High-Impact Leadership for High-Impact Schools

The Actions That Matter Most

Pamela Salazar

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781317925514
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

What is a high-impact school? One which achieves higher than expected results. And how do those schools achieve those results? The principal is the critical element in determining the kind of impact the school will have on its students. This book presents specific knowledge and practical strategies for school leaders to help them reach high standards of excellence. It focuses on these five areas of action: 1. It's about the mission, not the mission statement; 2. High expectations for each and every student; 3. Building communities of learners; 4. Teachers are the silver bullet; and 5. Creating a coherent system for continuous improvement.

Chapter 1

It’s About the Mission, Not the Mission Statement

The soul never thinks without a picture.

—Aristotle

It all starts with beliefs, values, and purpose—principals cannot expect results if there is not a whole-school commitment to every student’s success. Principals must focus everyone’s attention persistently and relentlessly on learning and teaching.

When you walk into a school that has a purpose and a vision, you can feel it. When you talk with the teachers in such a school, they will tell you they are excited about what they are doing. They believe in what they are doing. They believe they make a difference in their students’ lives each and every day. They are on a mission.

High-Impact Leaders Ask:

♦		What is our fundamental reason for existence? What do we aspire to achieve and to become? What business are we in?
♦		Does the school have a shared vision and core values? Is there a mission that unites all? Is there a deep understanding of the mission by all?
♦		Are there common practices and beliefs that effectively express the values and mission? Are the needs of all met?
♦		What’s the picture of our culture and school if they are to be highly successful? What should be important for our school?
♦		Does the school have a concrete, shared, well-defined action plan that effectively expresses the vision, mission, and shared beliefs?

Creating and Illuminating a Vision

Creating a shared vision for your school is key to creating a high-impact school. High-impact leaders articulate a unifying vision that ties the faculty, staff, students, and parent community together. The vision of the school serves as a coherent picture of how the school will function when the core beliefs are practiced.

Groups of people aligned behind shared vision, values, and teaching beliefs provide the cornerstone for school success. Inspiring, energizing, and motivating stakeholders around the vision create momentum for development and improvement. High-impact leaders are able to articulate their philosophies and visions to members of the school community. These leaders are able to persuade and lead others to support a vision of education that becomes the driving force for the school. They are a dynamic force that develops that understanding in others and enlists them to support that vision.

High-impact leaders passionately believe they can make a difference. They translate the vision from words to pictures with a vivid description of what life will be like when the school’s goal is achieved. They create an ideal and unique image of what the school could become. Through their magnetism and quiet persuasion (or sometimes not so quiet), they enlist others in their dreams. They breathe life into their vision and get people to see the exciting possibilities. They look for innovative approaches and encourage risk taking. They foster collaboration and spirited teamwork. They understand that mutual respect and an atmosphere of trust and personal dignity sustain extraordinary efforts. High-impact leaders are able to help others see themselves present in the shared vision.

High-impact leaders believe that dreams can become reality. They believe in vision, trust, teamwork, and the power of relationships. They see their role defined by the need to create the conditions for new ideas to flourish. They stand firm against forces of the status quo, and they give all involved the courage to continue the quest. Their leadership propels the school forward.

High-impact leaders embody a style of influence that attracts and energizes people to enlist in an exciting vision of the future. These leaders form a powerful guiding coalition to drive the vision. They find the right people, people with strong position power, broad expertise, and high credibility. They articulate and embody the ideals of the school and they build a team vision to take care of all kids and to increase learner outcomes. Such inspired and informed leadership leads to the success of the school.

Leaders like these are visionaries. They create transforming visions of schools. There is a big difference between being a school with a vision statement and becoming a truly visionary school. Leaders of high-impact schools have the ability to convert their dreams for the future into viable activities in which their followers are willing to believe and work. High-impact leaders empower others to act on the vision.

Such leaders develop a vision that is comprehensive and detailed. People must know the how, why, what, and when of the dream. The vision must be positive and inspiring—it must be worth the efforts of all those onboard. When a school lives its vision and aligns its work with that vision, a visitor can sense what that vision is without ever reading it on a plaque or banner.

These leaders reflect and think about their own vision. They are able to expand their personal visions into a shared vision that elicits commitment. By their certainty of what the learning community should be, they bring a sense of purpose to all.

The high-impact leader possesses a clear, vivid mental picture or image of the ideal school. Such leaders help other people in the school community move toward that mental image and, when necessary, they have the courage to say “No” to things that don’t fit the vision and “Yes” to things that do. For example, if a new program is presented to the school as part of a new initiative, but the program doesn’t fit or align with the direction of the school, then the program is declined. Data is used to support the reason for saying no and to demonstrate how this new program does not facilitate the envisioned future. These leaders know where the school is headed and what outcomes are sought, and they do not get caught up in installing new programs just because they are there. High-impact leaders are active advocates of the school’s vision.

The first step in developing a more effective school is describing what you seek to become. High-impact leaders articulate a clear vision for the school and its efforts. They identify where they want to go in relation to where they are now based on school data. In high-impact schools, the vision is imaginable and conveys a picture of what the future will be. It is desirable and appeals to the long-term interests of the teachers and the students. It is feasible and comprises realistic, attainable goals. It is focused—clear enough to provide guidance in decision making, but also flexible enough to allow individual initiative and different actions caused by changing conditions. The vision is easy to communicate; it can be easily explained.

It is important to make the distinction between a vision statement and the vision itself. The writing and posting of vision statements is a common practice in schools. Unfortunately, this activity does not lead to the genuine visioning that needs to take place. Words on a paper do not translate to the dynamic power of the vision of the school. While the mission or vision statement may serve an important purpose, the real promise of a vision statement is the power that it has to drive the school forward. The more important measure is how does the vision statement live on in thought or in the heart? How does it inspire and motivate action? A high-impact leader leads a vision that is energizing and engaging and becomes a mental picture for everyone—it provokes deep feelings and stirs a sense of possibility and inner commitment.

High-impact leaders possess the will and the desire to go after the vision. They are always striving to hold up and work toward implementing the school’s vision. They take every opportunity to share the vision with all stakeholders. They take every opportunity to hold it up and move boldly in whatever forward direction it takes to reach that vision. Their excitement breeds enthusiasm and participation.

The high-impact leader holds a broad view of activity in the school and its vision and uses this information to influence and support the energy in the school. Such a leader also takes the time to develop a deep understanding of purpose among the school community that is strong enough so that the majority of teachers can extend it on their own.

In high-impact schools, the envisioned future is a powerful way to stimulate progress. The vision is cohesive, providing a common thread through the school’s mission and subsequent strategies. It is clear and compelling and serves as a unifying focal point of effort. It is inspiring, aiming at excellence as defined by the school. It also describes the core values strongly held by members of the school. It acts as a catalyst for team spirit and it has a clear finish line. It provides a yardstick by which to judge the future performance of the school. According to Saphier and D’Auria (1993, p. 3), “A core value is a central belief deeply understood and shared by every member of an organization. Core values guide the actions of everyone in the organization; they focus its energy and are the anchor points for all its plans.”

Creating a Mission—Providing a Sense of Purpose

High-impact leaders are all about purpose. Purpose creates consensus, commitment, and collegiality. They focus on what is important. They are about what the school needs to achieve. They limit and focus innovations—believing in doing a few things well—quality not quantity. They provide clarity and a sense of shared destiny, hope, and security. Clarity reduces overload complexity, and, in turn, develops empowerment and decision making.

In high-impact schools, the mission and vision serve as a common focus, which helps define the many tasks of establishing a new culture for relationships and responsibility in a school community. Ideally, a school’s focus runs deep and wide—flexible enough to recognize the professional talents and competencies of each teacher and articulate enough so that it can be acted on throughout the day, every day, permeating the learning environment and communication.

A mission and a vision focused on students’ and other stakeholders’ expectations provide the quality-driven school with the foundation it needs to shape its communication systems, its organizational and decision-making structures, and its planning and improvement processes. The school earns the trust, confidence, and loyalty of its students and its other stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and community members, by actively developing and regularly employing listening tools essential for gathering and understanding diverse and distinctive perspectives. The school interprets and weighs these expressed needs, preferences, hopes, and requirements to frame ongoing communication, discussion, and refinement of a common mission and vision. Teachers, staff, and administrators integrate this shared focus into their individual work goals and decision-making strategies.

High-impact schools arri...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• About the Author
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: It’s About the Mission, Not the Mission Statement
• Chapter 2: High Expectations for Each and Every Student
• Chapter 3: Building Communities of Learners
• Chapter 4: Teachers Are the Silver Bullet
• Chapter 5: Creating a Coherent System for Continuous Improvement
• Conclusion
• References