Leadership skills for the future
The only constant is change. It is hard to argue against this popular adage. Those of us who have recently entered the field of school leadership have a career ahead of us that will undoubtedly be marked with change. Think about how much education has changed in our lifetime already. I heard someone say the other day that he remembered when the overhead projector became a classroom revolution. Since then, we have witnessed many technological advances in education, including the evolution of the internet, 1:1 laptop environments, and, very recently, ChatGPT. One of my passions in education is hearing about and seeing how schools successfully (and willingly) implement new resources, innovations, and ideas to enhance learning across the community. However, schools, both now and in the future, cannot simply look externally for continued development and progress. Within the organization, school leaders are also finding the need to embrace change and adapt themselves, their practices, and their influence to ensure that they are always a step or two ahead. After all, school communities look to their leaders for stability, a clear vision, and confidence, especially during times of change or uncertainty.
Getting caught up in day-to-day tasks and firefighting is tempting and can easily take up the bulk of the school day. When this happens, school leaders are seen more as managers than leaders. Managers (including micromanagers!) don’t create the healthiest environment nor help drive a school forward. Instead, school leaders will find true purpose if they are more future-oriented and focused on developing and sharing a well-defined vision for what’s to come ahead. I would even suggest that leaders should focus on this mindset as a daily habit, embedding their values and vision into daily conversations and communication. Doing so changes entire communities and is so powerful, as it eventually cultivates potential and increases interest and motivation in others.
Looking ahead also has an added benefit: room for innovation. Innovative schools function best with forward-thinking leaders, working together with the community to turn ideas into action. Effective leaders drive change and growth. Just this week, I took part in a virtual workshop that focused on Design Thinking within schools. Processes such as these can greatly help shape how schools introduce, discuss, and envision changes and growth. It’s addicting too. Working in a culture that nurtures growth and change, teachers will be more willing to take risks, not be afraid to make mistakes, and see their work as meaningful. We can talk for hours about the added benefits this brings a school.
What else do forward-thinking and visionary leaders demonstrate on a daily basis? Here are three more that I could think of:
Ability to cultivate relationships
This could be a separate blog post in itself, but this is one that I place a high emphasis on in my roles. Using Bolman and Deal’s Four Frames of Leadership self-rating scale, my score indicates that I orient toward being a Human Resource leader. This is not surprising to me, as my three Why’s in education (Collaboration, Trust, and Empowerment) are all reached by creating and sustaining positive relationships. Other benefits of healthy relationships within schools include a sense of inclusion and belonging, motivation, increased team performance, success with conflict resolution, celebrating achievements, and effective delegating. Again, I can expand on this more in a future post, as it is hard to keep this in a concise paragraph!
Is knowledgeable
To succeed and gain respect within a community, effective leaders consistently demonstrate high levels of knowledge with the functional and technical skills the job requires. They emit a sense of continued learning and are mindful of current educational research. They also plan well, handle decision-making effectively, and are known to be organized. A solid sense of culture, norms, and a history of the school help leaders plan for the future too. Some also call this a knowledge of one’s organizational acumen.
Self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses
Great leaders emit confidence and positivity, even in the midst of mistakes (which they own up to). They exercise emotional self-control and always seem to be in balance. Self-awareness also includes regular and honest self-assessments that help leaders stay in tune with current perceptions and influence (the Johari Window is one I find very useful). In this paragraph, I would also add resilience, adaptability, and dependability.
As the world around us changes, expect the need for effective leadership to remain constant. I have seen job descriptions for school leadership positions that point to visionary leadership, but I would argue that it is a mandatory component for success in today’s schools. New changes and unknowns will also continue to make their way into educational conversations and environments, and school leaders need to welcome them with optimism and confidence.
Mark Dominguez 