10 Skills for Successful School Leaders Breaking Ranks 10 Skills for Successful School Leaders

Effective leaders know: Managerial “stuff” gets in the way. You can’t do it alone.

How did you get to be as good as you are?

Building Capacity Think of a successful leader you have worked with. Jot down the traits and behaviors that made him or her effective.

What Does It Take? Context Talents (life) SKILLS Motivation KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDES Talents Context (workplace) Motivation (life)

How do you get better?

21st Century Principal Skills Setting Instructional Direction Teamwork Sensitivity Judgment Results Orientation Organizational Ability Understanding Own Strengths and Weaknesses Development of Others EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP RESOLVING COMPLEX PROBLEMS DEVELOPING SELF AND OTHERS COMMUNICATION SKILLS Oral Communication Written Communication

Three consistently weak areas: Setting instructional direction Written communication Development of others

Because effective leadership practice is critical to school reform, principals and other school leaders must encourage aspiring leaders and staff members to engage in personal examination and development of their own professional capacity. In doing so, educators grow personally as they contribute to the sustainability of improvements to their schools. Breaking Ranks: 10 Skills for Successful School Leaders, NASSP

Not everyone can be a secondary school principal.

Most people don’t have the will to do your job.

252 business organizations were studied, and ¾ of the executives interviewed were concerned about the quality of leaders they were getting.

Setting Instructional Direction: A Definition Implementing strategies for improving teaching and learning including putting programs and improvement efforts into action. Developing a vision of learning and establishing clear goals; providing direction in achieving stated goals; encouraging others to contribute to goal achievement; securing commitment to a course of action from individuals and groups.

Behavioral indicators Articulates a vision related to teaching and learning Articulates high performance expectations for self or others Encourages improvement in teaching and learning Sets clear measurable objectives Generates enthusiasm toward common goals Seeks to develop alliances outside the school to support high-quality teaching and learning Acknowledges achievement or accomplishments Seeks commitment to a course of action

How do you put it in action? To begin to assess your capacity in setting instructional direction, reflect on what it looks like when you perform each of the behaviors. List some specific examples from your own practice as evidence that you can and do perform each behavior.

Reflection In which skills do you feel you are strongest? Give an example of why you feel this way. Which skills will need further attention? Why? What will you plan to do in order to increase your leadership capacity?

Additional Reading Mindset by Carol S. Dweck Transforming School Culture by Anthony Muhammad Leaders of Learning by Richard DuFour and Robert Marzano Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell Good to Great by Jim Collins Confidence by Rosabeth Kanter

Contact Information Phil Lewis PhilLewis@moassp.org 573-445-5071 Kathie Lewis kathleenlewis@ymail.com 417-437-4614 LaVietta Prichard LaViettaPrichard@hotmail.com 417-438-0629

Leadership: It’s a Process