Review The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership by Kouzes and Posner. Blog a response to the approach leaders practice, "Model the Way". Read the description provided to you in the handout during our first class. The website link below, "The Leadership Challenge" can be used as a guide. Click under "About the Leadership Challenge" then "Approach" to find a description of each leadership practice. I look forward to reading your blogs!
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Hopefully I'm doing this correctly, here is what I think...The leaders I admire the most are the ones who Model the Way. I agree with Kouzes and Posner and believe that great principal's create effective communication and positive interaction amongst everyone in their learning community. They're in the trenches, they're proactive, and can relate to others at all levels.
ReplyDeleteThe best leaders identify roles and responsibilities, think outside the box, and know when to give out wings - all to get the job done. Most of all they do this with gratitude and a smile and leave you feeling inspired and appreciated.
This description made me think about what we learned in our "change" class. The idea of setting small, attainable goals makes a lot of sense and the idea of signposts (aka help) is very appealing to me as both a teacher and future administrator. Because I work in a school/district that is so focused on raising test scores, I can see the need for modeling. I model all the time for my students, and I notice that the quality of their work is so much better when they have an idea of what is expected of them. However, teachers get very little direction to raise student achievement. We are just told: Get those scores up! A good leader would provide the teachers with some modeling in the way of quality professional development, coaching, peer mentoring, or resources.
ReplyDeleteI will be working with Lori on RtI and I envision RtI is all about providing teachers with the support they need to help students who are not meeting academic or social standards. I know that it sounds overwhelming, but I believe that kids who are victorious will make teachers feel victorious and in turn the entire climate of the school will improve, leaving the staff feeling inspired and appreciated as Lori so eloquently stated in her post.
When I think about Kouzes & Posner's first practice, Model the Way, I am reminded of all of the amazing opportunities that I have had to learn from colleagues and administrators who have done just that.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 25, having completed my internship in a K-6 building where kids hugged me everyday, I was terrified to begin working in a building with high school "BD" kids. For the first month or so, I kept telling myself that I could do anything for a year. After 8 years at NSA, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Being a social worker in a building with 10 other social workers & psychologists means that someone is continually "modeling the way." Whenever I get stuck or feel totally overwhelmed with a family or student, I can rely on the signposts of other people.
I think this stems from the modeling that is demonstrated and fostered by the administrators at NSA. As we undergo the construction of a new school building and all the associated changes, my principal and program supervisor lead the way in managing change and understanding that it can feel uncomfortable. Even when I disagree, I feel heard and that is a big part of getting people to cope with changes.
Ultimately, because the adminstrative team effectively models the values and goals of our school, I feel more invested and inspired to be a model for others.
Modeling the way is the sign of a leader you can trust. The greatest leaders lead by example. You can trust them to guide you to accomplish your goals. If a leader has a negative view of change or is gossiping about other colleagues they can not be trusted. On the flip side, when a leader has a positive outlook on the working environment, it trickles throughout the employees.
ReplyDeleteKouzes and Posner mentioned that a leader who models can "unravel bureaucracy when it empedes action." Working at Lane Tech (the largest high school in the city) and for the board of education, I have experienced a bureaucracy that can often empede action. It makes change difficult because people have a very negative approach. Sometimes battling the board can make a person want to give up, but I have seen the most impactful administrators and teachers move beyond the bureaucracy to make Lane a great environment. It's those leaders that draw people to them, and people trust them to do what is best for students and teachers.
"Model the Way" touched on a lot of key issues involving successful leadeship skills. Posner and Kouzes discuss the value of a leader modeling the standards of excellence that they expect. Also to achieve goals leaders have to set smaller, interim goals to achieve these high standards. This sounds great.
ReplyDeleteThe one problem I have with this reading is that it is a little too simplistic. This formula works, but only if you are in a perfect school system. One of the things that is not mentioned is "Hav-it-ness" I guess you can call it. Some principals "Have it" and can inspire and achieve goals, and others do not "have it". In my experience this is extremely important. Especially in a system like CPS where teachers resist every step of change (And justifiably so, when you are run so poorly). "Model the way" falls far short of succeeding if a principal does not "Have it".
Other things I do not think were taken into consideration were "Poison" teachers. What I mean are those teachers who can build a resistance sentiment among a staff, and sabotage the interim goals set by the leader, no matter how well modeled they are. Another aspect that "Model the Way" does not take into consideration it that at a lot of schools, there are many "Deadwood" teachers with one foot out the door who can stifle action in schools.
But overall I agree with the message of "Model the Way".
Kouzes and Posner are right on with the point that leaders are at their personal best when they “model the way”. This is based on some personal experience in several different work environments. I have had the opportunity to work under both good leaders and leaders that I felt struggled. I worked in both the field of business (summer jobs) and in two different school districts. Assessing the leaders that modeled the way, I feel that they were successful in reaching their own personal goals (for the business or school) and also helped others to reach their own level of success. The leaders that were successful always led by example and always modeled good work ethics. When change needed to happen, they were there at every step of the process. They guided us, provided support for us, helped resolve problems before it caused us to veer off the path, and helped us feel successful. They also helped us feel like an integral part of the process or team. They listened to concerns and problems and found ways to help us move forward. They did not allow us to get stuck or feel discouraged. There have been moments where I have also been given the opportunity to lead and thanks to good modeling by these leaders, I have used these same skills to reach success.
ReplyDeleteI have also seen what happens when there is a change in leadership. When a leader has helped to create a “well oiled machine” by “modeling the way” you can see how this same “machine” can break down with a leader who had difficulty with establishing or continuing the principles concerning the way people should be treated and the way goals should be pursued. I have seen this first hand, and while I was not directly affected based on my position as a speech pathologist, there was a trickle down effect. As a leader loses trust with the people they guide, the “machine” begins to have some minor malfunctions. When those malfunctions continue and are not fixed, the whole machine can begin to fail. If the machine fails the product fails. In education, if the leader fails a school can fail and most importantly the students suffer the consequences.
There is a lot of bureaucracy in education that needs to be understood and unraveled. A good leader goes in to ”battle” and is able to handle most of it, if not all of the bureaucracy, and come out “alive” and still “in charge”. In education a principal or superintendent needs to be able to face every fire that gets started and be able to put it out, while making the majority happy in the end. Not everyone will be happy with a leaders decisions, but if the outcome is often positive for all, then they will trust that person to keep making decisions and understand when those decisions don’t always turn out the way one would want them to.
I do believe that there are other factors that can stifle the practice of “modeling the way”. In the field of education, educators have the ability to receive tenure. With tenure, an educator is given a “pass” to remain in their position until they choose to leave. Some of these individuals who receive tenure continue to grow through professional development and continue to accept change as a way to continue to help children succeed. There are also those who impede positive change because they refuse to change. They often stifle the good leadership that a principal or superintendent may have. A good leader could “model the way” all they want, but these teachers refuse to observe and learn and in turn can affect the productivity of a school. However, there are some special leaders out there who have found the “magical” way to get these individuals to jump on board.
Courtney said...
As I continue in my internship with the coordinator of RtI, I will be taking note of what leaders around me are doing to guide educators through the path of change. RtI is a big, strange, unique, and quick change that my district and many schools in Illinois are going through. RtI will give me good insight on the practice of “modeling the way”!
The "Model The Way" approach is the definition of a transformational leader that we discussed way back in Change. The idea of "walking the walk" and "talking the talk" has been a consistent theme throoughout our program. Having a leader who can establish this culture of trust is, unfortunately, pretty rare. I know that I know very few people who fit this. The principal at my own children's elementary school does a really good job of modeling the way. As a result he has very satisfied teachers and students who continue to talk about him long after they graduate. When you walk into that building there is an incredible energy that is lacking in many schools.
ReplyDeleteWith the increased need for accountability and the extremely high stakes involved in NCLB, I feel that it will become much more important for administrators to take on this approach.As we have discussed over and over, without a strong transformational leader to act as a role model, guide and cheerleader the incredible changes that need to take place in school culture won't happen.
So apparently, if you are posting on the following Saturday, then you are going to be piggy-backing everyone else's ideas. Yes this does remind me of all the Lindsay-ism from the Change class. While I believe that "Model the Way" gives an idyllic version of what should transpire, I don't see much of that going on. Perhaps this is just my experience, but the idea raised that this leader "unravels bureaucracy when it impedes action." I have seen this idea violated at every school I have worked at. Most leaders seem to cover themselves rather than act in the complete best interest of the students. It seems to me that bureaucracy breeds more bureaucracy.
ReplyDeleteAnd Kotis, didn't we already argue and settle that "Have-it-ness" can be learned? Good to "hear" from you again buddy.
Hello again,
ReplyDeleteThis is my response to one of the above blogs, since I did not do it in my own blog. So here it goes. Kevin! great to talk to you again. The only argument I ever remember having with you is when you disagreed with my belief that "The Doors" are the greatest band, because you kept insisitng upon the "Backstreet Boys". But as far as the rest of your blog goes, I agree that "Model the Way" is great, but that it is not what I see going on in schools either. And if you think it doesn't go on in Vegas or New Trier, wait till you see CPS schools, or St. Pats!
It seems like RTI is the new catch phrase in education. I look forward to more discussions on the implementation of the new special education trend. It seems like the majority of our internship class, including Dr. Dwyer, is dealing with RTI, and Mary, Lori, and I think Courtney are going to be working with RTI in their internships. All this being said, it is going to take a patient leader to "Model the Way" for a teachers, students, and parents to make RTI work for their school. Of course a little Charisma will help! Until next week...
ReplyDeleteModeling the Way: Creating opportunities for victory is the phrase in this description that resonated with me most strongly. This distinction has separated many good from bad, and great from good leaders in my professional and personal experience. Even outside of education, great political leaders have modeled the way and found a path through the creation of opportunities for success, often times for those who have experienced little such success.
ReplyDeleteImportant components of leadership certainly include treating everyone respectfully, "walking the walk", and setting a good example for others to follow. On top of all this, in my opinion, is helping others find their voice, their strengths, and their successes to maximize professional growth and meaning from their jobs. Offering support and helping to set reaonable and meaningful goals are good starting points toward this end.
Inspire a Shared Vision: The belief that we can make a difference has probably been the main reason that most of us work with children. It separates us from our money seeking peers and allows us to sleep a bit better a night knowing that our days are spent helping and educating children that desperately need this type of support. We all also have an idea about what this type of passion looks like in terms of the development of maintenance of a school community that fosters such values. And finally, we all believe that we, in some way, can spread this vision through our own passion and hard work.
ReplyDeleteOne of the greatest challenges for a school leader, however, has to be how to maintain this same passion and spirit once you have taken on a leadership role. I know that this is possible, but I have seen too many great and passionate educators step in to a leadership role and seem to lose some of this "vision". In speaking with these people, it is clear that they are still the same people with the same spirit, but many experience the demands of the leadership position to take away from time to "breathe life into their visions." Finding this balance cannot be easy.
I realize that my reflection on modeling the way is a week late, so this would be a good example of how not to model the way. I do believe however that leading by example, as described by Kouzes and Posner is essential in becoming an effective leader. I like how they take it a step further then just leading by example, but describe how an effective leader supports and creates an environment that allows others to be effective leaders as well.
ReplyDeleteThrough my experiences both in education and in other situations as well, the principals, supervisors, and informal leaders I have observed to be the most effective are those who have not only "walked the talk", but those who have given me the tools and support to feel comfortable taking leadership roles. I would not be in this program if it wasn't for for the great examples I have had the privilage to work for. Though I agree with those above who have stated that many leaders do not have the qualities listed, and those who do often have a difficult time maintain such characteristics 100% of the time. I do beleive that being an effective leader is a process like anything else, and if a person actions the values they beleive in continues to work towards the ideal and communicates these values through their actions, the end product will be effective.
Inspire a Shared Vision:
ReplyDeleteVision is one of the most important qualities of a leader. Without a vision, its like sailing a ship without a chart, you will just go in any direction with no purpose. A school needs a leader with a vision, and a good vision will naturally attract others. I have seen one or two principals with this type of vision which inspires others, but not many, thats for sure. The type of person who inspires a shared vision has to be equitable, fair, intelligent, and they must also have great relationship with their staff to inspire the change.
In response to the great Dr. Dominguez, I agree that most of us went into this profession with very good intentions. Hopefully when teachers make the bold move to administration, they will not forget the reasons they chose teaching as a profession in the first place.