Becoming the leader you want to follow: Finding the courage to truly lead

Transformative Educational Leadership Journal | ISSUE: Spring 2018

Research confirms quality leadership and quality learning are directly correlated. Supporting a school community to truly thrive, today’s transformational leader requires an abundance of courage. In this capacity, courage can be considered at three levels, each cultivated by five distinct voices.

By Wendy Macken

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Leadership matters.

Students, educators and school communities thrive through skilled educational leadership (BC Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 15). Over a decade ago, Michael Fullan concluded “for teacher development to have a large-scale and lasting impact on student learning as a whole, the research is unequivocal – you cannot do it without quality, active leadership” (2006, p. 1). This finding remains consistent with today’s research (Ministry of Education, 2017; Breakspear & Peterson, 2017; Robinson, 2017).

Few would argue that the demands placed upon today’s educational leaders, both in a formal and informal capacity, have become increasingly complex in response to promising changes in policy and practice. The task of today’s leader continues to evolve in breadth and depth, with many essential components identified related to improving teaching and learning, as well as overall school management.

An excess of resources exist to support leaders with this work. A recent Google search for school leadership delivers over 500 million results of practices and policies, essential characteristics and habits, as well as guidelines, readings and resources that promise to show the way forward. As I work to build and curate my own how-to toolkit, I have found many worthwhile readings and resources, tools and frameworks that inform my thinking and guide my actions. Some recent findings worth noting are explored in Shawn Achor’s (2018) Big Potential and Simon Sinek’s (2018) Start With Why. Also worth mentioning are Viviane Robinson’s (2017) Reduce Change to Increase Improvement. Finally, Kaser and Halbert’s (2015) Spirals of Inquiry offers an opportunity to guide teachers and school leaders towards a more intentional, evidence based approach to professional learning, centred on what will have the biggest impact for students.

However, as I read and learn, practice and reflect, connect and network in an effort to become the leader I would want to follow, I realize an essential component to leadership that I initially underestimated: courage is missing from the discourse. Without it, best practices, most innovative approaches and inspiring visions can remain flat, limp and of little value. Aristotle identified courage as the first virtue, informing and strengthening all others.
When I reflect on courage in an educational leadership capacity, I consider it at three levels: personal courage, interpersonal courage and organizational courage.

Courage related to the self, personal courage, refers to embracing who we are as a person and a leader. It is having the courage to allow principles and values guide actions, regardless of the situation. It means being vulnerable, asking questions, showing confusion, making mistakes and seeking support when needed. It is integrating outward actions with an authentic self. Ethical dissonance can test personal courage.

As an elementary educator, I am passionate about teaching the whole child. I believe strongly that we must let our students have time outside, engage in extended periods of free play and let their ‘mind wander’. In today’s society, the over scheduled child is becoming commonplace. Many young students can spend their afternoons and evenings in scheduled activities at the expense of free play. Having conversations with parents in this capacity has called for personal courage. I’m reminded of a conversation with a parent about their child who was coming to school exhausted, in large part due to her busy after-school schedule. Wanting to provide their child with broad and diverse experiences, this parent struggled to see the harm in so many opportunities. Exercising personal courage in this capacity invited a two-way dialogue, in which we both shared our viewpoint and concerns. This resulted in involving the child in this conversation, and creating a plan which gave more open-ended time for the child while providing after-school opportunities the parent felt were important.

Interpersonal courage relates to the courage needed to support and encourage others. Essentially it means placing your trust in others and embracing their expertise. It could look like bringing people together, building capacity within teams, releasing ownership, appearing insignificant when appropriate and truly empowering others to take the lead. Interpersonal courage means knowing when to be hands-on versus when to take a step to the side, allowing the expertise of others to lead the actions or decisions. Exercising interpersonal courage to release ownership and appear insignificant can certainly test the ego. In a general sense, effective leaders have that alpha element, committed to growth and improvement, based on the needs of students.

Over the years, I have seen approaches and practices in classrooms that do not mirror how I would approach this teaching and learning. While students are engaged and learning, it differs from my idea of best practice. These situations have called for interpersonal courage, leading with curiosity and demonstrating trust and belief in teachers, as professionals committed to what’s best for students.

Finally, organizational courage refers to embracing what is necessary to lead the organization forward. It may mean moving the teaching team in a direction they are hesitant to go, embracing another new initiative, or addressing conflict or poor performance within the organization. It’s knowing that something needs to be done to improve student learning and embracing it fully, regardless of the challenges it may bring. Doing what is best for students drives this courage.

New initiatives such as embracing technology, moving to a concept-based, competency driven curriculum as in BC, or the new direction of a strategic plan has called for organizational courage on my part. I now understand that supporting educators as we move in a new direction, often away from their area of comfort takes time, patience, understanding and persistence. In my experience, it is so important to make the time to discuss a new direction and establish a shared understanding as to why this is best for learners. This shared understanding can serve as a common ground in which all things are possible.

Regardless of the context, educational leadership requires ordinary courage to speak up in a manner that aligns with personal values, empowering others in the team and ultimately supports all learners. Brene Brown (2008) articulates her thoughts on courage as follows:

Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor – the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds. But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences — good and bad. Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as “ordinary courage” (p. xxiii ).

Such conversations can take real courage. However, according to a recent Harvard Business Review (January 2018), these conversations can differ in style and approach depending on the context and the intended outcome. The Review identifies five distinct leadership voices that should be cultivated to ensure we are prepared for any given situation or audience.

Firstly, the voice of character relates to fundamental principles. Who are you as a person? What motivates you? The voice of character is the part of your voice that is consistent, illustrating the values and beliefs that guide who you are as a person.

We know that every child wants to learn, wants to do and be their personal best. This is what makes our work as educators so important and so meaningful. If a child presents differently, we must figure out why and adjust the environment to move each student towards a place of growth and success. I’m reminded of a time when we needed to prioritize the social-  emotional learning (SEL) of a student at the expense of their academics. This was hard at first for the teacher and the family, but advocating for the immediate needs and overall wellness of the child guided these conversations and resulted in the best outcome for the student.

Next, the voice of context relates to sharing the why behind actions, decisions and conversations, rather than launching off with the how and what. Essentially it is taking the time to ask why. Why take this step? Why make this change? Why move in this direction? What impact will this have? Simon Sinek’s (2009) Start with Why emphasizes the voice of context. He writes, “people who come to work with a clear sense of why are less prone to giving up after a few failures because they understand the higher cause” (p. 101). Unpacking the why behind new initiatives creates context, understanding, interest and commitment.

I recall when moving to a personal device program, many teachers had questions about this new initiative – how often should the device be used?, do we need to use it in all subject areas? Rather than unpacking the how and when, we focused on the why behind the devices. We came to a shared understanding that if the device provided opportunity to enrich and enhance student learning, we would use it. Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s (2010) SAMR model provided direction here.

The voice of clarity helps your team stay focused. It involves prioritizing and clarifying, and brings everything back to what’s truly important. What are our key priorities? What is our timeline? How are responsibilities shared among the team? How will success be measured?

The launch of a new strategic plan caused ambiguity and confusion among colleagues. It was important to recognize that some colleagues were highly involved in creating this plan, others were not. Some had lived through the last strategic plan, to others this was a new experience. We learned that this was a situation needing much ongoing communication, to ensure clarity for everyone. Dedicating time at team meetings to answering questions and wonderings, as well as connecting with others personally has brought much needed clarity. As we continue to move through this plan, the need for clarity will continue.

The voice of curiosity involves staying open. Through the lens of appreciative inquiry, remaining open to new possibilities means asking questions, hearing all perspectives, and showing interest in the ideas of others. It could sound like What are your thoughts on this? That sounds interesting, tell me more. It’s creating the feeling that we all matter and we all have something worth contributing.

In my leadership role, teachers regularly bring questions or concerns related to a given situation, looking for guidance on how to move forward. I am learning to ask more questions and truly listen, instead of sharing my ideas or comments about what the next step could be. Recognizing the capabilities of colleagues and asking them how they feel we should address a given situation continues to prove most effective. Once a next step has been determined, providing support such as communIcating to other colleagues, parents or students is often where I can be most helpful.  

Finally, the voice of connection brings people together and establishes relationships. It could look like welcoming all voices to participate at the beginning of any conversation or gathering, expressing appreciation or sharing stories to illustrate memorable and salient points.

I was a person that would always get straight to the point – ask what needed to be asked or share what needed to be shared. I have learned the importance of collecting and connecting with colleagues, regardless of the busyness. Personal lives influence professional lives. It is through these conversations that I have discovered how I can support colleagues in the ways they need.

Embracing your leadership voice and speaking out and seeking out courageous conversations ties into all three levels of courage: personal, interpersonal and organizational. While organizational courage may guide day to day actions, complex situations involving resistance and conflict may challenge personal courage. A true transformational leader demonstrates significant courage at all three levels, ensuring the best interests of children are at the centre of everything they do, without exception.

Jane Goodall’s words speak to the power of our work as educators and the impact we can make through our words and actions: “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference” (2015, p. 53). We have an opportunity to work together to ensure our entire school community – students, teachers and parents – feel welcomed, heard, valued, supported and successful. In order to lead a learning community that truly thrives an effective educational leader will need an abundance of courage.

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