EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP PLATFORM 1

Educational Leadership Platform

An educational leader inspires, motivates, and challenges other educators around them.

When determining my leadership style, I decided that these are all qualities I want to routinely

correspond with my name. It was once stated that "if school leadership were a true/false test, we

could raise our scores by looking over the shoulder of an unsuccessful principal and choosing the

opposite answer to each question (DeWitt, 2012). As a future administrator, I hope to use my

experiences with unsuccessful leaders to guide me in the right direction as a successful leader.

In Neila A. Connors book, If You Dont Feed the Teachers They Eat the Students, the author

makes the analogy that Great administrators are like great chefs. They both spend an inordinate

amount of time preparing, planning, and visioning, before they even begin to cook or implement.

During this time, they keep their focus on the outcomes and the clients. They continuously re-

adjust, refocus, and re-evaluate their plans and efforts (Connors, 2000). My personal plan as a

leader aligns with this statement. As an educational leader, I plan to feed myself with the most

recent research and trends in education and make those trends attainable for my school and

student body. This recipe of success will only be effective as I take responsibility and lead by

example. Leadership has a trickle down effect. If the person at the top is modeling the way

for the employees, the example will be followed (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). I will serve as the

main cheerleader for my students, faculty, and staff, and be their consistent voice of

encouragement. The plans and efforts of the school will regularly be evaluated to make sure

they are effective. Adjustments will be made as necessary so that the school remains on track for

both short-term and long-term success.

Todays schools must be centers for 21st century learning that prepare students for the

future, no matter if that is post-secondary education or work place readiness skills. Through the
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP PLATFORM 2

vision, mission, and beliefs for the school, I will ensure that the students are prepared to succeed

in the 21st century. As a leader, I realize this will not be achieved over night, but will be fostered

when an environment for a community of learning is created. I will set high-expectations for the

students and consistently expect nothing less. In my school, I will also promote rich

opportunities for learning and guarantee that the students best interest is promoted at all times.

As a school leader, I will maintain a focused, collaborative instructional climate. I will

work with teachers as a positive team-player. Teachers will feel comfortable to discuss ideas and

concerns with me as I will maintain an open-door policy. I will interact with the faculty and staff

on a daily basis and create an environment for instant feedback. I will make sure that detailed

expectations are clearly communicated and I will address concerns directly with teachers and not

through mass communication. Not only will I work to create a strong instructional climate led

by highly qualified teachers, but I will also reach outside of the school to the students families

and community. These stakeholders will be involved in decision making and achieving the

mission of the school through a cultivated partnership.

In order to succeed as a great administrator, I must realize that it is my duty to lead by

example and not just talk the talk, but actually walk the walk. Through on-going self-evaluation,

I will determine if my administrative skills are meeting the needs of the students, faculty, and

other stakeholders of the school. As I evaluate my leadership qualities, I will create strategies for

improvement in order to attain the vision, mission, and beliefs of the school.
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References

Connors, N. A. (2000). If you don't feed the teachers, they eat the students!: A guide to success

for administrators and teachers. Nashville: Incentive Publications.

DeWitt, P. (2012). What does it mean to be an educational leader? Retrieved November 07,

2016, from

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2012/08/what_does_it_mean_t

o_be_an_educational_leader.html.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2012). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary

things happen in organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.