The core business of a school is to provide all students with the necessary skills to function as lifelong learners. With the modern school library existing as a dynamic hub of learning, the teacher librarian (TL) at the helm of this dynamic space, has the ability to lead from the middle (Kachel, 2016) of the school organisation in order to support the school vision, structures and staff. Although the TL may not be recognised as existing in a ‘legitimised’ position of authority, the role is a powerful one (Cox & Korodaj, 2019), with the TL being strategically positioned to impact organisational change (Church, 2015) and also contribute to the development of a positive school culture, for the benefit of its student community of learners.
Thinking about key leadership qualities (Brien, 2022, July, 9), I believe great leaders have refined communication skills, are flexible and adaptive to change and have the propensity to inspire and empower others to achieve their best. These qualities all centre around the ability to develop and nurture authentic relationships, which I recognised in a blog post about influential teachers (Brien, 2021, September 20) back in ETL401. As my understanding of leadership theory (Brien, 2022, July 13) has developed throughout this subject, I can see how many of these qualities are aligned to a servant leadership style (Greenleaf, 1977), which is befitting of the TL (Craig, 2013). My own research led me to the work of Spears (2004), who outlined servant leader qualities of having commitment to growing the capacity of others and displaying strength in the areas of empathy, foresight and listening, further convincing me of the TL’s suitability to this particular leadership style. These are the qualities I endeavour to demonstrate into my own professional practice as TL.
In considering different leadership styles potentially attributed to key executives within a school structure, I would argue that the transformative leadership style (Bush, 2018) is most effective in enabling change processes that are geared towards the implementation of innovative 21st century pedagogies. It was interesting to contemplate the perspectives of fellow classmates who shared their separate experiences of school-wide change implementation (Allen, 2022, July 23; Butler, 2022, August 7), reporting their perceptions on the varying degree of success and staff receptiveness in light of different leadership styles. This differed from my own experience, where successful change implementation was supported by intense professional learning (Brien, 2022, July 21) and was overall well-received. It is important to acknowledge that organisational change can be a cause of stress for staff (Wisse & Sleebos, 2016), which means that there needs to be consultation as well open and transparent communication embedded into change processes, to ensure staff are onboard with a shared strategic school vision.
Considering the varied and diverse role of the TL (Brien, 2021, July 27) as curriculum expert, information literacy specialist (Australian School Library Association, n.d.) and instructional leader (Searby et al., 2016) the TL’s capacity to nurture relationships with staff across the school builds trust and as a consequence, establishes the foundation for collaborative opportunities (Brien, 2022, July 8), which is an area of focus for my own professional growth. Lance and Maniotes (2020) recognise that many teachers experience difficulties in successfully integrating inquiry models and through specialised coaching and collaboration (Lewis & McNamara, 2021) the TL can be utilised as an invaluable resource (Brien, 2021, September 7).
Reflecting on my learning from the position of TL, I am aware that I can proactively advocate as a leader operating from the middle of the organisational structure, in order to add value and support the core business of the school (Burns, 2018). In strategically building my circle of influence, through the development of genuine relationships, open communication and collaboration, I can help to build staff capacity as a respected team member. The goal to work harmoniously with others, helps all school stakeholders to successfully achieve the shared mission of providing our students with the best education possible.
References
Allen, S. (2022, July 23). Re: School direction. [Discussion forum post]. ETL504 Interact 2 Discussion Board. 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=_281621_1&message_id=_4065846_1
American Association of School Librarians. (n.d.). The instructional role of the school librarian. https://alair.ala.org/bitstream/handle/11213/15899/AASL_PositionStatement_TheInstructionalRoleoftheSchoolLibrarian.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Australian School Library Association. (n.d.). What is A Teacher Librarian? https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian
Burns, E. (2018). Advocating for change in school library perceptions. Teacher Librarian, 46(1), 8-14. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2136838594?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true
Butler, N. (2022, August 7). Re: School direction. [Discussion forum post]. ETL504 Interact 2 Discussion Board. 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=_281621_1&message_id=_4065846_1
Church, A. (2015). Tapping into the skills of 21st century school librarians: A concise handbook for administrators. Rowan and Littlefield Publishers.
Cox, E. & Korodaj, L. (2019). Leading from the sweet spot: Embedding the library and teacher librarian in your school community. Access, 33(4), 14-25. https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/aeipt.229255
Craig, S. (2013). Teacher and librarian collaboration: Using servant-leadership attributes to create a culture of collaboration [Masters paper, University of Victoria]. https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/handle/1828/4633
Greenleaf, R. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Paulist Press.
Kachel, D. (2016). Growing your roots of influence. Teacher Librarian, 43(4), 53-55.
Lance, K. & Maniotes, L. (2020). Linking librarians, inquiry learning, and information literacy? Phi Delta Kappan, 101(7), 47-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721720917542
Lewis, M. & McNamara, K. (2021). A certified school librarian is a professional learning powerhouse. The Learning Professional, 42(4). 52-55. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1320096
Searby, L., Browne-Ferrigno, T. & Wang, C. (2016). Assistant principals: Their readiness as instructional leaders. Leadership and Policy in School, 16(3), 397-430. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2016.1197281
Wisse, B. & Sleebos, E. (2016). When change causes stress: Effects of self-construal and change consequences. Journal of Business and Psychology, 31(2), 249-264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-015-9411-z