incentive to train her well. And if she struggles for the next few months, is that because she’s not up to
the job or because the former receptionist forgot to go over some key tasks?

Help employees set goals to improve their performance. What should employees’ priorities be, and
what level of performance should you expect from them? It is management’s responsibility to provide
each member of your staff with some direction on these issues. I have found that the best way to do this
is by helping them set goals for improvement. Although I prefer them to set their own goals, I will ask a
staff member to change a goal if it doesn’t seem appropriate. Similarly, I will sometimes direct a staff
member to add an extra goal. Suppose, for instance, there is a problem with an employee’s
performance that none of his goals address—perhaps he frequently arrives at work late. In that
instance, I would help him set an appropriate goal.

Become a resource. Providing people with tools, training and goals is a good start, but what happens
when they reach an impasse? Will they ask you for your help? You can encourage staff to look to you for
help if you show that you are available, approachable and willing to listen with an open mind. However,
you also must be careful to let employees retain responsibility for accomplishing their goals. You should
be a resource, but you must not take on staff members’ responsibilities.

Hold staff accountable. Make sure people have opportunities to account for the progress that they have
made on their goals. How often should you ask staff to report on this? That depends on the nature of
the goal. If an employee’s goal is to get to work on time, I would tell him to report weekly. He would use
a written form, and each day he would write both the time that he was supposed to arrive and the time
that he actually arrived, then at the end of the week he would hand it to me. In an extreme case, I would
ask him to report in writing every day. In another example, suppose a refractive surgery coordinator
aims to increase surgeries by 10 percent. To help her meet that goal, she may have set a number of
subgoals, such as organizing one seminar each month. I might ask her to report on that main goal
quarterly, but the seminar subgoal monthly. I like employees to provide these progress reports in
writing. This becomes an excellent record of achievement when it comes time for salary review. And if
you need to terminate an employee, you will have good documentation to support your decision.