My Philosophy of Educational Leadership

-Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
-In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Master of Arts in Education
-By
Jill M. Thompson
Jeokseong Elementary School
Sunchang, Jeonbuk, South Korea
May 13, 2014
-Dr. Timothy Gilson

I believe that striving to be an effective leader is not just about leadership. In my mind, I
see it as a way of life. Deciding to be a leader is a life decision you make. Pursuing leadership is
about becoming more; growing, learning, and reaching your utmost potential as a professional
teacher and person. It is the difference between wanting to live passively and simply, as opposed
to making the world a better place. I have made the decision that I will do all that I can to strive
for excellence, in all aspects of life.
I cannot waste precious time being a mediocre teacher or leader, and that is the reason
why I am pursuing this Masters Degree. According to Ramsey (2006) in his book, Lead,
Follow, or Get Out of the Way, there are far too many managers in todays schools, rather than
leaders (p. xv). Our schools need effective leaders today more than ever. Employers are
searching for leaders who to want to change their school, not merely to take care of it. I want to
be involved at my school participating in decision making and pushing projects that are being
implemented. I believe that I have the type of personality capable to be a leader, not a manager.
I strongly feel this program will provide me with diverse perspectives which will, in turn, help
me discover the way to becoming a strong leader in our schools today.
Throughout the course of this class, I have developed a well-rounded view of what I think
composes a great leader. Although there are many characteristics of an effective leader, I have
chosen what I find to be the ten most vital to focus on in my philosophy. I believe that if these
ten attributes are present in your personality and the way you operate, you are set up for success.
The morale of your school takes after how you as a leader decide to lead. I strongly feel that if
these ten qualities are present in a leader, enormous change will happen and your school will
excel naturally. I believe an effective leader:
Leads with passion, motivation, optimism and open mindedness
A great leader must be passionate. Without passion, one has no drive or ability to
motivate others. An effective leader recognizes how to tap into staff and students intrinsic

motivation. They know the perfect balance when challenging their staff and students without
pushing too hard. They are constantly spreading optimism throughout the school community.
According to Ramsey (2006), leaders energize and excite the organization and the people in it
by showing what it can become. Leaders deal with visions, dreams, and possibilities (p. xix). A
great leader is enthusiastic about staff, students, the community, and bettering his or her school.
They genuinely care about students and want what is best for them. As Ramsey says, Positive
expectations can transcend all barriers (p. 40). If you must be something, be optimistic.
Encourages collaboration
Collaboration is an effective leaders best friend. A great leader utilizes collaboration to
its utmost potential. They promote innovative thinking and tap into creativity, getting the most
out of their staff. According to the Teacher Leader Model Standards (Teacher Leadership
Exploratory Consortium (TLEC), 2011), a great leader utilizes group processes to help
colleagues work collaboratively to solve problems, make decisions, manage conflict, and
promote meaningful change (p. 14). They utilize everyone in the organization by challenging
them to develop creative ideas, and are able to incorporate those ideas quickly. Great leaders
know how to arrange groups to get the most out of their efforts. Successful teams are made up
of individuals who have compatible personalities, want to work together, and share common
goals (Ramsey, 2006, p. 39). Collaboration allows us to work smarter and compile a variety of
ideas from a variety of perspectives.
Adapts to and exploits the latest technologies
Great leaders utilize technology to its fullest. In todays world, if you are unable to use
typical social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google apps, etc., you are missing out on
amazing opportunities. An effective leader understands that implementing these technologies in
their schools will benefit their students immensely. Having an abundance of knowledge on the

topic of technology allows for teacher leaders to more easily monitor progress towards school
goals as well as analyze student learning through data (TLEC, 2011, p. 16).
Devotes time to planning, reflecting and relaxing
Planning is a necessary characteristic of a good leader. If you are not planning for every
day on the job, youre shortchanging your students, staff, community, and most importantly,
yourself (Ramsey, 2006, p. 29). In our fast paced lives, our time is literally priceless. A good
leader manipulates that time and has balance in his or her life. They dedicate time to plan,
reflect, and relax. They reflect on what they and their school has done for the future in order to
improve. The best leaders you know live a balanced life. They have time for work, family,
spirituality, their community, themselves, and fun (p. 30). This mindset shines through to their
entire staff. We must keep our mind, body, and spirit clean and bright because your most
precious resource is yourself. You have to take care of yourself first in order to take care of
business later (p. 49).
Eliminates pessimism and unprofessional behavior
A great leader knows what attitudes and behaviors are unwelcome. A few unprofessional
characteristics I feel strongly about are the following: lying, disrespecting, making promises one
cannot keep, gossiping, and pessimism. Having a pessimistic culture brings down the morale of
the entire community. Several of these together are a recipe for disaster, and good leaders
understand it is necessary to have a no tolerance policy in regards to them.
Reaches out to the public
Whether it be calling parents, interviewing for a news article, or asking for donations,
great leaders know how to do it. They have great balance of control in how they do business and
know how to sell an idea. Effective leaders are visible beyond the school, build a good homeschool partnership, and give the public what it wants (Ramsey, 2006, p. 46). Great leaders join
local clubs, utilize all volunteers, make friends with the media, and share their stories with no

shame. Great leaders use the community culture to enrich education for all students (TLEC,
2011, p. 19).
Shapes a community of integrity that aligns with the everyday culture of the school
At the end of the day, the morale of your school is what it comes down to. A great leader
must stress the importance of being honest and respectful. Forming relationships and treating
people with respect will encourage the best performance from staff every day. Having strong
morale in the school will result in an abundance of optimism and an adaptive school culture
being formed. Morale is the catalyst that brings together all of the human elements in the
organization and produces results. With high morale, school personnel work hard, have fun, and
reach their goals (and then some) (Ramsey, 2006, p. 34).
Has a warm personality and is able to be themselves
An effective leader should have a contagious smile and be able to laugh at themselves.
Nobody wants to approach a leader who always has a stern look on their face. Approaching
people with sincerity and listening to them shows that you are genuine. When you are able to be
yourself, you are most comfortable, and things will happen instinctively. Do not be afraid to
show you are a real person with real emotions. Be in good health and keep a clear mind.
Implements goals that align with the schools mission and monitors progress
One of the main distinguishing characteristics of a leader versus a manager is that leaders
have clear cut images of what they want their school to become (Ramsey, 2006, p. 19). They
utilize research to increase and improve student learning (TLEC, 2011). Effective leaders are
great at goal setting, planning, monitoring and tracking progress of their goals. Great leaders are
constantly striving to make their school better. In order for this to happen, leaders must hold
staff and students accountable, expecting from their staff what they expect from themselves.
This, in turn, will create honest, responsible morale in the school. Good leaders set aside time
to dream about the future, envision possibilities, project and extrapolate, predict, set goals,
outline strategies, and establish time lines (Ramsey, 2006, p. 17).
Possesses diverse perspectives and analyzes situations to make wise decisions

Good leaders have an abundance of knowledge understanding different cultures, and use
that knowledge to analyze situations, choosing the best decision (TLEC, 2011). They form
relationships with their staff and understand who the best person is to make the decision, if
needed. They are not afraid to admit that it is not themselves. When necessary, good leaders use
intuition and are able to go with their gut. They use their personal values to guide their
intentions, and never compromise their ethics or dignity (Ramsey, 2006). Great leaders say no
when they need to, and never go back on decisions.
As I said before, I think that all ten of these leadership qualities form a great leader. I
also believe that these are skills that any person can learn. Although some say people are born
leaders, I disagree. According to Don Seidman (2013), successful leaders today are made not
through formal authority, but moral authority. We all have the ability to look at our hopes and
dreams, and use those visions to push us toward our goals as leaders. In his article, he talks
about how self-made leaders develop an ability to unleash other peoples creativity based on their
own character and morals (Seidman, 2013). In an interesting study done by The Center for
Creative Leadership (Gentry, Deal, Stawiski & Ruderman, 2012), people were interviewed on
whether they believe leaders were born or made. The study concluded that all groups (people
believing leaders were either: born, made, or equal) overall agreed that the reason why people
become leaders is because of their experiences (Gentry, p.12).
I believe that in each and every one of us, a leader lies inside. The difference for each of
us is how we tap into that inner leader. Some people live all of their lives without realizing their
potential. For myself, it took student teaching in India to turn on my light bulb. After teaching at
the American School of Bombay (ASB) and seeing the progressive attitude and excellence
exhibited, I was blown away. To me, ASB is the epitome of good leadership and a successful
school that results naturally from that. I met so many intrinsically motivated teachers who were

striving to be better and executing new teaching methods continuously. They made me realize
there is more to teaching than writing lesson plans, classroom management, etc. With the
effective leadership present at this school, normal concerns that most would worry about seemed
to naturally diminish, allowing for teachers to go above and beyond exploring professional
development. ASB showed me the effects of effective leadership and opened my eyes to what I
can become as a person and leader.
I believe that any one can choose to become an effective leader if they are willing to put
in the hard work and effort. If one possesses the traits mentioned above and implements them
into their lives on a daily basis, there is no reason why one cannot achieve greatness. When
these things are done with moral authority and good intentions, a great school community that
exceeds and excels all expectations will grow.

References:
Gentry, W. A., Deal, J. J., Stawiski, S., & Ruderman, M. (2012). Are Leaders Born or
Made. Center for Creative Leadership. Retrieved from
http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/research/areleadersbornormade.pdf
Ramsey, R. D. (2006). Lead, follow, or get out of the way: How to be a more effective leader in
todays schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
Seidman, D. (2013, April 9). Born or Made? Wrong Question. Relevant Leaders Are Increasingly
Self-Made. Forbes. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dovseidman/2013/04/09/born-or-made-wrong-question-relevantleaders-are-increasingly-self-made/
Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium (2011). Teacher Leader Model Standards.
Retrieved from: http://teacherleaderstandards.org/downloads/TLS_Brochure_sm.pdf