“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.
Leadership is a choice, not a position. Even without a formal title, influence is key. Teachers involved in leadership have a positive impact on student outcomes. (Adapted from John C. Maxwell, Leading from the Middle of the Pack, 2013). Middle leaders play a crucial role, influencing both those they lead and those they report to.
Module Objectives:
- Understand the role of middle leadership.
- Develop strategies for influencing upwards.
- Enhance leadership of learning.
- Reflect on current leadership practice.
Key Areas of Focus:
Influencing Upwards:
- Invest in relational chemistry with your principal and SLT.
- Be prepared for meetings.
- Know when to push and when to back off, using emotional intelligence.
- Be a self-motivated performer who is always learning.
Leading Learning:
- Model effective teaching practice.
- Actively participate in professional learning and development.
- Lead teaching and learning through planning, inquiry, and curriculum development.
Resources:
- Leading from the Middle – Educational Leadership for Middle and Senior Leaders: https://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Key-leadership-documents/Leading-from-the-middle
- John C Maxwell. Leading from the Middle: www.johnmaxwell.com/blog/leading-from-the-middle-of-the-pack/
Task: Due 28th March 9am
Reflect on your current performance as a middle leader, using the provided framework (link below) to consider what you want to start, stop, and continue doing to strengthen your leadership practice. Copy the document and share it with your kaiārahi when complete.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uh3tmPziD1lzpzh83s94dv9QHp6nyGz4Q3eQNbQ7oNA/edit?usp=sharing
Share your biggest ‘takeaway’ from this reflective exercise on the forum, in 150 words or less.
Assessment:
- Completion of the “Start, Stop, Continue” reflection document.
- Participation on the forum.
24 Responses
Completing this task was confronting, having to put things into words made me see how much of myself I give. Whānau, life and “my time/space” It has made me see how much energy is put in so many areas. We are doing well koutou! To stop doing something is hard I will admit, but in order for my leadership to start and continue I need my kete to start filling up. I have to continue to explore and relish opportunities by opening the door to “yes” in new areas of my education journey.
You have an enviable amount of positivity and enthusiasm Lisa. Do hold some of yourself back lest you get burnt out as that is a real pressure for Maori staff in mainstream schools where it is just assumed that you are happy to share your cultural knowledge at a moment’s notice. Your school is very lucky to have you.
I found this an interesting exercise. With so much going on in school and home life, it is too easy to keep going and eventually wonder why wheels start falling off. Our mental health needs to be nurtured and to do so effectively we need be mindful and deliberate about actions to preserve ourselves. My plan is spend more time in my diary so I’m not forgetting things or getting surprises. I need to approach my mahi with surety and decisiveness.
You are absolutely right Damian. We are nothing without a healthy wairua. Nobody benefits if we are burnt out. Diary organisation is a great skill especially where someone is as time poor as you are.
I agree Damian, we are jugglers! So many balls in the air at once. Be kind to yourself and pause. We all forget to take out time for oursleves. My diary is my god send, my favourite part is crossing off the mahi I have completed 🙂 Kai kaha e hoa. Whāia te mātauranga hei oranga mō koutou” (Seek after wisdom for the sake of your wellbeing).
This exercise was confronting when I think about getting air for the bigger picture items. I easily spend time in the weeds and it is pretty refreshing to get up to see a bigger picture of what we are trying to achieve. Scarcity is real and prioritizing time- where I need to, is a big work on for me. Just taking the time for reflection has un-covered a lot – it feels a bit overwhelming. I would like to do this task on a regular basis.
Thank you Fleur. Yes it can be quite a revealing exercise. As professionals it is quite difficult to think about stopping doing things as there is a natural tendency to just keep adding tasks on to an ever growing list. It’s quite liberating to acknowledge that it doesn’t have to be that way.
The provocation activity was a useful exercise as it helped to reinforce things that may be taking up too much unnecessary time and energy. It also helped me to organise my thoughts and highlight key priorities.
In the relationships and key leadership qualities areas it became clear that building effective communication systems between staff and TAs was a priority. This includes making sure all TAs know what our school kaupapa is when working with ākonga.
Improving clarity in the area of learning support is also a priority. Are staff aware of systems and procedures for accessing learning support and how can I increase agency in this area?
A leadership priority is to increase my knowledge of Structured Literacy and our new maths resource – Math No Problem, so I can support staff with these approaches to teaching and understand potential challenges.
Two other consistent themes were continuing being an advocate for our students who require additional support and to take a step back at times, give staff more agency and improve work life balance.
This seemed to be a really worthwhile exercise for you Kim. It has identified where you feel you need to put your time: TA’s, Maths and Literacy. This plus your desire to give staff time to demonstrate their own initiative will be helpful in prioritising.
Great activity to reflect on different aspects and think about how they all have a play in the role of a leader. The stop was a little confronting, almost like constructive feed back to myself, but most of them I found there was or will be a positive outcome if I can follow through with them. My starts were mainly things that have been on my mind so writing them down feels like a step forward, part of a plan if you will. The continue was the positive, thinking of the things that I currently but also how I can build on what we are alrready doing. I feel like the role of leader is challenging me to not procrastinate, but to plan and get started. I think somethimes I don’t want to start because I wont get it right, but how do I know I know if I dont even start!
I’m delighted that you found this such a worthwhile exercise Kim. Yes the stopping is hard but so helpful if you can divest yourself of chores or responsibilities and focus on what really matters. Never doubt yourself. You are a capable woman who can achieve whatever she puts her mind to. Your life is a testament to that!
I found deciding what to stop doing was the most challenging. The stop felt more personal than the other two, more about a certain mindset in relation to the different aspects. It is a good exercise though to explore what is already going well and what tweak could be made to improve what is happening.
Your points are interesting Anna. When you are conscientious and like helping people to decide to stop doing something seems like abandonment or cutting the umbilical cord. We were all attracted into teaching because we like to help and this seems contrary to our natures. You are doing an important job so its good to have some of you left at the end of the day.
The main takeaway for me was the thought that I don’t have time to do everything myself, and if I did try to do it all myself then I would probably end up feeling taken advantage of. Instead, by adopting more āwhinatanga, I can value and build up others’ strengths and capabilities. A happy by-product is that I won’t have to do it all myself. In the short-term this might mean a little more work but it will pay off long-term and my relationships will be strengthened.
I can see that this exercise was helpful Richard. Upskilling your peers sounds like a worthwhile investment on several fronts not least of which it’s great foe the profession.You are probably used to working with a great deal more autonomy too so having to wait for others to catch up may seem like a hindrance or imposition
My biggest takeaway from the provocation was reflecting on the ‘continue’ and not just the ‘stop’ and ‘start.’ It can be so easy to be critical of ourselves in a negative way and consistently look at what we are doing wrong and what we need to be doing better. It was refreshing to reflect on what I am already doing well that is making an impact on my practice and on the practice of those around me.
I’m pleased you found the exercise useful Kayleigh. I think it’s helpful to accept that we all have a finite amount of energy and the less of it that we spend on non-productive or unhelpful tasks the more energy we have for things that will really move us forward.
My biggest takeaway from this activity was actually the value of reflection! Going through the questions forced me to slow down and truly analyse my thoughts, experiences, and values in a way I don’t often make time for. Some of the questions challenged me to dig deep and consider aspects of my leadership journey that I hadn’t consciously thought about before.
This module has made me realise just how important reflection is for growth. It’s not just about making decisions and taking action, it’s also about pausing to evaluate what’s working, what’s not, and where I can improve. I’ve come to understand that consistent reflection will help me become more self-aware, intentional, and effective in my leadership practice.
I can tell that have gained such a lot from this exercise Lauren. It is so liberating to identify things that you can divest yourself from isn’t it ? It is not being lazy to walk away but it is marshalling your forces so you can be more effective in those truly significant areas that will even make a difference for your learners.
I agree with your comment Lauren, about analysing our thoughts, experiences and values. I feel I so often only reflect on my physical actions and don’t stop to think about the leadership qualities that are more internal and can often not be seen but more experienced and felt.
Your personal wellbeing is so important Jade as so many people are dependent on your being present both at work and at home. This has been a great exercise for you because at the very least it’s enabled you to really focus in on those many demands that you face every day. I sense you found this really worthwhile.
I did find it really worthwhile. Going into it I didn’t think I would be able to fill all the boxes and found that once I got going the things I want to work on the most reappear across many of the areas and it was almost like a clear pattern emerged of what was on top for me.
My biggest takeaway from this activity is that for me working in a Specialist School setting, the Start, Stop and Continues don’t have to be massive. Sometimes the smallest thing, the smallest change in doing something or the way you see something can make all the difference. The students and their whanau that I work with come from such complex worlds, the staff are honestly all exhausted and time is an extremely valuable thing. I have always been the helper, the go to person, the yes person. Change for me will be doing something as simple as saying NO or turning the situation around into a learning opportunity rather than me just doing it, because my time is just as valuable as everyone else’s.