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.
5 Responses
One thing I could do to improve how our team works is to create more space for honest, open-to-learning conversations. Viviane Robinson highlights how these build trust when we listen well, stay open to challenge, and work through issues together. If I model that kind of approach, it encourages others to do the same, helping build stronger, more respectful relationships. It also supports collective teacher efficacy. Feeling valued and united in purpose as a team we are more likely to make a real difference for our learners.
After reading the articles, two things stood out that I can do to help my team work better. First, I can have regular one-on-one meetings with each team member. This will help build trust and make it easier to talk openly and honestly. Second, I can start weekly kainga/wharau check-ins where we can share what went well, what was hard, and how we can help each other. This will help everyone feel responsible and work together more. The readings show that when teams trust each other and work closely, it helps teachers feel confident and improves student learning. By doing these two things, I hope to create a positive team culture where everyone supports each other and works together to do their best for the students.
Your post really got me reflecting on my own leadership role. I admire your commitment to connecting with your team, and it’s a great reminder of how important those relationships are. At the same time, I know that trying to hold weekly one-on-one hui with 13 staff just wouldn’t work for me and my context. I’m learning to find a balance that still honours those connections, without setting myself up to fall short… or burnout.
One effective strategy to improve team function that stood out to me is holding regular one-on-one, face-to-face meetings—kanohi ki te kanohi—with each team member. This approach fosters a sense of value and belonging, allowing team members to feel heard, respected and supported. I also believe that a leader’s transparency and reliability are crucial in building trust. Together, these elements help create a high-trust environment and a more connected team.
Two main ideas stood out to me in the readings. They were that trust is formed when members of your team/ staff see that you are competent and have good character. An offshoot of competence was not ignoring low-performing individuals or problems. This means that good leaders have the difficult conversations when necessary. I also thought that the collective teacher efficacy was a character of effective teams not to be ignored. I will be trying to emphasis that we can succeed together.