I know that I possess leadership qualities. I also know that my effectiveness as a leader is not consistent. The case studies in this unit of work have helped me to understand why this is so.
Control
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Having control is my comfort zone and I often find that I will take charge and get things done when I’m frustrated by a lack of understanding or when things are moving slowly. What I have failed to see is that I am not only creating more work for myself, but I am excluding others and preventing them from having a voice or making a contribution.
Moving forward I need to be aware of the importance of working outside of my self-imposed bubble if I want my impact to be across the whole school. I cannot (and should not) try to perfect all of the skills that are required to make meaningful change. As was discussed in case study #1, working collaboratively and building capacity within the group will provide more opportunities for change (Harris, 2014).
Conflict
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In a previous post, I reflected on the way I respond to conflict and now that we are at the end of this unit of study, I see things differently. I am an active listener and am able to problem-solve but I tend to remove myself from conflict situations that are uncomfortable. If I want to be a leader, I need to be prepared to step up.
Case study #3 highlighted some strategies that I can use to prepare for uncomfortable conflict situations in the future. Rather than only working with those I like and see eye-to-eye with, I need to work towards developing positive relationships with all staff. I need to be prepared to model the professional behaviours that I expect to see in others (Gottlieb, 2012) and be clear in both the vision for the library and the overall vision for the school.
Advocacy & Promotion
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I was raised to achieve quietly and not toot my own horn. While it has been obvious to me for a long time that this strategy has harmed me, it is the work case study #5 that has helped me to understand why.
It is too simplistic to say that this trait has seen me looked over for positions of responsibility or meant that I have watched others take credit for my work- there are bigger stakes here. Advocacy and promotion affect my colleagues, my ability to fulfil the school and library vision, and student outcomes. If what I am doing is not visible, others cannot see how we can work together towards a joint goal.
I have been making the mistake of seeing advocacy as self-serving. I have been worried that I am showing off or will appear arrogant but it is my lack of advocacy that shows arrogance. A two-fold approach of listening to and supporting what others value (Weisberg & Walter, 2011, p. 111) and finding ways that we can work together will much better support my goals.
References
Gottlieb, H. (2012, October 30). Leading from the middle: Bringing out the best in everyone. Creating the future.
Harris, A. (2014, September 29). Distributed leadership. Teacher magazine. https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/distributed-leadership
Weisburg, H.K. & Walter, V.A. (2011). How does advocacy develop leadership? American Library Association.