Week 7: Why are all five components of leadership necessary for success in leading through change?3/3/2017 As a special education teacher, I have many different roles in the school; Learning support, behavior specialist, case manager, etc. One important leadership role in my job is managing paraprofessionals and their work with students. Fullan (2001) lists the five main components of leadership as moral purpose, understanding change, relationship building, knowledge creation and sharing, and coherence making. These components are critical in leadership roles and I have been learning (and working on) these to better myself and work toward what is best for the students.
The first and foremost component of leadership is moral purpose, which Fullan (2001) describes as, “acting with the intention of making a positive difference in the lives of employees, customers, and society as a whole” (p. 3). They has been a key factor in my first 3 years of teaching. With moral purpose as a driving factor, I can ask myself in any situation, “What is best for the kids?” This has been critical when working with students with large behaviors and paraprofessionals that work as 1:1 support for those students. There have been times where I have wondered what is the best decision and the right course of action to take. Times where I have wondered what if the goal is for a student to complete a worksheet or develop transition and social skill to navigate the school day. As a special education teacher, my moral purpose as a leader is crucial to giving the students the best education they can have. Elias (2013) says, “To follow any leader, others must be convinced of that leader's dedication to equity, fairness, overcoming disadvantage, and giving voice,” working with paraprofessionals and other teachers, my moral purpose must show and always be the forefront of my work. Another component that I find to be extremely important to lead a team with the purpose of making a student’s program the best it can be is through relationship building. Relationships with parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, specialists, and administration can ease feelings of hesitation and nervousness with any of the parties involved. Rush states, “Building positive relationships might involve active listening, demonstrating respect and incorporating others’ ideas into your proposed plans for helping students.” Building relationships as a leader makes communication with all parties open and promote problem solving in a positive manner. Fullan (2001) talks about how relationship building leads to purposeful interactions problem solving. I can’t say that I am an expert of either of these areas, but I do find them to be extremely important in my job. I am working on becoming more consistent with sharing my moral purpose and intentional with relationship building. As a special education teacher, it is crucial for me to take a leadership role to ensure inclusion for my students (York-Barr, 2009). I need growth and consideration in all areas as a leader, but I can start working on all components in my career to make positive changes for all students. References Elias, M. J. (2013, July 18). 6 Paths to Better Leadership. Retrieved March 02, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/educators-improving-school-leadership-maurice-elias Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. John Wiley & Sons. Rush, M. (2013, November 24). Leadership Skills for Special Education Teachers. Retrieved March 02, 2017, from http://work.chron.com/leadership-skills-special-education-teachers-27448.html York-Barr, J. (2009). Impact Newsletter: Special Educators as Teacher Leaders in Inclusive Schools. Retrieved March 02, 2017, from https://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/161/over9.html
6 Comments
Tristan
3/3/2017 07:38:29 pm
I feel the same about moral purpose and relationship building being the two main leadership skills that I think are important when it comes to teaching our students. When we build relationships with our students and they know that we care about them and want them to succeed, the learning piece comes because someone has faith in their abilities, or at least this has been my personal experience.
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3/4/2017 02:43:28 pm
I think you have a unique perspective as a special education teacher, in that you do have a leadership role within your “department” and you do make life-changing decisions on a weekly and daily basis, with students and your paras. Your focus is making sure the students in your charge are successful in the regular ed class, or in life after school. I have great respect for you because you have the ability to really differentiate and make those critical choices. I have not had the chance to work with special ed teachers before my current high school, but if they are like you, your students are in good hands. No one is going to have all the qualities of a good leader, but we can make sure that all the choices are for a student’s benefit, and hope they are the “right” ones!
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Natalie
3/4/2017 04:33:18 pm
As teachers we do wear many different "hats". When you wrote about the different roles you fill for your students, it reminded me of a source I found earlier this week called Components of Effective Teaching. http://www1.udel.edu/eli/educ647/effective-teaching.pdf
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Jule
3/4/2017 11:49:20 pm
I commend you on the amount of relationship building and leadership skills you take on every day! It is not an easy task working with students, teachers, paras, and parents as there are many different perspectives involved. You do a great job at communicating what you need and expect and that goes a long way. The best part of the 5 components of a leader is moral purpose. I think that because in education when compromising becomes a challenge or issues arise we all share the common leadership trait of moral purpose. Knowing we are all doing what is best for the students makes calling the shots and decision making easier!
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3/5/2017 11:20:25 am
Andrea,
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Jim
3/5/2017 03:43:36 pm
My moral purpose, motto, mission statement, mantra ... whatever you want to call it, is also "what's best for the kids?" I actually find it easier to make decisions regarding them and my actions if I ask that first. If the answer is yes, then we can do it, if the answer is no, then look elsewhere. It's certainly not convenient at times and can make for a lot more work at other times, but it's never failed me.
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