I’m not sure who first uttered the phrase, a change is as good as a holiday. I’m assuming they had a particular change in mind – a peaceful, relaxing, rejuvenating one. Maybe there’s a palm tree swaying gently in the cool breeze. Perhaps a fresh mojito rests on a small table to the side of the banana lounge. You might even see our friend reading a good book and contemplating what time to wander off and get their massage.

I wonder whether many leaders think about change in the same way…because leadership is about managing change. And that’s a tough gig. When introducing myself to the ETL504  cohort on the discussion boards, I said that I was “particularly looking forward to examining issues of change management”. I recall at the time being vastly disappointed about some change happening in my school – well, not the change per se – rather the way it was being done. And, if I’m to be completely honest, was a little put out at being cut out of any discussion in relation to the change…about the place of inquiry learning at my school. So, I had high hopes that this unit would expand my views, knowledge and understanding of my potential (and place) as a leader of curriculum and pedagogy into the future.

It was interesting to spend the first modules looking at leadership styles and how they impact the teacher librarian role. A comment made by Sally Allen on the Module 2.3 (Preparation A1) Concept Map – Transformational and Servant Leadership thread peaked my interest. She mentioned that servant leadership was leading from the bottom up. The Proactive Insights blog admin agrees. In their post, Lead from the bottom up, not from the top down, they suggest that the notion of servant leadership is often misunderstood as passive or weak. However, it’s more like leading from alongside as the servant leader supports, develops, and removes barriers. Although the humble teacher librarian is capable of many styles of leadership, they are often relegated to “simple servitude” – we resource curriculum, we make physical and digital spaces available for reading and research, we integrate digital technologies and we engage in reading engagement. Although these things are fantastically important, it is the powerful servant leadership of the teacher librarian that deserves recognition. This has been a fundamental shift for me – we aren’t just servants (although this is where we have naturally begun), we are servants first who aspire to lead (Greenleaf, 1970). It has been exciting to see this play out in my Stage 3 classes. As I mentioned in the Module 5.2 & 5.3 – Servant Leadership – Information or digital literacy thread, listening to teacher concerns about their students understanding of appropriate conduct on social media has seen me rearrange Term 3 and 4 programs to support them.

I’ve also become a closet John Kotter fan, and his 8 step process for managing change has been a real find – particularly the idea of forming a guiding coalition to drive change.

 

The thing I truly like about this idea is the opportunity to have a group of leaders from across an organisation, with different levels of responsibility (whether formal or not) and different leadership styles working together to effect sustainable change. It has given me confidence that the power of my servant leadership (and my expertise in inquiry pedagogies) could make a difference in a guiding coalition.

So, it’s time to get off the banana lounge, put on my flip flops and march with determination to present my ideas.

I’ll keep the massage until after. I’m going to need it.

Cath

References

Allen. S. (2022, July 18th). Concept map – transformation and servant leadership [Online discussion comment]. Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_62876_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_127077_1&forum_id=_281619_1&message_id=_4135190_1

Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The Servant Leader. Centre for Servant Leadership

Kotter. (n.d.). The 8 steps for leading change. [Image]. Kotter. https://www.kotterinc.com/methodology/8-steps/

Proactive Insights. (2015, August 6th). Lead from the bottom up, not the top down. Proactive Insights. https://www.proactiveinsights.com/blog/lead-from-the-bottom-up-not-from-the-top-down/#:~:text=’By%20listening%20and%20growing%20people,accurately%2C%20you%20lead%20from%20alongside.

Wikimedia Commons. (2008). Anse Source d’Argent 2-La Digue retouched.jpg [Description]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anse_Source_d%27Argent_2-La_Digue_retouched.jpg