Standard Seven: Micro-Political Leadership
The school executive will build systems and relationships that utilize the staff’s diversity, encourage constructive ideological conflict in order to leverage staff expertise, power and influence to realize the school’s vision for success. The executive will also creatively employ an awareness of staff members’ professional needs, issues, and interests to build social cohesion and to facilitate distributed governance and shared decision-making.
7A. School Executive Micro-political Leadership
The school executive develops systems and relationships to leverage staff expertise and influence in order to affect the school’s identity, culture, and performance.
Meeting with Teachers
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Toward the beginning of the school year, our staff were given a survey where they were allowed to discuss the challenges and/or barriers they felt were evident in hindering the supportive environment of our school. Multiple teachers expressed that they were feeling burnt out even though we were only a few weeks into the first semester. To gain a better understanding of the needs and concerns staff expressed in the survey, I conducted one-on-one check-in meetings with them. The artifact to the left are notes that I recorded during my conversations, which I was able to share with the rest of the administrative team. |
4 Corners & Marbles Protocols
During a staff meeting, I facilitated a culture building activity known as the "4 Corners" Protocol. This activity allowed staff a chance to get to know each other better and the diversity that each member brings. At the conclusion of this protocol, I discussed the importance of not only supporting our students, but each other as well. Each staff member was then able to identify a strength of theirs they would commit to share with others throughout the school year. |
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Servant Leadership
Throughout my residency, I have taken opportunities as a school administrator to display servant leadership and a "whatever it takes" mentality. Over the course of the year, I covered teachers classes when needed, maintained visibility throughout the building, worked the front desk in the absence of our receptionists, shared instructional resources, and made myself available to listen when teachers had a concern or just needed to vent. I have also expressed my gratitude, verbally and in handwritten notes, to staff for the diversity and expertise they embody which makes it possible for our school to be so successful. Lastly, I took advantage of opportunities to develop, grow, and learn from others.