Working with the Leadership Team

Today, we spent the day working with the teacher leadership team at the school. The team consists of the two Head Masters and 14 teachers who have been identified for leadership positions and Head of Department positions. We worked today on conversations about defining and understanding leadership as a process and a community commitment, as opposed to a title or a job that an individual takes on.

Addressing leadership as a concept of community and commitment made very good sense to the group today, as they spend each day at the school working in very commited ways in very difficult situations.

As the day began today, we had a very quiet group, waiting, I suppose to see just what we were going to tell them or tell them to do. We spent the early morning asking them to reflect and talk to one another about what they think and believe about the concept of leadership, and by mid morning the room was buzzing with discussions and ideas, and the group had created its own formal objectives for teacher leadership in the school.

From there forward, the day continued to be productive, with small groups reading leadership text and peer teaching, departments working together to use our new planning process to plan for their first department meetings of the new year, and the introduction of a fairly complex professional growth plan process.

As you can tell, the day went well, and at the close of day, we heard many very positive comments and expressions of interest, engagement, and friendship that felt new and very genuine. So, good day!