High Leverage Leadership Practices - Essay Example

Topic: High Leverage Leadership Practices Introduction Since the mid-nineties, almost all the significant educational institutions, associations, firm as well as associations have adopted professional learning communities. The degree of support for professional learning communities has never been as coherent, clear or consistent and it is clear that the professional learning communities model is the high-leverage strategy that has the ability of improving school. Not all the high-leverage leaders work in schools that need transformation but most dwell on the balance that should be created between changing the practices associated with the adults and changing the behavior of the pupils (Mongon & Chapman, 2012). If the basic purpose of schools is ensuring that all the students are learning at high levels, then the schools do not need instructional leaders rather it needs learning leaders who have the ability to focus on evidence of learning. When the school leaders decide to take the transition from instructional leaders to learning leaders, they consider how the teaching was done more than what was taught. This shift on focus has an effect on daily work in considerable ways especially as far as formal teacher supervision and assessment is concerned. High Leverage Leadership Practices High-leverage leaders are very different in terms of the elements of their techniques therefore there is no appropriate or conceivable formulaic homogeneousness. Regardless of how common the elements are, the chemistry that exists in their combination develops a unique blend on each occurrence. The leaders are attentive to the quality of teachers as well as learning through the development of a banding system or through deep commitment to groups with mixed abilities. They also pay attention to learners who are at the boundary by devising special instructive requirements or circumventing them as unsuitable stigmas. These leaders are attentive to the appearance of their students and they also pay attention to the relationships they have with the students and families who are perceived to be difficult (Frindt & Frindt, 2010). The most commonly occurring thread across theses styles of leadership that are in normal circumstances different is the blend of thee personality traits that include self-confidence, personal responsibility and conscientiousness, with three intelligences. High-leverage leaders have a high degree of conviction in the abilities they possess as far as coping with the job is concerned and this is in some instances referred to as self-efficacy. This is what gives the high-leverage leaders the capability to deal with tasks and to press on even when success cannot be achieved immediately (Frindt & Frindt, 2010). High-leverage leaders take responsibility for personal responsibility for the actions they take as well as the consequences associated with them. These leaders do not want to blame staff, parents or students for any problems and they are inclined to see the destiny of the school as being their responsibility. The high-leverage leaders are keen on details and they are generally painstaking, self-disciplined and organized before they can act and endeavor to achieve. They possess a confidence to be contentious while dealing with conflict in a determined and resilient manner. Social intelligence These leaders employ social intelligence in they consider the emotional states of their pupils as well as their colleagues since they have the knowledge that the effect they have on the outcomes of students, the school organization as well as the connections with parents and the broader community. They base their thoughts and actions on social intelligence even if a number of students and staff members do not credit it. This makes them get admired by the people they work with as well as the pupils since their interpersonal skills are founded on their respect for the adults and children that surround them. The way they act is informed by personal value systems that entail clear perspectives about the manner in which people are supposed to carry themselves when relating to one another regardless of the position they hold. They develop expectations while still maintaining their sense of empathy and without the intention of eroding the dignity of the people. They develop a situation that considers high expectations as evidence of care and concern and not as a form of surveillance or constraint. Contextual intelligence Through contextual intelligence, high-leverage leaders show an intense respect for the contexts they are working in without developing a patronizing attitude. Majority of these leaders refer to their respective backgrounds as children in low income communities as the foundation of their respect for the communities that are poor economically that they work in. it is also common to find high-leverage leaders choosing to work in the contexts that are considered as complex. Navigation High-leverage leaders utilize navigation in their activities through deploying experience, skill and training together with appropriate equipment and charts. If they position their actions in an inaccurate manner, then the direction that their leadership takes becomes uncertain, the timing unpredictable and therefore the endeavors might end up in failure. The leaders are supposed to secure the vision of the school, set the direction and anticipate the prevailing conditions, prevalent standards as well as the expectations of the community. Management These leaders work with the notion that connecting management activities to the aims and objectives of the school is very important and their approach to management is based on their advocacy as well as their living vision. They develop an overlap between navigation and management to make sure that the motivation for actions and the action performed by the people in the organization are consistent with the organization’s goals. In most of the situations, management is bound to take more time in the leaders schedule than navigation since they have to arrange the work in their institutions and deal with the problems while creating order and providing consistency. High-leverage leaders do not compromise about their recruitment when it comes to high quality staff and the practices associated with them more often than not are not comfortable with the expectations of the personnel services (Bambrick-Santoyo & Peiser, 2012). They usually look for and recruit the person they want and personal recommendation is vital to their decision making. They also do not compromise in terms of the staff that do not meet the minimum expectations in relation to professionalism and even though all the staff is given a chance to learn and develop, if the expectations are not met; their employment will have to be changed. Utilization of this learning in changing career As a principle of school, I would employ high-leverage leadership in utilizing professional intelligence which is a kind of practical and problem solving wisdom that is akin to “savvy”. I should develop an appreciation of the core business which is leadership and management that nurtures the excellent standards of teaching and learning. I plan as the principle of school to pay a lot of attention on guaranteeing the quality of the connections that exist between adults and the younger people and the quality of pedagogy in their learning institutions for the overall enhancement of conditions in the institution. Conclusion The specific goal chosen by leaders are completely dependent on them but it is better if they chose high-leverage objectives as opposed to the ones that will not make a difference. The high-leverage leader is supposed to make decisions that are beneficial and effective while taking correct deed in the hunt of individual growth in terms of their leadership. Leadership that is self-directed needs the leaders to make choices in a way that is mindful than a mindless one while requiring actions that are of a high-leverage instead of acting in a way that are easiest and most natural (Rothstein & Burke, 2010). These leaders begin by selecting personal goals and making choices that are conscious about the dimensions to pursue as well as the strategies and tactics they are supposed to employ. References Bambrick-Santoyo, P., & Peiser, B. (2012). Leverage leadership (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. Frindt, S., & Frindt, D. (2010). Accelerate (1st ed.). [Capistrano Beach, Calif. u.a.]: 2130 Partners. Mongon, D., & Chapman, C. (2012). High-level leadership (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Rothstein, M., & Burke, R. (2010). Self-management and leadership development (1st ed.). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Read More