I have been thinking a great deal about Educational Leadership lately, and not just from the administrator’s perspective. We often overlook the leadership that happens among peers and socially within a school. However, I wanted to bring to the forefront 5 traits that I think are essential in being an educational leader in the 21st Century.
- An Active Listener – If there is one thing that social media has taught us, and continues to teach us, it’s that people want a voice. The best educational leaders I know listen so deeply during conversations that you know every word is being absorbed and processed. This is an essential trait in a leader, as it is through deep listening that we can get to the heart of concerns and attend to the real issues at hand. Too often we find ourselves having superficial conversations day-to-day, saying ‘hi’ or ‘how’s it going?’ in the hallways. This is not bad in itself, but if these conversations are the only ones you have with your peers for any length of time, you loose the personal connection that is so important to educators.
- A Connected Leader - Linked closely to the point above is the ability to connect with many others in the educational environment. We no longer live in a vacuum in education; if you want to be connected, you can be. This applies to several facets of education; The most obvious example is the connections you forge within your own building, but what about the supports from your central or divisional office? These relationships must be cultivated as well, so that anyone from your community that needs support can rely (at least partially) on your connections and abilities to get them. This does not mean I am advocating for all teachers to work through you, but rather that in their work, you always have the ability to offer support. In our digital world, there are many connections to be forged through digital media, and I’ve seen many proactive leaders forging those connections to support their work.
- An Authentic Conversationalist – Effective leaders know how to have the encouraging conversations, and the behaviour changing conversations. There are times where a teacher’s actions simply do not fit with the policy and direction of a leadership team, faculty or division. We are in great danger of loosing momentum and gains if we as educational leaders do not at times engage in those crucial conversations to bring teachers ‘on board’ with what is going on in the school. While I realize contractual obligations prevent certain discussions, we can go a long way by forging strong relationships where these teachers respect our perspectives as well.
- Inspirational and Empowering – I don’t know if i’m inspiring, It’s not something you assess yourself really, but I know that I can empower teachers to be able to do great things. As a leader, this point is one of the key ones, that we are enablers of the kinds of teaching and learning we want to see happen. I try to take as many roadblocks out of the way for teachers doing great things and let them fly. Often, once they have a taste of the kind of teacher they can be, they will start breaking down their own walls. In addition to empowering, leaders that have solid beliefs about education, that create strong vision statements and craft a school culture around them, these are the leaders that people flock to in order to make a difference in the lives of students. If you are such a leader, post a comment, because I want to talk further to you!
- A 21st Century Learning Specialist – I know the difficulties some educators have with technology, that is not going to go away. I like the old saying, “Use your strengths and manage your weaknesses.” Educational Leaders that are well versed in the traits of the 21st Century Learner can attract and maintain those who are skilled in technology implementation and collaborative learning. While I see immense value in maintaining these skills for myself, those who don’t can still be focused on what they want to see happen in schools and put the right people in positions to be able to achieve it.
It is a monumental task being a leader in this new era of education, but the benefits will be great for those who get it right and keep to the path they are creating. We owe it to our students to lead in a way that is consistent with the future they are moving toward! Be great for them!
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
A poster should be made of these 5 Traits and hung in every educational leader’s office!
Thanks for the feedback, I think that at a minimum, they should be considered from time to time, and attended to in growth plans. They certainly appear in mine…
Great post. I couldn’t agree more. One of my roles is to help train 21st Century ed leaders as “change” advocates, you have hit 2 major points here that many leaders fail to recognize – communication (sincere and 2-way!) and motivation through encouragement. If they aren’t modeling it (at all levels), how do we expect to connect with our students? Would love to continue the dialogue!
Great post! We have to remember also the NETS-A for administrators. In order for our leaders to really be “21st Century” they are going to need a specific skill set and the ability to lead technologically. The NETS-A help to guide administrators in that quest to be truly connected and prepared to lead their teachers and students forward. (http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForAdministrators/2009Standards/NETS_for_Administrators_2009.htm)
I agree with Steve. Too many administrators don’t have a clue about technology or information literacy. We talk about teachers having the skills to guide their students in the use of technology but all too often administrators are clueless and either expect unrealistic goals or sit back and watch technological advances go by with little clue as to how to help implement these resources in the most effective way.
[...] by US TV network NBC This is sad news and will not help my addiction http://bit.ly/cKqnt1, 5 Traits of 21st Century Educational Leadership {Educational Leadership, Educational Administration}…, BBC News – Heavy rock singer Ronnie James Dio dies at 67 sad to hear of death of Ronnie [...]
[...] 5 Traits of 21st Century Educational Leadership {Educational Leadership, Educational Administration}… [...]
[...] 5 Traits of the 21st Century Educational Leader written by teacher Mr. Keenan. [...]
Teachers can never be Educational Leaders They Are Too Dysfunctional: Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome?
One must seriously question whether we really want teachers and students to get Better. Ironically, while teaching is an old practice it may have failed to become a mature profession, and for reasons that most everyone knows but at some level seems to be denying. There are some great teachers, and even some great Teacher Preparation programs, but these are random occurrences where consistency is essential even while it will never produce “perfect” teachers every time. The reason is simple: Professional Education is (perhaps intentionally) absent the fundamental and coherent standards found in all other professions. Believe it or not, there is no core curriculum, and no sincere, systematic effort to identify Best Practices, the quinesstinal core of every profession, from being a barber to a neurosurgeon. It is through the somewhat contentious process of identifying such principles and practices that professional maturity is achieved. Accordingly, it seems sensible to formulate a process for identifying, activating and cultivating Best Instructional Practices. The problem is that there has been too much that has become crystallized around our current state of affairs. Too many of us have figured out how to live with and even benefit by Education’s dysfunctionality, often having it serve as the object of scrutiny rather than each of us. This dynamic is quite common. For example, there are accounts of children whose parents incidentally discourage normal development for admittedly subconscious/self-serving reasons. One variation even has a name it is called Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome.
In due course it will be necessary for each entity that interacts with Education to identify and rectify the ways in which it now enjoys a convoluted net benefit from Education’s immaturity. This includes Professors, students, parents, Learned Societies, commercial schools, and even some painfully self-serving non-profit foundations and Universities. It would be especially helpful to have many minds addressing and illustrating how these other entities now benefit by and/or might rectify this unintentional misdeed. Below are two websites devoted to a form of Rational-Emotional Therapy ideally it would allow our profession to continue toward institutional & societal maturity. Please join the effort: http://teacherprofessoraccountability.ning.com/main/invitation/new?xg_source=msg_wel_network and…http://bestmethodsofinstruction.com/
Anthony V. Manzo, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus
avmanzo@aol.com
[...] education, how can we set goals and move forward in our professional knowledge? In my post about educational leadership I discuss authentic listening, close listening. If there is no solid sense that someone knows [...]
A great article. Five is a good number of things to keep in mind! I love the idea of removing roadblocks for colleagues who then reach the point where they glimpse their potential and begin to knock down their own walls. A great way of putting in and an inspiring idea for me to keep in mind when working with colleagues in a learning and teaching coaching role.
This is a great article. i recently retired as an Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education,and I am currently setting up a consultancy and will definetly refer to these traits. I agree with the suggestion that all educational leaders must develope a skill set relative to technology. Too many in the leadership role expect for staff they supervise to have such; however, do not possess it themselves!
Thanks for the reply Jeanette. I appreciate it. Leaders need to think a little differently in their approaches to leadership to improve learning experiences for students, these traits highlight that. The responses to this post are encouraging, as it shows others are thinking this way too.