Leadership Standards in Action: The School Principal as Servant Leader by Cade Brumley c2012 Rowman & Littlefield Education

Part 1: Principal as Servant Leader through 6 Performance Standards

Performance Standard 1: Visionary Leadership -develop, articulate, implement, steward vision of learning that is shared and supported by all stakeholders -mission, vision, values – all stakeholders can articulate -“Increased student learning requires coherence and continuity in the educational experience for students, which requires strong connections among educators throughout the school” (p. 32)

Performance Standard 2: Instructional Leadership -advocate, nurture, sustain school culture and instructional program conductive to student learning and staff professional growth -instruction sum of what students say and do – result of teachers’ efforts -every instructional decision seeks to achieve school’s vision – must rage war on ineffective instructional practices for betterment of students -use data to inform decisions, guide instruction, reports on progress -“Outstanding principals know that their primary role is to teach the teachers” (Whitaker) -literacy as a vehicle for whole school improvement -principals spend time in classrooms, give teachers constructive feedback and plans for improvement

Performance Standard 3: Organizational Leadership -manage organization, operation, resources – safe, efficient, effective learning environment -schools must be operationally sound for learning to be maximized – especially school safety for students and staff; support teachers with student discipline – ensure student understands expectations and consequences – restore or build relationships

Performance Standard 4: Collaborative Leadership -collaborate with faculty and community needs and interests -TEAM = together everyone achieves more -majority of principal’s time with relational – need to generate initial and strengthen existing relationships; need authentic relationships built on trust, sharing viewpoints, investing in people -get the right people on the bus and in the right seats; get the wrong people off the bus -principal facilitates and learns alongside staff; motivates; allows all voices heard; everyone feels valued -PLCs, job-embedded learning, observe other teachers

Performance Standard 5: Ethical Leadership -integrity, fairness, democratic -reflection-in-practice (during); reflection-of-practice (think after event); reflection-for-practice (improve future)

Performance Standard 6: Political Leadership -understand, respond, influence political, social, economic, legal, cultural context -decisions made in best interest of students -school culture: examine with critical lens, seek to establish new cultures that represent diversity, social justice, democracy -public relations: parents (expect education for child); community (tax money at work); businesses (future workers)


Part 2: Principal as Servant Leader through Laub’s Model Laub’s (1999) model defines Servant-Leadership as “an understanding and practice of leadership that places the good of those led over the self-interest of the leader”:

1.Servant leaders value people -trust & belief in people, serve others’ needs before own, non-judgemental listener -heart of school lies in its people -everyone has value, can contribute, use everyone’s strengths -not micromanager: professionals know what to do; provide support and resources – meet classroom needs and emotions; stand by teachers and support them when in trouble

2.Servant leaders develop people -provide opportunities for learning and growth, model appropriate behaviour, encourage and affirm others -“When we’re stagnant, we decay”; “If you start getting comfortable and feeling good about yourself, the school will go south on you quick”

3.Servant leaders build community -build strong personal relationships, work collaboratively, value differences of others -school as professional learning community -school is like a family; care deeply about each person -“we” not “I” -“collaborate with colleagues in planning, developing, and executing procedures that will result in pleasant learning environment, teaching environment, effective instruction, and genuine learning” -relationships with students: greet them by name, someone they can talk to, is open; students know principal cares about safety, well-being, getting a good education

4.Servant leaders display authenticity -being open and accountable to others, willingness to learn from others, maintain integrity and trust -principal integral part of team – facilitates, encourages, cheers, gently pushes and constantly uplifts others -don’t have all the answers; unless emergency situation, can wait to make decision; admit mistakes and apologize

5.Servant leaders provide leadership -envision future, take initiative, clarify goals -have vision, get other people to buy into vision; principal assumes ultimate responsibility -high expectations, understands teaching and learning, plans for improved learning, guards teaching and learning, collaborates with colleagues, shares leadership, recognizes achievements, honours culture of school, maintains sense of humour

6.Servant leaders share leadership -facilitate shared vision, shared power, release control, share status -decisions made as an admin team


Quotes:
-The principal is “all things to all people” (Fullan, 2001)
-“questions as curiosity in action, problems as opportunities for improvement, issues as possibilities for bringing people toward commonality” (p. 5)
-principal: “wisdom of a sage, vision of a CEO, intellect of a scholar, leadership of a point guard, compassion of a counsellor, moral strength of a nun, courage of a firefighter, craft knowledge of a surgeon, political savvy of a senator, toughness of a soldier, listening skills of a blind man, humility of a saint, collaborative skills of an entrepreneur, certitude of a civil rights activists, charisma of a stage performer, and the patience of Job” (p. 5-6)
-“Managing the daily operation of a school while providing the leadership necessary to guide the school to educational excellence in an extremely complex task in an extremely complex organizational environment” (p. 6)
-communication message: 55% nonverbal expression, 38% quality of speaker, 7% what speaker actually says