Due: 9th June
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero.
What is the food of the leader? It is knowledge. It is communication.
Module Objectives:
Upon completion of this module, participants will be able to:
- Understand the key elements of high-performing teams.
- Develop strategies for building trust and fostering collaboration within teams.
- Understand and apply the principles of shared accountability within a team context.
- Identify and address potential barriers to team effectiveness.
- Develop and implement strategies for creating a positive and supportive team culture.
High Performing Leaders are ‘Networked Leaders’ who build leadership capacity in individuals, and in institutions, through enhancing professional relationships. Partnerships are based on the importance of maximising potential, and harnessing the ongoing commitment and energy needed to meet personal and professional goals.
High Performing Leaders follow a process of reflection, introspection and then connection. Through coaching and guidance, they decipher their strengths, areas for development and focused improvement.
As school leaders reflecting on your own leadership, and ways in which you can more effectively facilitate learning, the goal of this korero is to work with each other as coaches and mentors, creating deep learning relationships within professional practice.
One of the essential ingredients of high performing individuals, teams and organisations is creativity (Basadur, 2004). Being creative means releasing talent and imagination. It also means taking risks and, in some cases, standing outside the usual or accepted way of doing things. High performing leaders push boundaries; they seek new ways of seeing, interpreting, understanding and questioning.
Relational Trust
“High trust relationships exist when leaders are respected for their deep educational knowledge, their actions and values, and the way they engage respectfully with others with empathy and humility, fostering openness in discussions. Leaders have good emotional intelligence and self-awareness.”
– Educational leadership capability framework, Education Council, 2018.
Trust provides a strong foundation for effective working relationships which, ultimately, has a positive impact on student achievement. Trust has been shown time and time again to have a huge benefit in leading change and in creating great teams. Teams and schools with trusting relationships have staff who are open to sharing practice, taking risks and sharing what is and isn’t going well in their teaching. However, it does not happen by accident and it is not built in the same way for every person, depending on their personal narrative. As a middle leader, it is important to intentionally work to build trust with colleagues, whānau and community.
- Reading 1: Trust in educational leadership settings – https://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Professional-information/Leadership-capability-framework/High-trust-relationships#:~:text=High%20trust%20relationships%20exist%20when,emotional%20intelligence%20and%20self%2Dawareness.
- Reading 2: “Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for School Reform” B. Schneider. – https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/trust-in-schools-a-core-resource-for-school-reform
- Reading 3: “How the Best Leaders Build Trust” S. Covey. – https://www.leadershipnow.com/CoveyOnTrust.html
Collaborative Teams
Reading 4: https://www.arts.on.ca/oac/media/aire/Documents/IdeasIntoActionBulletin3.pdf
Reading 5: Collective teacher efficacy – https://visible-learning.org/2018/03/collective-teacher-efficacy-hattie/
Additional Resources:
– Working effectively with iwi and hapū, Melanie Taite-Pitama: https://vimeo.com/242861287
– Legacy – 15 Lessons in Leadership, by James Kerr (2013). Chapter 6 pp 74-83
– Open-to-Learning Conversations- Relationships and Trust, Viviane Robinson, 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_l5-HKIR1s
Optional Resources:
– Connecting with Māori Communities; Whānau, Hapū and Iwi, Mere Berryman and Therese Ford, 2014:
https://kep.org.nz/assets/resources/site/module8-v20a-up-16Apr15-w-image_5Jan16.pdf
– Robertson, J. (2015). Think-piece on leadership education in New Zealand. Leadership for communities of learning: Five think pieces. https://teachingcouncil.nz/assets/Files/Leadership-Strategy/Leadership-for-Communities-of-Learning-Five-Think-Pieces.pdf
- “Five Faces of Trust: An Empirical Confirmation in Urban Elementary Schools.” – W. Hoy and M. Tschannen-Moran. – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NBTBXVSjokVr_RPx3Qlze-Ao3E1m6XWI/view?usp=sharing
Task:
Reflect on the readings and identify one thing that you could do in your role to improve the function of your team. What would you do and what impact would you expect that to have?
Assessment:
- Completion of all readings.
- Participation in the online forum discussion.
- Submission of reflection on the forum.
6 Responses
One way I could improve the function of my team is to be more explicit about what is and is not acceptable and why, as outlined in the BES. I have a team member who has not been meeting obligations. Although there were understandable reasons for this initially, the team member has continued to use them as an excuse for not meeting current deadlines and expectations. So I need to have an open and respectful conversation about the need to meet expectations and not have a tolerance and acceptance of the negative status quo.
I guess it is making boundaries explicit while still building relationships. As Viviene Robinson’s research states ‘The problem of how to balance being honest about issues and maintaining trust is never easy. But commonly observed behaviours such as being brutally frank or circling the issue using leading or loaded questions do not generally work well. What is needed in these situations is collaborative problem-solving.’ Collaborative problem solving has always worked well for me. It allows the issue to be discussed while removing judgement which allows all parties to bring their point of view to the discussion and to then reach a path forward that is acceptable to all parties involved.
Kia ora tatou, I think one thing that I could do in my role to improve the function of my team would be to regularly make deposits into building trust in the small moments eg. marking a few extra papers, grabbing them a coffee, picking up their work from the printing room etc so that in the big moments, when I need to draw on their trust there is already a float. I think this would show that I am wanting to build a two way relationship, thats its not just about them doing things for me. Sort of like keeping their cup full so that if I spill a little bit, it wont necessarily goto empty.
I really like the idea of building trust with the small moments. It helps to illustrate that trust is cumulative and takes time.
After reading the article, several areas for development stood out to me. However, I’ve chosen to focus on strengthening collaboration within my team.
I work with a strong, collegial group of Whānau teachers who already collaborate well and support each other’s learning. On the surface, it might not seem necessary to target collaboration as an area for growth. However, I’ve noticed a potential gap when it comes to House Assemblies. These used to be primarily led by me, but are now driven by our House Prefects. While the Prefects do an excellent job, there may be a misalignment between the messages staff want to communicate and what the Prefects choose to prioritise.
To bridge this gap and enhance shared leadership, I plan to invite our House Prefects to attend the Whānau teachers’ House Meeting prior to each assembly. This will create a space where staff and students can co-construct the key messages. The aim is to ensure assemblies are not only informative but also meaningful and engaging for everyone involved.
This approach reflects the principles of collective efficacy—valuing the contributions of all team members and ensuring we work together with a shared purpose to improve outcomes for students.
After completing the reading, my takeaway from this was that for a team to function successfully all members need to feel appreciated and valued. Also supporting them with their personal career goals.
The one thing that I am going to do to improve the function of the team is to meet specially with a member of the team that I feel there is a communication barrier between us. This barrier exists due to cultural differences, which has been explained to me by another staff member from her culture. My plan moving forward is to discuss their career goals and aspiration, to create a plan to support them and create checkpoints for the remainder of the year. The initial conversation has addressed the goal of eventually being a head of department
Hi Laura, I think is a great idea. Not only will that improve your relationship to that staff member, but building their capability as a leader will likely increase the quality of work your department can deliver to the students.