In The Beginning
This subject could not have arrived at a more poignant time, the upheaval of the education system in delivering distance learning due to Covid-19 highlighted for me the major impacts and implications of leadership on every level. My first blog post (Tansey, July 18 2021) unpacked my personal experiences of disconnected leadership; a hierarchical approach that had left the voices of the teachers’ unheard and led to systems of operation and management that did not hold the vision of all stakeholders of my school. I was in fact, disillusioned by the leadership I had experienced, whilst also not knowing and a little fearful of my own role as a leader and what transformation it could inspire.
Reading the forums from Module 2 I saw that I was not alone in my experience, with many students attributing poor leadership to hierarchal structures of divisional management theory (M. Simmons, personal communication, July 12, 20121). Though, amongst the dismay there were repetitive calls for a leadership direction that leads to communication, collaboration and connection as key attributes of empowering leadership (Discussed in my blog post Improving relationships: a reflection)(Tansey, July 20, 2021).
Digging Deeper into Leadership theory
Whilst I had started understanding the foundational attributes of leadership, I had yet to understand the relationships between the different leadership styles, the different roles within the school and the integral role they play in the functioning of the educational environment. This brought me to the Leadership Concept Map task, testing new technology skills (necessary for a TL) I dug deeper in my understanding that there is not a ‘one-size fits all’ model to school leadership, rather, recognising the diversity of school contexts and unique structure of each school in shaping adaptive leadership styles (Bush & Glover, 2014). Importantly, I began to recognise that effective leadership in schools contributes to transformational impacts on student learning outcomes and skills, necessary for the 21st century learner (Homes Clement & Albright, 2013).
The Concept Map task allowed me to see how a shared leadership approach of Distributed and Transformational leadership empowers other school leaders and enables them to be powerful change agents, further contributing to a positive school culture (Smith, 2016). This kind of leadership is vital to critically strengthen both lateral and vertical relationships that creates strong, collaborative and professional learning communities (L. Tansey, 3 August 20221. Bush & Glover, 2014. Harris, 2014). Finally, I was able to recgonise how leadership styles directly impact the Teacher Librarian (TL), in both their role and function as a leader.
However, where do I stand in this role as a TL leader?
My Future as a TL leader – Am I up for the challenge as a powerful agent of change?
My strong suit from being a classroom teacher is that I already understand the importance of collaboration and relationship building in forming effective teams that work together to inspire and innovate both curriculum and pedagogy. Though I have always found comfortability within a team and the idea of acting alone as a TL leader challenges me. However, I found solace in the idea of being a servant leader and leading from the middle, allowing me to work alongside other leadership team members with the ability to influence, problem solve and inspire change and innovation through critical knowledge of library resources and my own unique skill set as a TL.
Understanding the unique and pivotal role of the TL in the ever-changing educational landscape has allowed me to see opportunities to further my own professional development and skills. The drive of future-focused learning and skills for 2st century learners has empahsised my own need to skill up in the areas of technology innovation and digital resources. Just as students need to keep abreast of these constantly changing resources, as a leader, it is pertinent I do too.
References
Bush, T. & Glover, D. (2014). School leadership models: What do we know? School Leadership and Management, 34(5), 553-571.
Harris, A. (2014, September 29). Distributed leadership. Teacher Magazine.
Holmes, K., Clement, J. & Albright, J. (2012). The complex task of leading educational change in schools. School Leadership & Management, 33(3), 270-283.
