LITMIR.BIZ

      WORDS FROM A LEADER

      We’ve created avenues for professional development and career growth through a coaching module and a network of support. We have academic directors and school coaches—many of whom are women—who are the support network for our teachers. Through my leadership, we have created a council of academic directors who provide support to a group of seven to fifteen schools. Stellar teachers become mentors, mentors become school academic coaches, and school academic coaches become regional or group academic directors. This career ladder provides a structure and process for women to become leaders at their school and in their region. Our coaching module contains comprehensive content to improve our coaches’ knowledge in curriculum, instruction, assessment, and team dynamics. We are proud of the quality of leaders we are generating to mentor, coach, and encourage others in our efforts to build capacity within our organization. (Karen Gayle, national director of curriculum and instruction, Imagine Schools, United States, personal communication, April 17, 2018)

      Leadership development is a collective responsibility. Review the following leadership development reflections and strategies from the perspective of the individual leadership aspirant, the profession and the role it plays in supporting and informing leadership development, and the system (your sector, district, or central office) in providing the enabling conditions to articulate career pathways and ongoing capacity building. What else would you add to the list?

      • Address the readiness gap: Systems need to get women into leadership positions—not by using quotas or favorable selection processes, but by getting everybody to the starting line. Like athletes in the hundred-meter sprint, each potential leader requires a different training regime to get to the starting line. That way, it’s open to the best person to win the race, but individualized training provides each person with a chance to win.

      • Counter the belief that the principal role prevents women from directly impacting learning: Women who take temporary positions as acting leaders frequently change this belief; they realize they can have a significant impact on more students if they lead. These interim opportunities address preconceived ideas and demystify the role.

      • Promote flexible work options for all: Career breaks are a good thing; they promote a diverse view of school leadership and provide return-to-work and family-friendly work patterns. There are numerous pathways to senior leadership positions. Systemic practices regarding family leave, education sabbaticals, part-time positions, and other options can have a significant impact on the way people perceive opportunities for progression. The point is to do whatever it takes to effectively engage your most talented, creative, and committed educators.

      • Research the impact of merit and equity practices and selection processes, and increase career management support for women: Ensure appropriate training for those involved in the selection processes. Women may lack the confidence to articulate their achievements or may see this as blowing their own trumpet. Some also assume others will see their achievements without their having to explicitly articulate them for selection processes.

      • Provide access to high-quality leadership programs: Many systems have tinkered at the edges but not had a holistic career view or sense of responsibility to develop their school leaders. Think about formative student assessment that, in partnership with teacher and students, identifies learning needs, strategies to address those needs, and regular checkpoints to reflect on growth and understanding; likewise, you should diagnose before prescribing professional learning so it targets and meets diverse and identified needs. One size does not fit all. Doing this requires determining what school leaders need to know, understand, and do to succeed in their work (for an example, see the Australian Professional Standard for Principals [AITSL, 2016]; the Ontario Leadership Framework [Leithwood, 2012]; and the 4DTM Instructional Leadership Growth Continuum [University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership, n.d.]) so aspiring leaders can identify their strengths and challenges and inform their performance and professional learning conversations. Review the examples from Australia, Canada, and the United States. What do they tell you about the role of the school leader? What would you focus on to develop your leadership capacity?

      • Remember that women are less inclined to consider leadership roles unless someone suggests it to them or they become the accidental principal: Current principals have a significant role to play in not only providing positive role modeling but also seeking, recognizing, and supporting the development of aspiring leaders (including those who don’t know their own leadership potential). Principals can do the following to show women that they should consider leadership roles.

      ∘ Principals should be their own best advocates by articulating and displaying an obvious sense of job satisfaction; this goes a long way toward demystifying the role.

      ∘ Talent spotting may require education leaders to look beyond their leadership comfort zones to encourage people not like them and explore and develop others’ leadership potential (Spiller, 2017).

      ∘ Mentoring, coaching, and support networks are critical to engage, invigorate, support, and sustain women in their leadership journey. Current leaders of all genders need to take on the crucial role of sponsoring potential leaders to open up opportunities, guiding aspirant leaders in how to be strategic in leveraging their allies to advocate on their behalf with a more explicit focus on career progression.

      These strategies contribute to developing women’s confidence and resilience so they feel able to drive their careers forward. Everyone has a role to play in leadership development.