Leading from within

Day away from craziness of daily work focusing on leading change from within, facilitated by the awesome Roween higgie from education group... So I know there will be lots to think about.

Competences for leaders

Centre for creative leadership calls our role "middle leaders- we operate up and down the organisational hierarchy, as well as across functions and silos. To achieve results we must effectively manage people and processes "

http://www.ccl.org/leadership/CCLSearchResults.aspx?q=educational%20leadership%20research#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=educational%20leadership%20research&gsc.page=1

Our leadership roles are highly complex

Who are the senior/ middle leaders in our school?

Principal, DP and AP form the SLT

DP and AP have teams of teachers they work closely with to support.

Specifically within my team structure I believe that we have a strong PLCommunity which supports , extends and pushes each other.

What are similarities and differences between the two?

Our school is very small so the amount of middle leaders is small on paper. But in practice we have experts who step up and share and support each other

Our definition of a middle leader is ?

Leadership that gets results by dan goleman

http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/BagusWahyudi/leadership-that-get-result

I currently utilise affiliative, democratic and coaching most naturally. Authoritative is an area I am trying to build on in my leadership and pacesetting is something I have previously has to work on in order to ensure I don't run ahead

Authoritative leaders are clear about the bigger picture, stand firm in face of challenge but these leaders need to ensure they have people on the bus

Coercive leadership is appropriate when there is a process and accountability to be complied with- this is not the time to ask if people want to do things a different way.

Democratic gets buy in

Coaching helps change

Affiliative keeps everyone working in the same direction and keeps the passion running

Pacesetting can be positive or negative

Jan hill - leadership competencies

 This is about self awareness- my feelings, thoughts, actions. Knowing how people respond to this, then being able to manage this. For instance a couple of weeks ago I was feeling very stressed, I knew this and I knew it couldn't get out as my team need me to be strong for them...so I made sure to stay calm and keep my mouth shut if I was feeling a bit off so I wouldn't reveal impatience....this ended up being futile as my team knew instantly that I was not ok...as my quietness gave me away...since this I have been pondering how to handle the fact that if I seem off it freaks my team out...yet I'm still human 

Social competence is about how well I know and can facilitate the supports around my team to be there for them and know when each person may need support and what is the best way to offer this support

Relationships are fundamental to a string healthy school. Our role as middle leaders is to build these relationships, which can be very complex

Responsive leaders are reflective continual, adaptive leaders.  On this aspect I am always pushing the edge of research and seeking ideas that have a high proven impact that will enhance and support our students to achieve

We have to be good at evaluating new ideas and research to our context and seeing how this might impact and be integrated into our school.

The multiplier leader has influence. If we as leaders are influencers we are at the wave leading the change. Then there are people climbing the wave. They want to make the pedagogical shift, they believe and they are trying. Then there is the people who are under the wave or even in a tree at the side who really do not want to do this...the naysayers. Our role as leaders is to know how and when to use our influence..or that of others in order to help everyone to get up the wave...providing the wave is going in a direction that has been agreed on as a place we wish to go as we believe in it for our learners

In my practice as a leader this year I am working lots within how I use my influence and adapt this to people at such varying points on the wave.

Timperley says there are 3 key ways to create dissonance...which is the trigger for change

Theory...use research to prompt challenge to thinking

Alternative practice...observing others who are doing this already

Data...data is no negotiable....it is a blunt trigger for a conversation 

Taking a stand

Managers do things right and leaders do the right thing...having a moral compass

But this can be very difficult to align with how others perceive the same issue...so as leaders we need to do double checks on our thinking around these issues...go to the code of ethics...check with fellow leader to ensure we have our thinking around a situation...and always make sure we have evidence to support our thinking on an issue

Using a coaching model to see how we could extend our ability to take a stand

Resilience

What skills, knowledge, and habits do it have to support this?

What can I let go off that is holding this back?

How can I use my and other peoples talents more effectively?

Resilience as a leader, teachers, person?

Thinking and acting systematically

Whenever we think of a change, how we think and act is important 

Seeing the big picture

Adapting to meet needs

Being a systems player and maker in terms of generating systems

Carrying out review

Giving up the need to constantly please

During review how methodical are we, do we create dissonance around it? In numeracy review it is being very methodical...looking at what we have in place, what works, what doesn't and what innovations we have that are showing good data

Look at the work 'the principal' by Michael full an 

You look at how to seed a germ in your school:) the germ takes and spreads 

Facilitation

What we do in our roles as leaders is either directive or self directive 

The key to success is the building of self directed learning skills in our teachers

Ask the right question

Build capability and evaluative skills in our teachers

Fronting issues is a key part of this role of facilitator...using a range of tools to front issues as they come along

Use either of these frameworks to use as a frame to address issues

Desc script

Describe, effect, specify, consequences 

DQAP

Describe, question, articulate, problem solve

With either of these

Ask permission to talk first, make sure you have the time for the conversation, be careful of body language and tone of voice, don't make assumptions or blame

These conversations are not about blame but rather about change 

Use a solutions focused approach to timing issues so people take control

Rowen calls this flipping

Instead of totally empty sympathy

Flip the negative conversation into a positive e.g how would you feel tomorrow if you could tick of some of these

Then ensure you use their words in the conversations

Thinking about all the competencies, choose one you feel you need to work on first

Facilitation is the one that aligns with one of my goals for this year and is an area I struggle with sometimes. I need to use the DQAP frame and pre script for addressing certain issues in the school

A leaders role in team development

The leadership experience, Richard daft 2001

Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

A norm is a custom, a rule, a pattern or a habit of a team

Positive norms

Ask questions that challenge and promote discussion ( strictly data and achievement focused). 

Support each other

Share and build our expertise and capabilities 

High trust that allow us to be more open to growth

Fun and work together

Negative norms

Quieter members not actively encouraged to participate in team, more dominant voices occasionally carried away

When tired sometimes edge towards blame which is negative

Two small steps I can take to strengthen or change one of these norms ?

Characteristic of an effective team

The team is clear about what it wants to achieve- student achievement is central focus

Ground rules are established for how the group works together- clear expectations for how we will all work together

Job descriptions, roles should be up to date and transparent

Trus or personal trustworthiness?

Onora oneill ted talk https://www.ted.com/talks/onora_o_neill_what_we_don_t_understand_about_trust?language=en

We can't make people trust us we have to focus on building our own personal trustworthiness

Honesty

Transparency

Reliability

Competence 

As a leader I need to ensure I am addressing issues for team members in a fair way that builds trust

ELN collaboration

Problem solving is the most highly rated skill required in the job market

How are we creating this and other skills to support our students as they progress towards their future careers

How are we using technology?

Diversity of teaching strategies

Multiple opportunities to learn , practice and apply

Student centric learning- ownership and agency

Peer learning is optimised through devices as this has the greatest effect size

Opportunities for feedback are maximised

Digital behaviours

Is the learning making students passive recipients

Or are the tasks rich creation based tasks

What does each of these look like- put ideas as a staff

Interacting- 

Meandering- looking but not really purposeful.

Distributing - sharing work via Google docs

Transacting- 

Researching- Google research tools and search terms . Copyright and plagerism 

Filtering the gold from the dross!

What do we use most?

In my daily life I probay most use distributing, researching, creating, interacting and transacting

In my classroom I lean heavily towards creation, transacting, researching, 

In the junior school there is a reluctance to use some of these tools. 

I need to work out how I can support teachers to become braver  

The getting ideas for how to use these us maybe the biggest

Teacher Talk

Look at the teacher talk frame and come back with ideas for how this can support what we can use it for to improve our leadership practice?

Determinants of relational trust

Taking the personal out of the conversation so that all conversations are based around the data
Entails asking open to learning conversations

SLT building a shared understanding of who we are as an slt team

Looking at the various models of leadership

http://knowledgeleadershipnz.com/schooling-improvement-models-2/


Taking the effective pedagogy pages of NZC and replace the words students with 'teachers and teachers with 'leaders'

Effective pedagogy

Teacher actions promoting student learning

While there is no formula that will guarantee learning for every student in every context, there is extensive, well-documented evidence about the kinds of teaching approaches that consistently have a positive impact on student learning. This evidence tells us that students learn best when teachers:

• create a supportive learning environment
• encourage reflective thought and action
• enhance the relevance of new learning
• facilitate shared learning
• make connections to prior learning and experience
• provide sufficient opportunities to learn
• inquire into the teaching–learning relationship.

Creating a supportive learning environment

Learning is inseparable from its social and cultural context. Students learn best when they feel accepted, when they enjoy positive relationships with their fellow students and teachers, and when they are able to be active, visible members of the learning community. Effective teachers foster positive relationships within environments that are caring, inclusive, non-discriminatory, and cohesive. They also build good relationships with the wider school community, working with parents and caregivers as key partners who have unique knowledge of their children and countless opportunities to advance their children’s learning. Effective teachers attend to the cultural and linguistic diversity of all their students. The classroom culture exists within and alongside many other cultures, including the cultures of the wider school and the local community, the students’ peer culture, and the teacher’s professional culture.

Encouraging reflective thought and action

Students learn most effectively when they develop the ability to stand back from the information or ideas that they have engaged with and think about these objectively. Reflective learners assimilate new learning, relate it to what they already know, adapt it for their own purposes, and translate thought into action. Over time, they develop their creativity, their ability to think critically about information and ideas, and their metacognitive ability (that is, their ability to think about their own thinking). Teachers encourage such thinking when they design tasks and opportunities that require students to critically evaluate the material they use and consider the purposes for which it was originally created.

Enhancing the relevance of new learning

Students learn most effectively when they understand what they are learning, why they are learning it, and how they will be able to use their new learning. Effective teachers stimulate the curiosity of their students, require them to search for relevant information and ideas, and challenge them to use or apply what they discover in new contexts or in new ways. They look for opportunities to involve students directly in decisions relating to their own learning. This encourages them to see what they are doing as relevant and to take greater ownership of their own learning.

Facilitating shared learning

Students learn as they engage in shared activities and conversations with other people, including family members and people in the wider community. Teachers encourage this process by cultivating the class as a learning community. In such a community, everyone, including the teacher, is a learner; learning conversations and learning partnerships are encouraged; and challenge, support, and feedback are always available. As they engage in reflective discourse with others, students build the language that they need to take their learning further.

Making connections to prior learning and experience

Students learn best when they are able to integrate new learning with what they already understand. When teachers deliberately build on what their students know and have experienced, they maximise the use of learning time, anticipate students’ learning needs, and avoid unnecessary duplication of content. Teachers can help students to make connections across learning areas as well as to home practices and the wider world.

Providing sufficient opportunities to learn

Students learn most effectively when they have time and opportunity to engage with, practise, and transfer new learning. This means that they need to encounter new learning a number of times and in a variety of different tasks or contexts. It also means that when curriculum coverage and student understanding are in competition, the teacher may decide to cover less but cover it in greater depth. Appropriate assessment helps the teacher to determine what “sufficient” opportunities mean for an individual student and to sequence students’ learning experiences over time. 

By replacing these words what parallels do we see for our practice as leaders?

How are we fostering relationships between each other and between our staff?

How often are we going back to the important statements that are contained in the NZC?