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2. Development & Implementation Plan for Gathering Feedback

   To strengthen my leadership and build greater self-awareness, I will gather feedback in a structured yet manageable way across the year.
   I will use a combination of 360-degree feedback, informal kōrero, and reflection:
   – Twice a year, I will use a short Google Form to gather feedback from kaiako and senior leaders, focusing on my communication, cultural leadership, and support for others.
   – I will have ongoing informal conversations with trusted colleagues and my kaiārahi, creating space for honest, real-time feedback.
   – I will invite targeted observations of my leadership (e.g., leading hui or initiatives), followed by reflective discussions on strengths and next steps.
   – I will maintain a weekly reflection journal to track patterns in my leadership, celebrate progress, and identify areas for growth.

   This approach ensures my self-review is purposeful, meaningful, and ongoing, while also being collaborative and grounded in multiple perspectives. The feedback gathered will directly inform my leadership goals, particularly around strengthening clarity in communication and confidence in leading challenging conversations.

   Miringa Silipa

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3. For me, showing up authentically as a leader means leading with whanaungatanga, culture, and purpose. I don’t see leadership as something separate from who I am, it is deeply connected to my identity, my values, and my commitment to creating spaces where all tamariki feel seen, valued, and proud of who they are. This aligns strongly with Brené Brown’s whakaaro that authentic leadership requires us to “take off the armour” and show up as who we truly are. For me, this means leading with honesty, cultural integrity, and a willingness to be seen, not as a perfect leader, but as a real and relational one.

   My leadership style is grounded in a relational and culturally responsive approach. I prioritise building strong, trusting relationships with both ākonga and kaiako, knowing that when people feel valued and connected, they are more open to growth and collective success. I lead with care, empathy, and high expectations, aiming to create a shared sense of purpose where everyone feels they belong and can contribute. For me, leadership is not about hierarchy, but about collective strength, shared vision, and uplifting others.

   I also see myself as a visionary leader, particularly in the way I support culture to be embedded and grown across our kura. I am passionate about embedding te ao Māori in ways that are lived, not just visible. This is reflected in my leadership of our bilingual pathway, cultural initiatives, and kapa haka, where I strive to create meaningful opportunities for ākonga to share, celebrate, and stand confidently in their identity.

   Brown’s idea that “clear is kind, unclear is unkind” resonates with me as I reflect on my leadership. While my relational approach is a strength, I recognise that it can sometimes lead me to:
   – delay difficult conversations
   – take on too much responsibility myself
   – prioritise harmony over challenge

   As I move further into senior leadership, I am becoming more aware of the need to balance being relational with being clear, decisive, and accountable. Similar to shifting from being a teammate to also stepping into a role where I may need to guide, challenge, or hold boundaries.

   The concept of “strong back, soft front, wild heart” has been particularly powerful for me. I want to lead with a strong back (clear values, boundaries, and expectations), a soft front (care, empathy, and connection), and a wild heart (the courage to lead authentically, even when it feels uncomfortable).

   As I grow into my role as an Assistant Principal, I want to strengthen my ability to lead with both care and clarity, holding high expectations while also being direct and timely in my communication. I want to continue developing confidence in trusting my professional judgement, particularly in moments that require courageous conversations or decision-making. This means continuing to lean into vulnerability, recognising that, as Brown highlights, vulnerability is not weakness… it is the foundation of courageous and meaningful leadership.

   Ngā mihi nui
   Miringa Silipa

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4. For me, showing up authentically means moving away from the AP as a fixer armor and leaning into the relational strengths my colleagues value. Authenticity at school looks like being transparent about the overwhelm of the current curriculum rollouts while maintaining high expectations. It’s about using my empathy not just to listen, but to hold space for staff to be vulnerable. As Brené Brown suggests, the “strong back/soft front” approach allows me to be the anchor my Principal and Deputy Principal need while remaining approachable enough for a teacher to admit they are struggling.

   My leadership style is deeply rooted in relational intelligence and optimism. Through my Leadership Circle review and Strengths Profile, I’ve identified that I thrive when I can use compassion, resilience and empathy to coach others, whether that is helping a child understand their emotional impact or supporting a Team Leader through a challenge.

   My Goals:
   * Leading Self – by having timely, direct conversations. My high empathy can sometimes lead to a “wait and see” approach; I want to ensure my optimism doesn’t become an excuse to avoid necessary interventions.
   * Leading others – Ensuring that when I address “tricky” situations, I trust my professional judgment enough to know I won’t “say the wrong thing” if I stay true to our school virtues.
   * Leading change – curriculum rollout, with teacher voice that expresses they have been heard, had some choice, that holds to our school value of ‘kids first’. That the Community has been part to the journey, understand where their children are at, what the new progress descriptors mean in relation to their child

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5. As I mentioned in my introduction at the start of the year, my 7ish years as a DP have been quite the roller coaster, and the direction of what is still an emerging and establishing school has changed several times over that period. This has meant I have had to develop leadership skills that help support our team through change, as well as having to manage and embrace the impact of these changes on myself.
   When I considered my leadership style in light of this, alongside the readings for both this module and module 2, I would say that my personal leadership style is an amalgamation of ethical, servant and situational and continues to evolve and change as I gain confidence and experience in my leadership role.

   Situational leadership is essentially about adapting your leadership style to meet the needs of your team, as well as suit the particular task or situation. I often find myself adapting my approach depending on the individual and their particular needs and experience levels. Equally, there are times where what is needed is for me to direct, scaffold and support people and then other times where I can delegate and just check in as needed. Our staff is a mix of very experienced teachers and a number new to the profession, also, as a growing school, we are constantly inducting new staff members who require more support when they start as they settle in to the way we do things.

   In terms of ethical leadership, I considerd the question of how I show up at school authentically and with vulnerability. I am upfront with people about things I find difficult e.g. task switching, sensory over load from too many voices speaking at me all at once, that I am open to honest feedback, but I might cry because I’m frustrated with myself – not because I’m upset about being spoken to.
   I own my mistakes, if I have stuffed up – I own it, and I come with a solution. If my tone has been sharp and I think or I know I have upset someone – I seek them out as soon as I can to apologise and repair – if the person is open to it – I have also learnt that sometimes people may not be ready, willing or able to move to repair, so I have to sit with the discomfort or upset that may cause me and allow them to process how they need to, for as long as they need to.
   I have learnt to rip off the band-aid and do the things that make me anxious, to have those difficult/important conversations with colleagues and whānau straight away and not put them off. I used to avoid them or leave them for so long that what started as a smallish thing had compounded and gotten bigger. I came to realise that it was dishonest and unfair to the person or people I needed to have the conversation with; that by wanting to come across as ‘kind’ or ‘nice’, I was actually achieving the opposite. I had to be vulnerable to be authentic, and I had to become comfortable sitting with discomfort. I definitely think I’ve become a better leader because of this, and I still don’t get it right all the time; however, I have also come to realise you can still be kind and supportive in how you approach the conversation, whilst still being honest and having the conversations as soon as I can. Yes, I still feel anxious and a bit nauseous about it, and my hands might shake, but I push through, and it’s not usually as bad as I imagined, or sometimes it is, but I accept that.

   Servant leadership, for me is about leading with empathy, and supporting the growth and development of those I lead. In many ways, ethical leadership and situational leadership are aspects of servant leadership and I have aspired to lead in this way since I first moved into leadership roles.

   Area for Improvement.
   The notion of being constantly in a state of emotional labour resonated with me, in particular, the impact on your well-being when you are not attending to it. I am certainly aware of my emotions and know when they are having an impact on me; what I’m not always good at is giving myself the necessary space to address them properly. I also firmly believe that I am responsible for my own well-being, it’s not something I can outsource or expect someone else to sort for me. Having said that, it’s something I need to work on.

   In the Leadership Capability Framework, it says that when leaders are attending to their own learning as leaders and their own well-being, this looks like a leader who sets aside some time each week for activities and rest that nurture their body and soul. This is something I sort of do and sort of don’t, which is why I have chosen it as an area to work on, the reason being, as well as looking after myself, it will support me in building relationships with my team as I will be able to respond in a constructive way, be able to keep on top of what I need to get done so that I am not creating unintentional roadblocks that make it hard for my team to do what they need to, I will also be role modelling how to balance the personal and professional.

   I need to make sure my week includes time to get work committments completed, to be available for my team, while also not staying at school to 6 pm every day and spending too much of my weekend on school related taks so that I am not having time to rest and recharge, and also not feeling like my family are getting the raw end of the deal.

   Plan for Personal Development:
   There are a number of elements I am looking at here. I am naturally quite reflective, and reflect best in writing so keeping a reflection journal appeals to me and also allows me to support my area for improvement by setting aside dedicated time to reflect and process.
   At our school, as part of our PGC process, we set goals around areas of responsibility and also a couple of dimensions from the Leadership Capability Framework that we want to work on. This involves coaching conversations, observations and reflection time with, in my case, our principal ( I coach APs for theirs). Therefore, this forms part of the plan as it is already part of what I do.
   I have chatted with Grant about the idea of a 360 survey. It’s something I’m considering, and would like to explore further before I decide if this is something I want to commit to.

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6. Stepping into the acting principal role has been a significant shift for me. While I’ve stepped into this role before, it felt different this time. I felt more prepared and more confident in my decision-making, which I think reflects the growth in my leadership over time. Even so, the role has required a deeper level of self-awareness, particularly in how I show up each day.

   One of the biggest challenges has been the increased visibility. Decisions feel more exposed, and there is a greater expectation to hold the wider picture while remaining present and relational. The module’s idea of “showing up authentically” really resonated . I’ve found that being open, calm, and clear strengthens trust, but it also requires vulnerability, which I am still developing.

   Emotional intelligence has been equally important. Navigating complex staffing situations has required me to manage my own responses while being highly aware of others. Slowing down, listening carefully, and choosing my response has made a noticeable difference in maintaining relationships and moving conversations forward. This strongly aligns with the module’s focus on responding effectively to others’ emotions .

   A strength I bring is a relational, values-driven approach. Over time, I have intentionally used feedback to grow my leadership. The Strengths Profile continues to guide my thinking, and I regularly use the cards to refocus when needed. I also completed the Leadership Circle Profile in 2021 and am interested in revisiting this to better understand how my leadership has evolved.

   My thinking has also been shaped by a number of influences. Multipliers and Creativity, Inc. have influenced how I build culture and grow others. Be 2.0 and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People have reinforced values-based leadership. As a team, we also gained a lot from Ted Lasso, particularly the importance of being genuine and leading with both care and high expectations.

   The module’s guidance around purposeful and systematic self-review has prompted me to be more deliberate in how I gather feedback .

   Next Steps Plan

   Revisit Leadership Circle Profile and explore 360-degree feedback
   Seek regular, honest feedback from a small group of trusted colleagues
   Build a simple, consistent reflection routine
   Invite observation and feedback on key leadership moments
   Continue using Strengths Profile to lead from strengths and identify blind spots

   An area for ongoing development is navigating conflict and having challenging conversations. In this role, these situations are more frequent and require greater clarity and confidence. I am working on trusting my judgement, being more direct when needed, and leaning into these conversations rather than avoiding them. This is closely linked to emotional intelligence, particularly in managing my own responses while maintaining strong relationships.

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7. Reflecting on my leadership style, I found that two styles resonated with me. The first being transformational leadership and being innovative, wanting to inspire others through a shared vision. I’m constantly asking myself what are we here for – to improve student achievement and that can be accomplished in many different ways. The second is servant leadership and wanting to see others succeed and encouraging all to reach their full potential. Collaboration is key and moving in the same direction together as noted in Gilbert’s book with the magic of movement and diagram A – when everything is aligned, the team will move with velocity.
   Two areas of development for me are having those courageous conversations when conflict arises and not owning actions of other colleagues behaviour. I can support them but I need to leave to park things when they are out of my control.

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8. As a full-time classroom teacher in a non-leadership role this is quite a daunting task to reflect on… So for me, I had to think about additional positions I hold within my school & community, and the context of what I consider to be my ‘personal leadership style’. A Google search of ‘Leadership Styles’ led me to select what I believe aligns with how I show leadership within my associate teacher, jnr rugby manager & committee roles as Democratic (Participative): Values team input, consensus, and collaboration, leading to high morale and engagement, as well as Servant Leadership: Puts the needs of the team first to foster a supportive, empowering environment. And if I consider Gilbert’s book, at this stage I am probably a little too ‘The Nice Guy’…
   ‘Are people born to lead or do they learn the relevant skills along the way?’ – I choose to believe in the latter!
   I recognise that my personal area for self-improvement lies within conflict resolution and having difficult conversations; ensuring that my voice is heard without emotion involved. This will involve further coaching and discussions with Grant throughout the course, as well as continual reflection of myself and seeking feedback from trusted colleagues.

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9. My leadership style is based on a relational-first approach. Drawing from years of experience in competitive team sports, I believe that a team can only move forward effectively when every member is heading in the same direction and feels valued as an equal. I prioritise knowing my staff personally; I’ve found that when you understand the person behind the professional, you build the trust necessary to achieve collective goals.
   For me, leadership isn’t about hierarchy—it’s about partnership. Like any successful sports team, we win or lose together. By fostering a culture of mutual respect and shared vision, I aim to create an environment where staff feel supported to take risks and perform at their best.
   Areas for Growth: While my relational focus is a strength, I recognise that as I transition into senior leadership, I need to balance “being a teammate” with the necessity of “refereeing” when tough conversations or clear boundaries are required. My focus this year is on maintaining these strong connections while gaining the operational “know-how” to lead with both empathy and strategic decisiveness.

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10. My leadership style is firmly rooted in Servant Leadership. This aligns with my top Gallup Strengths – Responsibility, Learner, Arranger, Consistency, and Discipline. My ‘why’ is driven by a deep sense of responsibility to my students and staff, and a desire to create a ‘Milford Way’ that is consistent and fair.
    In her work on authentic leadership, Brené Brown discusses how leaning into our ‘ordinariness’ makes us relatable. I have realised that showing up authentically means being honest about the fact that I am still a ‘Learner.’ Whether it’s admitting I’m struggling with a new strategic budget or being open about my “work-in-progress” golf swing, being relatable allows my staff to feel safe in their own growth. It creates a culture where we don’t have to be perfect; we just have to be moving forward together in the same direction, as Gilbert Enoka mentions.
    It takes more courage to delegate and empower others than it does to do the work myself. By being vulnerable enough to say, “I am stepping back so you can step up,” I am opening up the space for true collective efficacy.
    I want to be a leader who is ‘in the arena,’ as Brown says. That means getting muddy, making mistakes in this new role, and being brave enough to let others lead while I provide the strategic scaffolding.
    Exciting times!

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11. Module 1
    Step 1: Reflect on your personal leadership style and identify areas for self-improvement.
    I have reflected on my personal leadership style by identifying areas I feel I have strength in, and areas for improvement/my own goals for growth. Using this information, I related them to several leadership styles, as just one wasn’t a true reflection of how I think I operate as a person, and a leader. Then, using AI to bring everything together, I came up with a combination of these leadership styles:
    1. Servant Leadership (Your Core Foundation). Rooted in the work of Robert K. Greenleaf, servant leadership is about leading through service to others.
    Your strengths that reflect this:
    * Consistently warm, positive presence, empathy and confidentiality
    * Practical care (release, relievers, counselling support)
    * Supporting staff wellbeing without publicity
    * Advocating for others (references, housing, careers)
    * Including support staff and other (sometimes) marginalised voices

    This makes you a psychologically safe leader—a huge asset in schools.

    2. Transformational Leadership (How You Inspire). This style is associated with James MacGregor Burns and focuses on lifting others’ motivation and capacity.
    You show this through:
    * Modelling optimism during personal hardship (flood, losses) and sharing vulnerability (appropriately)
    * Being honest without being destabilising
    * Holding yourself accountable and maintaining high relational credibility
    What this says about you:
    * You don’t lead through authority.
    * You lead through authenticity and example.

    You quietly raise the emotional and professional tone of the school.

    3. Coaching / Instructional Leadership (How You Grow Capability): Your approach aligns strongly with the work of Jim Knight and modern learning-focused leadership.
    Evidence in your practice:
    * Giving teachers space to problem-solve
    * Facilitating rather than directing
    * Using exemplars strategically
    * Gradual release of control (coaching, mentoring etc, and the change of the locus of control, e.g. my PCT teacher)
    * Building confidence with the new curriculum (this is one of my portfolios in 2026/2027)
    * Regular check-ins with new teachers (wellbeing)

    What this says about you. You believe: “People learn best when they feel trusted and supported.”

    4. Ethical & Relational Leadership (Your Professional Backbone). This runs through everything you described.
    Examples:
    * Handling sensitive issues (e.g., body odour of a teacher) with mana intact
    * Acknowledging and apologising when I’m wrong
    * Protecting privacy
    * Being fair and visible (although I’m still working on being more visible!)
    * Maintaining professional boundaries

    What this says about you: You lead with integrity first, convenience second.
    That creates deep institutional trust.

    Step 2: Discuss with your kaiarahi (mentor or coach) the most effective strategies for gathering feedback from others on your leadership strengths and weaknesses.

    In past years, I have worked with outside providers for appraisals, feedback and coaching. I’ve had several 360 surveys from staff and have usually formed goals as a result of these. In 2026, my Principal will be completing my professional growth cycle, and she does a 360 to help inform this.
    As an IB workshop leader, I also get feedback from workshop participants after the events. This helps me consider my “leading adult learning” profile.
    Otherwise, I am very happy to have informal feedback, from within my school and from my Growth Culture coach.
    Although I have met with my coach for our initial session, we have not yet devised a plan for gathering feedback.

    Kind regards
    Sara Baker

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